New Photo Album - 5:54 pm - 07-11-2006
I have moved my photo album to Picasa Web Albums, here.
You should definately have a lookesy, I update them very frequently.
They also have NAGTY stuff on.
Score!
Sunny Solihull - 10:17 pm - 10-10-2006
As promised, I have written about my exploits in Solihull. So without any further ado, let us begin!
The Journey
I set off from my house at about 1530. I got a bus to Nottingham and then got onto the train for Birmingham New street. No one checked my ticket. I walked through the Bull Ring shopping centre to Birmingham Moor Street. In Bull Ring I came across two identical Chinese Medicine shops. How can there be that much demand for Chinese medicine?
I arrived at Birmingham Moor Street Station sometime during the late 19th century. The station was decorated in a very Victorian manner and looked quite novel. There were 5 platforms, but only 2 of them appeared to be in use. Platform 5 had a steam train in it.
I was upset to see a shabby looking diesel pull into the station. I hopped on and sat down. No one had asked for my ticket by the time I jumped off onto the Solihull station platform at 1837- bang on time. I was expecting to see a joyous Annabel run up to me and give me a massive hug in delight at seeing me but she wasn’t on the platform.
I wandered down the stairs to the ticket office. She wasn’t there either.
I wandered outside and looked down the road and around the car park. Nowhere to be seen.
I rang her mobile. No answer.
It was at this point I wondered whether the whole trip had been a trick, and that I had offended her in some way and this was her revenge. This didn’t seem too likely though, to be fair. So I sent her a text expressing my dismay at her absence.
I waited.
I looked at the newspaper front pages. They weren’t too interesting.
I waited.
I read a notice about the penalties for not buying your ticket. It wasn’t too interesting.
Finally, I received a text saying she was on her way.
I waited.
I waited some more.
I re-read the ticket penalty notice.
Annabel appeared! Ten minutes late… I’d been traveling three hours but arrived on time, she had only a thirty second walk but she was late.
I accompanied her back to her house while she gave me a rubbish excuse about her ballet teacher. Well, actually it was a pretty good reason… but still.
Settling In
We were greeted by Annabel’s mother who was extremely welcoming. We had the inevitable conversation about my journey and I thanked her for letting me stay. I was then introduced to Annabel’s father and the same conversation was repeated.
Anny pulled me upstairs and showed me around the house. I dropped off my stuff in her brother’s room (where I would be sleeping) and then made my way to her bedroom.
I was immediately overcome with how much/many crap/decorations/trinkets was/were (delete as you see fit) there. I believe there is a photo which beautifully sums up the aurora of the room.
We then sat down, chilled out and “caught up” with each other for about half an hour before descending for dinner.
Dinner was nice. The food was good, and there was plenty of interesting conversation. I don’t like eating with people I’ve only just met because I’m always worried that I will embarrass myself, but as I’ve been invited back I can’t have been too bad.
Off Out
After dinner we went back upstairs to decide on a film to go to see. I hadn’t heard of any of the films on, so I left the decision up to Anny. She chose Little Miss Sunshine. I agreed, and that was that.
We left the house and walked down the road. Anny pointed out that it was quite chilly. I said that we should go back to get her a jacket, but she assured me she wouldn’t need one. I told her that if she was cold later I wouldn’t be giving her my jacket. I am neither noble nor selfless. She didn’t seem too bothered.
We arrived at the cinema and the queues were ridiculous. We bought the tickets and went into Screen 2, ready to search for some seats.
We managed it alright. We managed to find two of the seats that weren’t occupied by the four old ladies in the front row. A few more old ladies came in, followed by a middle-aged couple. I didn’t have great expectations of the film by this point, and nor did Annabel.
Thank God we sat it out. It was the best film I’ve ever seen! I could spend hours explaining how good it was, but this entry is getting long as it is. Maybe another day huh?
We left the cinema, discussing the film gleefully, and stepped into the cold outside world.
“Oh God. It’s freezing!” said Annabel.
“Yeah, it is.” I replied.
We chatted for about five minutes before:
“Can we run home?”
“Why?” I inquired, positively confused.
“It’s freezing!” Anny said.
It was at this point that I did something that I was ashamed of, something I regret deeply, something that I hoped I’d never do… I broke my word.
“No! You keep it,” Anny said.
“I don’t want it.”
“Take it!”
“No.”
“Fine then. I’ll leave it here, on this pillar.”
“Alright,” I replied.
With a sigh, she put the jacket on.
“Are you not cold?”
“Nah, I have Scottish blood in me,” I retorted.
Back Home
We returned to Annabel’s and made our way upstairs. We reminisced, made plans for the next day and swapped stories about our adventures with our friends.
I went to the toilet, and then went to wash my hands. Anny had told me that the wash basin was in the room between the hall and her parents’ room, so I went in there.
I walked back down the corridor and was shocked to walk right into Annabel’s dad. I muttered an apology and he told me that we should go to bed soon.
I went back to Annabel’s room and told her that the door was open to her parents’ room which made me feel a tad awkward being in the hand-washing room (probably not the name they use for it).
“McAsh! You shouldn’t wash your hands in there! That’s my parents’ room!”
“But, you said I should…”
“Only in daytime!” she said, laughing cruelly, “Did you turn the light on?”
“No.”
“Good! My mum was sleeping in there.”
“Where was I supposed to wash my hands?”
“In the bathroom!”
“Oh what! I feel proper stupid now,” I whined.
“Did my Dad see you coming out of there?”
I pondered this for a moment.
“I don’t honestly know.”
Annabel burst into more laughter.
Saturday Morning
I awoke at around tennish, and made my way into the kitchen. Anny was there along with her mother. I was offered breakfast, and I replied that I did indeed sleep well and that was that.
Anny told me that she would be going to Solihull to pick up a few things and that I would be welcome to join her, but it wouldn’t be much fun. I decided to stay and try to get started on my economics essay.
I went back upstairs and she disappeared into the town.
Half an hour, and one paragraph later Annabel’s dad came upstairs to tell me that a friend of Anny had arrived and would I like to meet her?
I joined him in the kitchen, where a girl was sitting reading Vogue. She stood up and said
“Hi, McAsh!”
I had no idea who she was.
“Hi!” I said.
The three of us sat and chatted for a while on a variety of subjects including but not limited to: Solihull and surrounding area schools, Norfolk, Rochdale and Scottish Tartans.
Annabel returned clutching a top from TOPSHOP. She seemed dead excited to see the girl sitting at the table. She was clearly a close friend.
The three of us went upstairs and had a chat. Well, to be honest I didn’t contribute too much. Ten minutes in I deduced that the girl was Philly.
It then became clear that she was in actual fact, Jo, Philly’s twin.
It later turned out that it was Philly after all.
Luckily, I had not addressed her on first name.
At 1224, our conversation was cut short by Philly having to run for a bus or train (can’t remember which) which was leaving at 1228 (how do I remember the time?).
And thus it was two. We sat around doing very little for about an hour and then set off for Birmingham
Brum
We walked to the train station and went up to the ticket office and Annabel asked for a child return to Birmingham. The ticket master (is that the right term?) asked her how old she was.
“15,” she lied.
“Really? You’ve been fifteen for about two years now,” he replied.
She laughed uncomfortably while he printed the tickets.
“So, when’s your birthday then?” he questioned as he gave her the tickets.
“Oh, it was really good thanks!” she blurted, and then immediately realised what she’d said.
Luckily, the man saw the funny side of it so we were free to go.
We were only waiting for a few minutes before the train arrived. We boarded and it left the station. We arrived at Moor Street and no one had checked our tickets.
We went into the Bull Ring, and began to look for a place for Anny to get her ears pierced. We tried Selfridges first but they were to expensive, so we tried to find Claire’s. Confusingly, the map of the shopping centre was out of date, so the Claire’s we were trying to locate no longer existed. Luckily, we decided to ask someone for help and we were directed to the real location.
A short amount of time was spent choosing an earring (well… I say short) while a little girl had her ears pierced. Then Anny was told to sit in a seat by the window to go where her ear would be pierced. By this time, I was slightly bored so I amused myself by wrapping a shoelace around a bottle of water and tying it in a bow. When they had finished, I passed Anny her water back, and after paying for the piercing, we left the shop, along with the stolen shoe lace! Badass or what?
We had decided to eat at Wagamama. We walked into a market, which I assumed was the correct route. However it appeared that Anny had no idea where the place was. We stopped to discuss our best plan, and discovered we were right next to it, so that was easy enough.
After queuing for about 20 minutes we were seated and our orders were taken. We decided to have some sake to share. When it arrived I poured us a little cup each and we drank it. It was warm and tasted more of alcohol than anything else. Anny claimed it was burning her throat as she drank it, but that might have been because she’s a fag.
During the meal, we discussed plans for the rest of the day. We contemplated numerous ideas, but the best one we had was to go see Little Miss Sunshine again. This was decided upon, so after paying we set off for the Odeon.
Upon arriving, we were dismayed to see that the film was no longer showing. Feeling rejected, we returned to Solihull.
Getting Ready
We sat around for quite a while enthusiastically doing very little while waiting for Ellie, a friend of Anny who would be coming over to get ready with us. She arrived just as Anny was going into the bath. We were introduced and Anny went into the bath. I spent little over ten minutes getting ready, which includes bathing and getting dressed; the girls spent closer to an hour and a half. Ellie had brought a bottle of pink champagne with her, which we satisfactorily emptied. I hadn’t eaten for hours, and I hadn’t drank alcohol in three months, so I’m afraid I was already feeling effect.
We were about to set off for the party when I realised that my lack of food might have dire consequences. I asked Anny if it was cool to take an orange with me. She said it was so I did.
In the car I began the process of peeling. No one was sure where to go, so both Anny and Ellie began ringing people for directions. By this point, I had successfully peeled my orange and was holding it all in my hands. I didn’t want to eat it, in case it made a mess over Annabel’s mother’s car, so I sat patiently. Eventually, we got through to someone and found the party.
I got out of the car with my orange and orange peel and tossed the peel into a bush. I then realised that I would be meeting lots of new people, and I didn’t want to be eating an orange while I did that. It might not give a good first impression- I wouldn’t want to look like an orange enthusiast, no one needs that.
Thus, I put the peeled-orange back into my pocket. Upon entering the building, I was introduced to Lucy (whose party it was), Rachel, Gemma/Jemma, Glen and Nick. They all seemed pretty cool. At first I didn’t really enjoy myself because I’m not really into the whole dancing thing. However, after a bottle of rose and a double JD and Coke, I let myself go a little more.
Anny, Ellie and myself went for a walk by the water. Ellie rang up her boyfriend Ryan. I was allowed to speak to him, and I excitedly told him that we were best friends. He seemed to agree, so that was good.
We went back inside, and I greeted everyone whose name I knew with “Hey! My old friend… [INSERT NAME]“.
Myself and Ellie went for a walk outside and sat on the curb of the main road. We decided that we were Buddhist chums. I don’t know what that means, and I don’t think she does anyway, but it’s the truth and I’m damn proud of it.
We then went back inside. I looked for Anny but couldn’t find her. I was feeling quite hot so I sat in the car park for a moment or to. It might have been half an hour later that I heard Anny and Ellie calling me. I called back and they came and sat with me. We drank some more champagne, and a few more of the gang arrived. After a while we went back inside and back to the dance floor. I eagerly greeted the few people I knew and they seemed pleased to see me.
After an hour or so of dancing it became time to go home. Ellie and Anny stole as much food as they could from the party and we started walking home. I still had a glass that I was drinking water from, I asked Ellie to put it in her bag, she took it but then threw it into a bush.
Anny had my coat by this point and she discovered the peeled orange in the pocket. She seemed slightly bemused, but I was just thrilled that I had it, having forgotten all about it.
The girls decided that they couldn’t manage the walk home so we went to an Indian takeaway to get the number for a taxi. We got it and rang them up. The taxi arrived shortly after and took us all back to Anny’s. We got in, cooked some pasta and went to bed.
Sunday Morning
I awoke fairly early on Sunday and popped into Anny’s room to see if she was awake. She wasn’t, so I went back to bed. Half an hour later I repeated this, and then again half an hour after that.
I thought my train was at 1200, so at 1000 I woke Anny up and told her that if we were going to do anything she’d have to get up.
About 10 minutes later, all three of us were downstairs making pancakes. The girls appeared to have surprisingly strong views on how to eat them. They thought that I was going to eat one without rolling it up, and expressed great relief when I did roll it. Anny complained that my lemon juice didn’t reach the edge of the pancake, and Ellie strongly requested that I don’t roll it with my knife and fork.
To spite them, I didn’t roll it at all.
Breakfast was followed by a long discussion about ballet, and people I don’t know. As I wasn’t really contributing to, or enjoying, the conversation I went upstairs to pack.
By the time I had finished they were in Anny’s room on Myspace. This seemed to last for ever. I yawned loudly but they didn’t seem to notice. Eventually, they got bored and we went downstairs to watch bits of Beauty and the Beast and then Romeo and Juliet.
We only watched for about half an hour before it was time for me to leave. Ellie, who was glued to the screen, stayed in the living room while Anny and I walked to the station.
We sat on the platform and chatted for a while before the train arrived, we made our fond farewells, and I jumped on.
My ticket was not checked on the way to Birmingham. I wandered around Birmingham for half an hour before getting the train to Nottingham. This train journey was the first and last of six that my ticket was actually checked. Had I known this would happen, I could have saved a tenner at least.
I got off the train at Nottingham walked towards the bus stop. Before I had even left the station, I smelt a familiar smell: a gangster was smoking a joint in front of me. I was home.
Dave’s Party - 7:02 pm - 05-08-2006
Dave was originally going to have a party on Tuesday, but after I inivted him to two seperate parties for the Tuesday, he postponed to Thursday.
Wednesday night I receieved a text from John (Gunstone) inviting me to his party on Thursday too. So all through Thursday I was in mental turmoil as I tried to decide which party I’d go to. In the end I decided on Dave’s, as he had invited me first and I hadn’t seen that group of people in a while.
I rang Lauren to see when she was going. She said she’d be setting off in a few minutes. I asked her if she had managed to convince Amy Jutsum to come (she had said the night before that she would). She told me that she had tried but had not succeeded. I hung up and rang Amy. I asked her if she was going and she said she wasn’t sure. I told her about how amazing it would be and pointed out that we hadn’t seen each other in forever. Immediately she agreed and quickly hung up and rang Lauren.
“Hey Lauren, where are you?“
“In the car.“
“I want to come.“
“Mum, stop!“
And as if influenced by divine intervention, Lauren’s car stopped right outside Amy’s house, or so I am told.
I then rang Pete to find out when he was coming into Bingham. He said he’d be coming in on the train at 2015. I told him that I’d meet him at the station.
I left the house and walked towards the station and met Pete walking towards me. We walked together to Dave’s where the party was really kicking off.
Dave, Grace, Lauren, Amy and Sarah were in the “Sweat Pit” watching music television.
A moment or two later, Lloyd (Callum’s brother) came.
I decided to go into Bingham to buy some alcohol, I asked everyone if they’d like to go and everyone said they would except Dave. It was deemed unfair for everyone to leave Dave alone so Sarah and Llyod agreed to stay.
We went into Bingham to the brand-spanking-new Sainsburys (just opened that day!). I bought some Tiger beers which were pretty cool.
We then returned to Dave’s where Diego, Tom Moreland and Martin had arrived.
I then discovered that Abby and Natty were also coming. What’s more… they were outside trying to find Dave’s house.
Lloyd and I went outside and met the girls and brought them inside. When we returned everyone decided to go outside. We spent the rest of the night in the garden with a few of us occasionally disappearing to the end of the garden until Mikey and Simon arrived. I then went for a drive with them to Simon’s house so he could get changed, and then back to Dave’s. Not much happened at Dave’s after that, Simon gave me a lift home at about 0100.
I got in and fried some eggs and onions and grilled some bread for a lovely midnight feast.
Last Week - 4:09 pm - 30-07-2006
I’ve had a pretty good week.
Friday 21st July
Friday was Adam’s leaving gathering. Before going to that I was in school (as I had been all week) helping with one thing and another. I needed to pop into town to pick up some stuff, including a vegetarian cookbook, so I asked Pete, Glyn, Callum and John if they were interested in joining me. None of them were, Adam had already said he couldn’t make it so I was slightly concerned it’d just be me on my own (hardly enjoyable).
I asked Stacey and Nick if they’d like to. Stacey said she couldn’t but Nick said he would. After ensuring his sister got home safely, we set off.
I think this might have been the first time I’d ever hung out with Nick on his own (but far from the first time ever) and I really enjoyed it.
After getting back from town we wandered up to school to see what the evening event was like.
It was rubbish. Unfortunately due to waiting for different people I had to stay there for just over an hour. After that, Pete’s mum gave Pete, Sam and me a lift to Tithby for Adam’s gathering.
The event was brilliant. I spent most of my time with Adam and Sam; we went on walks through fields, talked at length about our philosophies (which seemed to be very similar to each others) and listened to some brilliant music.
At 4 o clock Nick, Stacey, Sam and I (the only people still there and awake) went to sleep.
People There
Adam Schmitt
Daniel Barker
Glyn Hanmer
Lauren Evett
Nick Harvey
Pete Faulconbridge
Sam English
Stacey Smart
Teresa Talbot
Click here to view the photos.
Saturday 22nd July
We awoke on Saturday at around 8ish. For one reason or another we didn’t get a taxi until after noon, so we spent a lot of time relaxing in Adam’s garden, house and caravan.
Sam spent hours playing with Adam’s siblings while Adam, Nick, Stacey and I chatted, listened to music and ate some of the brilliant food Adam had prepared.
Eventually it came time to leave, so we all wished Adam well for his trip to Germany and said good bye.
Sam, Stacey and I left the taxi in Bingham, and Nick continued to East Bridgford. In Bingham Stacey immediately went for her bus while Sam and I returned to my house.
I put a Jeeves and Wooster on and we watched that. Sam soon fell asleep and was out for about two hours.
I had heard the night before that Dave (Perry) would be having a gathering at his house tonight. I rang him up about this and he said he’d not heard anything about it, but that he would. Heather asked me what was going on and I told her that he said he’d be having a few people over. Unfortunately, simply due to a brake-down of communications, she took this to mean that she’d probably not be welcome. So she invited Martin Murphy, Freya and Lauren to her house instead.
I met up with Jordan and we wandered down to Dave’s. He had a completely free house, which could easily have held an awesome party had there been more people. Teresa had told me to ring her at work when I knew whether she would be welcome at Dave’s. I rang the Rice and Noodles and said “You’re very welcome.“
She replied, “Where?“
“At Dave’s!“
“Who’s Dave?”
I realised that I wasn’t talking to Teresa, so without saying another word I hung up.
Now too afraid to ring again, I passed the phone to Jordan. He redialed the number and asked to speak to Teresa. He put me onto her.
Teresa told me that her supervisor had answered the occasion before and had thought I was a pervert telling her to go to a random bloke called Dave’s house. She seemed highly amused.
I told her she was welcome at Dave’s and that we’d meet her at 10.
With that enjoyment gone we sat on the floor of his “sweat pit” and looked at videos of the legendary “Beardo the Weirdo” on Dave’s phone. Dave pretended to play a guitar that had no strings. Jordan drank two bottles of Kronenberg and I drank a bottle of ginger ale.
At ten to ten we set off for Teresa’s. Dave, having had too much fun for one night, decided to stay at home, so it was Jordan and I who met her alone.
I invited her to stop at my house and she said she’d like to so we walked all the way to her house to get her stuff. By the time we had returned to the center of Bingham, Jordan was quite bored and decided to go back to Brooke’s house. We parted our seperate ways.
At my house Teresa and I watched Dumbo and then the first two episodes of SPACED before retiring to bed.
Sunday 23rd July
I awoke at around 8 and lay in bed until Teresa awoke (only ten or so minutes later). I then put the 3rd episode of SPACED on. I closed my eyes and listened to it while resting my head on my pillow.
I opened my eyes a moment later and the 5th episode was on. We watched until the end of the series (7 episodes) and then went to make breakfast.
After breakfast Teresa went home.
In the afternoon Dave (Leggy) came over and kindly fixed my computer and then Callum and Pete joined us. We went out for a walk and bought some chips.
They all left in early evening and I was left on my own.
I decided to try out some recipes from my new vegetarian cook book. I made a honey, melon and white wine soup which turned out very nicely in my opinion.
Monday 24th July
Monday I didn’t get up until the afternoon. I didn’t really do anything until around 10 when I met Teresa at the Rice and Noodles. We went back to her house and made some stencils for grafitti. I didn’t have a kitchen at that time so I was really hungry. At around midnight my hunger got the better of my so we wandered down to the Shell garage so buy some food. I bought some Kettle Chips, Chocolate Hob Nobs and Tropicana.
We then parted our seperate ways and returned to our homes.
Tuesday 25th July
Tuesday I was up at the crack of dawn (around nine) in order to go to Derbyshire with my Grandma and her partner John, to meet some of my estranged relatives.
It took us a while to find where they were staying but we managed eventually. My Dad’s cousin was there along with her husband, children and her husband’s mother. I spoke to the children George (16) and Henry (14).
After that we all went out to lunch and a local pub which was very enjoyable.
We then returned back to their cottage and looked at various photos of our family. After that we set off home.
Upon arriving in Bingham I saw Teresa, Lauren and Brooke walking together. When I got home I rang Teresa to say I saw her and to ask when she wanted to do the stencils. She told me that they’d all call on me.
The four of us all went for a walk, we called on Dave (Perry) who said he’d ring us when he was coming out, we then went to Go Sing, the Chinese take-away, and bought some food.
We went back to my house to eat it. I had some of the soup I’d made a few days before and then ate my veggie pancake roll. Dave joined us and we decided to go for a walk again.
Throughout the whole day I had been wearing a sleeveless vest. Dave noticed this and didn’t like it, he claimed that I had found it in the bin and that I looked like a heroin addict. Look out for it in the photos.
We went to the Co-op and I bought a sandwich for myself and Brooke. Lauren needed to be picked up at Teresa’s so we all walked there. While at Teresa’s we finished her stencil and picked up all the stuff we’d need to grafitti.
We wandered down Linear and did it, before going home.
Click here to view the photos.
Wednesday 26th July
I did very little all day on Wednesday until around ten when I met Teresa at the Rice and Noodles (notice a pattern here?). We wandered up to Brooke’s house to call on her. The lights were all out so we decided against it, worried we might wake her baby brother.
We receieved a call from Lauren saying that she’d be coming out soon and Barker would be too. They did, and we sat at the park near Barker’s house and chatted about the weirdest things, including but not limited to: 10th Kingdom, nuclear war and the “good old days”.
We all walked Teresa home, and then Lauren and Barker walked me home.
Bed.
Thursday 27th July
Thursday, Pete came over in the early afternoon. We hung out at my house doing almost nothing before getting a bus to Whatton. There we made some more stencils and generally chilled out a bit.
I ate at Pete’s house. Pete’s parents had cooked (using delicious home-grown vegetable) and it was brilliant. After eating we caught a train back to Bingham.
In Bingham we called on Dave (Perry) and went down the Linear to do some more grafitti. This was much better than the stuff done on Tuesday. Unfortunately my camera wasn’t working so I was unable to photogrpah it (duh).
Friday 28th July
As usual, I did nothing Friday day-time. Pete came over in the early evening and we sat doing nothing. We then went out. I had to sign some forms at my Dad’s house but after that we went to town to get some food and whatnot and then returned into Bingham to hang out with Sam, Robin Ions, Barker and Lauren.
We spent some time on the park and then Robin left with some other people. At 11 Pete also left. After a while we went to Barker’s to download a song and make some food.
Judith got home and we chatted to her, before returning to our homes.
Saturday 29th July
I got up quite late on Saturday. My Dad had returned from holiday so I went to spend some time with him. At 8ish I left to meet Pete. We were going to meet Dave (Perry) and do some grafitti but he was too tired. Instead we watched a Jeeves and Wooster.
Catch-Up- 25th-27th June - 7:13 pm - 13-07-2006
25th June
The day after prom, we decided to go to G’s to watch the match. To be honest, I can’t remember all the details but it was a lovely day with lots of lovely food supplied by G’s mum.
Click here to view the photos.
26th June
On the 26th it was the Toot Hill College induction day. We were told about all the great things that would be happening at Toot Hill College (THC for short).
The day wasn’t too thrilling until we were introduced to our Mentors and our Tutor Set.
My tutor set was amazing. There were a few key people missing, but almost everyone in the year who are worth spending time with were all there. It was great.
Throughout the day the tutor set created two “children”: Gordon and Jemima.
Jemima was lost by someone and Daisy murdered Gordon. She will not be forgiven for a long time.
Click here to view the photos.
27th June
During the day I didn’t really do much but in the evening , myself and Sam headed off to Barker’s. It was an amazing night.
Highlight of the night? Definately Barker shotting curry!
Nuff said.
Prom - 12:26 pm - 28-06-2006
Last night was my prom, one of the most looked-forward-to night of the year. Here’s what happened:
Getting Ready
At around 5 o clock, I decided to head around to Glyn’s to get ready. I collected all my stuff together and set off. By the time I was at the Yeung Sing, I realised I had forgotten my outfit, so I had to walk back all the way home again.
I arrived at Glyn’s and waited for him to do his hair before we both popped over to Dave’s to pick something up. On the way back, Pete appeared in his car. He gave us a lift back to Glyn’s and he joined us.
At Glyn’s my mother and sister had arrived to see me in my outfit. Myself, Pete and Glyn went upstairs to get ready. It took me ages to get everything on. Wearing Highland Wear is a big effort. Here is my clothing inventory:
1 x Kilt
1 x Jacket
1 x Waist-coat
1 x Shirt
2 x Cufflinks
1 x Bow-tie
1 x Belt
1 x Sporan
2 x Sporan-Belt Connecter
2 x Socks
2 x Shoes
2 x Flashes
1 x Skean-Due
I finally finished getting ready and went downstairs for photos.
After a few photos we set off for the bus stop. We walked past a few limos speeding down the road, at £20 per person and felt pleased to know that we’d be spending £1 for our journey.
Getting There
When we got on the bus and asked for our child singles to town the bus driver gave us a dodgey look. For some reason he didn’t seem to believe us that we were in fact 15. Crazy.
When people got onto the bus they chose to sit next to people they didn’t know rather than sit near us. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
We got off the bus at Friar Lane and walked up to the Brittania. We all popped into the toilet before descending the stairs to meet everyone.
Getting Started
We stood around for about half an hour talking to people and congratulating people on how good they looked. I was amazed to see that absolutely everyone looked good. Not to seem harsh or anything but I did expect some people to look completely appalling.
A lot of people chose to point out that Martin Rose was also in a kilt. I was tempted to point out who else was in a suit or dress. I decided against it.
Finally we were allowed in to eat. The vegetarian option was really nice, but the chicken didn’t look appetising.
After dinner all the awards were announced. I cannot remember them all but here are a few:
Pete- Best Male Ass
John Gunstone- Most Genuine Male
Sophie- Female Most Likely to Be a Millionaire
Elliot- Male Most Likely to Be a Millionaire
After that myself, Pete, Glyn, Charlotte and G went out.
Getting Alcohol
We all left the hotel and Pete and Glyn went to Spar while Charlotte, G and myself went up the road so Charlotte could have a fag. After she’d finished they both went back in and I went to meet Glyn and Pete.
They were quite a way away, so I had to walk alone through Nottingham wearing a kilt. It was a new experience.
One bloke lifted my kilt up to see if I was wearing underwear, many bouncers glared at me and one drunken man shouted at me in a fake Scottish accent.
When I finally arrived at Spar I was very relieved.
The lovely people at Spar had asked Glyn for ID and he wasn’t keen on using his fake one, because they scan it.
We considered walking to a bar but decided against it. Instead we walked back to the hotel and swigged Spiced Rum in the toilets. Classy stuff.
Getting into the Swing of It
The next part of the night was split into getting water, dancing, mingling with people. Very little happened but it was very enjoyable. We heard that Ollie Marshall had been served with a Fake-ID so we went up to the bar and Glyn got a pint of Foster’s for each of us.
Glyn then went back to get another couple but this time he was not served. He told the barman that he was a teacher but he wasn’t believed. Then Miss Fitzgibbon started backing Glyn up, saying that he taught Law. He failed in getting any alcohol, but Miss bought him a pint with Matt Allcock’s money. Lucky for some…
Getting More Drunk
After a while we decided to have more Spiced Rum. We could no longer get into the toilets we were in before, but we did find a conference room. Glyn stood at the auditorium and made a speech. It was fairly incoherent.
We returned to see everyone else. Glyn took my camera and took an obscene number of pictures of himself with various people.
Getting Back
As the prom drew to a close we decided to go to the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. Unfortunately it was closed, so we headed back to the bus stop. I got really hungry so I went to Subway and bought a foot-long Veggie Delight with 3 oatmeal and raisin cookies.
The bus arrived and we all piled in. It was very very crowed. Judith borrowed my camera and took a few photos. Callum was playing his DS Lite.
We arrived back in Bingham and went to Honey’s. Little was going on at Honey’s and we were all quite tired so we left shortly after.
On the way back we came across a large group of people from our year hanging around outside Sophie Bullock’s house.
We sat down on the road and talked for a bit. Nothing of interest happened. So Glyn, Pete, G and I all went back to my house.
We got into bed at 2 and woke 12 hours later.
Catch-Up- Saturday 24th of June - 1:44 pm - 24-06-2006
The Secret Garden
Glyn organised a get-together at his house. Through some kind of mis-understanding many people thought it was a party and thus expected more than they received.
When I arrived the only people there were Glyn, John and Moreland. John excitedly told me about a Secret Garden. He made me follow him out of Glyn’s garden onto the main road. He took me to a house which was “For Sale“. It was a semi-detatched and the ajoining house was occupied.
We went into the back garden which was like a crazy jungle-maze. I have to admit that it was pretty cool but I was slightly nervous about the whole affair. We returned to the house.
Fallen Idle,Beer Towers and Outrageous Flirting
When we got back Pete had arrived and had let Jordan in, along with two of Glyn’s ex-girlfriend’s friends, Abby and Natty. After a short while SFFI arrived and dropped a copy of the Evening Post. In it was a review of Fallen Idle’s EP. It wasn’t flattering.
As Abby and Natty were the only girls there, manye people were accused of wanting them. It was pretty clear who did want one of them though. With his outrageous flirting, many people were commenting on it, much to his and her embarrassment.
While all this was happening, a tower of beer bottles and cans was being constructed. Check the photos to see it.
Abuse
Sam arrived and decided to abuse Abby and, to a lesser extent, Natty. He is surprisingly influential so a lot of other people joined him.
Moreland who was clearly quite drunk started rapping about Abby. One line that stood out was:
“Abby, she’s really shabby“
He also shouted at her in a very sarcastic tone that she was “a really cool person“.
Next Door
By around 12, the next door neighbour, Alan, got quite annoyed. He came out of the house and got quite angry, saying that he put up with it last week but he wouldn’t again.
Schmitt stood up and walked over to him and told him to watch his manners and that he needn’t be so aggressive. Schmitt told us all to go inside, and being the leader he is, he was obeyed.
Bingham
We then decided to go for a walk into Bingham to get some food. We left the house and one of us noticed a face in the window.
Glyn’s next door neighbour, Alan, was in the window of his house with all the lights off glaring at us. Everyone was in a mixed state of fear and hilarity.
SFFI, Mikey and Pete were playing football in the streets and Mikey managed to boot it into someone’s garden. They walked around precautiously while me and Sam shouted at them through the fence.
After that we decided to stop off at the Secret Garden as a few of us hadn’t seen it yet. In the dark the garden was much more frightening than before. We left eagerly.
We went into Bingham and got a Chinese take-away and then back to Glyn’s.
Homeward Bound
When we got back we heard that Moreland had thrown up on Glyn’s bed and had locked himself in the bathroom.
Natty was saying that Abby and herself had nowhere to stay. She asked me where I was staying. I said “My house.” She smiled at me expectedly. “You can too if you want” I said. She said she might. I was generally quite confused.
After a short time of photographing people and having to put up with Sam playing the guitar we set off home. Sam told the girls to follow us so we could take them to the Secret Garden to sleep.
The four of us left. For some unknown reason Abby and Natty stood outside Glyn’s house talking. We continued to walk to my house, they showed no sign of following. We turned the corner and they were out of sight, eventually they came around the corner and we could see them again, Sam pointed at the abandoned house and shouted “That’s the Secret Garden, have a good sleep“. We walked home
Epilogue
This morning when I rang John, I was informed that the girls were intending to sleep at my house and that they were a tad pissed off with me and Sam, claiming we were mean to them. Oh dear.
Catch-Up- Saturday 17th June - 12:49 pm - 24-06-2006
Saturday I went to Heather’s BBQ/Party. The day was really enjoyable, but there isn’t much to say about it. There are however lots of nice photos.
Catch-Up- Friday 16th June - 6:59 pm - 18-06-2006
Friday I got in touch with Sam to see what he was up to. He said he was free so we arranged to meet up. We also called on Grace who was with Pete. The four of us just hung out together. We went to the Linear and Cogley. Later in the evening on the way home myself and Sam met with Cherry and Sinead. It didn’t appear like they had much fun.
One particularily memorable event was a conversation between Pete and Sam. It went something like this:
“Do you believe in capital punishment, Sam?“
“I believe it exists.“
“Oh, I’m a synic myself.” Pete replied sarcastically.
“Do you mean, do I support capital punishment?” Sam asked dryly.
“Yes, do you?“
“Yeah. I believe in on site capital punishment. In fact I believe in on site mutilation. So if a kid steals something their punishment is to be made into a hat which their parents must wear for nine years. And if the hat rots then the parents need to make a new hat out of their own scalp. That’ll teach them to raise a law breaking brat.“
“So you don’t then?“
“No.“
I was also reminded of my throne
Catch-Up- Thursday 15th June - 5:04 pm - 18-06-2006
Originally I had planned to go to the Linear Bridge, like had become customary on a Thursday but then Dave invited me to a party. He wasn’t sure whether it was on, and told me he’d text me at 1100 in the morning to say. Thus began my confusion.
The Confusion
I hadn’t received a text at 11. I went home and rang him. He didn’t reply. I rang him some more. No reply. At 1800ish he rang me up to say that he didn’t know whether the party was on or not and that he’d ring after the match. I todl him not to ring me between 1900 and 1930 as I’d be in my dance lesson. At around 1945, he rang me to say that he was in town and that I should catch the 2000 bus. I then received a text saying that I should catch the 2030 bus as he would be walking from town. I received another text saying he would be late in meeting me. Unfortunately, I had no credit so I was relying on him entirely.
The Journey
The bus was late. It didn’t arrive until 1948. It was also a Radcliffe Line, not an Xpress. This meant that my journey would be longer.
At the first stop after the one I got on, the brother and girlfriend of the driver hauled the bus down. The driver’s brother eagerly showed the his brother his new trainers. They also discussed plans to go clubbing in town. Finally, the brother left and his girlfriend paid the fare.
Throughout the whole trip they would discuss plans for the evening and whatnot. It was fairly interesting. If I had to say who my favourite bus driver was, I would definately chose him.
Dave rang me up a few times to ask where I was. I had been quite delayed. One call he told me that the party was indeed off so we’d be going to a bar. He also told me to get off at the “third stop after the little bridge” and that he would meet me there.
I crossed the bridge. I went past one stop. I went past another stop. I pressed the stop button. He pulled up at the third stop, which was in the middle of a residential road. No one was there.
It dawned on me.
“If this bus had been an Xpress, which would the third stop after the bridge have been?” I asked the driver. He gave me directions.
I began walking past all the houses onto the main road. No one was at any of the stops. I started to need the toilet.
I had no credit to ring Dave. I didn’t know where he was. I needed the toilet. I didn’t know where one would be. All in all, I was fed up.
I decided to walk towards Trent Bridge, as Dave had said the bar was in that area. I went by the canal, and was able to urinate in a hedge. Dave rang and I told him to meet me at McDonalds.
All problems were solved.
The Bar
Myself and Dave arrived at the bar. Jake was there, along with some people I didn’t know. I had no money so Dave paid for a pint for me. We went and bought them, the barman used to go to our school but he clearly didn’t recognise me.
We sat around drinking for a while. Dave called me Comeback-McAsh repeatedly. We generally had a good time.
We later went for a short walk and they set off for home.
We couldn’t find a bus stop that went the right way so we rang Dave’s dad to see if he could pick us up. Then in the distance I saw the bus.
“Dave, is that the bus?“
“Shit, I think it is. RUN!“
That was the general gist of it. I can’t explain how amazing it was. Trust me, it was.
Copyright © McAsh 2005 - All Rights Reserved