you say asshole, i say arsehole

and it means the same either side of the atlantic.

red

lips stained with wine. lips ripe like strawberries. cold lips. pouting lips. talking lips.

blinding

from the plane you can see frozen lakes shining in the midday sun, looking like maps for faraway lands. faraway.

snow. dirty, melting, everywhere. cars covered in snow. awnings covered in snow. buddah covered in snow. snow on top and underfoot.

flat is completly white. white everywhere.

i want white for myself. white it will be.

lost in a book in washington sq park

in and out of new york not new york, thinking of you and not you, watching leaves swirling down in slow motion in an autumn that's not quite an autumn, feeling like me and not like me at all, here and not here, now, yesterday, tomorrow.

identity

my accent is amplified a million times against the nyc/latino twang. people ask, are you european? oh yes, yes i am. european, british, the queen.

as you do

sitting in a corner, eating a hot pepperoni pizza, watching the world go by, the question is begged: what do times sq, leicester sq and hell have in common?

but i did see them

Originally uploaded by ladelentes.

the black squirrel welcoming committee at inwood hill park got a serious case of stage fright and scooted off as soon as the cameras were out, leaving the welcome speech to the trees and the wind and the sparrows

against the tide

Originally uploaded by ladelentes.

a neat marching line of runners followed me around central park in reverse

bounce

now i know what it feels like to be a political football!

interview

tell me all about you and i'll tell you all about me and i don't really want to know any of this cos all i want is to go play outside. minor crisis of confidence. you're just a child why would you want to take on all that...

on the 34th floor of the empire state building

from the now tallest building in the city you can see giants sat here and there like pieces of a domino game that a crazy child started and now don't breathe cos it may all collapse in front of your wide open eyes.

greetings

four hours in, and I have:

• eaten a hotdog
• had three big black cwoffees
• gotten a haircut
• worked out the grid system
• checked out the shoe shops
• found myself a cute sushi place

new york city is right in my pocket.

farewell

london has given me as parting gifts: an amazing gig, a magically clear sky punctuated by a perfect, almost-full moon, messages from people that love me and whom i love.

perhaps i should leave more often. perhaps i shouldn't leave at all....