SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2007 | ARCHIVE

A monumentally lazy day today, but a good one. Everyone’s gone off to the Connect festival in Inverary. I opted to stay in Glasgow on account of a race tomorrow, so I pretty much had the day in glorious isolation.

I ought to get to sleep soon. I ought to grow my body with sleep like any athlete should, but I’m no good at getting to bed early, even if I’m up at 6 or so. There’s a half-marathon in Glasgow tomorrow and I’m going to run it. I haven’t run a race for 20 years; I keep getting twenty-year flashbacks. I don’t need any excuse to slide back to the eighties, as you probably realise.

I haven’t had a Saturday on my own for quite some time. It’s ok for a change. I mean, because I’m trying to save myself for tomorrow, it’s been really boring, but I feel kinda limber now. I dropped the kid off for her ride to the festival, then I went shoe shopping for Doc Martins and safety pins. Safety pins for the race, so I can affix my number (14200), Docs for a stylin’ autumn season.

I spent the afternoon listening to the football coverage on the BBC and listening to post punk at the same time. My favourite was the Mekons running over the Spurs-Fulham game. It gave the game a noble, tragic aspect that was heretofore missing.

I ate chocolate then wandered down the street really slowly, breaking in my Docs, and what could only be described as khaki Chinos. It must be noted that I had no original thoughts in that time. I’m saving myself for tomorrow.

Can’t wait to get going tomorrow. I mean, I’m going to miss church to run, but I’ll be able to have my own meditation on the way round. I want a warm day, but I think it’s going to be breezy. I want a warm calm balmy day like we haven’t had, and we ain’t going to get.

I watched Contact earlier, and it annoys me a bit but I still enjoy it. Now I’m watching the Mets and that’s pretty great. To watch baseball on your computer and turn the volume down and listen to easy listening rock music over the top. It gives the game a bold and heroic aspect that was heretofore lacking.

Man, I ought to do this more often. I’ve been a nippy sweety the last week or so. I’ve been a nippy sweety, but this lazy day is doing a lot to help my nippiness. I was trying to explain to any loved-one that would listen that the reason for my nippy mood wasn’t work, wasn’t the race. I like the race, I like my work. But I hate the alarm that’s going off behind my house just now. It won’t go off, and it’s my own personal Chinese water torture.

The building near me fell down a few nights ago unexpectedly, but with no loss off life, thankfully. Everyone got out when the cracks appeared in the ceiling a half hour before, and then… dust and twisted metal.

When the dust settled, the sound remaining was an alarm, loud and persistent. I can’t work out what the alarm is for. Maybe just a ‘building about to collapse’ alarm. Why is it still running though? We all know it’s collapsed.

They turned the electricity off. The first night the lights were still on in the exposed rooms. The alarm must be running on batteries. What batteries tho! These f**ckers must be NASA space batteries. So I’m walking round the whole time with Marisa’s noise cancelling headphones.

They won’t let me in to take the thing down.

“I’m not sending my man in to take the thing down.” The policeman said.
“I’ll go!” said I.
“You won’t. No one’s going near it. It could fall any minute.”

I retreat, planning a night attack.

On the bridge, as I listening to the swoosh of my Chino’s, I heard a lady say to a child.

“Come on, we’ll be late for the tumbledown house.”

So it’s become a Saturday attraction for families and small children. Bet the kids are bored. It’s just the adults that want to gawp and gossip. About builders and neighbours and poor foreign tenants. Everyone's crapping themselves that it could be them next.

Marisa took this news picture..

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