Irvine Welsh

The acclaimed author shares his love of Tuscan holidays, his hometown of Edinburgh and football

“I love travelling, and try to see as much of the world as I can. But in my younger years, it was all about trips to Ibiza with my mates. I love house music, and getting together with a bunch of friends and going nuts in the clubs is a fantastic thing to do. It has its time though, and if I go to Ibiza now, I always go to Ibiza town. I can’t cut it in San Antonio anymore. I may go for a laugh and a drink, but I couldn’t stay there – I wouldn’t last 10 minutes.

“But I still go away with those same mates. We all follow our football team Hibs abroad when they have matches. These trips can get quite debauched. One of the worst was a football trip in the 1980s. There was a big group of us, all friends from home, and we went to Brussels to watch Hibs play in the Uefa Cup. It was extremely drunken, and football hooliganism was huge then – spats were constantly kicking off all around us.

“We tried to keep away from it all, but those were crazy, apocalyptic days, when beer monsters would steam in, fighting and throwing chairs at each other. There were loads of stabbings and slashings – everyone went crazy. You can see past it all when you’re sober, but when you’re hungover, you just think ‘oh my god, this is terrible’, and you start worrying about who’s hurt and who’s not. It was just really horrible.

“Most of my holidays are much calmer now. I know it’s a big cliché, but I do like going to Tuscany. You can see all the beautiful villages, rolling hills and vineyards. I love places that have good light, and the tone and colour of the light in Tuscany is absolutely amazing. So when I’m in need of a bit of sunshine, or just to recharge my batteries, Tuscany is a fantastic place to visit. I couldn’t live there, though, it would drive me crazy – I’m a city person and I need to have stuff around me.

“For that reason, I spend most of my time in Dublin and Miami now, but my favourite place is still Edinburgh. It’s a beautiful city, but most of all, it’s where I grew up, and a lot of my friends and family are still in the area. It’s also home to my team, Hibs. They never do very well, but they’re still there, which is an achievement in itself, really.”

INTERVIEW: SIAN THATCHER
CRIME BY IRVINE WELSH IS OUT NOW, PUBLISHED BY JONATHAN CAPE, £12.99.