When I was young but not young enough I went to an amusements arcade on a B&B weekend with my family in a nowhere seaside town with a sandy pebbly beach and some of the dune grass, where everything was shades of grey.
There were many rides and games: my favourite game was the one with the tank of furry toys and the metal claw that swung and grabbed when you cranked it along, but I never won anything, even though sometimes it gripped on to their heads and arms it always dropped them, and I wasn't allowed to play.
But there was a thing with cages for your legs and sparkling lights and a jolly little tune that went round like a ferris wheel against a background of night. And even though I was too big I climbed into the harness when it came to the bottom and put in my twenty pence and was winched round to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star with my too-long child legs dangling. It was by the door of the arcade and I could see out to the concrete and the scrub and the sea and I could see seagulls and my parents watching me go round and round and when I reached the pinnacle, by the happy smiling star I felt embarrassed, because this was a ride for little children, and then I felt ashamed.
my flickr
A website by my friends and a little by me (picture by excellent Raz):
I mucked around with Thomas to make my profile all dotty.
