High Street De-soulifier Extraordinaire
Oh Gails, symbol of affluence, I worship at the feet of your copy and paste interior decoration and exorbitant pastries. Amongst mummies as yummy as the brownies, amidst bankers as wankery as Farage. The cavorting wealth guffaws at my bank balance, as does the rest of this Thames hugged borough. “£6 million house SOLD” jibes the estate agent window, “get the F**K out my way urchin” says the £100k BMW 4x4s monstrous face, “dripping buckets of smugness” go the beautified, pampered, pure-breed smiles.
Oh dear and holy Gails, your allegiance to the de-soulifcation of the high street is beyond commendable - many golden pats on the back ye Bain Capital Credit - well done on stripping uniqueness from highstreet after highstreet. Who can compete with your industrialised pristine tarts? Who can stand up to your predatory, data-driven tactics, certainly not the family-run bakery cafe I worked for whose love and spirit were no match for the shining emblem of late-stage corporate capitalism that opened up three doors down.
A Triptych Tale Of Valentine’s Days.
Two thousand and Five: Red gold orb soaked sky fills my eyes, bounties bronze-kissed spread on aurum sand. Breathing deep freedom air that you’d swear was laced with cocaine but only with the Pacific. Back in town, mouth and tongue are lime-chilli smacked and fresh-fish flummoxed, the future glowing on the horizon.
Two Thousand and Six: Fish and chips faces and alcohol cheeks pass me by on the cold, rain-drearied street. Grolsch green waves fold miserably on the beige pebble beach, a snide seagull mewls. Back in the cat piss smelling flat a hairless cat moans, a jacket potato browning in the oven. The future smoking on the horizon.
Two Thousand and Seven: Sea waves sing through the balcony window, morning sun warm-bathes heart-attack levels of love-making. Apres-swim al fresco breakfast - freshly squeezed orange juice glints, our eyes speak to each other of this perfect now, splashing its waves of sapphire water over our delighting faces and bare nipples - the future teases so on the horizon.
