It’s just one of the terms he uses to describe the solitary life of a writer. Alan Bleasdale has been spending a lot of time on the isolation ward lately But don’t let this worry you: he hasn’t gone mad. “It was a good moment to capture.”Proud Galleries, in association with Raj Prem Fine Art Photography, presents ‘Through the Eyes of A Muse’ from 9 June to 23 July at Proud Central, 5 Buckingham Street, London WC2 ( www.proud.co.uk) Open Mon-Thurs 10am-7pm, Fri-Sun 11am-6pm, free entry. “He just looks so relaxed and calm and spiritually nourished.. and sexy.” She shakes her head, and grins. “There’s one I took of George in south India, just after we’d been meditating in the Himalayas for two months,” she says.

People blame the 1960s for just about everything these days, but it was the decade when all that post-war furtiveness and small-mindedness was finally blown open and opportunity really came knocking.”That sense of possibility is enshrined in her photos; it seems appropriate, before leaving, to ask which is her favourite She considers; her face suddenly lights up. “They’re mainly about the decisions I made when I was younger and had no understanding or knowledge of life. But you have to cut yourself a bit of slack in the end, I think I certainly wouldn’t have lived through any other era. So does she have regrets? “A few,” she replies, smiling.There’s a very long pause “I’m not going to tell you what they are,” she resumes. “Everyone ends up where they’re meant to be, and how they got there doesn’t really matter.” So, to follow Boyd’s logic, she’s now “meant” to be living on her own for the first time ever, which she’s sure is probably good for her, though at times “I have a real wobbly and feel lonely and upset.” Still, she reacts to the prospect of her friends attempting to pair her off with some passing silver fox with appropriate horror. What does she mean by that? “I think there’s a path cut for us, a destination mapped out,” she muses slowly. “It’s so disappointing, yes,” is Boyd’s painstaking response.

“One grows up thinking you will naturally be able to have children, and when it doesn’t happen it’s a shock. But I just feel that it wasn’t meant to be.”Boyd puts this lack, and everything else in life, down to fate. At one time, he also blamed their marriage break-up on Boyd’s inability to have children; something that also lurks in the background of her break-up with Harrison. Anyway, I think if it had been up to Eric, he’d have stayed in and played his guitar every night,” she concludes brightly.This probably wasn’t the only point of contention with Clapton; he himself has said he was “hell to live with” during his strung-out years with Boyd. “It’s less a tribute to me, more a ‘yes, you look great, come on, we’re late’ kind of thing while he’s standing impatiently at the bottom of the stairs.