August 11, 2009
August 10, 2009
Last night was great
In this photo you can see (left to right): someone from National CND, old man who looks like Michael Foot, Mark, Jan – (in red holding the banner) and – erm, some other people. Should have uploaded a different photo with all my friends in. Not to mention Bruce Kent. I’ll find another one later.
Last night:
Present: Peter, Jan, Yvan, Claire. Also, back from Lifebeat – Holly! She brought with her a number of necklaces and bracelets that she’d made. I made pizza and salad and hoped that others would bring snacks. In fact everyone brought wine so we ended up with 2 bottles of rose, one of white, plus 2 wine boxes (one of which Steve had mauled in an attempt to wrestle it open) and half a bottle of red.
A good had was time by all.
the pizza went down well, and the plinth video generated a lot of interest. We watched another one of a woman in the middle of the night doing shadow puppets to an audience of one (a policeman). It is great to see what people come up with. And the best thing about this whole project is – it’s a celebrity-free zone!
We need this. We need a return to people being themselves, valuing what they are and what they have to offer. Being interested and interesting – and above all, not worrying about what they look like!
Long may it continue.
Gormley for President.
Kirk out
PS Oh, and Peter’s photos were much appreciated also – here are a couple – showing my supporters with their banners, and one with me doing a victory dance when I’d finished.
This is my absolute favourite photo of the Plinth – I’d just finished and was jumping up and down in elation!
August 9, 2009
Have you come far? What are you reading?
Wrote an article about the Plinth for OM magazine, a yoga publication. Steve came round and we watched the video of me on the Plinth. I don’t seem to have made it into the week’s highlights, although that does say “Last week’s highlights” so maybe that was the week before (That was the week, that was – remember TW3?).
I am reading an Alan Bennett called The Uncommon Reader. It’s about the Queen discovering a mobile library outside the Palace and starting to read. As with all Alan Bennetts, every male in it is gay.
Trinity today. I shall wear my new skirt. Then this evening people are coming round to watch the video and eat pizza.
Drank a lot of wine last night. It was great! Oh, and Steve, having bought a wine box for the first time, complained about how hard it was to get the wine out. Turns out he’d dismantled the box and tried to get the wine out by wringing the bag!
We put him right.
Kirk out
PS Oh! And we have booked a week in East Sussex, near Pevensey Bay. Should be great!
August 8, 2009
August 7, 2009
The Life of Dumbledore
Watching HPHBP again before it goes back to the library. Dumbledore has four names – Albus, Percival, Wulfric, Brian Dumbledore. I have deconstructed these:
Albus – Latin for white, a good guy
Percival – a medieval knight
Wulfric – a Saxon warrior
and
Brian – he’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy
PS Some people have said they weren’t able to watch my poem about the Vestas people, and they were wondering whether it had been expunged for political reasons. Seems unlikely, we think
Kirk out
PS Watched it again and it is on there
August 6, 2009
Photos of me
Here’s a photo of me on the plinth. I’m also in today’s Mercury – check it out!
Kirk out
PS Yes, I know there’s three pictures of me. Thought it hadn’t uploaded the first two times. Still, it makes a nice triptych!
The early-burly of the first commuters
This was a phrase that came to me this morning. Yesterday was BRILLIANT! It was AMAZING to be up there, to see the London skyline as I did my stretchs and twists, to look over at the clock of St Martin’s in the Fields and see how I was doing (the time really flew – it didn’t seem like an hour), to see people down below – they’re really close and you can talk to them if you want. Oh! And Bruce Kent turned up, which was great – haven’t seen him since 1980-something – and a couple of London CND people with a banner and the square was FULL because it was lunchtime and everything went great except I wasn’t really practised with the megaphone and kept getting feedback or not being heard so the poems didn’t come across that well. Still, they will have come over on the internet I expect. *
Afterwards I did the only decent thing and got drunk. Found a brilliant pub just off the square and quaffed (that’s the only word for it) several pints of London Pride. Chris turned up and we introduced him to the pub. A had time was good by all.
Then back to Leicester and we marched straight down to Pizza Express. By the time the food arrived I was ravenous.
Horrible glass of Chianti though. That was a mistake.
Slightly hung over this morning but not too bad.
The early burly catches the curly wurly.
So thanks to all who came and supported me.
Will try to watch it on the net now.
Kirk out
*They did!
August 3, 2009
Wednesday afternoon, 1 pm
Don’t forget!! Set clocks and watches! Programme alarms!!! Tie a knot in EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAARGH!
God, I miss the screaming…
Yes! Yes! Almost back to normal now. I have written a couple of poems to do on the plinth and it’s really coming together now. They are called “Peace One Day” and “Action!” I’ll put them on here afterwards – don’t want to pre-empt the event.
I’m wondering if I should have a megaphone, and if so, how poems about peace are going to come across when shouted via a megaphone. Reminds me of Vogon poetry – hence the title, which I think comes from the H2G2 film.
Tying up all the loose ends today. Practising, and hopefully booking a holiday. I’m staying tomorrow night with a friend of Claire’s called Anna – and for a while I thought she lived near St Peter’s Church, Edmonton, because she’s in London N9. Turns out London N9 is quite a big area. She’s not even near Oakfield Rd, Stoke Newington, where my grandparents came from – and it isn’t easy to get from one place to the other on the tube. Ah well. The holiday cottage I really want, though, is in Rustington, and I know that’s near where my grandparents retired. Rustington is only a small town.
My head is coming together. Thank god.
Kirk out.
(Oh, all right then – if you don’t know, it means “Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. 2 H’s and 2 G’s – geddit?)www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/
August 2, 2009
Help! We’ve come to church by mistake!
Unexpectedly went to Church of the Martrys today. We were walking to Trinity when I felt All Wobbly (to use the technical term). I said to Mark, I’m not going to make it – and at that point we were opposite the Martyrs! They welcomed us very warmly. I guess there’s a chance we might start going back there.
Couple of rounds in the park – felt fine doing them but a bit wobbly after.
Holly has gone to Lifebeat. Claire and Stuart took her this year.
Kirk out
Should have said: Help! We’ve come to church by mistake! (Withnail and God)
