Creating a character

On the top front seat of a bus I sat with my notebook, scribbling ideas (barely legible from the bumpy ride) that came to me from people-watching.  This is one of the notes I made:

old man with neatly pressed brown trousers, neatly ironed shirt not neatly tucked in, with thin grey hair in boyish straight cut lines, slightly bent back almost justifying the walking stick he doesn’t seem to need, piercingly intelligent eyes alert to all around him, modern-looking messenger bag belies his age”

Could he become a character later?  I’m sure he could!  Perhaps he’s a war veteran who’s main survival trick is to be aware of what’s around him, crossing a busy London high street can be dangerous if you’re not alert.  Perhaps he’s a former spy, being followed, at the next corner he’ll don a hat and jacket from his bag.

We’ll see.