My word, Miss Perkins 
Jenny Diski
Just after the beginning of the first Gulf War I arrived at Toronto airport to take part in a literary festival. Along with a couple of dozen others (mostly dark-skinned or from Islamic countries) I was sent to wait in a queue for special questioning when I presented my passport. After about an hour I was taken to a cubicle by a short but perfectly square woman in uniform who lolled behind a desk and looked at me long and mean. I had been on a seven-hour flight and no one had mentioned before I got to Heathrow that Air Canada was all non-smoking. I was not cheerful.
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Jenny Diski has finally finished her novel Apology for the Woman Writing, which will be published in November.
Other articles by this contributor:
Hang on to the doily · Catherine M.
Did Jesus walk on water because he couldn’t swim? · Jewish Seafarers
Flowery, rustic, tippy, smokey · Jenny Diski drinks a cup of tea
Giving Hysteria a Bad Name · At home with the Mellys
Who wears hats now? · Jenny Diski walks back to the future
Seriously Uncool · Susan Sontag
Don’t think about it · The Trouble with Sonia Orwell
It’s so beautiful · V is for Vagina
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