January 20th 2009 (south Croydon)
A warm day at the horse races. The grass is very green. I am laying by the side of the track – it’s a great view! But the horses are taking forever to come past! I begin to wonder if there are actually any races on today. I fall asleep. When I wake up I find that a makeshift jump has been erected right next to me! It is made from coats & pullovers – like kids do when playing football – Someone announces that the riders & runners are ready to start. I get my (complicated & fiddly) camera ready. The horses’ hooves make the ground shake.
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Steve M (from the 1980s) presents me with a huge & elaborate three piece glass chandelier. It is very cumbersome & delicate making it difficult to carry. His house has very slippery laminate floors (obviously!) & many sets of tricky steps. Steve M’s wife has had a breakdown & is acting very strangely. She runs in & out of the house to answer all the neighbours phones. The phones ring alot! I can hear her on the neighbours’ phones: she doesn’t recognise anyone’s voice & keeps hanging up on them.
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I am in a bedsit in the north of England. The room is filled with students. I am making tea for everyone. The kitchenette is hidden behind a curtain that extends across the room. While I wait for the kettle to boil I listen to them all talking – just everyday things. Occasionally, I join in from behind the curtain. The kettle begins to boil & the crockery rattles.
January 21st 2009
In a small, scruffy room in the Caribbean. Instruments & amps are everywhere. I am with Zac W, Danny B & Sam F. ZW says, “Let’s go to the beach.” I can see a yellow beach from the window. The blue water breaks on to the sand. It is very peaceful. “We should all hire some spears & go fishing,” says ZW. DB likes this idea. “How much will that cost?” “Four pounds,” says ZW. We all go down to the beach. But I am wondering just how easy it is to catch fish with a spear.
January 22nd 2009
‘Ne’er-do-wells & kiss curls’, Ben P’s latest band, have come to perform at my work! What a show! They are a three piece outfit specialising in surrealist comedy & improvised a capella! They dress in a hotch potch of horse heads, fur-stoles, netting, fairylights, Napoleonic uniforms & Ben P wears a bowler hat! They are truly amazing! They perform a free form set in the middle of the shop. It’s not to everyones liking though. Soon I am the only one left watching as everyone has gone into the staff room.
The shop morphs into The Ship. A blond boy runs from table to table knocking over drinks.
January 23rd 2009
Leselie R is sad. Sad that he has to leave his home after all these years. He has been living with Canda in a low security prison in SE London! He has taken to writing & recording acoustic blues. He speaks the lyrics over the top… “Happy in a town called home, called Purley./ Happy in a room with my friends next door.” It is all really rather good!
nickreeves 