I am now flying over Greenland at 13800 feet on my way to Vancouver having left of home behind me. When I get to Vancouver I don’t know what is going to happen. I don’t have a visa for Canada and I am going to have to try blag my way into the country and hope i get in. If I don’t manage to blag my way in then i will get put into a detention cell and sent onto the next flight home. A true test of my blagging ability.

And then, once i am actually there, if i am, I will somehow have to survive and stay for 8 months when my max possible stay is 6 months. I will probably have to go to Mexico for a couple of weeks to renew my visa.

for some reason the idea of getting put in a cell and deported doesn’t scare me. on the contrary, it does the exact opposite. it excites me and i’m actually looking forward to the challenge. If I don’t make it into the country I don’t know what i am going to do and i don’t really want to think about it.

All i can think of is getting off this flight, blagging my way into the country and meeting hinds on the other side to start my adventure and look for the next dillema to write about.

After my 12 hour bus trip from London to Aberdeen all i wanted to do was sleep. I couldnt however as my parents were there to pick me up and insisted on taking me for a meal. i was falling asleep at the table and i had to go to bed. While at the door to my house i realise that i have lost my keys so i ring up Bambo, who was staying at our house and get a set of keys from him.

with 4 hours sleep in me i get up for graduation. I shower and i have a shave after my adventures. The battery for my razor cuts out when i have shaved half my face and all i can do is laugh at the fact that i go to my own graduation with half my face shaved. the photos were fantastic. and the pomp of the ceremony was ridiculous. It all reminded me of harry potter with the robes and the latin. it sounded like people were having a duel on the stage. but sadly there ws no magic but only boredom for all.

after that i went to pack all my stuff which i found harder than i had thought it would be. i was finding it hard to be on my own for so long after having a constant companion so i called upon a couple of friends. Eztizen called over and was an immense help. Not only with packing but it was great to have someone to chat to about how i was feeling and someone to drink tea with.

after packing all night Eztizen went to work and i grabbed a couple hours nap before we had a long drive. After meeting Donna in Glasgow for a walk around the park and an icecream we went on to troon and home and bed.

Home was pretty boring and not much happened for the most part. At first i didnt want to unpack any of my stuff as it would mean i was settling in for a long stay and i wanted to get away as soon as possible. it would have been as if i was taking a step backwards by moving home. I wouldn’t want to live at home again and this short stay enphasised that.

things that did happen though included playing lots of poker, having a walk with dugg at 3-ish in the morning, mark leaving for new york, sean coming back from russia and having a chat with matt about canadia as that is where i wanted to be.

At this stage i had not got a ticket or sorted out anything but i had emailed a few organisations over in montreal to see if they would be able to give me a job. needless to say getting a visa was going to be differcult so i gave up. I just bought my ticket and said i was going with or without a visa.

in this time stephen also convinced me to go to Spain for a few days to help take care of the kids and to see them once more before i went away. Spain was far too hot all the time but it was fun as there was a pool and all i had to do was throw the kids in every so often to keep them amused.

after adventures in playgrounds with bats and jaunts to the casino to lose more money than i had to lose i returned to Ireland to pack and get ready for Canadia where i would be headed within the following 48 hours.

What a life i live.

Bristol is fantastic.

Well what i saw of it is anyway. We stayed with Kat in an area of town called Stokes Croft and spent most of the time walking around the area or sitting and chatting with people in the house. I really liked the area. There is a small group trying to build a community through different initiatives and the one that i found most interesting was through the use of graffiti. They have a website that would be good to check out. There is a very good bit at the bottom where they have listed places to be painted. Here’s the page: http://www.prsc.org.uk/

Possibly my favourite part of it was a tunnel which they had painted white in the hope that it would be painted by graffiti artists. it was and it looks great.

Hitching out of Bristol was easy enough and we got to Oxford by early afternoon with little problems. We walked to Ians place and put our bags down, had tea and a pee. After a chat we head for food in a vegan pub which actually has really good food and a pretty good selection. Even i ate stuff there.

the next day we went walking around all the colleges of the university and i was aazed by the scale of one of them. We  went through an archway into a small quad and then suddenly we are in a woods walking through meadows by a creek and we have the world behind us. It is a sanctuary and i can understand why people do so well there. they have time and space to reflect on everything. It was the setting for many a great story such as alice in wonderland and harry potter and you can instantly understand why.

In the morning when we were to hitch to London it was raining and I made a rational argument for why we should get the bus. so we did.  a short hour later, with more reading of mills and boon, and we arrived in London. We were to stay in London with Aisling and Ciara but we couldn’t go to theirs til later so we wandered around in the general direction of the Critical Mass which was starting by the river.

The rest of my time in London has morphed into one very long day and as such I don’t know which day things actually happened but in no general order we watched the final of the European Championships in Camden with a Brazilian guy, we visited the gardening museum which happened to be closed on Mondays, we found a tunnel by Waterloo covered in graffiti done by Banksy and other famous people I have never heard of, went for a walk across the whole of London at night, waved at strangers while sitting by the road at night, finished the mills and boon book, sat on a bench in Clapham Common a few times and met Bill and few other 16y/o looking guys on MDMA looking for a hug. We gave them one. I enjoyed London this time. Other times i have felt like an ant but this time I met some people and wasn’t over awed by the size of the place.

The final night in London was a strange one as I knew that I was about to lose my constant travel companion who had been with me for the past month. It was strange. We had grown close and I didn’t know how i would cope with the sudden loss of a part of me. That night we played scrabble, chatted, drank tea, went for a walk
and packed before we fell asleep for a couple hours each. in the morning we had to leave at 6 to each get our buses to where we were going. Me back to Aberdeen and she onto France and beyond. For some reason there was an onion cutting stall just beside where we were sitting. Who would put it there? It made no sense at all but that is how it was and we parted ways with a hug and the knowledge we would one day cross paths again.

I boarded my bus and sat in anticipation for the long journey home (on my own).

Lying on the ferry, trying to get a couple minutes sleep before we have to walk around the ferry looking for a lift I realise I am having fun in my life. That is a good thing to realise. I feel that enjoyment is tantamount to living a good life. No point in doing good things and being a good person if your not enjoying yourself while doing it. I’m not saying I’m doing good things or I am a good person but someday i would would hope to fit into either of those categories.

So, I’m lying on the ferry, having a revelation and then I have to get up and start asking random strangers for a lift to wherever we are going.

Where were we going?

Borth…….yes I know, I had never heard of it before either. But that is where we would call home for a couple of nights. We started walking around talking to people asking them all where they were going, always getting strange looks and blunt answers in return. That is until we came across a nice old lady who asked me where I was going. I thought she was hitting on me so I replied with ‘anywhere you want, baby’. She was old, she didn’t hear me. Probably for the best.

She said they were going to Shrewsbury or somewhere but would be able to give us a lift on the way. We said fantastic and tried to figure out how to get our bags from the passenger bus to their vehicle before they left. It turned out to be a lot easier than we had thought it would be. Then came the surprise of the trip thus far.

It transpired that it was actually a bus load of old people we were getting a lift with. It was one of these old people tours that we were getting a lift. the only two seats left on the bus were not beside each other and i sat down the very back in the middle. On my right were a couple of old men, one nearing his 96th birthday and still had a good laugh and on the other side was a younger couple (by comparison) for whom it was their first trip.

In front of me lay a sea of grey hair and the gentle rustling of pre packed lunches emerging from bags. Going slowly down Welsh country roads I let this image settle in so I could savour it in the future. When we were let off the bus and I walked from the back to the doors, every row of elderly people said goodbye individually and it was as if a wave of elderly goodbyes were wishing us well. We had made their ride back a little more interesting and they had given us a lift most of the way. Aren’t symbiotic relationships great?

Getting the rest of the way to Borth was simple enough and only took us a few lifts. when we arrived I realised that it was a seaside village, the best type of villages in my opinion. We went for a gander at the beach and dipped our toes before we walked down the main (and only) street towards where we would be staying.

Our time in Borth was nice and relaxed and though we didn’t do much we had a great time. Cath, who we were staying with, was lovely and was great for a chat and there was always tea on offer. While we were staying there, there was also a group of about 8 staying with one of Cath’s flatmate and they all seemed to be into tantra. Strange but they could give good massages.

We went on a tea pub crawl of the town, visiting every pub along the way, all four. We also found a mills and boon book which we began to read and I have to admit was more captivating than I had expected. It was called ‘The Perfect Divorce’ but the story didn’t really interest me that much. I just wanted to see the sex scene really. It was a disappointment. But Borth sure wasn’t.

We decided to leave early on the Monday morning, catching a lift with one of the tantric fellows to just outside of Cardiff. We decided we would go there for lunch. We got let off by a park and had a sit for a while. We cut our nails.

On the way out of the city we got a bus to the outskirts and had to walk to where we thought there would be a good spot. We then played the waiting game. We lost. We started walking to find a better spot but none was forthcoming. We ended up standing by a roundabout demoralised. At one stage a car kept driving around the round about shouting at us. not nice people. But we were standing by a construction site and one of the builders said he would give us a lift to Bristol if we were still there when he got off. We were still there. He gave us a lift. I contacted Kat whom I was going to be staying with after I had been to Oxford and she said we could stay that night. With that sorted we could relax and try to make the most of every second.

We read more mills and boon and headed to Kats.

After arriving in Ireland at 6am after a sleepless journey we take a bus home and take a short nap. At lunch time the urge to do something with the day kicks in and we decide that we’ll go for a cycle around the city. We rob bikes from Rosy’s dad and Seanin’s mum and head on our way. Not much of note happened on the cycle but it was enjoyable and I got a feeling for my city again.

That evening Grainy called over and made lasagne. Good lasagne. After that we stocked up for our trip to cork and were on our way. We were going to Cork to get naked for a photogropher who does photos of groups of people naked. The only problem being that it was in Cork and we had to be there at 3am. We started driving at 11m and got to Blarney Castle at about half 2. After registering, we realised that we wouldnt be doing the photos until dawn and we had to wait around in a field in anticipation of getting naked.

When we finally were told it was time to get naked it was a very strange experience. We happened to be one of the first naked and were ushered into the field where the photos were to be taken and we were told to walk to the very back of the field. We walked and joked about how insane this all was and then when we got to the end of the field we turned around. The sight that was before me wil never be forgotten. There was a sea of naked bodies of all shapes and sizes walking straight towards me. I doubt I will see as many willies as I did that day for a long time. It turns out there were about 1200 naked bodies there that day.

It was an odd experience. It wasn’t my first time being naked in public but it was the first time I had done it with a group of 1200 other people. I quite liked it actually. Because there were no clothes there was no set way you are expected to act towards the person. You cant see if they are wearing a suit or if they are dressed like a bum. Social barriers are broken down and all you can do is have inane small talk about how absurd it all is (and about how cold it was).

When the nakedness was over with we drove into cork city getting very lost while looking for a car park that was cheap. We were just killing time in Cork until the couchsurfers we were staying with got back to us. We went to a cafe and G fell asleep on the counter. We went to a park. She fell asleep there too. The CS’ers got back to us and we arranged to meet them at a cafe they worked in. The first and only Hooka cafe in Ireland. They gave us keys to their place and we went there and both used the bathroom. It was great.

While in a state of nakedness i somehow got chatting to a guy who then invited me to a circus preforming group that evening. It sounded strange but we went along and practised our juggling, mine better than Gabrielle’s.

That evening I was wrecked. Our hosts invited us to a BBQ but there was no chance we were going anywhere other than sleepland. Leaving early the next morning we didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye or thank you in person and just had to leave a note.

Falling asleep at the wheel is not a good idea. I could feel myself drifting so we had to pull over on the side of the road for a bit so i could wake myself up. Thankfully we got back to Dublin safely and I went straight to bed for a bit of a nap. Thats seemed the theme of our ime in Dublin.

Later on after calling over to Mark I was blind folded and told to give a tour of the city. Not being in town, I decided that it might be good to start off by walking around the park and going to the playground. Walking blind folded is a lot harder than it looks and its even harder when the person keeping you safe walks you into poles. We got the bus into town and i tried to give a tour from her descriptions of buildings. Her descriptions made me think about the buildings a lot more than i normally would and she pointed out little things i had never noticed before. It was an experience i am glad i had the chance to be part of although i don’t think i would do it everyday. Eating was not as fun as I thought it would be; I was hungry and was getting frustrated at how I couldn’t simply pick up food and put it in my mouth. That is when i gave up. Eating on the ground beside the Luas stop at Stephens Green.

The next day we met up with Brendan to spend some time in Trinity and get him to show us some of the interesting stuff. After quickly walking past the Book of Kells we went to the long hall. The Long Hall is the old library and is a very impressive sight. I’m not a big library buff but it was the nicest i have seen.

We were intending to hitchhike that day to Roslare so to catch a ferry the next morning but after a phone call from my Dad and the offer of free tickets to the Dublin Organ Festival we decided to try get a lift early the next morning. With time to kill we decided to give out free hugs in Temple Bar. It went great and we got loads of hugs from all sorts of people; old, young, foreign, local, attractive and smelly. But every hug was a good one.

After that I went to visit my niece and nephews and got to run around in a field like a fool with an excuse. I always like taking care of the kids. Sure its tiring but what I get out of it makes up for that 10 fold. They show you a new way of looking at things and a new way of doing things. I would love to still be able to be fascinated by a blade of grass for fourty minutes. Sadly i cant so i spend as much time with the kids as possible to see if i can learn how.

After the kids and the organ festival and sleep, we got a lift from my dad to Roslare in time for the ferry so we could get to Wales and start the next leg of our adventure.

Started hitching from Aberdeen nice and early so i had a chance of getting to Manchester in one day. Got to my spot by about half 9 and stuck out my thumb. Hitching was going well and it took me a few lifts to get to Glasgow. After the problems of hitching out of the city the last time i decided to get a bus to a town on the outskirts and hitch from there. I got the bus to Hamilton and looked for a good spot. There was none and before i know it i am at the start of the motorway with my thumb out. It was a horrible spot and i never will recommend anyone hitching from there. I was stuck at that spot for about 2 hours and that is when i though i would make a sign saying ‘please help’. got a bit more of a reaction from people but nobody was stopping. Finally i got a lift to the nearest services which i thought would be great. As it turned out there was a police quardon at the services and it looked as if someone had been killed or attacked and then there I am standing at the exit hitching away from the crime scene. Not suspicious at all. I eventually got a lift after another couple of hours from a guy heading for Leeds. he was a nice guy but i cant remember his name. he was also a DJ and his DJ name was Chalie Farley after his pet monkey or something. was a strange 49 year old but very interesting and very open. it seems to me that people who pick me up do so so they can rant at someone and they do it at hitchers because they cant be bothered going to therapy. Charley gave me a lift right to the Manchester ring road and i got a tram from there to the centre. Was a good enough hitch except the problems at Hamilton which were demoralising.

Once i got to Manchester centre i was met by my very enthusiastic welcoming committee for a memorable reception. I was then shown to Percy Palace where I’d be staying for the night. Percy Palace is an interesting place. I didn’t really like it but i am glad i had the experience of being there. there were 8 people staying there in a big place but they treated it like a squat but they still payed very high rent. i was a bit surprised that they were even paying rent at all let alone how much they were paying. It was situated right beside the curry mile which is great. A road full of curry houses. Had a wander about but not much of else of note happened in Manchester. We went to bed late, woke up a bit late and decided to catch a quick bus to Liverpool which only took about half an hour.

Arriving in Liverpool we contacted Kieran, the couchsurfer Gabrielle was meant to be staying with and he didn’t mind me tagging along. While waiting for Kieran to be available to meet us we wandered around the city a bit and ended up by Albert Docks. While there I learnt about some of the history of Canadia and aboot Quebec and their attempts for Independence. Had a heated debate about the FLQ, something at the time i knew nothing about but i like debates and i liked this one especially.

We were then met by Kieran and given a lift to his where I had a chance to do all 3 things i like to do when i arrive in a place: change my pants, have a pee and have a cup of tea with good banter. After staying in the flat for a couple hours we went to meet some of Kierans friends at the pub via the park; Richard, Ian (i think) and Laura were all welcoming and great fun to chat with. after the pub we decided to head back to theirs and have a curry on the way (only the second indian I have ever had). At theirs there a plentiful supply of tea and talk and even peep show on too. It was a great relaxed evening where we seemlessly fitted into the group and were at ease instantly. it was as if we had all known each other for months or years. It was so good that we were trying to extend our time in Liverpool as much as possible but we had to catch a ferry the next evening. in the end we found a ferry leaving at 2am and a train that got us to the ferry that left liverpool at 9pm which ave another full day in liverpool.

The next day started in the best possible fashion; with a cup of tea in bed and a blue sky. After much dilly dallying we went for a wander about the sights of the city in a lazy fashion but the main part of the day was the chats we had while walking. Kieran was (and hopefully still is) a very interesting guy with free thought, good ideas and great stories. Another good relaxed day in Liverpool was coming to an end and i was glad we had decided to pay for the train as we had gotten more out of the trip because of it.  Before we left we met up with R, I and L for food and then said our goodbyes.

We walked to the train station and said endless thank you’s to Kienan for a great time. it really was superlative and i don’t know how we managed to fit so much and be so comfortable with the people when we had spend only one night there. We got on the train and headed for our next destination; Dublin, Ireland, Home.

After a couple days of ‘concentrated study’ I stop lying to myself and plan an adventure. I decide to meet up with Gabrielle in Edinburgh and head to the Bilston Glen protest camp. Now, I wouldn’t consider myself the type to go along to a protest site unless I really agreed with their principles and what they stood for. In this case it was a group who had been protesting against the building of a by-pass through a wood. I didn’t care so much. What made me go was the possibility of sleeping I tree houses. That seemed like something I wanted to do. While there I formed mixed opinions about the people. Two of the guys in particular seemed to have good ideas and a head on their shoulders but the rest of the group were people I would have no interest in talking to in any other situation. Stereotypical hippies who were there so they didn’t have to be elsewhere and were always talking about this or that experience of this or that drug. Not the type of people I like to talk to.

But I will concentrate on the good and I really enjoyed the conversations I had with the other two guys who I now have no idea of their names. One of them was the first protester I had ever hear talking about compromise. That was new and nice.

Getting to Edinburgh in the first place was easier than anything. I walked to the outskirts of Aberdeen on the Sunday morning and by the time I got to the petrol station I had planned on standing at, there was a car waiting for me to get in. He was on his way to southern England via Glasgow but he decided to take me into Edinburgh and go a different route south. Nice guy, although he told me this harrowing tale about how he had to care for his dying grandfather who had had enough of life and decided to starve himself to death. He survived for three and a half weeks without food and in the end he slipped into a coma and never woke up. He had to take care of his grandfather when all he wanted was to die. I don’t think I could have done it.

Back to more light hearted matters. When I got to Edinburgh I met up with Gabrielle in a couchsurfers place she knew and had been staying. We went for a walk around, taking in the mosque, where they have cheap nice food, the midsummer festival on the meadows and then back to the flat for some nosh. A good day finished off by sleeping in a tree.

Now that that you are utterly confused about the timeline…we woke in the tree and went to the main camp. People were up and about and not up to much. We decided to go for a wander down to the local town to see what free love we could find. We also went to ikea. Ikea is weird. Anyway, we had a small shopping list of things to get and we set about doing it. The best part of the trip was a great idea these kids had of swinging out of their mothers top and squealing with enjoyment. Reading it now it doesn’t seem that fun but it did look it.

Back at camp and about to leave Gabrielle decides to throw my sleeping bag in the stream. I don’t know why really. Then to top it off she threw her own in. Silly non gendered person.

In Edinburgh and at Visilis’ place we settle in for another meal of home cooked food. We actually settle in a bit too much and end up staying the night. In the morn, we wake up later than intended…the start of the end…and set about hitching to Glasgow.

You would think Edinburgh to Glasgow…what 30 or 40 miles. Should be easy. No we get a stupid old lady, with good intentions, but stupid ideas about where would be a good place to drop people. Anyway, rant over. We got to Glasgow about 7 pm and call the guy we are to stay with from the botanic gardens. We stand outside the gates of the gardens and practice our juggling. This is the moment we manage to do two person juggling properly for the first time. A good moment I’m sure you agree.

We head back to Denis’ place and have tea and play a game of scrabble. This is really the first time I have been to Glasgow. Every other time was for a competition or to get somewhere else and I never really got a feel for the place. this time things were to be different. With a game of scrabble under our belts and a face painted man in front of us I set about exploring the wonder that is Glasgow. One small problem. It is midnight and I have no idea where I am.

So armed with a hand drawn map of the house and Gabrielle at my side we went adventuring. (I like adventuring. Its probably my favourite thing to do. The more random the better.) We walked around the west end, around the old building and over to the university. We found the central quadrant of the campus and lay in the grass under the skies. It was lovely and all the outer world was blocked away. Magic. And not only because it reminded me of Harry Potter. Continuing our walk and our talk through the streets of Glasgow and to the Kelvingrove art gallery, but being 3 in the morning it happened to be shut. The outside was very nice though. We walked back to the flat via Kelvingrove park and found denis and Omar watching Vanilla Sky. They obviously weren’t interested in the film as once we got back conversation flowed and tea was had by all.

That was a great flat. They had speakers hooked up to each main room in the house including the bathroom. However also in the bathroom was tinfoil. Lots of tinfoil. The walls and doors were covered in tinfoil. The light was a red light similar to those found in Amsterdam and it put me in a similar mood….what am I saying, no it didn’t.

In the end it was just me and Denis chatting away with Omar having gone home and Gabrielle passed out on the other couch. We had a great conversation. He’s a lovely bloke and he’d be welcome round mine any time for tea and a meal and a bed if he needed one.

In the morning we separated again. Me back to Aberdeen and Gabrielle onto Manchester. I had my exam the next day and I had done no work but that was only if I got back in time. I was stuck outside Forfar for hours trying to get a lift and I thought I would miss the exam. I eventually got back at about 11pm and then instead of cramming I called over to Eztizen for tea, a chat and to learn how to make balloon animals. An evening spent well if you ask me.

I learnt to make a dog, a sword, two different types of flowers, a hat and a penguin (although id need to see it done again before I could do it on my own). It was a good chat. I always enjoy my chats with Eztizen. It’s a pity I didn’t get to know her earlier in the year. But things aren’t over. Life still moves. And doors open everywhere for everyone.

At the end of the night I headed home and set my alarm for four hours time…

To celebrate my birthday I decide I want to do go on an adventure. I have handed in my dissertation and I have nothing to do until I graduate on the 3^rd of July, a month away. Well nothing except an oral exam that decides what degree I get. No biggie.

I plan an adventure for myself to take in as much of the UK as possible. For four years I have said I would like to go to Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK, so for my birthday I made that my target. I aimed to get to Ben Nevis the day before and wake up with a great view of the mountain in the morning. However…Gabrielle, who was also coming along and who had to pack all her things and leave her flat before we left needed a bit more time so instead we set off on the day of my birthday. Not a problem. So on my birthday we would hitchhike.

We left the house nice and early with our chaperone, Cearuil and inflated our giant bananas. Two minutes and our first lift. Ruirgh liked the look of the bananas so they had to stop for us.

The morning was going well before I knew what was going on we were in the back of a car with a half deaf old lady from the Isle of Man on her way to bingo in Elgin. I realize this when I was just entering Keith.

After lunch in Elgin and an easy enough hitch to Inverness we visit Simon, a friend of Gabrielle who we had arranged to meet. Simon was a good man. I know this because his book collection contained either travel books or books I have read and liked. After a 20 minute tour of the city, taking in the second biggest second hand book shop in Scotland and the wobbly bridge, we went back, got our bags and were on our way again towards Fort William and Ben Nevis.

From Inverness we got a lift all the way along Loch Ness, which is huge, and got let off at a bus stop where a bewildered old man was waiting patiently. We got our bags out of the car, had a jump about a bit to loosen up, put out our thumbs and got a lift instantly. We lobbed our bags in the back of the car and were away before the old man had had a chance to say hello.

That lift was with a lady who reminded me so much of Ellie it was scary. I even got a chance to have a random conversation with her husband on the phone. He was very confused about what was going on but he handled it well. She dropped us right to Fort William and we met up with Greg, an American Couchsurfer who we were meeting.

We had a bit of a break by a bench and 2 girls came over and asked if they could have by banana. After much nagging I gave them the giant inflatable banana. I had held onto it for less than a day. Damn kids. But it was OK because Greg could juggle and was willing to teach.

After stocking up on provisions we had a picnic on the side of a hill. Then it happened. The midges arrived. Nothing can prepare you for the midges. They just swarm and bite and swarm and bite. They get up your nostrils, in your ears and down your pants. Its not fun. The only way to stop them is to keep moving.

We kept moving and headed towards Glen Nevis, the bottom of Ben Nevis and set up camp on a hill opposite the mountain. We quickly put up tents to get away from the midges and soon after retired for the night.

During the night I woke with the realization that there something leaning against me and I was in a tent. I had completely forgotten what was going on and woke with a start. I was dying for a piss and so crawled out of the tent to the nicest view I could have wished for. The sun wasn’t up yet but the skies were blue and it was going to be a lovely day.

I stood there shivering as I urinated, which by the way is a very odd feeling, (it just goes everywhere), and went back into the tent for a wee nap.

After getting up and packing camp we set off for the hostel at the bottom of the mountain to leave our bags so we didn’t have to carry them with us as we climbed.

We began our mighty assent like three great explorers would…with a before shot, later to be compared to the after shot. A nice strolling pace was set and banter was had and fun on all counts. Well actually it got quite steep quite early and we didn’t really expect this. To take our mind off things we did riddles. I love riddles. We did these for about two hours. By this stage, the fact we didn’t eat breakfast was kicking in and I was wrecked. We were taking breaks frequently and the pace was slow. The view from the bottom was spectacular and with each step it just got better. At one point we pass a loch half way up the mountain and notice how calm and peaceful it looks. A perfect place for a nap. We continue on a bit but the loch is calling us back for a snooze. Greg is determined to get to the top but myself and Gabrielle and can see that what has already been climbed is mountain enough for us. We saunter back down towards the shore of the loch and let seep overcome us as we lay on the sand.

I wake with another start but this one is caused by a man screaming from higher up the mountain. Or did I imagine it? Everyone I ask subsequently says they heard nothing.

With the two of us feeling groggy we plod down the mountain, no energy in our limbs. We rest often and fall more often. Just as we come to the bottom of the mountain Greg trots behind us and joins in talking about the aches. He got to the top and received our admiration for a fleeting moment until we remembered how hungry we were.

At the hostel we collected our bags and headed for the nearest eatery we could find. With grub down us we set off to walk to where would each hitch from. Them to Glasgow and myself to Aberdeen.

Once at Glen Nevis we said our good byes I set off on my own. There was a constant flow of traffic and in my experience that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Everyone thinks the next car will stop but if everyone thinks that then nobody will. In the end I got possible the best lift of my lift…certainly up there, from a nice guy called Mark. He said he would give me a lift to the turn off for the Isle of Skye and I said fantastic. On the way we got chatting about anything and everything and we got on great. I mentioned how I had never been to Skye and he said he could give me a lift the whole way if I liked. I thought about it. This was an offer of a free adventure. Negative aspect being that I would have to sleep out without a tent (which was robbed by Gabrielle) and get bitten to death by midges. Not a very nice proposition.

I was still huming and hawing when mark suggested I stay with him, his wife and son. That sealed it then. I was off to Skye. Sure I had an exam in a few days that I should probably be working on but…Skye!! I could hardly say no to a free lift AND free accommodation could I?

The rest of the journey was so picturesque with glorious weather that I couldn’t help but catch flies with my mouth. Mark was telling me all about Skye in the short time he had been living there and tried to show the family lineage of the island. Yes family. Singular.

When we arrived I got introduced to Jenny who was busy trying to set up a Montessori in the nearby town so we didn’t chat much but I got shown around the house and the small bit of land they had. It wasn’t big but they really made the most of it. They grew all sorts of vegetable organically in trenches dug themselves and in a greenhouse built themselves. I couldn’t name all the veg they grew so I won’t bother trying. They also had bees for honey and they used a bog behind the house as their water supply. However as the weather was so good and it had been for the previous 5 weeks there was somewhat of a mini drought. Unheard of in those parts.

It had been a long day and bed called me early than I would have liked it to.

In the morning I was awoken by the jubilant screams of a child. Outside in the garden, in the sun, were Mark and Rowan (their 1 and a half year old boy). After a bit of food and a short discussion about poetry we went for a walk around the headland beside the house. It was gorgeous. Went down to the water and for a walk around with the dog and words cant describe how happy I felt at that very moment. Meeting Mark had restored my faith in humanity no end and I am more glad to have met Mark than anyone else on my trip (…sorry everyone else I met on the trip.)

Then the hitch back to Aberdeen began and my first lift was from marks neighbour. Many lifts later and I was 200 meters from where I started on Clifton road a couple days prior.

I walk back to the house and realize my phone had been dead since Ben Nevis. When I charge it and switch it on I receive a panicked message wondering if I’m dead from the other two. I rest my head and sleep smiling.

]]> http://imightbedeadtomorrow.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/today-i-turned-22/feed/ 0 Woulfe The reason i went to Skye http://imightbedeadtomorrow.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/an-interesting-week/ http://imightbedeadtomorrow.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/an-interesting-week/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:09:04 +0000 kevinwoulfe http://imightbedeadtomorrow.wordpress.com/?p=67 ]]>

Why am I writing this? Because Donna is making me stay till 2. I want to give up writing my dissertation now but she is making me stay for a bit longer.

I have already regaled you with tales of my Tuesday night with the zombies. Other than that it has been a very interesting 10 days. I didn’t write about how last week we had a French band come and stay at our house.

They were a band from Strasbourg who had got in contact through couchsurfing and asked to stay. They offered free tickets so we said yes. The gig was loud but good and I got a shout out from the band on stage. They were supporting blood red shoes. We went back to ours and got to know each other a bit better and had a good quite evening as a group. There was the band, me Cearuil and Gabrielle. They came bearing gifts of wine and promptly opened a couple of bottles. Eventually, one by one people went to bed, couch or floor and there was only the three of us and Etienne left. We decided to make a cake and some pizza. Cake turned out to taste like an Italian Rosetta cake or something but I liked the pizza…mainly because I made it. We started watching escape from New York and only myself and Cearuil stayed awake. By about 7 I realised I had a meeting early the next day so I thought I may as well stay awake.

I decided to make a juggling ball out of some curtain. Pretty good for a first attempt.

People started rising and the band were all up before any one else in the house. Not a real rock band if you ask me. This was their first experience of CS and I hoped they enjoyed it. In the end they gave me a lift to my meeting and we said our goodbyes.

The day was a lovely one and I decided I would spend it in the garden. By the time I got back Cearuil and Gabrielle were already up and I joined them for breakfast. The day was glorious and lazy and everything you want from a day. Lying in the grass, sitting in a chair or standing on your head, you couldn’t help but feel an aura of calm come over you under the blue sky with the odd cloud floating by. Not much of anything happened really but it was still fun. For tea we decided to go to the playground to eat.

Swinging on the swings while there are some local kids playing chasing is a great way to spend an evening. Gabrielle being herself joined in playing tag and Cearuil brought the food for us. After eating and climbing the climbing frame that smelt of cat pee we headed back to the sanctuary of the back garden and lying in the grass once more. Cearuil and Gabrielle decided to climb onto the roof of the next door neighbours but were promptly told to piss off.

Had been practising my juggling all day and it appears to be coming along…that is until the juggling ball I had made earlier burst and the rice went everywhere.

The day ended as any day should; in a state of exhaustion and with a smile on my face. I had had fun. It had been so long, I had almost forgotten what it was like.

……….

The weekend wasn’t so interesting as it was mainly to do with my dissertation…as far as I can remember, except Sunday…we watched The NET with Sandra bullock. That was the last film I have seen. Not normal for me. Don’t normally go two days without watching a film and I seem to be coping alright. I had to have a draft of the dissertation in for Tuesday and when I sent that off, I went in search of zombies all night, as you can read elsewhere.

Wednesday I went and had a meeting about how bad the draft I sent the previous day was….it was very bad. The amount of pencil markings on the pages were staggering, so I set about changing a fair bit of it….actually who am I kidding, it was sunny so I sat in the garden and then went to bed early.

That is until people start to call me and wake me up. All I can remember about Donna’s phone call is that I kept repeating that she woke me up and then hung up on her. The next was a text from Gabrielle saying she had fallen from her bike outside the house so I got up to check if she was ok but no sign was to be seen. Gave her a text and it turns out she was around the corner where I went and met her and brought her in for a cuppa. Very good conversations about anything and everything ensued and I was given the chance to rant about all that ailed me as she seemed only intent on the lamp. Her apathy helped and in the end, sleep engulfed the room.

There is a rule I try and follow to make myself have a good day. It is: I only get out of bed when the sky is blue. It might seem a little trivial or pointless but you wouldn’t believe how much better you feel when the sky is blue and you’re up and about. It may be hard at times to follow this rule religiously in a place like Aberdeen but if possible it must be done. If something is important enough to go to unhappy then you have to break the rule…however, one must do so at great risk.

After waiting in bed for a few hours for the sky to turn blue I eventually got up at lunch time. I wandered over to the computers, wrote a few hundred words and then got bored, went to get the paper and did the sudoku outside in the sun. I have become a big fan of this new way of leading my life and I feel it should be embraced by one and all. Later on Thursday, I went to poker at the casino for a competition and came third and won £30. This new rule was paying dividends already. I knew it was a good idea.

Friday began the way any good day should; I peaked under the curtain and it was glorious outside, not a cloud in the sky. I got up with a spring in my step and had Cearuil wash me, I then washed him as his back needed a scrubbing. After being clean we set off on our adventure for the day…to find Mel Gibson so we could make tofu for ourselves…wait what am I saying? Make tofu for cearuil, while I ask Mel about lethal weapon. On our way, we met up with our accomplice for the day. We sauntered down George Street and down Union Street looking for Mel but we had no luck. He wasn’t in any of the health food stores we looked in. I had a look in some charity shops and poundland in case he was looking for a bargain. But no luck.

We headed home, stopping off in Jeff’s house for some supplies and began to concoct ideas about what we would make on making day. In all I made soup, soap, a wallet, bread, magnets and some other stuff. The others made peanut butter, taini or some fancy sounding crap, vegan brownies and we all painted a bit. In the end I went off in a huff as drunken tuire pissed me off and I went to bed fully clothed listening to air excessively loud after my first smoke in a while had kicked in.

In the morning, with everyone left, or I thought left, I put the stereo in the hallway and played the Juno soundtrack at full volume. It really is a good soundtrack. Probably better than the film. And I liked the film. Little did I know, Gabrielle had stayed the night and was upstairs. She came down disgruntled I had woken her but she joined me in waiting for the sky to turn blue. Today it took far longer but it did happen and happen it did. It was a lovely day and we sat in the garden doing a sudoku and drinking tea while the Juno soundtrack played on loop from the house. As the sun departed from the back garden we decided we didn’t want to go indoors and so we brought the chairs around to the front and sat there while we ate the homemade chips and practiced our juggling. Ignoring the entire affair of torcher parade we set off for a radio show at 8pm. Jeff filled in for Donna who was at home and we had a good show. It turned out people were listening and there was nobody on after us so we continued on having fun. We continued on and on and on until it was 5 in the morning. We had just done a 9 hour radio show and it was great. We learnt afterwards that we were being played in the watering hole, the student bar in halls and people were enjoying listening to the show. We tried setting people up on dates and played some Barry white to get them in the mood. I think it worked. We didn’t hear anything back so I presume they were too busy making sweet sweet love to email. I don’t begrudge them that. After the show, I went home with the sun rising and decided to sleep in the attic.

Waking at 4 in the attic is not a good idea. The reason being, you can’t see if the sky is blue. When I got down stairs, it was borderline blue and I was nervous about the day ahead. I went to work on my dissertation and didn’t get much done and so went to old next doors and watched match of the day 2 and then back to computers. There I got a text that knocked me for 7 and I got no more work done. That is why I write this now…well not really now but this is a continuation of what I was writing then. It is now Tuesday and again I procrastinate.

On Monday the sky wasn’t blue but I felt I had to get up. I went to the computers and got a little work done. Then an ex walked into the room and I slyly dodged that bullet….shouldn’t have gotten up when the sky wasn’t blue, I knew when I did it, something was going to happen but running into my ex wasn’t going to be it. Instead I got a message from a friend saying she was sick and had been puking all day.

Seeing as my getting up had caused her to be ill, I felt obliged to help her out in any way I could. I brought over some flat coke at her request and stayed with her for the day. Now I’m not saying this wasn’t fun but it was a brilliant way of not doing work. I mean staying in bed with a girl is always fun but doing it so I didn’t have to write my dissertation is even better.

Anyway I made her raw toast and filled her hot water bottle when needed and I read Calvin and Hobbes the rest of the time. I ended up falling asleep myself and in the morning the sky was the brightest shade of blue I have ever seen it. I had appeased the blue sky lords. In not wanting to displease the sky lords any further promptly got up and made ready to leave. I wrote a note for my host with good wishes and the suggestion that if she needed anything further, she merely had to ask. Off I went.

The sun shone so bright I thought I might melt. Luckily I didn’t. I went home, had a shower and thought about what type of day it would be. I decided it would be a good day. I dressed once more and giving careless abandon I left the house without a jumper. Now this is very unusual in Aberdeen. Aberdeen is cold, even when sunny, but today I didn’t care. I was going to walk proud under the blue sky above. Nothing was going to dampen my spirits and I set off to the computers to get my days quota done for the day. When half way there after only half an hour I decided that the day was too good not to spend outside so I saved what I had written and planned on finishing writing later. I contacted my ailing friend and asked if she felt up for a walk. She did but she was still in bed and hadn’t eaten since the previous morning except some plain toast which is never fun. I said I would make her breakfast.

Beans on toast later and my smile was unwavering. Out the door we went in no direction in particular. We ended up by the art gallery sitting on the ground, where there happens to be a hot spot and she checked her email and what not while I once again practiced my juggling. By now I can keep going for a while or until I get bored. I need to try to learn a trick or two. Maybe juggling one handed.

Anyway with not much else happening in the day of note, well except that united won, I shall terminate this spiel and wish you all a very blue skied day tomorrow.

Adieu.

Ok…..so we went on a grand adventure. Went everywhere, warded off the zombies, and found hummus. What else could one ask for in an evening? Well one more thing is always important, good company. And good company was had this evening. Splendid company in the form of Gabrielle and Neil…and Ellie for a spell.

It all began with French class, as any great story does. There was Neil, Ellie, a polish girl I never caught the name of, Gabrielle and myself. Not much French was actually learnt but that made not much difference. We started with the alphabet, as any great lesson should. This adventure is doing everything a good adventure should. As the attempted learning of the French language petered out, idle chat commenced.

I drifted in and out of myself and floated around the room in-between other conversations while continuing to give non committal grunts to any comments aimed my way. As the evening wore on I looked down upon myself and took note in an imaginary jotter: “I need a hair cut”. With that out of the way I began formulating ideas of my future, all of which can be viewed above. With all these heavy thoughts weighing down my soul I returned to myself and suggested the adventure.

With excitement brimming and all involved, bar Ela, the polish girl I have since learnt the name of who regretfully had work early in the morn and departed our vicinity. With provisions packed along with a torch, hats and gloves, we set off.

Noting the height of the challenge ahead of us I was daunted, or was it the height of the wall in front of us? Needless to say we surmounted the challenge, with the help of a few distractions so suspicion would not be roused by those in the corner shop loaded with porn. Up and over the wall into the courtyard we entered a new world. Everything was dark, derelict and daunting. Shadows abounded at every turn and it was impossible to penetrate the gloom or accustom the eyes to see what lay inches out of sight.

Odd scurrying sounds and the rustle of things, or people in the distance brought us all together in a protective circle which nothing could break through. We slowly became braver and ventured from the circle, leaving gaps, and spreading fear. That which lay in the gloom new that there were fresh souls to be chewed upon and used as tooth picks.

As the pressure grew heavy on our shoulders, Ellie had to head back to the safety of the flat. Neil and Gabrielle ventured off in the search for something to keep their interest piqued, while I helped Ellie over the wall to safety.

With Ellie safe and me on my own, I felt the dark grow deeper. I could see but yards in front of me but I knew there were good people near by, I could feel their presence. A shout came from the dark and a light shone.

The torch, I had forgotten. But where were they, it seemed the light came from above like a celestial being trying to bring me towards it. I tried to resist the power of the light but with the light came safety and I ventured forward with blatant disregard for what might happen as I went towards the light.

If you ever wondered what would happen when you reach the light, I have the answer: you will stub your toe. And so I did. I stubbed my toe with such pain an expletive crossed my lips and echoed in the darkness. It turned out Gabrielle and Neil had merely climbed a fire escape and waited for me to return. I pulled myself up and followed as they led me to the roof of this abandoned building I didn’t know existed just moments before.

We were, what seemed like, stories up in a deserted setting that one would expect from a film like 28 days later or from the game resident evil, but not the films, they’re just crap. That same feeling of nobody around and yet something lurked behind every corner. We could see away into the distance and nothing moved save a plastic bag.

We looked knowingly at each other, as all 3 of us had the same thought, we need to adventure and this is the perfect setting. We headed back down to ground level and began taking in all we could. Our eyes had still not fully accustomed to the lack of light and the torch made it even harder. Whenever we shone it in one place something seemed to move elsewhere else.

Neil seemed the most daring of us and headed into a building to our left. It was a large entrance way to a 6 story factory. There was an empty lift shaft on the far wall and remnants of what used to be strewn around. I didn’t like the feel of the place and was open with my thoughts. No point of being manly and showing off when an evil zombie was just ahead waiting for us to climb the stairs.

We didn’t leave just yet but gladly we didn’t proceed further. On the wall we could see the safety code printed in 99′ and we wondered how such could happen in so little a space of time. I convinced them to leave the building and we proceeded into the seemingly endless expanses of the grounds.

Around every corner was a wonder to behold but around every corner was also the possibility of the impossible. We came to a bizarre area where the only things standing were two great big oak trees in an otherwise concrete jungle. We wondered at the people who must once have worked here and I let the thought linger.

We saw a blocked exit to the outside world and it all seemed as dead as the world we were in, with only the faint buzz of the street light the difference. Back toward the expanse we set of in search, but of what I do not know. Each building we came to seemed to surpass the one before for pure surrealism.

There was what appeared to be a loading bay for trucks. Becoming bold we ventured in, joking about the presence of zombies and using the protecting spell of holding our noses so they could not attack. It seemed to work for no zombies appeared.

Down a Dickensian cobbled street we went, under overhead pathways and being careful not to lose footing into a hole in the ground. We came to what seemed like our starting point but then came the point that always happens in horror movies, when one individual needs to pee.

In this case it was myself and I ventured off to relieve myself. This is the moment when the monsters reveal themselves but thankfully in our story it did not happen.

We were indeed back where we began but there were still places unseen by our eyes. We ventured forward and found a secret garden. This seemed a magic place where the impossible happened. Grass grew where none should and trees grew from the walls.

It was a wonderful place and that such a place exists counters all the gloom that came before and as with life, we found the thing we were searching for, even if we did not know we were looking for it in the first place. And now as I sit here writing this story with a snoring Gabrielle near by and the memories of the adventure reverberating in my head, I wonder…where were the zombies hiding?