Jamie, to his credit, only looked mildly alarmed. He spent the following Saturday afternoon setting Edna up with an Instagram account, walking her through the basics with careful thoroughness. Edna took notes in her address book with a ballpoint pen.
By Sunday, she had her first scheme in place. She’d had a chalkboard in the shed for years, left over from a village fete. She wrote on it in her best cursive: Primrose Cottage Photography Sessions. £45. Includes tea and one biscuit. She positioned it at the garden gate and went inside to prune her dahlias.
Three people paid before noon. She served them all tea in her good china. The biscuits were from a tin she’d had since Christmas. Then, she stood very helpfully in the background of every single shot, smiling and waving with complete sincerity. One young man tried to wait her out. She outlasted him by forty minutes, waving periodically so he wouldn’t forget she was there. He paid, drank his tea, and left looking slightly confused. Edna considered it a productive morning.