Haven Street Hoorah
Back at one of my favourite places in the kingdom at a favourite time of year. Havenstreet Steam Railway Station and the Island Steam Show. Preceded by three sweet days idling in Portsmouth with nothing to do but communicate with the home planet and rest after Guernsey, before the Isle of Wight. Between ferry days of sunshine and pottering through the junkshops of Southsea. Nothing bought as it was Monday and they were closed, but a pleasant hover nonetheless. I am doing more shopping on the hoverboard lately. My knees are continuing to tell me they’ve been going for nearly seventy years and don’t much like it and weren’t well-designed in the first place. Well of course they weren’t designed at all. A designer (or, for that matter, a Designer) would have given us hoverboards. I am truly amazed that I don’t meet any others using them around town. It’s walking without knees. People stop me and say I must have amazing balance. I don’t. I like balance but that’s subtly different. Gliding on a hoverboard is exactly the same as walking. Imagine jelly fibre beings from Betelgeuse seeing humanoids for the first time walking on two spindly (and sometimes not so spindly) legs. They would say in their charming Betelguesian accents, ‘You must have amazing balance to propel yourself on those strange things.’ You haven’t, you’re just used to it. It’s exactly the same with a hoverboard. And much more fun.
Well I hope you can tell I’ve refound my mojo. It was lost and is now found. I blame it on stopping alcohol (again) and becoming determinedly veggie. And help from my friends of course without whom I would be mojoless and desperate, aimlessly wandering the shows of Britain. Of course the CBD oil helps. What a revelation. I strongly recommend it. If you buy the decent stuff it is expensive, but that was bound to be the case and will be when and if the full cannabis finally is decriminalised. I buy mine from lovecbd.org and not the strongest version. Mine is £50 or so for a little squirty bottle and it lasts a long time. A squirt a day keeps the pain away. And gives you AMAZING dreams. And it’s legal, in case you didn’t know. I’m sure you did, but perhaps you weren’t sure it was for you. You do feel a bit mad and bad buying it. Especially when it arrives in an anonymous brown envelope wrapped in bubble wrap. You sneak into the shed for that first naughty squirt. Of course you mustn’t expect to see blue bubbles floating around the pot plants as the THCs are gone. (What do they do with the discarded THCs one wonders – perhaps they’re saving those for a good party at lovecbd HQ). But it does change things. It takes away the pain, if only the pain of living in a seventy year old body when its knees don’t work. Go for it.
Four delightful days in prospect and NO RAIN forecast. Reportedly only as I’ve given up weather forecasts along with the News. A new layout on the field gives our show more space to play and all the old friends are here. Setting up takes twice as long with the chat and catch up every five minutes. But I had two days to do it so all good. Martin and I took a stroll up and down Ryde High Street and some more lovely junk shops in arcades. And the Donald McGill, the seaside postcard man’s exhibition. And sun in the sky with no sniff of rain. I even found a professional magic prop in a junk shop for twenty-five pounds. It’s a hand chopper (only I would buy such things) and I guess from the 1950s. Professionally made. How good is that. I may use it instead of the finger chopper. We shall see.
If you’re able to pop over to the Isle of Wight, or if you’re one of those extraordinarily lucky people who actually live here, come to the Island Steam Show. It’s an unceasing banquet of delights.
Anyway it’s time to set up the show. The stage is set, out comes the fun.
All the best from my favourite (well one of my favourite) shows near you,
Mr Alexander