yes, indeed, look you see - a post on November 5th from me would normally be going on about Tin Machine, just as January 10 ones invariably focus on the Frankie that very much went to Hollywood. feel free to flick through the history of this blog if you'd prefer to look at that. for those of you, however, that have a keen interest in either attire, or if you like clothing, procured by Zama, or if you have a wish to see a limited corner of Durham, do read on.
i went to Durham today. yes, indeed, i took a route similar to the one i would have taken 24 years ago today to see Tin Machine in Newcastle, only today i drove myself and went a good deal earlier. yes, drove. even with my lack of a natural sense of direction and a lack of ability to get a "sat nav" to work (for some reason it kept wishing me to go to either Newport Bridge or Canon Park rather than Durham) i made it. and here is the photo to conclusively prove it.
what's that building in the background? don't know. who do them cars belong to? don't know for certain, but the sign post which i casually ignored at the entrance to the car park suggested that they might be in some way affiliated with the council. that's the council of Durham. but anyway, your focus should be on the jacket i have on.
one of the last actions at my place of verk in the Africa of the South was to command Zama to go and procure for me the jacket you see. it is a smart one; virtually identical to the one that he has or perhaps had that i kept "borrowing", an action which led to him pleading with me to command him to procure one for myself. or something like that, my Zulu is somewhat rusty and i may well have mistranslated elements that i choose to recall as being respectful.
anyway, i have always taken - symbolically and actually - the gesture of this jacket to wish me well on my travels, offering me the protection and knowledge that Zama had me in my thoughts. for that reason i have worn it wherever i have gone. most recently, i think, you can see me sweltering in it in the humidity of London earlier this year. it was apt that i wear it to Durham, then.
yes, that probably is my thumb or finger at the bottom of the picture, but do not let that distract you. this is a picture of the autumn leaves of Durham. where specifically? oddly, if not weirdly, in the corner of the car park that i was supposed to have used, and not the one reserved for council business that i elected to.
i do love the autumn leaves on the ground. i do.
what was i doing in Durham? letting the people of that fine city see the jacket what Zama got me off a stall round the back of Johannesburg taxi rank. but also i had a sandwich or two, which was ok, and some coffee. the coffee was not bad as such, but lacked sugar. i am not sure if it is a general thing in Durham, not having sugar available for coffee, or specific to where i was. in either eventuality, it is not a matter which has exactly endeared Durham to me, but also it has not isolated or alienated me. i, as it were, made do.
do i use it? no, not really. i mean, for a start, it has been in storage for close to two years. it is, however, very dear to me. after not seeing him for years, Bevs pitched up at Cape Town airport to see me. he was brandishing this, which was very kind of him.
what am i going to do with this bong? it's value to me now is one purely related to being ornamental and sentimental. i am sure there is a fine corner of my elevated shed where this may sit and look smart.
how was my drive to Durham? to be honest, nerve knacking. i don't like driving at all, and do not have any sort of natural sense of direction. i had print outs of where it was i was supposed to be going, but the constabulary frown upon you reading such things when doing more or less the permitted speed on certain roads. as mentioned above, that whole "sat nav" thing was close to useless, and anyway the battery went flat before i was anywhere near where i needed to be. cheeky glances at the print outs got me where i needed to be, along with cunning, guile, luck and the hammer of the gods.
yes, for the drive there, mindful of the date for me i had my smart Tin Machine mix on the go. i listened to that for a bit on the way back too, but when a misinterpretation of road signs saw me very nearly break bread with the people of Sunderland i thought it safer to switch to U2. as far as i am aware you can play a stereo as loud as you like on the A19, in particular when there is fog and rain, and Even Better Than The Real Thing sounded awesome at the correct volume.
another picture of me in Durham, but without the distraction of unspecified buildings and cars? i do not see why not dear reader, although i have no idea why you would wish to see me again.
hey ho, back to verk tomorrow, and possibly back to the cowboy look. i am not convinced that the Zama jacket would enhance or accentuate the cowboy look, i may experiment and see tomorrow.
until the next post and the next adventure, then
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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