enjoy!
- Charming telephone manners… so, I just had a call from a kind gentleman from N Power (my energy supplier) who, upon my excitable answer said the following: ‘hey, is that Miss… uhhh… Valackee or whatever? (**he proceeds to spell my name**)’ I confirmed that I was indeed born to that name, to which he replied, ‘I’m Tyrone calling from NPower and I need your meter readings, can you give me them?’ I advised that I was at work at the moment and that that would not be possible as my home was not within the vicinity. Tyrone seemed alarmed by this and demanded I get the readings tonight and have them ready for a phone call from him again tomorrow… what excellent interpersonal skills NPower instil in people!
- The fact that people refer to me as ‘tiny.’ I’m not sure where this came from or who started it, but it pleases me. janey ALWAYS refers to me as ‘my tiny’ and potterton sent me a text last night referring to me as a ‘tiny princess.’
- JUSTIN SMITH ESQUIRE… for weeks I have been pining after this man… actual WEEKS! Since janey told me about him in December I decided that I needed to meet him. I needed to meet him and try to make him mine (despite the clear issue that is his sexual preference). I was out of control with excitement with janey sent me a message several weeks ago advising that she had talked about me to him in the shop (her fish shop) one day and that he had invited the two of us personally to the private viewing of his latest collection. Since that day I had been living in between states of excitement and terror about meeting him. Excitement because, I mean, have you SEEN this man?! Terror because the event would be taking place during London Fashion Week and OMGWHATWOULDIWEAR?! Every single day after returning from a hard day at work I would come home to try on a different outfit, wanting to ensure I picked out the PERFECT one. Perfect dress and makeup picked out and packed, I made my way to London last Friday… Saturday rolled around and I was roused with a cup of mango tea to battle my hangover… janey and I pranced to the carribean shop down the road to find some suitable glitz to wear to the event and then retired back to hers to slather my hair in blue dye and watch some atrocious music videos. When the hour finally rolled around, the two of us, dressed as cute as possible, marched to the bus to meet with Louisa Ryrie. After a short shopping excursion we retired to a pub just around the corner from Justin Smith’s flat and drank. We drank and waited… Missy arrived and then Thuy, which signalled the time for us to blaze a trail to the flat of the man I had begun referring to as my future husband. I was out of giddy with excitement as we walked up the stairs after being ushered in by a boy janey later advised was Justin Smith’s significant other. The stairs twisted and turned until we arrived to the very top where there lived mannequins and vintage beautiful aplenty. I was first through the door into his tiny flat, which had been decorated JUST perfectly… dark lighting and special little pieces of taxidermy scattered in specific places to make them look as though they had been haphazardly strewn (as someone who’s worked on set-design, I KNOW when someone has purposefully placed something to LOOK messy). Through the front door I came immediately into the studio where I saw him… he was stood there in the most perfect little outfit looking tinier and more precious than I ever could have imagined. I instantly spun around and started trying to point in my discreetly drunk manner (which I presume only came across as hysterical) to janey that he was behind me. My message was not clearly put across and we marched into the other room to look at the amazing items and fish. After a brief call with the muffin (which was strained and particularly difficult to pay attention to because it was just THEN that Justin Smith decided to walk out into the hallway, leaving him directly in my line of sight) I padded back upstairs to find janey ready to introduce me to him. we made our way back into his studio where janey gave me a VERY formal introduction and he shook my hand. I giggled and sputtered something about his work being amazing… he then told us to go up to his roof and have a fag, that he would be up in a minute. We scaled the ladder in our various foot-coverings and sparked up a fag each and took in the fact that we were on JUSTIN SMITH ESQ’S ROOF having a fag! He came upstairs and I immediately turned into a complete retard… I couldn’t string together more than once sentence and janey was telling him about the projects I work on and was demanding I tell him about the things I had crocheted. I told him about the doll/bear and then suddenly started talking about baking, for some reason finding it IMPERATIVE to tell him about my bacon and maple syrup cupcakes. He nodded and looked alarmed and said he had to go. I asked if I could have my photo with him and he obliged, wrapping his arm around me and making my life complete. Two flashes of the camera complete, we all traipsed down the ladder and us girls left, danie suitably reeling from the fact that she had officially met the most beautiful man in the world. I am now in the middle of writing him a letter, firstly, to thank him for inviting me and secondly, to ask him for a list. We shall see how that works out.
- trips to london
- THE date… oh. My. GOD! I was a big, fat bundle of excitement all day Saturday… I KNEW that he would be getting his orders on that day and I KNEW that I should be expecting a call at any time after 1500. I waited, pined and drove janey crazy from the instant I woke up until we arrived at the pub round the corner from Justin Smith Esquire’s flat. I kept telling janey that I was SURE he was going to ring whilst we were at Justin Smith’s… that I would be SO cross with him if he did… no more than three minutes after arriving at Justin Smith’s flat my phone begin ringing. I cursed very audibly and pranced halfway down the stairs and answered. His voice sounded perfect and wonderful. It had been days since I’d heard it. I had missed it. He said that we only had six minutes and a date. I told him to spit it out. He told me in a cranky, pouty voice that our fears had been founded and that he would be later than we had hoped (only by one week, but, it seems, enough to make his little voice and face sour). I squee’d and told him that it was perfect… that he was going to be here… and he IS… it all feels so much more real now. Now we have an actual date of arrival for the muffin I feel so much more… hrm… what’s the word? ARRRRRGH! Yeah, that’s it. I can’t actually believe it. At this time in two weeks I will be actually dying and completely unbearable. My co-workers have already started joking that they are all going to go off work for that last week and leave me to it. Post-phone call I went back upstairs and felt conflicted, emotional and fucking excited. MY muffin is going to be here in just over two weeks and I MIGHT die! SQUEE!
- Dressing up
- Louisa Ryrie… never, ever did I think I would see the day that Janey I’m-a-loose-cannon Hallam would call someone more of a loose cannon than her! yes, folks, that’s right… that day has come, the day when we realize that there is someone out there who is more of a loose cannon than janey… I met Louisa through pow pow as she will be one of the stars of Johnny. She is a tiny, outrageously beautiful little ball of energy that I am in complete awe of.
- Jane Muthafuckin' Hallam... so, SO big... let's just say there is nobody else in the WORLD that I could drink wine, eat chinese buns and wasabi peas with on a bus in central London late at night with. She is amazing and I adore her more than I adore most people.
- My boys... tonight, just a mere hour ago i had two boys in my bed. yes, that's right... TWO boys. my beautiful pow pow and lee lee came over for din dins (chili, with a special vegan batch for my precious little vegan man) and then a movie in my room (as that is where all my movies are, on my PC, in my bedroom.) they snuggled onto my SUPER comfy bed and played instruments and we talked and watched a film and had a wonderful time. i adore lee lee so, so much. i love when he comes to visit and love the banter and cuddles we have... another date with him is scheduled for friday... SQUEE!
- chili
- when just the edges of leaves have frost on them
- the carribean shop in hackney
- dinner with the digby's
- country bakes from the canteen at workies
- drawing on envelopes before sending them
- having neon blue hair
- the anticipation of going on a trip the hours before you leave
- my hamburger ring
- long emails
- lists
- having access to other people's diaries on Outlook
- Guu Guu (janey's snake)
- Justin Smith Esq's flat
- my Amy Blackwell print
- Pow's girlfriend
- Liam Sharp
- Cider
- sitting on the floor at St Pancras international train station with janey and being belligerent whilst waiting for my train
- the fall
- sellotape
- making pow smile with my wares
- postcards
- chinese buns
- sushi
- wasabi peas
- this photo...
