Two stories of secluded life

From the latest LRB: Graham Greene is staying in a leper colony in the Congo:

We tried to protect Greene from people’s curiosity. The most obvious nuisances were those who wanted his opinion on some manuscript they had in a drawer. The number of people in a colonial town looking for a publisher is amazing. They usually showed up after five o’clock, ‘just to have a beer’. We were well rehearsed. As soon as a car was spotted turning off the road and into the long alley of palm trees, Greene would rush into the house, jump through our bedroom window, and out into the forest.

Not really on the same level, but in case any of you are worrying what life is like in Saffron Walden — and people at the Guardian always say to me that they are considering moving out here — the local paper today has on its front page a story which could be boiled down to three words. “Dog Bites Cat”.

But what a production it gets from the steam! “Pet cat left for dead after Savage Attack”. The most admirable thing of all, is the ending, where neighbours cower in fear:

“This is a quiet cul de sca sac and nothing like this has happened in the 27 years we’ve lived here. But now everything’s changed. We have around 20 cats here, and their owners now know they’re at risk of being savaged by Smokey’s killer.”