Ripping yarns

I was glad to get away to Lee’s at eight last night.

Tommy and Jeremy were there already; Lee’s Mum had gone to Scarborough to run an antiques stall and although she’d only been gone since the morning, the house was already a tip.

We watched a video of Salem’s Lot before getting bored and deciding on a little diversion, which took shape as a midnight mission to frighten the occupants of a tent which was set up down by the allotments. The idea was to creep up, groan and scream, and just generally scare them shit-less.

We discovered they weren’t home and hid under a tree to wait. We’d pinched the battery out of their torch and after they came back Lee threw the battery at the tent. Out they came, silhouetted against the orange sky, brandishing an axe; I felt vulnerable huddled in the undergrowth. Our ‘victims’ began to lob stones into the bushes and to scan the darkness with their torch (spare battery evidently). I felt even worse; it was too much, and we broke cover like scared rabbits and I sprinted until my lungs were bursting. A few hundred yards away we stopped in the safety of darkness.

We wandered back a long way round and could see down into the darkened field where the tent was and watched the torch beams sweeping the trees, pinpricks of light in the grey darkness. The tent people had mustered reinforcements and eventually we were all quite relieved to get back to Lee's in one piece. We planned on going back but everyone felt too tired and sleepy. Tommy went home in the early hours and Jeremy and I slept on the living room floor.

I woke up at eleven o’clock this morning. Lee’s Mum isn’t due back until tonight so we bodged about watching TV, eating, and tidying the house. We played a board game with the enthusiasm of little kids and I missed Athletic’s home match against Hatherseats Bridge: Hatherseats won 2-1

The Spinners also lost on Saturday in their opening league game at Caygill; even though they lost 3-1, they sounded to have played well. The side is very young this year and I think they’ll be a struggle to stay up.

It was early evening when Jeremy and I finally left Lee’s. We walked back through silent and shabby estates, dead except for the kids who cruised about on bikes and played with grass cuttings on the verges. It was dusk when I got back: Dad accused me of being a “fair-weather fan” for not going to the game.

It’s come in cold the last few days and autumn is bearing down fast. Grant phoned this evening to ask how the photo-session had gone and when I told him it hadn’t he said he’d come down. We’ve arranged it for Wednesday. He and Nik are going to a printing place for unemployed people tomorrow to see about getting their book together.