My last of ten ‘reasons to be cheerful’ or more precisely reasons to be proud is my circle of friends. They are wonderful, each and every one of them.
This week, I’ve been particularly lucky – Alan and Dee for supper at the weekend then Iain and Becks on Monday night offering space for us to store boxes. Tuesday, I was enjoying the hospitality of Ginny and her lovely daughters, Emma and Kelly. Wednesday, I saw Christine, my friend and ex-boss who has invited me to stay next week. Then I went out for supper at the Camden Kitchen and on to see Richard Hawley with my buddy Colin, whose company I’ve enjoyed two weeks running because he was worrying about me. Today, I’ve enjoyed a fabulous journey home with Patti, my American friend who has come to check out the well-being of her friend (ME!!!!!!!!!) and see why we’ve chosen to jump ship.
Sarah, Olly and the dog shit hill gang have all been fabulous in my hour of need, as have the pbasers. I saw Shazbop last week too.
This shot is relevant, despite what you might think, because it’s a bag I bought for Claz, my oldest friend (not in years but in the time we’ve known one another) and it’s one of those ‘I saw this and thought of you’ gifts. It’s perfect for her. She’s a real ‘corset lady’ who loves to be strapped in and laced up. One of these days, I’ll put it in an envelope and send it to her.
It also links well to my pic from yesterday because it’s got gig tickets behind it and on a rather famous occasion, when we were at the Camden Palace (now Koko – the place we were at last night) I said ‘god, look at it here, there isn’t a single person the right side of 25’, not realising that both C&G were over 25 and I was the ‘youngster’ at 24. What had we gone to see? Alien Sex Fiend. We (me and Claz) were dressed in black plastic zippy dresses and we carried a can of Pledge in our handbags to wipe off the fingerprints after going to the loo. In fact, mine was so tight I couldn’t climb the stairs without going ‘crab fashion’ (sideways).
A couple of years later, we were at a King gig at the same venue and spent a happy hour backstage with the band and two girls whose names escape me but who died later that night in a freak motorway accident.
Koko is a fabulous place. It reminds me of many friendships and good times. Now it’s as beautiful as it always was but has two new advantages – firstly friendly, helpful staff and secondly, the re-opened (how old does this make me feel) Mornington Crescent station, which was closed for what seemed like an eternity in the 80s so there was a long trek to Camden Station instead.
My friends are precious. New and old alike. I treasure them and know they feel the same about me. I’m proud of these friendships that have lasted 25 years but equally, I’m thrilled with the new ones that have been forged in the last few months or years.
Two years ago, I was making pasta and last year, I was thinking about the pros and cons of pbase - I still think the balance is on the pros"
