Sunday, May 14, 1989

Last Full Day in Scunthorpe ...

Woke up about the same time for my last full day at Sam and Jenny's house in Scunthorpe. It has been a very relaxing, laid-back, and much-needed break for me.

Sam and I took a walkthis morning to return the movies and buy a Sunday Times. It was warm and nice out... perfect for a walk. Then we returned to the flat to read the paper, eat and watch "Lost in Space."

Afterward, the three of us began playing a game called Escape from Corbitz, but we got bored with that and decided to play Scrabble instead. After an intense game, I won with a score of 211. Jenny was second with 183 and Sam finished third with 107 (he was stuck with a "Q".)

As the day trugged on we read, ate, watched some television and talked. No major events throughout the day until about 8 p.m., when I called my parents to wish Mom a Happy Mother's Day. It was a good conversation, and I will officially be arriving back home at Harrisburg International Airport on Friday, June 23 at 8:30 p.m., EST. I can hardly wait!

I got the scoop from home, and then returned to the TV, where Sam and I watched Terry Gilliam's "Jabberwocky," staring Michael Palin. It was quite good. Watched a bad short movie called "The Monkey's Paw" (a very poor adaptation of the short story), and then went to bed a short time later.

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Hand On Your Heart" - Kylie Minogue
  
  
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Forever Your Girl" - Paula Abdul
  

Saturday, May 13, 1989

Scunthorpe Theatre ...

I woke up at about 11 a.m., watched some TV, read my Peanuts books, and then intended to take a bath, but didn't quite get around to it.

Sam and I went back into town to return the films and walk about the market, but I didn't buy anything. When we returned home, we relaxed for awhile before heading back out and we walked to Poppin's to rent a film. We ended up with two, "Aliens" and "True Stories" (quite a combination!)

The evening's theater began with the Charlie Chaplin film "Modern Times" on TV, which was great. Next week they're showing "The Great Dictator." Can't wait to see that one. Next we watched "True Stories" and then took a bit of a mental break to watch "Rapido" on TV, before starting "Aliens." Had a bit of a problem with the tape at first, but managed to get it worked out. Excellent and scary film that had us both on the edges of our seats (and Sam had already seen it!)

We both tried to "scare" each other during the movie. I did the hand-in-the-shirt-so-it-looks-like-an-alien-coming-out-of-your-stomach trick. Sam just startled me when I came out of the bathroom.

Finally got to bed after 2.30 a.m.

Today's fabulous quote: "Look guys, it's a dud!" - me

Pictured: Another poster that I nicked from a show that I did not see, since I was not in town the night of the show. Looks like some good music was played that evening.

Friday, May 12, 1989

To Boldly Go ...

Woke up around noon, and slowly got myself ready, watching a bit of television before Sam, Jenny and I took a trip into downtown Scunthorpe.

It was a cold and miserable day outside, and we took the bus, Jenny stopping at Safeway for groceries while Sam and I went to a second hand book shop. Bought myself two more Peanuts books (only 40p each), before picking up Jenny and heading into town. We hired two films, "Star Trek IV" and "Escape from New York," and walked about the market, where I bought homemade peanut butter and dried apricots.

We then returned to the flat for dinner, then films. We first watched "Star Trek III" before popping in "Star Trek IV" following. We ended the evening with the classic "Escape," which is still one of my all time favourites. We finally called it a night around 2 a.m.

Today's fabulous quote is from J.P.: "Your room is my room."

Thursday, May 11, 1989

Leaving for Scunthorpe ...

This morning I had no one lined up to take care of my hamster Shannon, but I asked Buffy and she was happy to care for him, which was a stroke of luck. What wasn't a stroke of luck was when I went to get money out of the bank. I put my card in the Barclay's machine before I realized it was closed, and I basically lot my card in the machine.

So I returned to my room and took Shannon up to Buffy's room, grabed my bank things and headed out to Lloyd's bank in the hopes of straightening things out. No problem with that, fortunately. At 2 p.m.,with all of my things packed, we left for Sam's home in Sunny Scunny. It took us about an hour to drive from Hull to Scunthorpe, and once we finally got there, we unwound, and waited for Sam's wife Jenny to return from work.

We ate some crackers to fill us, and then went by taxi to Sam's North Lincolnshire Writer's Circle meeting. It was really a good experience, and I started thinking it might be something worth starting back at Millersville in the fall.

There were seven other writers at the meeting besides Sam and me, and they discussed writing opportunities, successes and then everyone read their latest efforts. After I read "The Feast" to the group, I received an alarmingly enthusiastic response, and Norman Jackson, the groups secretary and most prolific writer in North Lincolnshire, recommended that I submit it to either Radio 4's "Morning Story" or to a magazine called Ad Lib.

I was ecstatic with the response, which has really inspired me to continue writing.

After the meeting we ate a buffet of food and I mainly talked to one member of the group named Robin. Upon returning to Sam's house, we watched TV, including "The Tempest," which was quite heavy but kept us up until after 2 a.m.

Today's fabulous quote is from Doug Schoener: "It's open, ya boob!" No explanation needed.

Pictured: A poster for a concert featuring the band And All Because the Lady Loves, tomorrow at the Hull College Student Union. I'll have to miss it, since I'm in Scunthorpe. Stole a poster from it, though.