I started the month a little wistful though. Our wonderful friend Davey moved back to Montana at the very end of July... He'd been such a wonderful source of friendship and company and for most of this year, and suddenly just NOT having him there, felt like a big void.
But you know, it stopped raining, for a moment, and that was nice. (Drew myself first and was like 'yeah that's kind of cute' then drew Charlie and was like 'hahahahaha I fucked that up')
Amy and Joe came to visit from Leeds and it was lovely. We had momos and a catch-up, and I'm going to really miss them!
And the next day Matthew and Claire came to visit from Manchester which was ALSO lovely, but apparently the main thing I was focussed on come visual diary time was what a bloody nightmare getting those weird ikea screws out was, having spent over an hour with my friend Alice trying to disassemble my wardrove to give to her (we managed eventually) (but I am never buying an ikea flatpack again)
It's been a weird kind of summer. Maybe the worst summer I've ever had? Definitely the feelsiest summer I've ever had.
Not all bad feels though.
And while the sun's out, I get my arms and legs out, and I walk, and I feel contented. And I see pairs of magpies, foraging in the fields in the warmth.
And then it's raining again. And I see a single magpie eating roadkill.
It kept raining and I felt the desperate need to get out of the valley, so I got the train to Halifax and had some non-lard chips and curry in the rain while listening to a man play sad piano (and.... it was good?!)
It's still raining. I walk grumpily in it for a couple of hours and then I come home and work determinedly for the rest of the day, because this is all I can do to make myself feel optimistic.
Have I ever mentioned how great Dav* is? (*My bff/housemate Justin's partner)
He's a wonderful person who is both hilariously funny and incredibly kind and sweet and caring, and I'm going to miss seeing him every weekend SO much. This is a tiny silly tribute to him.
Dav made us a Jam Roly Poly and it was GREAT. I told Alfred about it on the phone later and that's how I learned that in America, roly polys are woodlice, and how he learnt that in the UK, roly polys are forward rolls (And a kind of pudding) (But in America pudding means something different as well). Isn't language weird.
Bloody hell, me and the boy had a BAD NIGHT.
So there have been a few rats seen on the street, and one neighbour even had one in her house. There was a massive one dead in the road the day before, so... I had rat anxiety on my mind.
I didn't go to bed until quite late, and only slept until about 2am, when... Charlie came to get me?! That basically never happens (I think he's come up once before in the night in the whole time I've had him), so I assumed he needed a wee, and took him out. He had a small wee and then was ready to come in again, so I was like 'huh, okay'... Sent him back to bed in the living room and he was weirdly reticent about going in... In my sleepy brain state, I was like FUCK there's a RAT in here somewhere, and was suddenly horrified. But I didn't know what to do, so I apologised to the dog and went back to bed, but lay awake for another hour worrying and listening. (This house makes SO many noises)
Just as I was about to drop off at around 3am, the boy came up AGAIN and I was like 'aaaaargh, what ISSSSSS ITTT' but went down with him and couldn't find anything scary, but was still convinced in my own mind it was a rat hiding somewhere. Lay awake for another couple of hours and could hear the boy pacing around anxiously downstairs. He came back up at 5am so I took him out again just in case, and it was only THEN that he had a horrible upset tummy poo, and then trotted back over quite happily and got back into his bed completely contentedly, and I was like 'WHY DIDN'T YOU DO YOUR POO WHEN I TOOK YOU OUT AT 2AM', and felt terrible for not realising what was wrong (and so proud of him for not pooping in the house even though he obviously needed to go so badly). So I finally went to sleep at about 5am and then got up for my alarm and 7am, and lo, it was AWFUL.
And ridiculously annoyingly that day was a day I'd been looking forwards to for ages, because I was going into Leeds to have vegan fish and chips and a sleepover at my friends Daisy and Ferg's place, and to see Battles at the Brudenell. And I was SO TIRED, but I did still manage to have fun. (I'm trying to see as many of my Manchester/Leeds friends as I can in this month or so before I go)
I GOT TO MEET MAGID MAGID!
One of my favourite politicians out there, his politics are sound and he's super cool, EXTREMELY RARE. He was doing a little mini-tour of Calderdale now that he's our MEP. It was absolutely chucking it down with rain (lol, surprise), so his event in Hebden Bridge was rained off, but by chance I bumped into him while he was doing a mini-tour of the town hall. (Along with one other guy, who struggled to comprehend that he has the same last name and first name)
As well as seeing my friends before I go, I've also been trying to see all the places I'd wanted to get to... This weekend I finally got over to Southport (having been repeatedly prevented this summer by rain), as part of my ongoing mission to visit all of the UK's pleasure piers. Southport pier is a good 'un — the UK's second longest pier (although I thought that was a it of a con, as loads of it just runs over land), and the UK's oldest iron pier. It also had an incredible collection of functioning vintage slot machines at the end, and a cafe where you could buy a vegan magnum. Excellent work all round.
I took Charlie with me and he was a very brave train boy on the 1hr 45min journey on rattly Northern trains, and got to have a nice run on the beach,
Did I ever mention he's the sweetest?
Honestly, the rain here feels spiteful sometimes.
I walked Charlie to the vet for his annual vaccinations (in the rain, obvs). There was a fire at the much-loved (but latterly derelict) old Walkley Clogs mill last month, and it's now having to be demolished. As I was passing I saw this workman and took a picture, because something about his resting pose and the contrast of his high-vis against the background of crumbling mill seemed very appealing and evocative to me, so I tried to paint it later.
We finally had the summer's second sunny-couple-of-days in a row!
I went for a very long walk and got my belly out, and felt good again. Drew this using the beautiful yellow safflower ink Carolyn gifted me on my visit to Birmingham last month.
I JUST WANT TO BE WARM
Went on another long (and new!) walk to make the most of the weather. I love these mirrors.
Extremely excited that Bake Off is back, and very much enjoyed watching the first episode with Justin and Dav.
Ava got in contact with me for the first time since June, which was a weird feeling. I'd got to the point where I really didn't want to hear from them (ever?), but they were asking if they could see Charlie, which made me happy. An ongoing source of deep sadness for me had been the fact that they hated the thought of having to interact with me more than they loved Charlie, because I know how much they loved Charlie. And it was a lot.
They asked if Charlie could have a sleepover with them, which was a lovely idea, and so he did. And it's ridiculous, because it was only one night, but I really missed him. He curls up with me most evenings while we watch TV and I really felt his absence.
Sat at home drawing and feeling wistful. A hazy warm evening, and the sound of samba drums echoing up the valley — every Wednesday evening since we've lived here, their distinctive sound can be heard. We always call it 'drums night', and laugh about how it sort of signified the passing of time for us — 'how is it drums night again?' etc... It's a very specific sound and a very specific shared experience with Ava and Justin. Those two who have been my closest friends/family for the last 5, 6, 7 years?
It's an ending, and it's a sadness. It's the right thing but it still makes my heart ache with loss, as I sit and listen to the drums in this beautiful house that I thought I'd always dreamt of, that somehow never felt like home.
The extreme amount of heavy rain coupled with warm temperatures means that slugs have been having a field day, and it is NOT COOL (I am very cool with Lizzo though, and this track is great)
Much though I'm happy to be leaving, there are several foody treats that I will genuinely miss. If you're ever visiting Hebden Bridge, my recommends:
Tibetan Kitchen — veggie momos. Divine tibetan chilli dumplings served with a beautifully flavourful chilli sauce. 6 in a box but sometimes the guy gives you 7 if he likes you.
Blue (Japanese) — Pumpkin katsu curry (their sushi is great too). For ages I didn't really eat there because they couldn't make their katsu vegan, but they finally figured out a way to batter the pumpkin without egg, and they've totally nailed it.
Pennine Provisions — 'Death by chocolate' Torte. Just a great little food shop, but they have some fresh stuff including cakes, and this chocolate torte is PERFECT. Subtly gingery spiced soft biscuit base, and rich, thick chocolatey torte later, sublime.
Origano — pizza. This place is NEW, and finally there's a place in Hebden doing pizzas with vegan cheese! I had one for the first time last night and that was what prompted this diary, because it was perfect.
JK's — Chinese. Oh JK, I WILL MISS U SO MUCH. (Legit the best Chinese place I've ever been)
So... As of today, we've had an offer on the house. It seemed like the housing market was very slow and there was no interest at all, but this week a lovely lady and her family have been to visit a few times, and they came today and they've made a wondeeful offer, and subject to all of the paperwork and surveys and so on and so forth... It's done. I'm so happy to pass the house to some lovely people who will hopefully be happy here.
I've had a contented day pottering around starting to pack in preparation for the move while my neighbour took Charlie out for a fun day of adventures. This evening though, he's been the GURGLIEST, EGGIEST FART BOY IN THE WORLD, which was already making me quite anxious, and then I noticed he was really drooly too (totally unusual), so now I'm really worried he ate something bad and has poisoned himself. (One of his only foibles is that he likes eating random stuff he finds out on his walks)... And given our experiences earlier in the month I'm also worried that he's going to do a bad poop, and/or wake me up in the middle of the night again.
So there's a gross cliffhanger to leave you on.
The other cliffhanger of course, is that I move to London in two weeks today. September is going to be a month of big adventure, and I can hardly wait!
