Come on, lets go...

15th March 2006

This is the Wednesday morning before the Sunday evening. That’s when I leave the secure, cool and safe English home counties (well, if you ignore AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield) for the semi-tropical heat, unpredictability and multiplicity of Mumbai. From the Gateway of India, we embark in our white colonial suits and hats onto the ‘wide-world’. *Gulp*

Today, I am calm not clammy. I certainly wasn’t feeling like this a week ago. Deep unease and anxiety had set in. Like a million before me, moving house, packing in a steady job, selling my car and leaving myself with not a lot to do frankly, made me think ‘oh no!' One of the guide books I have provides a culture shock rating for different locations from one (minor disorientation and unease) up to three (total readjustment and personal reappraisal required). India’s a three. Concentrating on any of the research I’d set myself was tough and everything I attempted lacked structure. It felt a like gingerly picking up a broken plate one shard at a time. As usual I was taking myself too seriously and concentrating too hard. Kicking around the house was doing my head in – thank goodness I’ve chilled out now.

Towards the end of last week I spent plenty of time with my mates, including a final recording session with the Gresham Flyers on Thursday in Whitechapel. This went swimmingly despite the fact we missed an hour and a half of studio time stuck in traffic on the A10. We managed to get one of John’s songs ‘Blackpool’ down and one of mine, ‘Plastic Bag’. I’ll try and link to these at some point in the future. I’ve spent a year with the Flyers now and it’s a real shame to move on - of all the bands I’ve been in this one was the most fun. My best wishes to Kerry, my replacement, and the rest of the band in future.

James & I had our major leaving party on Saturday and I’m pleased to say it was neither a poorly-recollected booze-up, nor a sentimental tear fest. I managed to speak to everyone properly as I’d hoped and I still remember all of it! Thank you to those of you whom came, it was pretty special. The venue was, and could only be, the Windsor Arts Centre. The WAC was home of much juvenile aspiration and hi-jinx for me and many of my close friends, as well as the place I first got into live music and bands. Indeed I played my first ever gig there. After being unceremoniously kicked out at closing time, we ended up under the railway arches at Charley’s Horse a Mexican bar and restaurant that has a crappy disco on Weekend evenings. Charley’s Horse is not in the least a favourite place of mine, but Windsor isn’t big on diverse nightspots and it’s probably the only place that would have had us. We got a bit of Beatles and Stones played so we could dance which tailed off into the soppiness you’d expect, bit it was genuine and didn’t get too yucky!

This week I’ve regained my focus and I’m cracking on with the research. I am exited again, extremely excited. In between buying one item of every product in Millets, stuffing my back pack and wandering around the Great Park with all the stuff on my back, I’ve researched India. Aside from finishing Maximum City and reading general guide books, I watched Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi last night with James. This was a useful insight for two people who know almost nowt about Indian history. I thought some of the complexity of partition and the make up of the Indian Congress was left out, but at three hours the film would have needed two intermissions to make it longer! Anyway,

I’m up for this trip. Let’s get on with it.

Soundtrack: The Gresham Flyers - ‘Plastic Bag’.