A result of a weekend
I write this as I am getting the train from Windsor Ontario to Toronto. The journey is doing my head n a bit because I am getting very tetchy from not being able to have a fag - It’s almost 4pm and I’ve had one fag all day. The journey itself has no scenery except snow. Snow and shops that sell farming equipment. I’m also getting as annoyed as I am disorientated by stopping at places with English names - We started at Windsor, passed through London, Chatham and should be approaching Aldershot soon.
This weekend just gone has been exactly what I have needed for long while. A lot has happened to test my resolve and faith and it’s almost like being able to meet up with my favorite cousin has been a treat from the Gods. However there’s always a catch and in my case I think I’ve lost my mobile phone. It might be in my suitcase - It might still be at Gillian’s…..
It’s all been good - meeting Bob - seeing how happy Gillian is with him, meeting Tom (her eldest son - 20) and his Girlfriend Lisa, going to the Motown Museum, which really was something else, my abiding memory being that in the lobby was a series of miniature models of all the houses which on the street where Berry Gordy lived that made up the Motown Empire. The house where they used to teach their acts etiquette and things like how to get out of a limousine in miniskirt properly is now a Soriety House. And did you know that on the Tamalettes single ‘Please Mr Post man’ the drummer on that was Marvin Gaye and not Karen Carpenter, as I answered loudly when the tour guide asked us.
Even going contra dancing which I kind of enjoyed and then going back to Dan (Gillian’s other kid - 18) and his girlfriends Michelle hall of residence to drink Vodka. Lots, maybe too much - my memory failed me after half a bottle of absolute.
This gave me the unique experience of going to a liquor store, where I couldn’t help but notice almost everyone who purchased alcohol was male and would invariably go back to a car full of girls.
It was fun seeing just how much doesn’t change. The stuff on students doors, notes, the sort of pictures that wouldn’t be out of place on a fridge - in fact the whole corridor was full of red balloons and stars and crescents along the wall - like some Children’s ward or a crèche. Dan and Michelle are cool together, they seem to click. They’ve known each other since August but have been going out since around October.
Michelle and Dan bought each other hamsters, Dan got Michelle hers for Christmas and he forgot when she bought him his. It wasn’t Christmas, it wasn’t his birthday, which left one of two opitions; Valentines day or an anniversary. Now despite not being an expert in relationships, even I could spot that he should’ve guessed Valentines day, purely because had he had guessed an anniversary he would’ve risked having to guess ‘which one’ and getting it wrong. He went for the anniversary and yes ‘it was Valentines’.
Other favourite moments included Dan going on about how much he loved ‘This is Spinal Tap’ - ‘It’s up there with Top Gun’ chipped in one of his mates.
After that it all gets hazy - driving back with Gillian - waking up with a hangover to Bob Dylan (who I am kind of warming to, especially Positively 4th street - you’d have to listen to the song to know what I mean), going to the fabric shop to buy some wundaweb - which they call Witch stitchery over here and then being asked by the Woman on the check out if I wanted to donate a dollar to St Jude!!!!!! It was almost like an intercession from my Nan. Those of you not of a Catholic persuasion go google him. Needless to say he is the most prayed to saint in our family. Seen as it was St Jude I thought I’d make it six dollars - seen as how overworked he’s been.
So my great weekend ended back where it started, Windsor with my cousin. It meant a lot to me that she agreed to have my photo taken with her - we both HATE having our photos taken, but like I said to her - I’ve got loads of photos of people who now mean nothing to me, so why can’t I have one photo of someone who means so much?
And with that the photo was taken, there was the goodbye kiss and here I am about an hour from Toronto.
This weekend just gone has been exactly what I have needed for long while. A lot has happened to test my resolve and faith and it’s almost like being able to meet up with my favorite cousin has been a treat from the Gods. However there’s always a catch and in my case I think I’ve lost my mobile phone. It might be in my suitcase - It might still be at Gillian’s…..
It’s all been good - meeting Bob - seeing how happy Gillian is with him, meeting Tom (her eldest son - 20) and his Girlfriend Lisa, going to the Motown Museum, which really was something else, my abiding memory being that in the lobby was a series of miniature models of all the houses which on the street where Berry Gordy lived that made up the Motown Empire. The house where they used to teach their acts etiquette and things like how to get out of a limousine in miniskirt properly is now a Soriety House. And did you know that on the Tamalettes single ‘Please Mr Post man’ the drummer on that was Marvin Gaye and not Karen Carpenter, as I answered loudly when the tour guide asked us.
Even going contra dancing which I kind of enjoyed and then going back to Dan (Gillian’s other kid - 18) and his girlfriends Michelle hall of residence to drink Vodka. Lots, maybe too much - my memory failed me after half a bottle of absolute.
This gave me the unique experience of going to a liquor store, where I couldn’t help but notice almost everyone who purchased alcohol was male and would invariably go back to a car full of girls.
It was fun seeing just how much doesn’t change. The stuff on students doors, notes, the sort of pictures that wouldn’t be out of place on a fridge - in fact the whole corridor was full of red balloons and stars and crescents along the wall - like some Children’s ward or a crèche. Dan and Michelle are cool together, they seem to click. They’ve known each other since August but have been going out since around October.
Michelle and Dan bought each other hamsters, Dan got Michelle hers for Christmas and he forgot when she bought him his. It wasn’t Christmas, it wasn’t his birthday, which left one of two opitions; Valentines day or an anniversary. Now despite not being an expert in relationships, even I could spot that he should’ve guessed Valentines day, purely because had he had guessed an anniversary he would’ve risked having to guess ‘which one’ and getting it wrong. He went for the anniversary and yes ‘it was Valentines’.
Other favourite moments included Dan going on about how much he loved ‘This is Spinal Tap’ - ‘It’s up there with Top Gun’ chipped in one of his mates.
After that it all gets hazy - driving back with Gillian - waking up with a hangover to Bob Dylan (who I am kind of warming to, especially Positively 4th street - you’d have to listen to the song to know what I mean), going to the fabric shop to buy some wundaweb - which they call Witch stitchery over here and then being asked by the Woman on the check out if I wanted to donate a dollar to St Jude!!!!!! It was almost like an intercession from my Nan. Those of you not of a Catholic persuasion go google him. Needless to say he is the most prayed to saint in our family. Seen as it was St Jude I thought I’d make it six dollars - seen as how overworked he’s been.
So my great weekend ended back where it started, Windsor with my cousin. It meant a lot to me that she agreed to have my photo taken with her - we both HATE having our photos taken, but like I said to her - I’ve got loads of photos of people who now mean nothing to me, so why can’t I have one photo of someone who means so much?
And with that the photo was taken, there was the goodbye kiss and here I am about an hour from Toronto.