As I expected, I'm coping with the unexpected

Aahhh my ear, I’m really worried about my left ear. We had our final rehearsals today and once we had finished setting up I realised I hadn’t brought any ear protectors. I don’t usually need them as my ears are normally full of wax to some degree. However I had my ears syringed last week and since then I have had the best hearing I can remember having for ages. They were therefore vulnerable and the only thing I could find to put in them to protect them was some toilet paper.

The boys turned up with Paul Howard who was here to rehearse for his guest appearance with us at the gig on Friday night in Brighton, unfortunately he was feeling ill yet was still detrmined to try his best. Struggling to fore fill his commitments but not well enough to be entirely with it, he kept forgetting the words and the band were a bit ploddy because I kept starting the songs off too slowly, so it wasn’t too good to begin with.

One of the problems was that Paul had to be away early so we set out to practise the songs we were doing with him first of all. The band hadn’t warmed up so we were not at our best and when Paul left I think we were all feeling a bit frustrated with ourselves. The last number of that session with him, his voice was the loudest thing through the PA and midway through the song it managed to penetrate the toilet paper I had in my left ear and actually hurt my ear drum about three times during one number.

After he had gone the band started to warm up and the rest of the rehearsal went really well.
When it was all over and we were packing up, I took the toilet paper out of my right ear and all the sounds of the room flooded in, then I took the paper out of my left ear and nothing really changed apart from my ear ringing.
I hope I haven’t damaged it, it’s really making me anxious. Even one good night’s sleep is not going to tell me if it’s recovered as when I’ve had ringing ears before it’s taken a day or two.

I feel like I’ve still got paper in it when I haven’t. Usually I’m used to both my ears ringing but because it’s only one this time if feels really strange, it is sort of unbalancing me sound wise.

Fingers crossed It’s all right!



1965

Fucking hell!

“I thought you said it was an abandoned wreck”

“Well, it is really old, no-one used it anymore, it’s been there for weeks and had been left there unlocked.

Why then are there two men running towards it.

Fucking hell Billy shouted.

The two racing figures stopped suddenly when the heat was no longer bearable on their faces and just stood there with their mouths open.

I said “I think we better get out of here before they see us”

Then…

At that moment there was a huge BANG! A explosion that blew out the windows showering the men with broken glass. The people waiting at the bus top instinctively ducked and held their arms up over their faces.
Although with the car park wall and a road in-between them and the lorry I don’t think any debris reached them.

“Fucking hell” we all said in unison, run I shouted.

We tore off out of the car park, I ran with all my might. My breathing was accelerated, I was gasping for air but is sounded like quick fire sobbing.
I could feel my stature decreasing as I ran down the slope between the Doctors surgery and Patie and Pakins which led to the entrance of the underpass. As I entered I hoped the ground would swallow me up but instead the passage to the other side just amplified my distress and chillingly threw it back ten fold.
By the time I exited the other side I felt as small as an ant with the foot print of my conscience bearing down, threatening to crush me.

“Split up” Billy cried.

Split up? I not trying to be in a gang at this moment I’m just heading straight to my home. I jumped off the path on to the grassy hill and started to make my way towards the back of the Pear Tree Mead estate.
My partners in grime scattered off somewhere, I don’t know where, I didn’t care, I was glad to be on my own now.

At this moment I realised that I needed to calm down, I couldn’t enter the house like this so I ran into the nearest bushes and sat down. I was exhausted and although I was beginning to catch my breath I was far from recovering.Away from my gang, quietly, so no-one could hear I cried my heart out.

The need to get safely home returned after a while, I cuffed the tears off of my eyes and onto my sleeve and started to run the last stretch to my street.
As I emerged from the bushes an ear splitting siren rang out from Southern Way, the road on the far side of the field that let to Bush Fair. A double decker bus further delayed from picking up it’s impatient passengers had driven up on to the grass verge to let two fire engines pass.

Two fire engines! As if by magic children from every estate suddenly appeared and ran towards Bush Fair to see the spectacle of a fire being put out.

There was one child running the opposite way.