One Third the Story

It's late, and I should do some laundry, and I need to do some work. I think it's going to be a bit of a long night really. Shame, when the day was so enjoyable. My day started very early today. I was supposed to meet with C yesterday to go over the points that she wants to make in her review which is tomorrow. But yesterday, being such a nice day, C decided that she'd rather play on her new decks in her bikini in the sunshine instead of preparing for work. So we rescheduled for today, early this morning.

I met C at ten at Hackney Central and we went to the Bohemia Cafe for some breakfast and some planning. We did so, then retreated back to mine, as time was a bit short, since I had an appointment for noon. Of course, coming back to mine, C and I plopped ourselves down on the lovely rug to do a bit more work before it was time to catch a bus. Before going for the bus however, I needed to consider a disguise. I chose a cowboy hat and to borrow C's glasses. Not the best disguise, but I forgot and would have asked C to bring her monkey mask if I'd thought about it. No matter. Prior to meeting C this morning, I had wrapped a discreet package of three cookies and two Hershey dark bites in a non-descript brown paper wrapping.

On the bus to Spitalfields, I got a text suggesting my target had reached the drop point ahead of me. I texted back that he should take position, and that I would be there shortly. C and I were only about five minutes off. As we came around the busy plaza, I noticed the plethora of people milling about, with a number seated in the desired position. But only one was reading a book, and, it was the correct book. He was positioned in such a way that I could have sat behind him briefly, left the package and sent a text saying to turn around, but C didn't think that was good enough. She suggested I go place it behind the red church sculpture, and that she would then watch to make sure the exchange happened without interference.

So feeling quite nervous and jumpy, I prepared a text saying to go behind the red church to his right, while we walked just behind him and over to the small sculpture. Crouching behind it, I peered through the small window as a tourist might do, while carefully placing the package in the crook of the metal. Getting up, I headed towards the bike shop which is the first shop in the arcade, and sent the text. From inside the shop, I could see the white shirted lad pass through and out of my field of vision, and then after a while return. Simultaneously, I start getting called for SA asking where the cookie drop is happening. He was, at that very moment, about three meters or so from the cookie holder. Now during this time I'm getting texts and phone calls from three people and trying to answer all of them while simultaneously shaking for no apparent reason. I am definitely NOT an adrenaline junkie!! So next thing I know, SA is asking the cookie holder if he can have a cookie! Cheeky sod! Those were not his cookies to have! But the polite cookie holder shared a cookie with SA, even though he did not deserve it and had eaten plenty previously. Leaving the slightly lighter cookie holder, SA went around and met me in the bike shop, then C came back to join us and while I would have probably just wandered off, SA and C convinced me I had to reveal myself. Which, was perhaps fair, as I had now seen the cookie holder, but he had not seen me.

So I walked just past him, and sat behind him while I got a text from him asking if I was C (well, she had been the most obvious observer) at which point I texted that no, I was not the one with the green belt, but rather the green shirt, and I was sitting directly behind him, and so the drama concluded!

The rest of the day was spent picking up the photograph I dropped off last week to be framed, and dropping off two more to be framed together (it's great when you just meet people and they get to see you dropping of pictures of naked women, I just love the impression I must give). The weather was perfect, the sun was shining. SA, tlsd, and C all wanted to talk to the framer about framing things for them, and then we wandered through the market to get SA's lounge rug. Then more general walking around shopping and snacking. Off to the market in Truman Brewery and then back to Spitalfields as we met up with J, C's boyfriend who brought her print to frame.

It was all good fun having our little motley crew of chatty folk wandering about here and there. It was pleasant and enjoyable in a way that's hard to describe. Of course it's difficult to try and keep track of so many people in such a busy place, but no one seemed to mind, and so all was well.

You may think that was enough fun and excitement for the day, but after the cookie holder had to depart for other plans, C, J, tlsd, SA, and myself all went to this car boot art sale that was being held back by the Truman Brewery. That was a bit nuts really, and I don't think it was really worth the pound it cost me to get in, EXCEPT that I did get to meet the guy that has been making the potatoes!!! I gleefully told him how I'd snapped a bunch of pictures of his potato art installations, and he promised me he was making a whole lot more. So that was perhaps worth my pound. I also purchased a button (badge for you British folks) of my part of town from some artist types who were 'selling off London' button by button. I am in fact, wearing it now.

From here things started to wind down, and it was just me and tlsd looking for a place to have a meal and finally get off our feet. We ended up at a curry house on Brick Lane which was nice, though the waiter was not. And then we trudged tiredly, but happily home. Of course now I should have been working and doing laundry but instead have been on the phone with my father for ages, and I believe it has started raining, or it is about to start raining as the smell of ozone has gotten quite strong and there is a funny chill to the air.

Tomorrow is going to be a bitch at work, and I'm likely going to be doing a late one. Good thing then, that today was such an exceptionally nice day.