Bromley Years 1998

Wednesday 1st December 1998

It’s a cold grey morning, and I love it like this. The only downside is the dark evenings, but I seem not to have been suffering from SAD too badly the last couple of weeks.

I feel a lot happier since we agreed to sell the flat. The only thing is, that there is pressure to get it all done quickly, and I still have severe cash flow problems. They will be solved as soon as we have the money from the sale of the flat.

I’ve got Spike in Bromley now, and haven’t been back to Colliers Wood since Saturday. I really do live in Bromley now.

S+++ has been in Amsterdam since Friday and I’ve been trying to cope on me own. She left late on Thursday and got a taxi round to Mike’s. I passed out soon after that. When she went to give her talk I managed to down a bottle of wine. On Friday morning I took K+++ round to Shirley’s which meant that I was late to work. I also had to fix a puncture in my back tyre.

Been getting a lot of punctures lately, and had one in my front tyre yesterday which I had to deal with this morning.

Friday night involved me getting a train back to Bromley, cycling to the flat and getting over to Shirley’s to pick Kerry up by 5.30. Then I took her to Pam’s. Pam’s a “mad biddy”, and she gives Kerry shit food, lets her stay up late and buys her anything she asks for. But where else could K+++ go for the weekend? I’m sure I couldn’t cope with her for the whole weekend, especially since I had a lot of stuff to do, including cleaning up K+++’s room, and wearing women’s clothes for as much of the time as possible.

I missed S+++ but I was glad to have had time to myself for a few days. I came to grips with settlers 2. I’m doing the Roman campaign. The first chapter shows you how to build the basics, woodcutter, sawmill, farm etc. The second takes you into armed combat with a neighbour, and I attacked and defeated the Nubians. I’m onto the third chapter now, and I’m not sure what lies in store for me here. The Nubians are back, and there are mountains to climb etc. But I don’t what the twist will be. Maybe the Nubians will attack me first.

Vicky’s housework was much appreciated by me. The kitchen was gleaming, dishes done, clothes properly folded, floors Dysoned, and K+++’s uniform all properly hung up after being washed and ironed. But I couldn’t get the heating to come on so I spent the whole evening in the bitter cold. It was only on Saturday evening that I figured out that turning the boiler on and then off might be a good idea.

Crashed out early after a moderate amount of alcohol. Saturday morning was bliss, with no pressure on me (much) to do anything. I got up eventually at around 8:00. Drank coffee, sorted my bike out, keys, wallet, cash, radio, etc. Rode over to Colliers Wood. Saw doggie, fed him, cuddled him, saw how thin he was, fed him lots of titbits. Listened to GLR, ate breakfast, wore a dress, put stuff into bags and boxes, loaded the Bluebird (sans dress) and left, with Spiky on board. He sat, being very good, on the passenger seat.

Went to Waitrose to buy dog food, and I shopped in The Glades for pet stuff. Left Spike in the car, and he got all excited when I came back. Got home around 2:00. Caught the end of Sean Hughes and played Settlers2.

Dressed quite a bit. Tried different combinations, having all my gear in one place again, I made the most of being alone. Took Spike for walkies, ate, and lived the life I was leading before S+++ reappeared. It’s fun but I wouldn’t want to do it all the time.

Phoned Hayley and arranged to go round and bring her back for the evening. Ended up going round pub with Shirley, Lucy and Hayley. Played pool and drank a half. Brought Spike in and let him run round for a bit. Dropped L and S off and went back home with H. Cooked, talked, ate and watched tv.

Sunday was laid back too. I was up and about before ten, and after dropping H back home, I played, you guessed it, Settlers2. I did manage to finish K+++’s room off, do some washing, the dishes, some Dysoning, walked the dog, put stuff away that had been laying around for ages in kitchen, etc.

Watched very little tv, and completely forgot about Mark Thomas, couldn’t find Guide on Monday night so played Settlers until I fell asleep. I don’t want to give the impression that I was glued to the computer screen the whole weekend, cos I wasn’t. Settlers runs itself, and I only occasionally have to tweak it here and there; checking that I have enough resources, that no bottle necks are appearing, and only when it is time to attack, or when being attacked, does it get quite hectic. I fell asleep on Sunday night while trying to settle in Italy, and woke up to find myself being attacked remorselessly.