When I opened our front door this morning at stupid o’clock, to pitch dark, a barrage of rain, wind and fog, I wanted to turn round, run back inside and batten down the hatches. Then I wanted to cry when I realised my first option wasn’t an option at all. So I got in my car and drove gingerly across the moor, doing my best to avoid standing water, animals in the road and fog. There were no other vehicles in sight.
I drove through a village some distance from home and a car pulled out behind me. It followed me about 5-6 feet off my back bumper for several miles despite treacherous conditions. My day wasn’t getting any better…nor still when I got to the station to find the ticket office closed and a massive queue building for tickets when I was on a tight timeframe. When I eventually got my ticket, I walked down onto the platform to discover the train was running late. It was still raining stair rods and because I was carrying something that poked out of the top of my rucksack, its contents were getting wet through the opening.
Despite the bad start, I actually enjoyed the day and found myself (after missing a train home) popping into town to sort out some props for one of my forthcoming assignments. I found the two books I needed and the one remaining purchase that I was looking for was a dog. It was supposed to be china but in the good charity shops of Plymouth the best dog I could find was this chap. He cost me £4 from the local hospice shop so the money went to a great cause and I got to strut through Plymouth city centre, in the pouring rain with a stuffed dog tucked under my arm. He sat next to me on the bench while I waited for my train and continued to sit by my side on the train journey home.
You may think this is an odd thing to bring a smile to my face but honestly? Yes, it did the trick. The dog under my arm gave me licence to smile at strangers, so smile I did. OK, it’s fair to say that many of the responses were smirks rather than toothy grins but nonetheless, the whole process brought my day out to a jolly conclusion. So, here is a mocked up pic of the event, after the fact as it were.
Yes I am wearing an ancient and cheap waterproof jacket that couldn’t be described as elegant in any terms and a Primark tee shirt with the Ramones on. What is all that about? Primark seems to have a big range of Ramones merchandise and I see young people around town wearing their name emblazoned across their chests. I suspect that many of them don’t have a clue who the Ramones are, or why they were special but I feel if anyone has a “legitimate” right to wear the shirt it’s me – I did at least see them play live quite a few times – and I do own several of their records. They were the business. Sadly of course three of the four band members are no longer with us but I still smile every time I remember them on stage at the Lyceum Ballroom, going “1-2-3-4 # well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go” you see – my smile continues!
