Saturday, June 17, 1989

It's My 20th Birthday... and a Farewell to Hull ...

Well, today is my birthday. And also Viv's father's birthday. And my friend Molly Sherman's birthday. And my friend Ted's brother Chip Schaeffer's birthday. And the Queen's birthday (observed.)

So on this, obviously one of the most important days of the year, I turned 20, and had only 2 1/2 hours of sleep at the same time. All the same, it was going to be a "big day" today (as Greg always says.)

I ate breakfast with my parents at the Beck House Hotel (which is conveniently only about a block away from The Grange.), and we dined at a leisurely pace as we chatted and got caught up on a number of things.

Afterward we packed up all of my gear, gave Sam my Social-Political Structures paper to hand in for me so that I could leave a bit early, along with a few other things I gave to him, and also bid farewell to Shannon the Hamster (Lorna, another hamster owner, agreed to care for her). Walked around the residence and bid farewell to J.P., Neil, and other people that I saw walking about.

Next we took a walk up to the Cottingham Road site so that my parents could see the area a bit, and also to return my library books. (Pictured above is a photo I snapped of my parents and sister along that walk.)

At noon, we hopped on the train and I said farewell to Hull for the last time, as we departed for a stop in York. While on the train, we met up with Dave Hart and his parents, who were going to York as well, so we traveled with them for a bit. It was a slow train and we didn't get to York until nearly 4 p.m., but it was another beautiful day and we still were able to see a lot.

We watched some crew races on the river (pictured is Mom and Dad watching the race), walked the shops, went through the Jorvik Viking Centre (third visit for me... my parents enjoyed it). Dad and I climbed up to the top of, oh, what's the name of that castle on the hill there again? Anyway, we climbed up and took some great photos.

At 6 p.m. we went to Pizza Hut for my birthday dinner, which marked the first time I drank a beer with my parents in public (or anywhere, for that matter). In a few days, it won't be legal for me to do that in public for another year.

While there, Dad committed a humorous faux pas. When the waitress asked him if everything was alright, he replied, "No, that will be all" (not listening to exactly what she had said.) I laughed, anyway.

Walked past the minster, and along the wall for awhile (pictured is Mom, Dad and Angie walking the wall), looking at the city until 8.15, when we returned to the train station. Dad called Dr. Morrison, while Mom and I bought drinks.

Another funny moment: Mom asked for a hot tea with a little milk, and when her order arrived, she received a hot tea and a little milk carton. Again, I saw the funny side of this.

We had a hectic train ride, constantly worrying if we were on the right train or not (the Brit Rail men did their best to confuse us). But in the end, we arrived in Liverpool only slightly late, where Dr. Morrison picked us up and drove us back to his house.

I took my parents through my photo albums over some drinks, and got to bed around 2 a.m. Almost didn't seem like a birthday, but it was a great day. Mom and Dad gave me a Beatles shirt on the train, which was nice, and Dr. Morrison and Fiona gave me a Liverpool F.C. scarf and hat. Love 'em both! (Pictured is me and Mom in Dr. Morrison's dining room, modeling my new winter gear over drinks and looking at my photo albums.)

Friday, June 2, 1989

4 Cans of Whitbreads, 2 Cans of Carlsberg ...

Slept in today until 10.30, when J.P. came by to pick up his Geography Reader, which I intended on using last night, but never did. I spent the bulk of the morning finishing up the first part of "The 37th Heir," which is eight pages long. So the whole story may eventually exceed 20. I hope I can finish it before I leave here.

When I finished, I dropped off two library books and bought a turkey sandwich for lunch. Then I came back to The Grange and hung out in Jane's room for coffee and tea with Cat, Sean, Barry, Bruce and Helen.

Stayed there for a few hours, and then returned to my room and re-designed it a bit, because I felt like it. Looks dead good, I think.

After dinner I talked to Jane a bit more, then borrowed her cassette recorder to do some taping. Following that I went to the off-license for four cans of Whitbread Best Bitter and two cans of Carlsberg lager for the evening.

It turned out to be a great evening. Started in Jane's room, talking, and then went over to Sean's room to watch some movie ("The Honorary Consul") starring Michael Caine, Richard Gere and Bob Hoskins (in the film, not the room.)

After that, everyone in St. Martin's started to break off for bed, so I traversed into St. Hilda's and ended up in one of the Spanish girl's rooms, where a group had collected. I talked to J.P. and others for awhile, including Fiona, one of the Spanish girls from Madrid. I talked to her for awhile about Viv and Madrid, though in hindsight, I'm not sure that I was altogether coherent. Matricia made some ice cold coffee, so I passed.

When this got boring, I went downstairs and found J.P. (who found it boring a bit earlier than I had), who was watching the Woody Allen movie "Bananas" in the common room. The movie ended at 20 past one, at which time BBC2 went off the air.

We, however, were still going strong, even though J.P. kept insisting that he was going to bed. I ended up in Louise's room, with Louise, Kevin, Neil, Irish Johnny and others coming in and out. They were waiting for a pizza that they had ordered, which finally arrived about an hour and a half after they had called in their order.

Irish Johnny had had a bad day, as he had found out at 2.30 this afternoon that he'd been dropped from his architecture course. He should be able to find placement somewhere else, but he was distraught, as he really wanted to stay in Hull with his friends. When I saw him, he was alright, but from what I was told, earlier in the day he was in pretty bad shape. I hope that he'll be alright.

Anyway, at around 3.30 a.m., I wandered back to my room and went to bed. A good evening, this was!

(Pictured is Carl, Irish Johnny and Neil, in St. Hilda's Hall. This photo is courtesy of J.P.)

Wednesday, February 22, 1989

What's the Rushdie? ...

It was an early rise for breakfast again, and after Geography class and a reading period, J.P., Neil, Paul and I went into town, where I bought a hardback copy of Salman Rushdie's mega-controversial "The Satanic Verses" to see what all the fuss is about. I also mailed Scott his tape. Afterward the group of us went to see "The Naked Gun" (my second viewing.) (Pictured is one of the "Naked Gun" brochures handed out at the movie theatre.)

We returned in time for diner, and afterward I traversed between my room and St. Hilda's. Viv called me this evening, and told me that she was quite ill. We spent time discussing our plans to have her come to America to visit with me this summer. Hopefully we can make that work. It has been quite an adjustment not having her around here, but I'm looking forward to seeing her soon in Spain.

After we hung up, I went into the TV room to watch "Carrie." I missed the best bit, however, but for a great reason - Greg Swartz called me. We talked for awhile about home, here, and future plans, and it was ver nice to hear from him again.

Came back to the film and watched the end, with people filling me in on what had happened while I was gone. Today I also wrote an article for The Snapper about Salman Rushdie and that whole affair. (Pictured is the first draft I wrote of that article. Click on it for a larger view.)

Finally went to bed at about 2 a.m.

Sunday, December 18, 1988

From Liverpool to London ...

Woke up for my last day at the Morrison's to prepare for my journey down to London via BritRail I started using my BritRail Pass (pictured below), which gives me carte blanche to travel anywhere in Britain. So who knows where that will take me? Makes one feel powerful!

Dr. Morrison drove me into Chester, where I caught a bus to Crowe, which was a replacement for the train I planned to catch. At Crow I caught a train straight to London, no changes, and arrived a 3.00 p.m. I first walked out of Euston Station looking for a bank, but failed in that quest, so I hopped on the Tube (pictured above) and headed to Leicester Square, where I met up with Viv, Doug, J.P., Bits and Sid at 3.45 p.m. We later hooked up with Neil and began to traverse London.

Bit of excitement to start off this journey, however. There was a fire in one of the shops, where a fire bomb went off. J.P., Viv, Doug, Sid and Bits were all in the building at the time the fire started and had to be evacuated. It was set off by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a fanatical group of militant animal lovers that have already set numerous other fires in similar fashion, inlcuding one in Harrod's department store. What a bunch of nuts. Makes me want to go out and buy a fur coat and eat an oversized cheeseburger with a side order of another cheeseburger. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but coming that close to a terrorist attack was a bit spooky.

So after walking around and eating at Pizzaland, Viv and I walked down to Picadilly Circus and back, eventually meeting up with the rest of the group in front of the Odeon Theatre to watch "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Our seats were kind of lousy, and the theater was packed. But it was an incredible sound experience and well worth the bad seats. One of the neatest things about this historic theater is that it featured an organ player up front, who played music while the audience found their seats. Then, before the movie began, the organ decended into the floor to give a clear view of the movie screen. Of course, it was a fabulous movie.

Following that, we went back to Euston Station, where I picked up my bag, and we headed to Sid's house in Longfield, County of Kent. After a cramped but amusing car ride from the station to Sid's house, we watched "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" on TV, something very unusual for an American such as myself, as it is pretty much exclusively shown in theaters at midnight (where I have participated in the festivities many times back home.) Watching it on TV without all of the audience participation, not quite as fun.

During the movie, my friend Greg back in Camp Hill called me, so it was great to talk to him again for awhile. He told me that both the Eagles and the Seahawks made the playoffs, which was cool news. Finished watching TV, and then we all skipped off to bed... Doug's final night in England.

Oh, and it was J.P.'s 21st birthday today.

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Mistletoe & Wine" - Cliff Richard
  
• Numer One Song in America This Week: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison
  

Friday, November 25, 1988

Another Fine Day in York ...

Woke up to the thunderous sounds of J.P. pounding relentlessly on my door until I responded. So now that I was up, Viv and I went over to the refectory for some breakfast, and then it was time for another trip to the city of York.

J.P., Doug, Neil, Little Johnny, Viv and I caught the bus to York. It was a really nice day for the trip, and I was able to get a number of really good photographs. Shortly after we arrived, J.P., Neil, John and Doug broke away because they wanted to hit the pubs, and Viv and I didn't, so we were on our own for the day.

After stopping at the bank, we went to the Jorvik Viking Centre museum (which I liken to "Hershey's Chocolate World, but with Vikings and a Less Pleasant Aroma.") It was an interesting museum (I had been there with my high school group in '87), and there was no line to get in! When I went in '87, there was a huge line, but being a group, we were allowed to cut to the front.

After that, we ate at Wimpy's, and then hit Record Mania, where I found another Genesis single that I needed, "It's Yourself." I also bought some rock postcards to hang in my room, as well as a "Steamboat Willie" postcard and a copy of "The Times." We walked around the different shops, walked through York Minster (much less crowded then the last time I visited), and went to the York Art Museum.

After the museum we walked along the wall surrounding the city (farther than I walked last time), and then just perused the town until we stopped at a cafeteria for some dinner. After that, we casually walked back to the bus station, where eventually we met up with the rest of our crew.

So we waited for our 5.45 bus. And waited. And waited.

Finally, we were told that the bus was not coming and that we'd have to take an alternate and much longer bus route back to Hull. This was caused by an East Yorkshire Bus strike, so we did what we had to do to get home. We had some very interesting conversations with other passengers on this bus, and a "relieving" stop for some at the bus stop in Driffield, where we changed to the bus that would take us back to Hull. We finally made it back to Hull around 8 p.m.

Turned out the bus drivers had gone on a wildcat four-hour strike, right around the time we were needing their services. Convenient, huh?

Little John let me use the record player in his room so I could listen to my new record and the "Sussudio" EP I bought a few days ago. He played some Macc Lads as well. Afterward I returned to my room to rest and write, and spent the remainder of the evening with Viv.

*****
(Pictures: Top photo, is a narrow street known as The Shambles, which dates back to medieval times and featuring several small shops. York Minster is in the background. Second photo, a flamingo table at the York Art Museum. Note photographer in the mirror. Third photo, Viv outside York Minster. Fourth photo, the wall surrounding York. I will include other photos of York over the next few days, since not much happened photo-wise during that time.)

Wednesday, November 23, 1988

We Bailed ...

Woke up around 8:30 a.m. for what was to be my final class until Monday. At some breakfast and then went to the class, followed by a leisurely day of not really doing anything.

Later that evening, J.P., Neil (pictured) and I went to a drama workshop in Hull, which we had hoped would have been some sort of acting troupe. It turned out to be nothing more than a group that occasionally went to the local theatre and occasionally held workshops with actors and actresses.

Well we didn't find that out at first. We signed our names to join the group, and then realized what it was all about (plus, we learned that we'd each have to pay £1 to join). So we waited for an opportune moment and bailed on the group, returning to The Grange just in time to catch the next installment of "Doctor Who" on TV. Tonight was the 25th anniversary of the premiere of the series (as well as the 25th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy). It was a good episode... Part 1 of "The Silver Nemesis."

Later on, Doug and I went to The Haworth Fisheries, where I bought some fish 'n chips. Greasy, but alright.

Thursday, November 10, 1988

Sack Edgar Page, Part 2

He did it! Bush won Pennsylvania! And California! Also, I was happy to see that Sen. John Heinz won re-election in Pennsylvania by a comfortable 2-1 margin. The final score: George Bush - 426 electoral votes (54.5% of the popular vote), Michael Dukakis - 112 electoral votes (45.5%).

Anyway, I woke up early for no apparent reason. (Viv woke me up and told me that she had missed her first class.) So I just took it easy until 10 a.m., when we took the bus into town to do some shopping. I only bought a newspaper. Then, instead of taking the bus back to The Grange, we walked back, hitting several shops along the way (record, book, music, etc.) I bought another James Bond paperback ("You Only Live Twice") for 20p, and some water balloons (gotta be prepared for the next water battle.) We then returned and rested.

There was another march by the Save Edgar Page lefties that we were tempted to water bomb... but we didn't. They canvassed Humberside College quite extensively to get marchers... but only two from our college went. Ha ha! There would've been more, however, the secretary of the Humberside College Labour Club (a guy named Martin, who seems to be intimidated by me for some reason), got his group lost and never made it to the march. I should laugh, and yet I do.

That evening a group of us (Viv, Kenny, Liz, Little Johnny, Andy, two of Viv and Liz's friends and I) went to see the movie "Buster" starring Phil Collins. Others (Big Jon, Sid and Neil) went to the other theater to see "A Fish Called Wanda." I thought "Buster was a pretty good movie, with an interesting plot (based on the true story of a guy who led the biggest train heist in British history, then went on the lam for years before getting caught.) I thought Phil Collins was impressive in his cinematic debut as a leading man.

Afterwards, most of us went to McDonald's for chocolate shakes, and then it was back to The Grange. Viv came over to my room for awhile, and stayed until I got too tired and fell asleep.

(Pictured is a close-up of my room door after the election. I had posted updated results as they rolled in. For fun I put a curly-wigged photo of myself as "Gern Blanston" on the ballot as well. A few people wondered what was up with that. I still wonder that myself)

Monday, October 24, 1988

‘…it was a Monday…’

Well, this day was significantly less confusing… thought not at first. It didn’t really get started until noon because I was sick, and also because I didn’t really have anything else to do. I grabbed some lunch at the refactory and slowly got ready for class.

We went to Poetry and Drama class, where J.P. were placed in a group with a girl we thought looked like Margaret Thatcher. After class, we went for dinner, and then I went up to see how Liz and Viv were doing. Viv (pictured) was, again, very friendly toward me (platonically, folks!) Liz was doing a bit better, but basically still hurt from losing that guy she really liked.

Later I left the room and traversed the halls a bit to visit others, but afterward I returned to my room. It wasn’t long afterward that Liz stopped by again, and she and I had another lengthy discussion. However, it was during this visit that Doug stopped by to tell me that he had talked to Viv and told her where he stood, and that he was not interested in being any more than friends, and that his feelings wouldn’t change.

Well when he left, it gave Liz and I an entirely new topic of discussion. (I had since told Liz of my affection for Viv.) She then left my room to return to her own and talk to Viv, while I remained in my room.

After awhile I was shanghaied by some friends to join in a game of Scruples in Bits’ room, but I took a detour first to pay a visit to Viv. That may have been a mistake. She was in a confused but not quite upset state, almost angry at how many people knew about her dilemma. It was an awkward situation for me, being in that room at that time, and I really wasn’t quite sure what to do.

A few awkward minutes later, we all left for Bits’ room for that game of Scruples. Viv and Liz didn’t play, but Paul, J.P., Bits, Sid, Little John, Lisa, Neil Roberts (from south London), Irish Johnny (from Ulster), and I played. Sid was the eventual winner. During the game, Viv and Liz left to visit some other friends. After hanging out in St. Hilda’s for awhile, I wrote a note to Viv and Liz inviting them to stop by my room if they so wished, and placed it on their door.

Sure enough, a little later on, a tap came on the window and it was little Liz. When I went out to let her in the building, I saw Viv walking down the hall. They both came into the room for a little while, but then Liz left. It was then that Viv told me she had changed her mind about us. Needless to say, I was very happy to hear that. Things are looking pretty good right now. Cheers!