Robin Pilcher

Clear Soup

March 2nd, 2010

I was rung up out of the blue the other day by Tom MacAlinden, an old friend of mine.

“Robin, I’ve just tried to get hold of Willie.”

“He’s out of the country, Tom. I got an email from him two days ago.”

“Well, I just had to tell someone this, so I phoned you up.”

“Okay?”

“Right, so I’ve just been into a pub in Broughty Ferry for my lunch and at one end of the bar was this huge soup terrine. Well, it was completely and utterly empty, not a drop of soup in it, and it had a ladle sticking out of it and that didn’t have a drop in it either, and there were no soup bowls, no spoons anywhere near it. Anyway, the barman saw me having a look at it and came up to me and asked if he could help me.

“Got anything to eat, mate?” I asked.

He picked up the lid off the terrine and said, “How about some of the Emperor’s New Soup?”

Good one, isn’t it?!

“Robin Pilcher is popular novelist Rosamunde Pilcher’s oldest son, and living proof that talent does run in families…..with his Scottish sensibility and captivating wordplay, Pilcher is able to craft a fine and fulfilling novel.” (Booklist)

“If An Ocean Apart is any indication of Robin Pilcher’s works, then it is only a matter of time before the author becomes as well-known as his mother.” (Amazon.co.uk.)

“My family was brought up with the feelgood factor, so that’s what I write about. Real people and believable situations. My characters may be criticized by some as being stereotypical, but quite honestly, I take that as a compliment. One can associate with them.” (Robin Pilcher)