Sweet Boonies

So a member of the group that I am squatting with has been posting flyers for the past few weeks. We have been spreading the word to all other squats and infoshops in the area: Valentine's Day, 9:30 PM, Capture The Flag, Meet at Trafalgar Square. 

We had approximately 60 people show up. We shouted out rules of the game over a megaphone and gave boundaries marked by streets in the SOHO/Covent Garden vicinity, containing an area of a few square miles. Each team marked their faces with warpaint of corresponding colors: Pink Hearts VS Blue Lightning Bolts. And we marched through the streets to our designated areas of the city, waving two massive hand-stitched flags complete with our appropriate crests of honor, feeling as if we were the kids from The Sandlot who had just been transported onto the battlefields of Braveheart! We ran through the streets for hours defending our land, dodging taxis and rickshaws, leaving people holding flowers and heart-shaped balloons in a trail of dust and bewilderment. That was one hell of a Valentine's Day!

Our legs ached the next morning, but we all slept well that night. Sunday I took the walk up to brick Lane to search for a bicycle. Fearing I had gotten there too late and that all the decent bikes would be sold, I wandered around in hopes of finding even a good frame that I might be able to fix up. When five o'clock rolled around and drizzle was beginning to mist the air I realized that it was about time to give up and begin the walk home. Wet and not looking forward to the long walk I had ahead of me, I hung my head low but happened to notice something out of the corner of my eye. A good find, but I imagined out of my price range.

How much? I inquired. Forty Quid, he said. Thirty, I replied. Hell No, but I might do Thirty-five only because I'm in a hurry. Done.

So I was able to ride a beautiful black fixie home, just my size, and at an incredible bargain. Actually the price was too good and I suspect it may be stolen. I am posting on the London fixie-forum, if anybody responds with an accurate description of the bike I will return it to the rightful owner. But otherwise, I have an amazing bike, and fast too. I have really missed riding, and have been logging tons of milage all over the city for the past few days, jumping on any opportunity to go skipping (colloquial term for diving) with the flatmates around London.

I am an official member of the Camberwell Snooker Club now, and unless something else comes up tonight I will go play for the first time.