This week, this month so far, has been excellent. So much happiness, so many freaking awesome moments that I will remember and cherish for as long as my memory lasts. I don't know where to begin in describing these amazing few days.
Manchester
A blur of driving, laughing, and dancing. Was amazing to see the boys again, had some good chats about bugger all (isn't that all we ever do?), ate some good food, drank some drink and danced into the small hours in a very alternative indie/old school club, many sweaty mancs around us, singing our hearts out to the classics by Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Mumford and Sons (heck yes) and various others. My feet just couldn't stop moving, I loved every second of it.
Southampton
I wasn't totally prepared for the state of the home I was entering. Coates' crap was just littered everywhere, the incarnation of the relationship he ended, just thrown into the living room whilst his ex girlfriend piles things neatly into her own room. Very bizarre. And luckily, I had other places to be.
I went to Starbucks and met with the two faces who haunted my dreams for a year or so: Sophie and Matt. And it felt so strange to be sat there, the three of us, trying to calculate all the things that have and have not changed since we three sat down together like that. It was quite incredible, in my head, at least, as nothing was really mentioned, which I was quite grateful for. Its hard to tell people you haven't seen in over a year how hard it is to go from university to home, and realise you've left behind every single amazing friend you made at uni, in one form or another, and that in the moment you realise that, you also realise how much you regret the ways things ended between a lost friend. I went to late lunch with Sophie, in Bella, as per usual, and it felt very normal. And I tried to explain a few things to her, not sure how that really went, but at least I finally gave her her present. It was strange, because it felt like I had a billion and one things to tell her and I just didn't know how to get them all out. And it was so spooky - I later explained to Maria, who was equally spooked - how my dream had happened just before Sophie's world get really shit. Sometimes, I swear, my dreams are fucking psychic.
So then, things got interesting. Went and got Coates, went to Soul Cellar for a couple drinks, then got in to the Guildhall and heard the last song of the supporting act, whoever that was, and had a couple more drinks. Chatted a lot about life, and how Coates REALLY needs to sort his out. Like, I can't write some of the shit that was mentioned, but Oh My God. That boy really has dug a massive hole for himself. And so, drink in hand, we stood in the crowd and watched one of our favourite people come out and perform a half hour slot before Twin Atlantic came out. It was very good, as ever, he ended with Riverbanks, as always, and I felt that thing I feel sometimes, where I don't feel anyone else in the room, or anything else going on, I just feel music. Its a pretty trippy feeling, but I loved it. I felt so connected with it all that night. Southampton was giving me this amazing night, all these amazing memories, and I felt so at peace with the city, despite this odd sense of not belonging, and of nostalgia.
Then, we went to Rhino. We skipped half of Twin Atlantic's set, they were alright, his voice got really grating and the crowd were slightly too young for my liking (yet mainly male, which was weird). So we went to Rhino. And we drank more, and chatted more, and the chat became drunken chat, and I'm not entirely sure of half the things that were chatted about. And then the house DJ came out and played every single pop/punk/rock/alternative band that were around in the late 90s, and we danced like the floor was on fire. Blink, Jimmy Eat World, Sum41, all those types of bands, all those tunes that make you think of American Pie, and the first Scream, and staying up later than you'd ever stayed up, for no reason at all, just because you were young and wanted to be wild. That music makes me so incredibly happy, it was the perfect start to the night. And so, after a couple hours of dancing, (by this point I was drinking water), the DJ booth changed hands, and the boys that took over were Charlie Simpson, Nick Walpole and the rest of the band, and the music was amazingly loud, and we were dancing in front of the speaker, right up in front of the DJ booth, and it was an hour or so of pure joy. Chop Suey was amazingly hilarious, I've never screamed so much, and Coates had many fist-bumps with the guys in the booth, and he was like a giddy little child, and it was pretty amazing. I had a few revelations about the girls who are old enough to go to clubs but also like Charlie Simpson - they're all dressed like sluts and don't know who Rage or System are. I felt quite unique that night. But those girls aside, it was an incredible night.
Torquay
Where to even start. It felt like being at home, Maria's room was decorated with all the things she had in the last three houses, so it felt so comfortable. The smell on incense, the bean bags, I literally wanted to curl up and never leave. She cooked paella, we cooked breakfast together, we drove and we laughed and we chatted about life, and it was so good to be in a space of relaxation with my best friend, and just suppress all my worries and problems. The first night, we found army boys. The second day, I met her grandparents, and had some an amazing talk with 'yaya'. That night we went exploring on the cliffs in the rain, I found a place Maria didn't know existed. The Saturday, my last day, we went everywhere. We had cream teas for breakfast, the sky was beautiful and clear, we drove down to the beach and walked along the rocks, we found a waterfall, we drove around, found Labrador Bay, had a nice steep climb, saw some amazing views, drove back and found Thatcher's Rock and had a climb on the rocks, had a sit and a chat, took in the beauty and splendor of Torbay, and then we drove to Teignmouth, got a bit lost, had a walk around, finally got some grub, and drove to Stansted, seeing an array of firework displays along the way. It was incredible, it was stunning and serene, and I'm so looking forward to going over to the West Country in the summer time. And my heart feels slightly lost, knowing how far away Maria now is, but having had the amazing week that I have, I can at least feel glad that I got to see her, and that I got to have such an extraordinary few days, enjoying the things that England has to offer, and catching up with many old friends.
This has been the best holiday I've ever had without leaving the country. I feel like the happiness I've felt will keep my heart warm in the cold weeks to come. I hope everyone else that I spent this time with has enjoyed it too; next stop, London for New Year's!