Café Nero – Nottingham

The only place to sit was up here.
There is a good view.
Of people passing by.
I get to watch them pass through their lives.

My eyes flicker round the room.
Watching,
Observing their movements.

There is a guy sitting in the corner reading a book.
I am jealous of him.
I want to feel comfortable sitting on my own.

He gets up to leave.
A game of musical chairs takes place in his absence.

I take a card out, reach out and place it on the table next to me. Minutes later, a guy and a girl come in and sit at the table. It hasn’t been cleared yet so they push the rubbish over to one side. They don’t seem to notice the card.

I look back out of the window,
I watch the people walk by.
I play the guessing game.
Making up stories about who they are.

He smokes his cigarette.
She touches her hair.
I look down
– I watch.
He paces up and down
– waiting.
She glances inside.
The little one blows her nose.
I look away.

I look back over to the couple,
They are deep in conversation.
Too deep now- they won’t notice it.

Outside I see him.
I’ve heard about him before,
But I have never seen him until now.
I watch him until he passes out of my view.
Headphones the size of speakers.
They must be some weight to carry around.
The women waiting outside the shop sees him too.
She watches him pass, smiling to herself.
I smile at her, smiling at him.
Everyone is watching everyone else – but no one notices that they are being watched…

Not even me…
Until I look up and see him looking at me.

I stand up, drop a card and leave.

Cookie Club – Nottingham

With my coat and purse in my hand I queue up for the cloakroom. The woman takes my coat. I pay her, take the ticket and walk onto the dance floor. We start to dance and I realise I sill have the ticket in my hand. I get my cardholder out and put it inside.

The holder glows under the UV light, and in our merry state we seem to find it really interesting.
I get a card out, and as I do someone takes it from me and starts waving it around.

A couple of guys dancing next to us look over and see the glowing card.
They grab it wondering what it is.

One of them tries to read it, but can’t make it out in the dark.
His friend takes it from him.
He reads it and looks very confused.

‘What does it mean?’

‘Whatever you want it to.’ I answer.
I don’t think he is happy with that as an answer.

‘Is it some kind of religious thing?’ he asks.
His friend has now managed to read it, and he too is looking at me waiting for an answer.

I tell them that it isn’t.
We talk for a bit.
They are still very confused,
And I am having trouble explaining myself.

I don’t really want to explain myself.
We talk and laugh,
They still don’t understand.
But I don’t mind that.

At one point they seem to be slightly offended by the card. Which I admit I don't quite understand.
But we laugh it off on both sides.

The card is returned to me,
The two guys say bye and wander off in search of a drink.

Boots Library – Nottingham

I get in the lift to go up to the fourth floor – computers.
I put my smart card in my jacket pocket and realise I have a card in there from yesterday. I had planned to leave it in the arboretum on my way home, but it was locked up by the time I left uni.

There is no one else in the lift.
So I tuck the card into a bit of metal next to the door.
Most of it still on view.

I get out on the fourth floor.
There is nobody waiting to get in when I get out.

I’m slightly disappointed.


Time comes to make my way home.
I wait for the lift to come.
I forget all about the previous card, until I get in, and notice where it isn’t.

I look down to the floor, expecting to see that it has just fallen.
But it isn’t there.
Somebody had taken it.
It makes me smile.

I find another one to replace it.

When I reach the ground floor,
There is one guy alone.
He enters the lift after I get out.

I hope that he will notice it.

I went to the New York film club.
There weren’t many people there.

But I kinda liked it like that.

It was West Side Story.
I love it.
I wanted to sing along but I couldn’t really.

Ruby left me half way through,
So I was sitting on my own,
But it was still cool.

Today I did the screen-printing workshop.

White words on white paper.

White works on cream fabric.

Hidden words,

Whispers,

Your secrets.

Today I met Jane.

We went on a sweet hunt,

- The best kind of hunt possible.

All in the name of research.

At least that was her excuse.

I just didn't need one.

Café Nero – Chester

Sitting drinking hot chocolate and I remember
– my cards –

I keep forgetting to leave them.

I always have a couple with me wherever I go – but I always forget. And that is the whole point of them.

The tables in Café Nero are really close to each other. So I put one on the table next to me.

A few minutes later, a waiter comes over to clear the table.
I look over and see that he has put the card on the tray.
Cleared it up with the rest of the things.
He takes it away.

- I hope he will look at it when he clears the trays –
But I know he won’t.

I know it will end up in the bin.

_________________________




Later on I leave one on the table on the other side of ours.

We sit and talk for another 20 minutes or so.
- In all that time nobody comes to sit there.

We make plans to go somewhere else. I start to gather my things, and as I do a lady comes and sits at the table. I start to put my jumper and coat on slowly, wanting to stay a little longer. But Rich is already standing up, waiting for me, so I can’t be too long.

I try to watch the woman without being too obvious.

As she approaches the table, she pushes the card over to the other side before sitting down.
After having sat down and taken her jacket off, she has nothing to do but wait until her friend brings the drinks over.

As she waited,
She reaches over for the card,
Has a quick look at it,
And then puts it back down.

A second later she picks it up again, almost as though doing a double take.
She holds it right up to her eyes to read it properly.
She looks slightly confused.
She turns the card over, looking for more information on the back.
She finds nothing but a signature.
She puts the card back on the table in front of her.
Still looking at it and wondering.

By then I had delayed myself as much as I could and I now had to leave.