July at 99 Old Street.

Instaddicted

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Back to work

It really is the end of Christmas. Decorations are packed away, the last chocolate has been snaffled an all of our hangovers put to bed. In the morning things will go back to normality but it surely was great while it lasted.

The slippery game of outward love. Part 3

When she awoke she was glad to be alive.
Half an hour later she was glad of a small glass of water. After four hours she was glad to leave her bed and hobble and after six long hours she was very grateful to be leaving the hospital, sat in Parvez’s passenger seat, shooting down the M40, back to normality. As the first lights of London began to slip across the windscreen, sharp stabs of pain shot across through her groin causing her to suck in large gushes of air. Her brother in law watched her agony, slowly shaking his head sympathetically, “The guy’s cut you deep there.”

That night she found a YouTube video of ligation and stripping of the saphenous vein and found herself watching it in rapt horror. It was as if those dextrous blue-gloved hands sliced into her very own groin. Alice tried to imagine Mr Dhoni in his gowns but, she realised, as she drifted off to sleep, she had completely forgotten his face.

The slippery game of outward love. Part 2

A cardboard box on the kitchen surface was now the only reminder that this was not yet Alice’s home. As she unwrapped teacups and stored them on new shelves she marvelled at the amount of space she had. Her tiny offerings from their last home had barely filled half of the new cupboards. The vast kitchen led in open plan style to an immaculate dining and then living area. Saleem had already tried to scooter around the fancy oak panelling and faced the wrath of an over-tired father, trying to install the TV and Xbox. The whole house had a gorgeous fresh feel to it giving Alice the constant sensation of living in a ‘Home and Gardens’ photo-shoot. They had already all started discussing how and where things would go at Christmas. “We’ll have the biggest tree ever!!!!” Lily had shouted, twirling round and round in the designated spot.

The slippery game of outward love. Part 1

“Have you brought your yellow slip with you?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your yellow slip? Have you brought it with you?”

“I uh..”

Two small lenses looked up from a monitor whilst the hands continued their seamless tapping across a keyboard.
“Your yellow slip? You should have received one in the post?” The lenses reflected the glare of the strip lighting back into Alice’s eyes giving the receptionist the appearance of a large doughy mountain atop which someone had placed two computer screens. Her glossed lips parted creating a chasm in the hillside allowing a bloated pink Gollum to flick out for a moment then retreat back to the warm moistness of her mouth. “If you haven’t got one you’ll need to fill out one of these while you wait.” The glasses held their fluorescent stair whilst her hand swished deftly below the desk to return flourishing another yellow form.