What a ride!

Tomorrow, to the exact day, me and the boy indoors have been together SEVENTEEN years.  Had to spell it out as the nos. 17 don't seem to do it justice.  Seventeen years!!!!!!  He was only meant to be a fling.  I had been out with him before, kind of.  I'd gone to see Pulp at the Rock Garden in February 1993 with my mate Colette and then we'd legged it to the Tivoli to see, I think, either A-House or Fatima Mansions when at the end of the gig the crowd parted and there was this bloke standing there under a spotlight (seriously!! You think I'm making this up.  He looked like a fella that my friend Gwen was working with at the time.  She'd been trying to get us together for ages with the line 'you'll love him, he wears docs and has his eyebrow pierced and he's into all that shite music you're into'.  So, I said it to her and when I rang her in work on Monday for our daily chat about nothing she put me through to him and, sure enough, it was him.   He'd been to both gigs too.  We talked on the phone for a bit then I mentioned a gang of us were going to see That Petrol Emotion the following week and he said he might see us there.  It was so, so sunny that day.  No one was in work we went to the pub (this is me and the girls now) and I got into town half hammered.  We went to the Garage bar (jesus, it's weird when all the bands/pubs/etc. you're talking about no longer exist), sat outside in the sunshine showing our tanlines and drinking beer.  There was me, Colette, Quinn and Annie.  Then D. walked past and I gave Quinn the nod and I bailed into the Garage after him.

Me: You Darren?

Him: Yeah, Who are you?

Me. In my head . . . Tosspot. Out loud I said 'Well, we;re outside if you want to join us.

He came out and me and Quinn eyeballed him a bit.  Quinn, by the way, is a bloke called Paul and one of my favourite people.  I showed D. my fake tweety bird tattoo (free with Select mag that week) and he asked if I wanted to see his Mickey?????  Er, alright?!  His mickey was a tattoo on his shoulder.  Don't know whether I was disappointed or what?  Me and Annie got hungry and decided to go and find something to eat.  He stayed with Colette and Quinn.  We went to the Tivoli to see that band and D. didn't get in so I got off with Paul O'Mahoney!!!!  Heheheheheh.  OMG, the joy and sheer fecklessness of being 20. 

Two weeks later we met up at a Henry Rollins thing in the Olympia and got split up.  I sat with Annie and he sat with Colette.  I was bloody disgusted.  As we were all heading towards our respective bus stops he said he wanted 'just us' to go out sometime.

That 'some time' was SEVENTEEN years ago tomorrow.  We went to see a shite film in the Lighthouse cinema - the old one in Abbey Street called Orlando and then to the Rock Garden where Radio Head were playing downstaris.  This was around the time of Creep and the tickets cost £6 each.  We stayed in the bar chatting.  Walking over O'Connell bridge he wrote his house number on his dart ticket (no mass mobile phone market back then ) and we kissed.  Wow.  I can remember so much about that day.  Quinn had sent me a postcard, on the strict instructions I return it, of Mark Owen's jeans pulled down nearly low enough to imagine all sorts of naughty things.  I got it photocopied.  Posted it back.  Went home, got changed ( black t-shirt, jeans, docs and a teal coloured silk shirt.  Met him at Easons at 7.30.  Went to McDonalds and then went to see the world's most boring film EVER.  I couldn't eat I was so terrified.  Mental really, as we'd been chatting on the phone for weeks.  I sat beside him trying to not breathe and just being totally aware of him sitting  . . just there!!  I still remember that first kiss.  He tasted wonderful, he smelled wonderful and he still is wonderful.  To me.

Now, for a laugh, I found some photos.  The quality isn't great as I had to photo them to upload them here, but you'll get the gist.

Darren was brave, he came to Marleys with us this night.  Fun times.  The outfit above, where I have cleavage is the one I wore this night too.  I only remember cos I remember D being baffled trying to negotiate it heheh.  Oh yeah, photo above taken in McGonagles.

This was taken in The Globe.  Aww, lots of fun had by all that night there.

Herumph.  What you can't see properly in this pic is the bag that Darren is holding.  It is the very first present he ever bought me.  A candle making kit(???)  It weighed 5kg!!  Had to carry the sodding thing around the zoo all day.  He's also holding a tuna sambo in his hand, that or turkey.  His mammy used to make his lunch for him every day going to work.  As far as she was concerned he was going to work that day.  Work thought he was coming in too.  He was sick that day.  Awww.  Now, how can I remember so much about this but can't remember what I walked upstairs for ten minutes ago?

Me and the godmother of the son I had no idea or notion of.  Mostly goes by the name Anne-Marie.  This was in the days when the Central Bank didn't have railings all around it and you could loiter on the steps.  We always had to meet Quinn here as he got lost if he had to go further than this from his bus stop.

I can't remember where the pub was other than it was in Temple Bar before the Hens and Stags strated coming over.

This is one of my absolute favourite photos ever of Darren and Quinn.  D. had died his hair blonde and they were both wearing the same Ride t-shirts only one was wearing black and the other was wearing white.  It was a perfect summer's day.  Wow.

It's funny looking at these photos.  Good times. xx