They reach out and kiss

The HoneyClub, 244 King’s Road Arches

It started with a brown t-shirt a flatmate gave him three weeks ago. Normally he’d never wear brown, but he thought OK. After that it’s going to a gay bar, buying shoes on the internet, trying a different style of trousers. Why not? he asks himself. From now on, I’m doing new things.

New things. Like, before he’d never go to the HoneyClub. He doesn’t really like house music. All his friends who started by saying they’d come with him drop out. They want go to Audio instead, like they always do, week after week, same old thing, so instead he goes alone. Normally he wouldn’t.

He has a great night too. The music’s not so good, but the club is much friendlier than he imagined.

Afterwards, in the Friday night darkness he walks northwards to his flat. He’s nearly there, when he sees a beautiful girl walking towards him. Unfortunately there’s a boy with her but Scott smiles at her all the same. It’s a bit cheeky. Normally he wouldn’t, but it’s something about having had such a good night, about having this glow to him. And she smiles right back.

He walks another ten metres, then turns to look at her again from behind. She’s lovely.

At that moment she turns too. "Come here," she orders, asking her friend to wait.

"Hello," they say. They chat. It turns out the boy isn’t her boyfriend after all. He just calls impatiently "Just exchange numbers and get on with it."

Scott says, "D’you want to?"

"Let me give you mine," she answers, and takes Scott’s phone. They reach out and kiss. When did something like this ever happen to me before? See what happens when you try new things? He breaks off. "You should go really. Your friend’s waiting."

As they’re leaving, she one way, he the other, she says, "I’ll probably never hear from you again."

A few days afterwards he tries her number; it goes straight to voicemail. He doesn’t leave a message.

Maybe he’ll try again, later.

Are we the wonderland she is thinking about?

In the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, on the wall in the first gallery, is a Victorian painting by George Dunlop Leslie. It shows a mother reading a book to young girl with far-away eyes, A doll lies beside them on the patterned sofa. Royal Pavilion Buildings

Some days he’s so intense. He’s been boozing a lot and smoking a lot of weed.

The night is fitful, full of mundane dreams. The alarm finally wakes him at 9.30, exhausted. Instead of getting up, he lies in bed.

Today is Thursday – his day off – and he didn’t want to waste it. Last year, after finishing his finals whole days could pass just watching daytime TV. But now he’s working at two jobs time is precious.

After two hours he finally feels like getting up. Today is the day he’s going to visit the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. He’s been here three years and he’s still not been. It’s his plan.

After a cup of Mandarin and Ginseng, he walks in past the giant cat, and turns right. Instantly he’s entranced. On the left of the gallery, a painting of a girl in a blue dress catches his eye. She slumps sideways on the lap of her governess... or her mother, maybe? The woman is reading a book to her. The girl stares out of the picture.

He walks on around the room, conscious that the girl is still staring at him. So he goes back and stands in front of her.

The painting’s incredible. It’s called Alice In Wonderland, though she can’t be actually the Alice, can she? She seems to be looking intently at Alex. Or is she staring at the room around him? Are we the Wonderland she is thinking about behind those big eyes? Are we in the book her governess is reading? Is Alex himself being described in those pages? That would be weird, wouldn’t it? Or is the girl imagining everything herself?

He starts to giggle.

Later he walks around town, reluctant to break the mood by going home. In his head he’s replaying his favourite track of the moment, "Y.T.T.E (Yield To Total Elation)" by Matmos, a big smile on his face. It’s like he’s coming back to life after his finals year.

He’s wondering if he should start cutting back on the booze and the weed though.

He’s quite proud to be able to provide for his son this way

The gents’ toilets, Royal Pavilion Gardens

Normally buskers don’t like taking pee breaks.

You’re never sure if someone’s going to take your spot. If you’ve been there a few hours, fair enough, but...

Today’s a gorgeous sunny day. Pavilion Gardens is full. Tourists amble through slowly, dipping hands in their pockets to throw coins into Jim’s hat as he plays "Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside". There by the flower beds is one of the best pitches in Brighton.

After five years in full-time work he didn’t imagine he’d be busking again. He used to do it when he was homeless, living on the streets, too ashamed to beg just like the rest of them. But then he’d met a girl and they had a baby. The relationship didn’t work out, but he loved his son and found a proper job so he could have contact rights. He had needed to rent a place big enough for the boy to visit.

He didn’t miss busking, but things went from bad to worse with the boy’s mother. She couldn’t handle things, so he applied for custody of their son and won it.

It saddens Jim that she couldn’t get her act together for long enough to be a mother; but Jim has to admit it worked out for the best. Now his son lives with him, and, well, it’s better for his son that way too.

But Jim had to give up full-time work to be a dad. So he’s back busking. It doesn’t matter. Really, he’s quite proud to be able to provide for his son this way and still be there to pick him up from school.

When his son’s a little older he’ll go back to work. But for now he’s busking again, and today couldn’t be more perfect. There’s a pretty young student who’s been listening to him. She’s bought them some beers with his money. Maybe she’ll give him her phone number too.

So he heads back out into the beautiful sunlight not really caring if another busker has taken his space today...

Gemma’s house-mates were suspicious of the new boyfriend

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 929