Bubble & Squeak

Thrust up against my luggage like a jealous girlfriend on the tube close enough to breathe in the dull remnants of aftershave, chewing gum, stale smoke and wet ink (the Evening Standard is never dry). In my imagination it’s all about to turn into an R & B video clip where the whole carriage, full of contemporary dancers start writhing in time suggestively and inappropriately close… not much of a stretch really. All we need is a big purple dinosaur! Did I mention I actually saw a Panda get off at Kilburn station one night? It is getting warmer so being flush up against strangers is becoming less appealing, especially those who refuse to shower or use deodorant. What is this Australian preoccupation with showering? I have been asked more than once. To which I reply, what is this preoccupation with smelling like musty carpet? To be fair it is difficult to get washing to dry even in summer here. The sun only makes guest appearances, occasionally blue skies will last for a week. I am not convinced it is the weather that affects everyone’s mood in London. It is the British stiff upper lip, the English version of ‘she’ll be right mate’. Further repression has taken this polite English tradition to not expressing emotions fully whether they are joy or sadness. This is why the English are such masters at dead pan sarcasm, a perfect vehicle to express one’s emotion covertly. I may have inherited a slight English tendency to lock my emotion away, however it seeps out eventually, into my poetry and of course Opera. Thank God for Opera! I suspect that is why the arts are still supported here lest they loose the ultimate vessel with which to convey emotion without being carted off in a straight jacket and thrown into a padded cell. Society has deemed what is and is not appropriate to express in public, what is ‘normal?’. What is normal? Normal is different for each individual because you instinctively know when your equilibrium has been compromised. When your boundaries have been broken, when your actions are not in alignment with your intention.