Neil Hopcroft

Today, having not even ventured outside yesterday, I went for a walk around the park in Tonbridge. All the way around were places I recognised from my youth but they all looked small, I remember them being huge woods, massive railway bridges, fields for miles and miles. It must be the same as Mars bars and BigMacs, a world where everything was bigger or maybe where I was smaller. Of course, all the vaguely dangerous things are fenced off now too, making it difficult to get to the places holding the real memories. But thats ok, there was enough for me to go along with as it was.

Somewhere along the way I took a wrong turn and ended up by the old powder works, now part of the Glaxo Smithkline empire, making it, I suppose, a new powder works. They’re a little touchy up there, for some reason, maybe they don’t get many ramblers during the week, but they sent a couple of chemists out to make sure I wasn’t up to no good[0]. Or maybe fag breaks are so boring there that they’ll just wander around the the perimeter aimlessly for ten minutes.

On the way back I studiously followed the ‘PublicFootpath’ signs toward the town, until the first drive-way/footpath split which wasn’t particularly well labelled. I guess I got the wrong way since nothing after that point looked remotely like a footpath, but thats OK, I just followed the tyre tracks for a while until it became clear they weren’t going anywhere, then headed into the woods, along by the river and popped out onto the footpath two miles back the way I’d come.

[0] Double negative intended. Why is English the only language in which negating something again makes it a positive? Who decided that?

Reformed, and playing a gig in london… Their 1000th gig (when they split in 96) was a stormer, supported by zeni geva, a kind of japanese wyld stallyns, who did a 20 minute sound check before clearing and letting the donut on stage.

Apparently more info at www.howlerrecords.com

At last the DSL connection here (at my parents house) is up and running – its so nice to have bandwidth again properly, for the first time since leaving Hornsey Road.

Beyond that, not a lot to report here, contracts have been signed for my return to Tokyo, but they’re still sitting on my last two payments, so I’ll delay heading back until at least one of those is here.

A little worried about schmebs, hope shes doing OK – anyone know?

Just gotten back from sushidogs tea party, a thoroughly civilised affair, which will, doubtless, be documented by others better than I can hope to do here. It was good to put some faces to names, though, and some fine buns and scones prepared by our wonderful hostess.

I knew I was in the right place when I saw the Diablo and the Sera parked outside, Milton Keynes residents can only aspire to owning a Lambourghini, this must belong to a visitor.

Beyond the wheels, the topics of conversation ranged between extreme barbeques, patenting an ingenious spicy easy cook food system, inappropriate ‘costumes’ for Whitby and some jam that ‘tasted like a flat I once lived in’.

The journey home was unmarred by traffic despite promises of ten miles of queues, I was, however, given a much needed awakening by a 60mph skid towards an unimpressed looking fox with just a couple of miles to go. Avoided, apparently without major stress to either party.

Wackiness: 0/100
Rationality: 0/100
Constructiveness: 20/100
Leadership: 20/100

You are an SEDF–Sober Emotional Destructive Follower. This makes you an evil genius. You are extremely focused and difficult to distract from your tasks. With luck, you have learned to channel your energies into improving your intellect, rather than destroying the weak and unsuspecting.

Your friends may find you remote and a hard nut to crack. Few of your peers know you very well–even those you have known a long time–because you have expert control of the face you put forth to the world. You prefer to observe, calculate, discern and decide. Your decisions are final, and your desire to be right is impenetrable.

You are not to be messed with. You may explode.

Back in Kent now, for the moment, a bit of writing up of the last few days still to be done, but in the mean time I was being scared by some photos from my university days (courtesy of Sara, thank you)

Oh, and, “My Best Friend is beermat…Our 44 common interests…” according to this

Whistlestop tour continues – a few days in Huntingdon, including a rather nice afternoon tea spoiled somewhat by a careless driver in his dads Astra. Then Norwich yesterday where I caught up with Dave, heard about an interesting project and randomly found Bill in the curry house.

Now Kings Lynn. Next Lincoln.

London on thursday wasn’t quite as planned as I had hoped – but theres nothing new there. I started out meeting minusbat and godgirl for lunch in Angel….we went for a wander after, for Marge to buy some travel books. The charity shop lured us with a promise of some Hello Kitty merchandise, unfulfilled, but I did find a record of medical students singing rugby songs, an irresistable bargain at 3 pounds for songs including ‘British Gonnorea’ among a bunch of other classics.

Then down to Oxford street, where I met up with childeric and zoomusicgirl before heading to Camden for Daryls birthday (who I don’t really know, but seems pretty cool).

To Huntingdon friday, an almost uneventful journey across London, except for getting my suitcase trapped in the gates at Kings Cross, I’d forgotten that they have a tailgating prevention system which squashes the second person attempting to pass through the gate (my case), no wonder *nobody* in London drags cases around all the time, everywhere you go in Tokyo theres somebody with luggage.

And shopping in Cambridge yesterday before going on to Chilis, texmex restaurant, with simonsatori, meme_me, daevid, Jackie, nevla and Gizelle.

Safely back in the UK now, still a bit achey from lugging around 30-odd kilos of baggage and a touch jetlagged, but basically all is OK….much mail to catch up with.

Now for a plan….London tomorrow, let me know if you’re in the capital and would like to meet up?

Then Cambridge-ish thursday, then possibly Lincoln, Nottingham, Oxford, Bristol, Brighton, Kent again.

…such as it is, is that I arrive 3.30pm tomorrow at Heathrow. Then bumble around the UK for a few weeks, then, if all the contract things go well I start with Nokia again later. In the meantime, I’ll be visiting people around the country – first stop Kent, then, probably, Cambridge/Huntingdon, perhaps with a bit of Norwich in there too. After that there is no plan but I’ll make one up as I go along. I’ll be in touch if I’m going to be in your neck of the woods…