Designs For Life

Kate was proud of what she and her team had created. Could she bear to hand it over?

KATE gazed at the radio. “I Did It My Way”. Why did people always choose that song? Why didn’t they give compromise a go? 

The guests on “Desert Island Discs” were always so pleased that they’d made their own decisions and stuck to them. Didn’t they ever make any mistakes?

Kirsty, the presenter, was asking that week’s guest what luxury they’d take, and explaining gently that, no, they couldn’t take their beloved wife and their countless children.

Why didn’t they ever say they would be perfectly happy all alone for a few weeks, until some passing boat came by to rescue them? 

This week’s guest was too pleased with himself altogether. Long before he’d chosen his book or luxury Kate would have turned the radio off, but the others were listening, and she was, she reminded herself, all in favour of compromise. 

The others, in this case, were Sue and Chris and Liz. The four of them made up Clothes-Kids-Like-Wearing, which made and sold – remarkably successfully – children’s clothes. It was actually Kate’s business, but to the four women it felt more like a sewing-group than a company. 

Every Friday morning they each found some hand-sewing to do and listened to “Desert Island Discs” on Radio 4, singing along or criticising the choices, according to their (very different) tastes.

“You’re frowning, Kate,” Liz said. “Not a Sinatra fan?”

“Oh, you know. Just thinking about . . . well, men. Thinking they’re right all the time. So keen on doing it their way.”