Category
Overheard
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02.16.03On the tube on the way to the demo"I dug out my old CND badge for this, look!""Oh, that's marvellous. I found an old ANC badge. It's not really relevant, but I thought it was in the spirit of things, you know?""Oh yes, absolutely""I found this one at home, 'Free Nelson Mandela' - Jane modified it with a permanent marker this morning, see?""I added an exclamation mark, just there.""Certainly makes it a bit more relevant! Ha ha!"[they laugh]"You know, the last demo we were on was to save the Mermaid theatre,""Oh really? We missed that one - we were in the Dordogne, I think.""Oh yes, I remember - ...
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02.12.03This one goes out to Cheryl in BasingstokeSo, listening to the radio earlier, I was bemused to hear the suave midatlantic DJ drawl "stay with us right here, because coming up after the break we've got all the ladies' tits and some gold 'n' old teas"Which was nice.
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02.01.03Recent uncharitable thoughtsTo the man who had his personal stereo up unfeasibly loud on the District line between Embankment and Earl's Court: I like The Streets. I approve of your musical choice. But must you share the auditory joy with everyone in the carriage? I was going to say 'I hope you go deaf at an early age' but since you only have one earpiece plugged in (the other, dangling around your neck and broadcasting tinnily to the nation), let me modify that uncharitable sentiment to 'I hope you go deaf at an early age in one ear'.To the couple in the ...
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01.12.03Contraceptive"I want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI WANT MY POCKET MONEYI...WANT...MY....POCKET...MONEY[sniff]I want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI WANT MY POCKET MONEYI want my pocket money NOWGive me my pocket moneyGive me my pocket moneyGive me my pocket moneyGIVE ME MY POCKET MONEY NOWI want my pocket money[sniff]I want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI want my pocket moneyI.... WANT..... MY.... POCKET..... MONEYI want my pocket money[sniff, howl]I want my pocket moneyI ...
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01.07.03Through the floorWe have a new neighbour. We only know three things about her, two from the landlord, and one from observation.She's an art studentHer dad's paying the rentShe's a basketball player. Or her art consists of thumping things. Or hammering. Lots and lots of early morning hammering. Perhaps it's an installation?
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01.01.03On ShoutingThere's a shouty woman who lives in the residential home for the mentally ill which backs onto our terrace. She shouts. A lot. I've mentioned her here before, or rather, her shouting. It's loud and harsh, and seems to happen randomly and without interaction or meditation. It's not so much a prolonged bout, as a series of short, abrasive outbursts, as if she's having an angry conversation (a loud one) with someone who isn't there. The words are rushed and unintelligible, her accent strained. The bursts come in groups - an hour of particularly strong activity, and then nothing for a ...
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12.19.02Why are we waiting?I hate waiting. I'm really bad at it. See, I'm impatient at the best of times, and P frequently accuses me of wanting everything at once. It's true. Despite my previous assertion that I measure out life in doses of delayed gratification, the truth is that that's fine as long as I'm the one delaying it. Making myself wait, fine. Other people making me wait, very unfine indeed. If someone says they'll pop over this afternoon sometime, I'm completely stuck. Since they might arrive and interrupt me at any time, it's difficult to start anything properly - you can't embark on ...
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12.16.02Prelude to a Kiss"Just kiss her," he said, gesticulating passionately, "if you want to kiss her, you should do it." We were standing at the bus stop, waiting for the number thirteen to drag us up the hill and homewards. Well, they were standing at the bus stop. I was opposite them, outside a newsagents, standing, eavesdropping with a bag of vegetables in one hand and a bunch of bright pink and orange gerberas in the other - my present to myself for surviving Wednesday. They were only a metre away, deep in earnest conversation, and I was transfixed. "It's like bungee jumping, ...
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09.28.02The scent of hibiscusLong, lovely, delicious evening out for Sudanese food with P last night, at Mandola in Notting Hill, which is creeping back into my top ten favourite eating establishments ever.Salata daqua, (onion, cabbage, garlic, chili, peanut) hot and creamy and just pungent enough to be devilishly moreish, roasted aubergine with mish and tomatim bel gibna, plus tawa chicken (for me) and lamb (for him), succulent and slow-burning with spice. And it would be impossible to forget the chili, lime and peanut sauce, that was the approximate culinary equivalent of molten lead. But delicious all the same. After a week like that, ...
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07.23.02A bit of Friendly AdviceThen do it yourself Take some cough medicine Read it before you send it Call your mother Eat more fruit Put it in an envelope to increase available writing space It's not always about you Use deodorant, or possibly washing that shirt Sometimes it's more important to want to do something, than to actually do it Cranberry juice Then don't do it Then don't read it That's not your job Is that your job? That's not your job Think before you say it Think really carefully Wet it, then stick it back on again
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- Being a list of songs relating to the switching on of the LHC
- A moment’s pause
- In search of a simple sandwich
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Looking for the Anti-Valentines?
