Where the feck does the name come from?
Gather round little ones and I shall tell thee a tale from antiquity. 7 Years ago a group of friends (strangely none of the ones here other than me and MW but there you have it) rented a house down d'country to go on a collective piss-up. I brought a large blue notebook with me.
Over the course of the weekend it became written in by all there.
Sketches,
graffiti,
random threats to murder us all in our sleep
(never did find out who wrote that one!) and what can only be described as blog posts.
None of us here had ever heard of blogs all those years ago (well probably apart from Atreus and Polka) but that's what it was. An analog blog. End of story. Well, not quite.
On a second weekend away with a slightly different group many months later the book came along too and served roughly the same purpose. This group included me, Tiberius, Mr Pink, MW and PiP from our number here. Among the one line "dramatis personae" at the beginning of the second part of the book are the following descriptions of each of us at the time:
Tiberius Gracchus - At his sexual peak!!
Midget Wrangler - Naked ironer
Mr Pink - Johnny (no) mates
pretty in pink - Prefers length & girth
Someone Living - Unemployed
How things have changed.
One of the others was due to follow down later on and a bet was taken as to who would be accompanying him. Money was wagered, one old pound each, nine pounds in total, and the bet was on.
Midge won (doesn't she always!) but over the course of the next few days the nine pounds was bet on a series of dares (one memorable one being if one of us would go up to the request taking elderly lady singing country music in the bar and ask her if she'd do Maniac 2000) changing hands more than once and all recorded on our analog blog.
The fund did increase extremely late on the Saturday night (had we been drinking? I don't remember) to £1000 if Tiberius would give a good seeing too to the asexual virgin friend of a friend who had been showing a highly unusual interest in his youthful charms, but that's his story.
Thus "For Nine Pounds..."
This is much more fun :)
SL, You should know by now I always win!!! Both weekends were excellent, so nice to have a record of them. In those days we were fecking mad, remember the lap dancing? I'm talking about the boys here! Pole dancing, cross dressing? Oh and crisp sandwiches and face packs! Good times, Good times!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! You seem like a great bunch! Glad to be part of the new....."whatever you're calling it"!
ReplyDeleteSL, the old days, was that the time you went to Portumna? I recognise the cartoon image. Nothing like a good reminisce. Actually, I had a moment 2 weeks ago, walking round by the Shelbourne Hotel of living in the actual present - i've never done that before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the story.
Dear God did I really mention Length and girth. Surely not. oh have I turned into a prude now? I do unfortunately remember the pole dancing. Now lets be honest it was a sweeping brush.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes we were trousered on the Saturday night. & I had an adopted Step Son. Have to see what we wrote in that book. I have a photo of a hairy man in a blue bra, the face pack gang. (god we are in our pj's) and we weren't drunk yet. God remember the runny fried eggs for breakfast.
I was there and I still can't work out who yis are......and I never got me grand but only some people know if I ever earned it......
ReplyDeleteThere's one very odd picture of me that weekend, taken whilst having a scratch of my stomach, looks like I'm doing something far worse though....bastards!
By the way, was she really asexual? I thought she was just playing hard to get
ReplyDeletePlaying hard to get with everyone but you "sexual peak" boy. Yeah Milan it was the Portumna trip alright. Feels great to see the book living again both for the few who were there and the majority who weren't. And as to how PiP and Tiberius can't recognise each other when they're long lost family...
ReplyDeleteHow did she know I was at my peak, hang on how did you know? Can women smell that kind of thing?
ReplyDeleteAh the memories! I was actually on the first trip when the book was introduced...
ReplyDeleteSome of the men (and women!) in the group excited that we had channel 5 because it meant they could watch soft porn...
All of us sitting in a circle talking about the summer that changed our lives...
My room mate making sure he went to bed before and using the bed clothes to turn himself into a sort of mummy obviously afraid I wouldn't be able to resist him (he was also the only one to have vodka and orange juice for breakfast)...
Good times!
Fascinating...
ReplyDeleteI have no recollection of being reffered to Johnny (no) mates... Somehow I get the feeling that it was meant in an ironic way (and I ain't explaining how it was ironic!)
Aw. It's like the breakfast club. Or one of those nostalgic baby boomer films with Kevin Kline in.
ReplyDeleteHow nice you're still friends! You should plan a reunion.
Mr Pink I think it was cos you had the most active social life! I'm laughing my ass off remembering the vodka and orange thing...and the mummy, what about the screming in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeletePIP you are so not a prude.....no way!
The screaming was coming from your room... :-p
ReplyDeleteDon't be silly Jo - we have a whole new mythology to write here with the new family :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha pinky! don't be jealous now!!! It was actually shouting from downstairs that woke me....the I was convinced our "skin you alive" friend was gonna, well, skin us alive!
ReplyDelete