jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:11PM Once upon a time on a dark night, something stirred in a Birmingham side street... what happens next plurkers?
solobasssteve says Jun 04, 2008 12:13PM as rats scurried from behind bins and rain fell, a groan was heard from beheath a pile of rubbish...
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 12:16PM scrabbling between the litter a lonely man with a weathered face emerged..
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:20PM it's amazing what you find in bins these days he said, removing the thong from his tangled hair
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 12:22PM the peaches shimmering under the streetlights were taking on a form all their own as he came around.
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:26PM his thoughts turned from thongs into how the hell he came to be in this dank side street on a Friday evening in March 1973
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:29PM ...given that he was sure the previous night's party was on July 6th 1967... where had the 6 years gone in between?
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 12:30PM concealing the pickaxe, the man turns bleary eyed towards the main street, the soft green glow from he casio watch.
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:32PM He looked at the watch, bemused - what on earth is that? It looks like it's from... THE FUTURE!!
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 12:34PM the man quickly ripped the watch from his arm casting it away as he stumbled onwards towards the lighting of the street..
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:35PM how can it be? he was certain the time machine had malfunctioned... he decided to seek coffee and a newspaper...
ricgalbraith is Jun 04, 2008 12:35PM he strode away from the watch with regret, glancing over his shoulder and remembering the inscription she had put on the back
benjamin says Jun 04, 2008 12:36PM knowing that it would be years before there was a Starbucks nearby.
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:36PM perhaps the system had re-booted at the last minute after all, perhaps he really was a time bandit...
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:37PM he stumbled into a cafe on the corner of Herbert Street... 'strong black coffee' he growled
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:38PM 'we haven't sold coffee here for years' she said with a surprised look
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:40PM he froze as he realised the cafe was packed. and all eyes were on him...
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 12:40PM from behind the curtain came a stock gent who looked like a candidate for a russian shot putt team..
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 12:44PM the room goes deathly quiet, the borrowers run across the floor and vanish into a hole. a plate is dropped...
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:44PM "I'm Clive now" she growled, like a butch woman, impersonating an effeminate man...
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:46PM s/he gestured towards an empty booth and ordered 2 bloody marys 'you look like you need it' s/he whispered and laughed
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:52PM by now the rain was falling like bullets from the grey midlands sky. They sat facing each other, waiting for the silence to be broken
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:53PM "So, Cynt.... Clive, where have I been?? What's happened? I'm so confused"
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:54PM 'So what's been up with you Jonny?'. Clive was the first to fold... Jonny fidgeted and wondered how to answer that question...
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:54PM "I was at the party... the one at your brother's place... and then...nothing..."
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 12:55PM he wished he hadn't thrown his digital watch away... 'I'm so... disorientated right now'...
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:55PM "You mean, you know nothing of the uprising, Jonny?" Cynthia looked shocked, and it wasn't just the badly plucked eyebrows
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:56PM "uprising? What uprising? What are you talking about?? I don't remember anything from the last 6 YEARS!!"
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 12:56PM "Oh Jonny... You're going to need another drink" mumbled Jonny's mannish companion
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 12:57PM suddenly his pocket starts to vibrate and play noise in a god awful manner..
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 01:02PM 'what *is* that, Jonny?' his suprise at Clive not recognising 'Umbrella' by Rhianna turned to horror as he realised...
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 01:04PM "I'm the only one here who knows about the time machine!" he mumbled, his inner monologue clearly damaged by the party
solobasssteve Jun 04, 2008 01:06PM but he couldn't remember anything between the party at Cynthia's brother's and now... was it time travel, or a coma?
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 01:29PM . . he is asking the locals for "the ring" the atmosphere shifts once again..
redduffman Jun 04, 2008 01:38PM It's an Alabama State college basketball championship winners ring he thought. How did that get there?
redduffman Jun 04, 2008 01:43PM He quickly looked out the window to double check which Birmingham he was in.
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 02:05PM the room starts to spin, the voices blur. he hits the floor with a thud.
yellowpark Jun 04, 2008 02:07PM As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared where he was led to a changing room
redduffman Jun 04, 2008 02:21PM It was the same room he'd tried to nick a Sergio Tacchini shell suit when he was a teenager back in the 80's. He wished he could forget that
philc // me.dm Jun 04, 2008 02:25PM . .. he hears the stone roses playing on what seems to be some kind of futurstic grammerphone. where am i?
redduffman is Jun 04, 2008 02:41PM He wonders if he's wandered into an old episode of Sapphire & Steel...
yellowpark Jun 04, 2008 03:06PM "Kipper tie mate?", "No, I'll have a coffee." "O, r." He knew then which Birmingham he was in and felt scared
kapil Jun 04, 2008 03:10PM no time for fear now, he thought to himself. i have to keep my mind clear for the battle ahead.
DaveDev Jun 04, 2008 03:43PM He looked out of the window and thought "Well that brings a whole new meaning to to the phrase 'Broad Street'".
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 04:32PM Jonny realised that if this was actually just a dream he really needed to wake up out of it for the sake of his sanity
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 05:13PM The cold shower revived him a little, although by now the rain was easing, delivering yellow sunshine to the grimy pavement
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 05:14PM feeling rejuvinated, Jonny finished his bloody mary, nodded 'goodbye' to Clive and headed out onto the street.
jennybee Jun 04, 2008 05:39PM but what was this? closer inspection of his digital watch revealed a set of co-ordinates inscribed on the back... the plot thickened...
redduffman Jun 04, 2008 05:49PM ... into a creamy paste which was quite tasty when mixed with cheese on crackers.
redduffman Jun 04, 2008 07:48PM ... which was attached to a pen knife that had a magnifying glass. With that, Jonny read the coordinates and was amazed to discover that...
davepeck Jun 04, 2008 08:24PM they were the coordinates of his soon to be ex wifes home, the very place were she had shouted for all his friends & neighbors to hear...
rojopelo Jun 04, 2008 09:24PM you tried to nick a Sergio Tacchini shell suit when he was a teenager back in the 80's
artbizness Jun 04, 2008 09:34PM and wondering if that "accident" in a time machine with a contraceptive had created as sort of inverse lagging effect
bryan Jun 04, 2008 09:40PM boots crunching in the gravel, a whiff of cigar smoke in the air, skin crawls
redduffman says Jun 04, 2008 09:49PM Jonny's portable sewing machine/ashtray combi and says "Can I borrow that?"
philc // me.dm thinks Jun 05, 2008 09:40AM relives himself taking a big sigh and cracking a smile as he does so..
laurawhitehead Jun 05, 2008 09:59AM He hated his gnashers, but always wanted to invent a toothpaste with the strapline of "say ta-ta to yer tartar" but never did. He saw...
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 10:00AM the watch inscription, reminded of his quest... 52.038333,-4.578611 and hailed a passing cab
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 10:12AM but was instantly reminded of their worth as he plugged in his ailing iPhone and watched the battery icon glow
redduffman Jun 05, 2008 10:13AM and felt an uncontrollable urge to stick to his quest as though under control by some hidden hand or hands.
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 10:18AM a realisation dropped into his head: twitter.com/wilstephens/statuses/827542983
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 10:28AM Jonny wondered whether this was the infamous rhyming cabbie of the west midlands and panicked as he remembered the stories...
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 10:32AM but then the hot air balloon that had appeared caught his attention... 'DON'T GO WEST, JONNY!' was being screamed through a megaphone
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 10:38AM It was the beegee from earlier. It explained the high pitched scream...
girlarsonist loves Jun 05, 2008 10:55AM Perhaps Boston? But there was something about Boston that bothered him...
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 11:03AM The hot air balloon disappeared as quickly as it arrived. 'Take me to the airport' Jonny growled to the rhyming cabbie
jennybee thinks Jun 05, 2008 12:45PM As the metrocab slipped through the city streets towards the terminal, Jonny reflected on the last few hours...
jennybee thinks Jun 05, 2008 12:45PM the coordinates, Clive, the lack of coffee, 6 years missed, time travel? an uprising? the ring from Alabama State college, the beegee.
jennybee Jun 05, 2008 12:46PM Jonny wondered what Boston might hold as the taxi pulled into the departures parking bay.