Juliet Nicolson

Bringing up Benzene: Charlie Gilmour adopts a magpie

When Gilmour rescues a fallen female fledgling he finds she brings joy and meaning to his life

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issue 19 September 2020

One day a baby bird falls from its nest into an oily scrapyard in Bermondsey, south London and seems unlikely to survive. As the writer Charlie Gilmour and his set-designer fiancée Janina (Yana) find themselves scrutinised by the tiny creature’s ‘gemstone eyes’ they become caught up in an unexpected urge to save the fledgling’s life.

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