Del Amitri
Continued from page 8 living room , there ’ s a building that ’ s just all offices . So I ’ ve
kinda been taunting them because I rock into the room at 2:00 in the afternoon , and the place is a fucking mess . And you see all of these folks that have been in their offices since 10:00 in the morning , and they must absolutely hate us . It ’ s brilliant . They can look right into the room and see what absolute scumbags we are and that we don ’ t actually have a normal job . So they must really resent us , and I find that , too , immensely satisfying .
IE : Have you waved to them ? Written messages on placards ? JC : I hope I haven ’ t . But I might have if I ’ ve had too much to drink . But I don ’ t want to seriously taunt them . And there ’ s a guy who works opposite me , and he comes into his office every day around 7:00 in the morning , and he leaves at 7:00 at night . And all he does is stare at a computer all day , every day , and he comes in on Saturdays sometimes , as well . And I actually feel really sorry for him , and I think , “ You poor guy . What a shit life that is .”
IE : When you say ‘ we ,’ who else is sheltering in place with you , as it were . JC : My girlfriend , Emma . She ’ s been living here for seven years . And she had a kind of normal job , working for the tax office for a while , and then she had another normal job , working at night for a bank , doing credit card inquiries on the phone . But for the last couple of months , she ’ s left that . So I said , “ Thank God !” And now we ’ re living a reasonably normal life . Or normal for us , at least — we ’ re actually getting enough sleep .
IE : If Outlander has taught us anything , it ’ s that there ’ s a whole spiritual side to Scottish culture . Have you been in touch with it or ever seen a ghost or something paranormal ? JC : I ’ m not a believer in ghosts , and I don ’ t know much about Scottish history or folklore . So when I ’ m in ancient parts of Scotland , I don ’ t know enough to conjure up in my imagination a ; these clans or this or that massacre . But sometimes I go walking with people who know about that stuff , and it ’ s quite interesting because the landscape — once you get into the highlands — just hasn ’ t changed ; it ’ s been the same for millennia . So it ’ s quite interesting to imagine , like , “ There must have been Vikings walking down this glen at one point , slaughtering people !” Those images do come to mind when you ’ re walking around the countryside in Scotland , but they come more from movies than they do from history books . Or at least they do in my case , anyway .
IE : Have you ever seen anything that movies can ’ t explain away ? JC : No , but there ’ s a phenomenon called a Brocken ghost , and it happens when you ’ re walking . Sometimes when you ’ re walking in the high mountains , there ’ s a weather phenomenon whereby if it ’ s misty and the sun hits the mist from a certain angle , you see this massive shadow in front of you and your reflection . So it ’ s actually you , but it looks like a giant , a giant walking towards you . And apparently , it ’ s horrifying when it suddenly happens . I know people that have seen it , and eventually , they sort of calm down and realize
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