Saturday, October 16
I don't have the arsedness to blog about the whole of the past week and a half. I'm a lazy Sarah. The train to London was full of school children. We went to the pub in the evening and had vodka and fun. The food menu on the wall offered "skirt steak*" ... "(*) from a cow" somewhat confusingly. In the morning I managed to leave my face wash and medication on the bathroom sink. The tube in the morning rush hour was quite stressful but I survived. On the train to Maidstone I saw many horses, some pretty gardens, lots of old council flats. At
the Art Institute we had a quick tour and a conversation with the Photography course leader. He wasn't happy with all my questions. The picture they painted of the course didn't seem to be what I was looking for. Plus their buildings were in a kind of campus compound with other educational institutions, like a couple of secondary schools. Not for me. I caught the bus into Maidstone and went shopping. I was pleased to see they had a good selection of charity shops. As it was getting towards the time I had to catch my return train I became lost and depressed, I rang for a taxi but they couldn't help me for another 45 minutes due to "the school run." Who on earth picks up their kids from school in a taxi?
Eventually I managed to find my way and I caught the train with about 20 seconds spare. I made it to Liverpool Street Station with bags of time spare. The journey up to Norwich was reasonably pleasant. There was a beautiful purple and red sunset. After being collected by Claire and Mary at the other end we stopped at the local Chinese take away and then made our way back to Claire and Scott's flat. The flat is also home to one of the most gorgeous cats ever, Erasmus. He's like a dog in that he'll bring you his toys for you to play with him. The evening's conversation wasn't up to much as I was very tired and sleep was most welcome.
Come the morning I was slightly more vibrant and Claire and I walked into Norwich city centre. She works two minutes from one of their main buildings so finding my way was simple. The open day visitors were given a brief talk by the principal then were led off for a tour by students on the relevant courses. We found ourselves talking to the tutors and course leaders for the course I'm interested in, and who responded somewhat more positively to my questioning. I still don't think that it's the course for me though. It seems to be rather unstructured, something I don't respond well to, as seen with my Tuesday classes. The buildings where the classes take place though were lovely. Medieval, I believe, and most picturesque. I met Claire again at lunchtime and we wandered around with our sandwiches, though the city's winding streets. Parts of it were over 500 years old, and I found myself drawn to its history and stories. There also seemed to be a church on every street corner. After she had gone back to her work I continued wandering through the town, was delighted to find a charity shop selling hodgeheg cushions, and decided to leave early as my feet were aching. The train station was far less elusive than Maidstone's had been and soon I was rushing through the Norfolk countryside, which was as flat as a piece of paper, but still attractive. I saw horses and cows and rivers. We stopped at stations which could surely only serve a maximum of 10 people. At Peterbrough I dismounted and changed to the train from London which would get me home. It stayed in the station for over half an hour though, claiming they were having a problem with the doors. I wasn't happy. I made it to Leeds by 7pm, half an hour earlier than originally scheduled, but much later than I wished to be there. I made arrangements with Robert Dane for him to come round, eat pizza with me, and give me hugs and strokes. He served his purpose well, and the pizza was divine. I was starving and had no energy to make food for myself.
I spent most of yesterday in bed, catching up on my sleep. It's a crucial part of my existence. Today I need to do work on my brief, typography. I have ideas, I just need to implement them. Rory comes on Wednesday. I like guaranteed hugs.
14:14
