Note of gratitude to unseen help

Writers have bylines, photographers get credited and designers' work is evident, but the craft of copy-editors and sub-editors is usually unacknowledged. So here is my way of saying thanks to those who have made my copy better

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Like a wandering moth the notes stray into my house, trickling in on a light wind from a unit somewhere below. There is a person on the piano in my condominium who is practising a tune. I am no music critic, but Chopin's legacy is safe.

I admire this stranger whom I cannot see because to practise a craft is to respect it. There is something sincere in tuning a talent and polishing it to a shine. "Each driver," the Formula One genius Ayrton Senna once said, "has his limit. My limit is a little bit further than others". Most of us have no idea where ours is.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on May 10, 2020, with the headline Note of gratitude to unseen help. Subscribe