The Rules to Break, 2nd Edition

RULE TO BREAK

“Protect your property”

My grandmother had a fabulous collection of outfits which she’d collected throughout a lifetime of travelling and working in theatres. When she got older, she stuffed them all in a trunk and when we visited as children we’d use them for dressing up. Some of them were, frankly, far too good for this, as my mother often used to point out – while we were busy ruining them. My grandmother always waved her away, saying, ‘Darling, I don’t care. People are more important than things’.

On the face of it, this is so obvious it hardly seems worth mentioning. However, it’s frighteningly easy to forget it when your own property is at stake. I’m still not sure if my grandmother was right about the costumes (as teenagers ...