The Original Arts Hole and the lockdown years -
The Original Arts Hole - Tree house 2.0
So I got back from Amsterdam in the Friday ( which was already in partial lockdown already - and some of the looks we were getting as we sat there in the floor of the airport eating our sandwiches was already a terrified and judgemental look )
On the Monday that great far sack of belligerent wind issued the national instruments for the lockdown
Now at this time , my girlfriend was living in temporary accomodation due to a housing dispute with her former tenency that had effectively rendered her as ' homeless '
I was living in a remarkable set of circumstances -
As I'm sure I've previously mentioned I acquired a yacht through barter to act as a housing option and logistics and delivery option for the ever diminishing trade here in the UK , it's a small vessel, a little 30" GRP but just enough for a fall back position when needed
A friend of mine was working as a tutor for a local charity and training provider delivering construction skills courses for the probation and rehabilitation services in the city and suggested that I pop along to volunteer a day or two
So this I did willingly , of course that's again where things just sort of doing out of control, it's a good thing I do keep such a stringent set of records ( indeed these days everytime I have a meeting with one of these government departments you need to be recording the whole time like some kind of conspiracy theory crazy that lives in a bunker .... I am reflecting on the caricature in eighties and nineties media representations of course
So I'm offered a flat ,
Im offered a roommate ...a live in recovering alcoholic that is only supposed to be with me for a few weeks while he is building routines and getting back into the swing of things ( actually he was a lovely guy and despite us being stuck together for most of and certainly the height of the pandemic - we did become friends )
The building we are staying in was in a dire state of repair and comprised 3 flats over 3 floors , in a converted mid terrace thing in a deplorable part of town ( remember I do still have and am spending my weekends down in a wooded tidal estuary - I'm not a big fan of company at the best of times ) the building itself was in such a dire state of repair that quite honestly it was just squalor
The tenant in the ground floor , an elderly couple of wavering disposition , the woman Joyce actually died of sepsis a part of the reason that I instigated the official environmental health complaint against the landlord , the charity managing the property and the local council , after Joyce died the partner Adrian was really in a bad way - drinking heavily and going down hill , a matter that I assure you was not left unreported ....
The tenant in the top floor was a Albanian street dealer - who was just a constant pain in the arse ...
So there's me ...a volunteer a couple of days a week with a local teaching outfit , suddenly looking after a grown man prone to bouts of alcoholism and withdrawal
The guy on the ground floor is audibly loosing his shit in a palpably melancholic state
Every time the guy upstairs plays his music at 3 am or has a shower which then runs down the walls of your living room ...
My girlfriend is in a state of apparent and incendiary distress , under threat of eviction for not paying her water rates to the homeless charity that is providing her temporary accomodation , as a result is being rather quarrelsome
I'm writing a syllabus for the training provider that I have been volunteering for in the hope that under my own little project -operation reintegration into this crazy ass society , I might find a little point of gainful employment to hide in while the economy keeps collapsing
They didn't have a position - straight off ....so I actually opted to render one
Then we go into lockdown ....
And everything went thermo nuclear - imagine if you will , my experiences during this time- I assure you there are a volume of emails and recorded evidence to testament those dark years , so I'll not labour over it in this little rant
But the pint I am so circuitously getting around to making is
How do you keep your shit together under such circumstances -
Quite honestly, gardening and painting made quite the difference amid that little forced social dynamic.
The middle flat of the 3 we had no ground floor access , but we did have a fire escape , it was no mean feat acquiring all of the plants and things that were needed but over a very short time , just so I could feel like I was sitting in a treehouse while I was having my little cigarettes amongst all of that insanity , maintaining what I could of my chill , before the next drama erupted
I know everyone suffered during those years ...some , more than others
So a scoff at the idea of mindfulness courses being delivered in seminar style , of positivity practices online via zoom and all the rest of it ....
Its amazing what a person can do , and yet receive zero credit for .... I have become very much accustomed to being completely unappreciated in my time , for some people that would be enough to deter any further course of action
But when you have some how managed to turn what most would consider to be a mild ADHD condition into a viable vocation ....then what's a little PTSD in the mix
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