Added on by Stuart.





today I was chased down a lane that I can see from my apartment by three boys shouting “give me your F☠☁KING money” and “don’t F☹☃KING run away” to which I replied “I don’t have any money” and “why are you being like this?”

there were five of them in total, I guess two of them were just backup or something, maybe they were on the bench, or maybe they had sore feet, I don’t really know how it all works, maybe they have a roster.

the tallest of the three pushed my chest, trying to push me over. in my jacket pocket I had a pack of 16 double A batteries, I considered offering the boys the batteries, but then I thought that they might use them to throw at me, also I wanted to keep the batteries.

to be honest, I wondered if I should fight them. I’ve always thought that I’d be pretty creative if ever put into the situation where I had no choice but to street fight. I think I’d invent some pretty fancy specialmoves.

my satchel was laden with some rather hefty weaponry too. I’d just been to the library and I was packing heat: bukowski, sedaris, some portugal travel books and the penguin portable beat poetry reader, I could’ve really messed these kids up.

earlier, just before I rounded the corner onto that lane, I smiled at a man in the park on the corner, who was telling his son “it’s not a good idea to roll in the grass, because you’ll get wet”.

a minute later, as I retreated back around the corner into the open, the man and his wet son saw the boys chase me for a bit. he saw them quickly give up, hurl a few swear words and rude gestures at me and recoil back down the lane. he and his son watched from the middle of the park. I signaled to him not to go down the lane, but I think he’d already worked that out.


I stood by the park in the open for a bit, relieved that I still had my batteries. 


I went the long way back to my apartment. my kitchen overlooks the lane, I didn’t want them to see where I live so I peaked around the corner. secretly I watched them for a while, the sun went down so I turned off the lights and watched them from the dark. they felt big down there, but from up here they looked pretty small. After about an hour and 3 glasses of whiskey I got bored and had a bath with the door open. My apartment filled with mist like a shitty magical fairytale. all the windows in my apartment fogged up and finally I forgot about the lane and everything.



BAC Scratch

Added on by Stuart.

http://www.bac.org.uk/whats-on/dr-brown-brown-brown-brown-brown-show-scratch/
Thursday 3rd - 8pm
Friday 4th - 8pm
Running time - 30 min


A further development from new collaborators Dr. Brown (USA) and Stuart Bowden (AUS).

The Dr. Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown Show - a kids show for adults. Surreal, visual comedy narrated by a singing tiger. Don't ask, just come. 

“Messy, but rather marvellous” ★★★★★The Times 

"Bonkers” ★★★★ Sunday Times

“Absurdist clowning comedy… a bizarre journey” ★★★★ Hairline

Quantifying August 2011

Added on by Stuart.


In August I took a holiday and went to sunny Edinburgh for a month. I did approximately 61 shows in 26 days. Claire operated the lights and sound, made sure we had an audience, invited important people, encouraged me when my head was down and critiqued me when my head was up. She also kept me alive by feeding me coffee and various cheeses.

I was performing my solo show in the afternoon, two lounge room shows in the evening and a kids show in the morning on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus flyering and performing the occasional spot. 

I will now quantify my Edinburgh experience:


I performed approximately two hundred and two thousand, eight hundred and thirty nine words (am I saying it right?) it’s 202839 words, based on a word count of the scripts. My solo show had an average audience size of 25, I almost fell causing serious injury to myself during a performance twice, I garnered a total of 70 stars: Four 5 star reviews, nine 4 star reviews, four 3 star reviews and a 2 star from a twitter review, I destroyed two tape players, I ate three meals I regret, I climbed Arthurs seat once, I had around 60 coffees, I cried once, I appeared on BBC TV once, I stood in poo twice, I lost two pieces of clothing, I saw four shows that changed the way I think about theatre, I was kicked in the shin on the same spot twice, I swore I would never do another festival three times, I committed to doing three shows in Adelaide next year, I performed to gnomes and fairies in a basement on a floor covered with plastic once, I heard fireworks at least 15 times, I saw fireworks twice, I caught 19 taxis, I signaled for 16 taxis that didn’t stop, I almost lit a prop on fire during a performance twice, I was followed by a photographer once, I performed to an audience made up of 12 reviewers and one punter in a small lounge room once,  I ate 6 Panini’s from the café over the road, I was nominated for one award, I received zero awards, I ate haggis three times, I walked through a cemetery 4 times, I had 5 breakfasts in the sun, everyday was filled with hundreds of disappointments and every disappointment was surrounded, encrusted and overcome by pure joy.



What’s On Stage ★★★★

Added on by Stuart.

The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart From Us

Venue: Underbelly, Cowgate

Where: Edinburgh

Date Reviewed:

28 August 2011

WOS Rating: 

star
star
star
star

This one-man play, written and performed by Australian theatre maker Stuart Bowden, tells the tale of a space explorer named Avian. He realises one day, whilst looking at the 'dead' moon, that the Earth must be lonely without a similar, inhabited planet to keep it company, and resolves to travel through space to find a companion planet to drag back to Earth.

The play depicts three encounters Avian has in the Atacama Desert whilst preparing for his voyage, as well as the tale of his actual mission.

Bowden is a charming performer who draws the audience fully into the story and successfully holds their attention. He adeptly constructs atmospheric background music for the various scenes with the aid of a keyboard/loop machine and ukulele. Perhaps even more impressively, he seems to risk life and limb clambering on the plastic crates which make up his set.

The show is by turns humorous and melancholy, and touches on themes including love and loneliness. The underlying message, though, is that we only have one planet, and one lifetime to show that we care for it and its inhabitants.

- Emma Watkins

http://www.whatsonstage.com/reviews/theatre/edinburgh/E8831314564702/The+World+Holds+Everyone+Apart,+Apart+From+Us.html

Three Weeks 5/5

Added on by Stuart.

Tuesday August 23rd, 2011 14:35

ED2011 Theatre Review: The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart From Us (Stuart Bowden)

With not much more than a few milk crates, a retro keyboard and a loop machine, Stuart Bowden creates a show of such beauty it will take your breath away. Set in the future after an ecological disaster, it tells the story of Avian, whose mission is to save the world from loneliness. His plan is to build a rocket, fly into outer space and find another planet to bring back to keep the earth company. The show is so fragile it’s in constant danger of falling apart, but the playfulness of the writing and the lightness of Stuart’s performance hold it together. Full of wit and charm, this is low-fi DIY storytelling theatre at its very best.

Underbelly, 4 – 28 Aug (not 15), 2.55pm (3.55pm), £8.00 – £10.00, fpp312.
tw rating 5/5
[mc]
 
Tags: 

Review from Culture Wars by Matt Trueman

Added on by Stuart.



Just when you think it’s safe to disregard Stuart Bowden’s cutesy comic book storytelling, it creeps up and kicks you in the tearducts. Arriving fresh-garlanded from the Adelaide Fringe, The World Holds Everyone Apart... is elevated by its mastery of disguise. You think it’s a pithy space fantasy, but later realise that its shot through with real-world grief. Beneath the spaceman’s visor, you’ll find a tear-stained face.



Avian, a cosmonaut attempting to immunise himself against loneliness, has lived in hermitage for fourteen years. In the middle of the Aticama desert, the driest on earth, he’s fixing his one-man spaceship, The Story, so as to get as far away from everyone else as possible. In that time, he’s encountered only three people, with one of whom, an astrophysicist called Sarah, he falls in love. Having grown accustomed to isolation, the further he falls, the scarier it gets.

Bowden knits form to content beautifully, telling Avian’s story as if keeping himself entertained. Milk crates become supersized lego blocks and a soundtrack – two parts Amelie, one part the xx – is composed from live sample-loops. Even so, it starts off a cotton-wool daydream, so light it’s in danger of floating away. “We are the world’s emotions,” Bowden suggests, nearly suffocating us with schmaltz.

However, the narrative glances off its crux so nonchalantly that you, like Avian, barely register Sarah’s terminal illness. No amount of forewarning prepares you for the actuality of a loved one’s death, since love lives only in the present. It doesn’t think things through, existing not as thought or even want, but as a need. It longs to collapse the distance between us, as if two hearts have been tied together with a bungee chord. Avian’s eight years in space, once the elastic has snapped, are rather eight years of life lived on hold.

Bowden makes a welcoming, sometimes impish, narrator with a slight overreliance on kooky charm. However, it’s his writing, pristine and fragile, that really deserves plaudits. As his tale gains matter, his text finds a purity, particularly where love is concerned. A couple of lines, too perfect to spoil, could stop hearts in themselves. Looking back, I can’t really work out how it all made sense together, but, just like love, it definitely did at the time.

The New Current ★★★★★

Added on by Stuart.

EDINBURGH FRINGE REVIEW: THE WORLD HOLDS EVERYONE APART, APART FROM US




Stuart Bowden is one half of the award winning Australian duo The Lounge Room Confabulators and he is also performing in his one man show The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart from Us at Underbelly. The story follows Avian a space traveller who is building a space ship in his garden called “The Story”. The Earth is lonely and needs company so Avian hopes that with “The Story” he will be able to find the Earth that friend is so desperately needs.


Avian lets the audience into his secret world where we are told how melancholy has spurned his space-travelling adventures. Avian’s story is really about his quest for a another planet to keep the Earth company. The play sees Avian move to the dessert where he will build “The Story” and recalls the three times he spent time with another person in the desert.
The encounters come across deeply personal, slightly silly, and incredibly heartfelt with an ending so touching there will be few people able to walk out of the show without feeling affected by Avian’s tale.
Bowden further showcases his undeniable ability as a master storyteller and performer who can turn his stories into the most magical ride you could ever take an audience on. He makes it appear as though he is talking directly to you; that he has written you a story that he wants to tell you all about it. You find yourself sat there and listening his words, and his passion.
★★★★★

ThreeWeeks 5/5

Added on by Stuart.

Monday August 15th, 2011 00:02

ED2011 Theatre Review: The World Belongs To Everyone Apart From Us (Underbelly Productions / Stuart Bowden)

Stuart Bowden presents his show, depicting his troubles with – and exploration of – “the cruelty of the celestial”. He travels the universe in his spaceship made of haphazardly arranged crates, drinking vodka and swearing – approaching dark times in his life in a childish way is very much his style – and generally looking for love or, failing that, to “save the world from loneliness”. I know this sounds twee, but I assure this is one of the most heart-wrenching things I’ve seen in years. The songs are so beautiful and euphorically ethereal, they had me welling up. It’s similar to ‘The Little Prince’ in its evocation of philosophical themes in a simple, disarming fashion. I just wish it was as popular.
Underbelly, 4 – 28 Aug (not 16), 2.55pm (3.55pm), £8.00 – £10.00, fpp312.
tw rating 5/5
[jh]
 
Tags: 
http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/?s=the+world+belongs+to+everyone

The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart From Us

Added on by Stuart.
Trailer by Storybottle


This is a trailer for my solo show, The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart From Us. It’s a silly, whimsy, occasionally melancholy but mostly warm-hearted tale of a man who is trying to save the world. It will touch your heart and then tickle it (in a non- life-threatening way). 



Here is the blurb:





The World is lonely.
Avian is a space explorer. His mission is to rummage around the galaxy, searching for a friendly planet to tow back to earth, to keep the world company.

‘Part whimsy, part masterful storytelling’ (Rip It Up). 

‘This is exceptional theatre’ (dB Magazine). 

Nominated for ‘Best Theatre Production’ and ‘Best Performer’ (Adelaide Fringe 2011)

Winner of the ‘Underbelly Edinburgh Award’ (Adelaide Fringe 2011) for his sellout show The Lounge Room Confabulators - 

‘A rare treat’ (The Age). 

☆☆☆☆ (The Herald Sun)

Tickets (website) 
0844 545 8252
4 Aug - 14 Aug
16 Aug - 28 Aug
2.55pm
Underbelly - Iron Belly
56 Cowgate (entrance on Cowgate and Victoria Street)
EH1 1EG  

The Lounge Room Confabulators Edinburgh 2011

Added on by Stuart.
We are The Lounge Room Confabulators. We are two rambling raconteurs, that perform our tales in lounge rooms around the world. We will be ambling over the cobblestones of Edinburgh in August as part of the Fringe.






To book our intimate invention for the most exclusive audience in town - you and your guests, click on this snowman

3 Aug - 14 Aug
16 Aug - 29 Aug
6pm & 9pm (1 hour)
In your lounge room.

We require you to pay for a minimum of ten tickets to help fund our journey to your handsome country, you can then invite 9 of your preferred friends to share our intimate invention with. Perhaps you could ask your guests to bring and share some food and beverage, to consume as we unfold our unfounded fable.  

☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟



WINNER of The Underbelly Edinburgh Award (Adelaide Fringe 2011)



WINNER of The Adelaide Fringe Award (Melbourne Fringe 2010)



“a rare treat” The Age



☆☆☆☆ The Herald Sun



“A masterful mix of the gothic and the comic” Capital Idea



theloungeroomconfabulators.blogspot.com

Review from Fringe Review ★★★★

Added on by Stuart.
Fringe Review
The  World  Holds  Everyone  Apart,  Apart  From  Us 


Genre: Storytelling
★★★★
Venue: Underbelly

Low  Down
Stuart Bowden is a diminutive, likeable performer hailing from Melbourne, Australia. He brings his acclaimed solo show to Edinburgh from the Melbourne and Adelaide festivals. A seasoned raconteur, he is also half of the inventive Loungeroom Confabulators, which is performed in peoples’ homes.

Review
This is an utterly charming one-man show, but it is not just an exercise in theatrical whimsy, it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. The story of Avian is sweet and tragic, and reminds us of the fragility of the world around us and of the relationships we make while on it, which are as precarious as the stacked plastic storage boxes that Bowden climbs on as his swaying set, which seem quite hazardous, and questionable from a health and safety perspective. It gives the production an air of a kid playing in his lounge-room on a rainy day that is altogether delightful.

The character Avian wants to save the world (it’s the Future) and he has determined that the world is lonely, and so he is making a study of loneliness via a self-imposed exile into the desert. In 14 years he has only met three people, and he tells us about each of them through delightful song and very open, honest chat to the audience.

A skilled musician, Bowden creates a live soundtrack through his own voice on a nifty little machine which can record, loop and layer sounds. He harmonises with his own voice in ways that are almost other-wordly, and creates percussion with just what’s around him. He also plays the ukulele in accompaniment to some compelling little songs.  Just as he rearranges the storage boxes, stacking and restacking them to make different sets, he builds the soundtrack to the show as we watch it, a glowing endorsement for DIY theatre-making – you get the impression that Bowden’s playbuilding method is workshop-based and organic, stemming from play and experimentation.

There is something mesmerising about a fantastic story-telling show, and this has definitely been a Fringe where some exemplary story-telling solo shows have sprung up. Bowden will be one to watch as his fusion of live music-making and storytelling is joyous and full of sparkle.

Reviewed by Vivienne Egab 26th August 2011

http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/4444.html

Thank you for doing that

Added on by Stuart.
Do you remember that time when my hand got stuck in the door of that out of service bus? And so I had to run beside the bus for an hour until it got to the depot. Do you remember that? And I was crying because I thought I was going to get into heaps of trouble for getting my hand stuck in the bus door. And the closer we got to the depot the more I cried because I was sure that the bus driver was going to be really mad at me for getting my hand stuck in the bus door. And you could’ve just got in the car and met me at the depot - but you stuck by me; and you drove beside the bus all the way with your car window down shouting out support, as I ran and cried with my hand stuck in the bus door. That was good. Thank you for doing that.

The Lounge Room Confabulators in The Age

Added on by Stuart.
PIPING HOT COMEDY, DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR
John Bailey
With his suitcase at the ready, travelling performer Stuart Bowden at Fitzroy’s La Niche Cafe. Photo: Simon O'Dwyer

SOME nights you just want to curl up on the couch and order in. But today, the choice of stay-at-home fare is not just between Indian or Thai. Now, you can get live theatre home-delivered.
Last week, two Melbourne lads won the Underbelly Edinburgh Award at the Adelaide Fringe Festival: a prize of £7000 ($A11,460) and a season at one of the most coveted venues in the world's largest festival. One hitch: they don't perform in theatres; they perform in your lounge room.
Stuart Bowden is one half of the Lounge Room Confabulators and says that producing a show in a stranger's home carries a ''massive risk''. There's no location scouting: the first time he sees his space is when the performance begins.

Every time we do a show there's the potential for things to go horrifically wrong,'' he says. ''But then there's also the potential for things to be magical. We were more excited about the possibility of things going really well as opposed to ending up cable-tied together in someone's basement.’’



Once Bowden and his collaborator Wil Greenway hit upon the lounge room idea, the show began to flower. ''We realised the potential of what a lounge room can be in terms of storytelling.'' Bowden says. ''We started thinking about the stories that people tell each other in lounge rooms. Ghost stories or silly stories or stories from their day.''
The result is a tale of two haunted souls cursed to travel from lounge to lounge, repeating their tale each night. It's a carefully crafted story that careens from farting wombats to eyes gouged out with ice-cream scoops, but much of its success lies in the way it is shaped by each night's new surrounds. Lamps become theatre spotlights, couches front-row seats.
One benefit of lounge theatre is its accessibility to people who can't get to more typical venues - those with disabilities, the elderly, or anyone who can't be bothered getting off the couch.
There can be hiccups. Bowden recalls a performance accompanied by a crying baby and the soundtrack to Fantasia. The risk, he says, is worth it: ''It could be a terrible show but it could be one of those shows that changes people, changes the way they think about their home, about storytelling, about performance in general.’’

Source: theage.com.au
Date: March 20th 2011
Written by: John Bailey


Do you want to read more?

Some reviews of The Lounge Room Confabulators

Added on by Stuart.

Photo: Lachlan Woods



Capital Idea
Source: Capital Idea
Date: September 27th 2010
Written by: John Bailey


“a masterful mix of the gothic and the comic”

“It's greatest strength is in the writing, which maintains a literary complexity that's often lacking in theatre”

“If you do get a chance to visit a performance, or if the season is extended, jump on it hard with both feet”



The Age
Source: The Age
Date: September 30th 2010
Written by: Cameron Woodhead


“the narrative ingenuity behind this performance — infinitely clever, insidious and beguiling — is a rare treat”

dB Magazine
Source: dB Magazine
Date: March 8th 2011
Written by: David O’Brien


“you invite an experience of unforgettable black edge tinged, yet honey gold romanticism lilting your heart as they hold you in their thrall”

“infused with symbolic imagery and dark morality of such poetry you begin to see what it might have been like if the players of the early morality plays before Shakespeare's heyday had been able to scale down their work”

The Advertiser
Source: The Advertiser
Date: February 17th 2011
Written by: Tim Lloyd


“Original and charming”

Some reviews of The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart From Us

Added on by Stuart.















NO PLAIN JANE
Source noplain.wordpress.com
Date: March 22nd 2011
Written by: Jane Howard

"Bowden completely understands the power of the shared space of theatre”

"Bowden’s language is so visual as it plays through alliteration, through metaphors; he paints a world simple in its design, easy to understand, and yet adorned with the beauty of language”

"The World Holds Everyone Apart, Apart From Us is the simplicity of the mammoth: of the end of the world, of first crushes, of life-long loves, and of pain and beauty in solitary. Of one-man shows to tiny packed audiences, and how mighty that can really be”

THE ADVERTISER
Source: The Adelaide Advertiser
Date:March 7th 2011
Written by: Sarah Martin

"Peppered with keyboard, harmonica and ukulele tunes, and some nimble milk-crate climbing, this is a well-crafted and engaging show”

"Bowden has a lovely, indie-kid energy about him, with a warming smile that immediately captures the audience's goodwill”

RIP IT UP
Source:ripitup.com.au
Date: March 3rd 2011
Written by: Adrian Miller

"part whimsy, part masterful storytelling”

"Ultimately a feel-good show”

"Final Word: Clever”

dB Magazine
Source: dBmagazine.com.au
Date: March 9th – 22 2011
Written by: Steve Jones

"Stuart Bowden plays Avian, and it's his astute minimalist use of props, comprising mostly of an interchangeable set made entirely out of milk crates and a sparse backdrop of lighting and a deftly looped soundscape created before his audience, that beautifully illustrates the quest before him”

"This is exceptional theatre that will resonate with you long into your own, hopefully not too late to fully appreciate future"

SOMETIMES PEOPLE WANT CHILDREN

Added on by Stuart.
Sometimes people want children. Sometimes people want children that never grow up: children that stay children. Sometimes people mistake their pets for these eternally childish humans. This is a sad and misfortunate mistake. They call themselves “Mummy and Daddy” as if their domesticated animal was of their own making. It’s sad. It’s sad for those who have to stand by and watch the full-grown pet that is persistently patronized; and it’s sad for the deluded “Mummy or Daddy” that constantly dotes on their stunted “baby”.

I could not stand by and watch this horrific abuse. I made a plan. I dressed a real human baby as a kitten and planted it in a pet shop window. It was sold and the owners were fooled; they thought they had purchased a little kitten. They took it home in a cardboard box. They fed it milk for a while, and then it went on to eat solids. It loved playing with its ball of wool. But it seemed to develop slower than they had anticipated – but Mummy and Daddy just thought maybe their kitten was a bit of a late bloomer. It crawled. It learned to go in the kitty litter tray. When it started to get on its hind legs and walk around Mummy and Daddy got concerned. Their kitten was developing very strangely. It’s meowing was strange too. Their kitten was odd, they were embarrassed; whenever guests came around they locked it in the laundry. It’s meowing started to sound more and more like words. One day when Mummy was doing the washing she looked down at her demented kitten, and the kitten looked up at her and said, “Mum”. All of a sudden and without even thinking she lent over struck the kitten, said, “don’t you call me Mum, it’s messed up” and thought nothing more of it.

Their kitten was getting larger and larger; Mummy and Daddy started to think that perhaps the pet shop had accidentally given them a Panther. Mummy and Daddy grew fearsome of their pet, it growled and made all sorts of horrible noises; so they kept it locked in the laundry for years.



One day Daddy went into the laundry to do a load of washing and the beast lashed out at him, scratching and biting his arm and neck; it seemed more brutal than playful. When Mummy got home from work that evening he sat her down and calmly explained – “I’m really sorry Mummy, but our kitten has been very naughty and we must have it put to sleep.”

They decided that it should be done humanely; that they needed to take their 'baby' to the vet. It was difficult to put their strange cat into the cardboard box, with its disproportionately long limbs. It was as difficult as putting a runtish 12 year old in a box. When they got to the vet they both wept like guilty children and explained that they could no longer cope with their troublesome cat. They put the heavy box on the vet’s operating table and pleaded for it to be done quickly - in the most humane way possible. Their tears poured out like streamers at a surprise party. The vet readied the lethal injection and asked if they would like to stay and witness or wait outside? They stayed. The vet braced himself and opened the box. The beast lay whimpering in a nest of shredded newspaper at the bottom of the box; docile and serene, as if it knew what was coming. The vet stared down at the poor creature and asked the crying couple “Any last goodbyes?”

Mummy shook her head and sobbed; Daddy stood, placed a tender hand on her shoulder and said “don’t worry, I’ll do it”
He stared down at the monster in the box and said “Daddy’s very sorry”
The brute glared back with its giant darkly glazed eyes and shouted, “You’re not even my real Dad!”
The vet swiftly intervened and said, “That’s enough out of you – you disgusting swine”
Then he raised the poisonous needle and quickly stabbed it into the rump of the innocent kitten.

Feeling somewhat responsible for the predicament and thinking that it had probably gone far enough, I stepped out from behind a cabinet where I had been watching; and said, “That’ll be enough, thanks Jason” the vet stepped back and we both chuckled together. Jason was an actor playing the role of the vet. Mummy and Daddy looked around in shock – I pointed out the cameras and stabbed myself in the eye with the prop 'lethal injection', then demonstrated the retractable needle trick on the syringe. Then suddenly all of the crew stepped out from their hiding places and on cue shouted “Surprise, Surprise the Camera Never Lies!” and let off party poppers, streamers and white doves. We all laughed together – even the demented cat-child had a grin; and we all had a huge party with catering provided.

A month later I had a meeting to debrief with the silly couple. They told me that they had realized their folly and adopted the psychologically deranged cat-child; they gave him a bedroom with a racecar bed. The pilot reality TV show, “Surprise, Surprise – The Camera Never Lies” wasn’t picked up by any network; but Jason, the actor who played the role of the vet is very glad to have it on his show reel.

By Stuart Bowden

This is a Story About Neal

Added on by Stuart.
Things were about to change
It was the first day of the last week of school
And Neal was riding his bike to the bus stop

Neal rode a ridiculously tiny bike
That required him to peddle
At least 12 times more than the average cyclist
But at this point he was peddling
At an average speed
This meant in turn that he was travelling
Stupidly slow
So slow that you may be forgiven for thinking that
He had stopped completely apart from his legs
That maybe his chain had fallen off
And he had not noticed
Or he was on the side of the road with an exercise bike

That maybe he had got up this morning
And in the blur of the morning
Half still enjoying a dream
Half aware that the day must begin
He had gone into the garage and taken
What Neal thought was his trusty bicycle
But what was in fact his grandmothers old exercise bike
And dragged it out onto the side of the road
And begun the arduous journey to school



But no Neal wasn’t on a an exercise bike
He was just riding a really fruitless bike
Fruitless in terms of efficient travel
But in regards to style
This was a very fruity bike
Neal and his Dad had biult it themselves
From old bikes scavenged from hard rubbish
And the tip
Every part had a story to tell
But Grease and oil soon fixed that

While Neal was riding he was humming to himself
He was writing a song in his head
He relished these times that he had on his own
When he could turn off the world
And journey into the depths of his imagination
Today was a melancholy love song
Most days where melancholy love songs

Neal looked down at his watch
He had three minutes before the bus left
And he knew that he was further than a comfortable
Three minutes riding
He quickly stood up on his peddles
And he rode like the wind
Well at least his legs moved like the wind
And his bike travelled at the speed of a
Jogging Mule

With the wind blowing through the air holes in his helmet
And inturn slightly blowing through his hair
He felt free
And faster than he had ever attempted
He rounded the last corner onto the straight
That led up to his bus stop
And in the distance he could see the bus
Starting to pull away from the curb
He threw his hands into the air
In a desperate attempt to stop the bus
And the bike wobbled underneath him
And what happened next was a complete blur

He picked himself off the side of the road
And looked up just in time to see a glimpse
Of the bus as it turned the corner
On its way to school
Without him.

By Stuart Bowden

BISSY AND NEVERMIND

Added on by Stuart.
When I was a child I would collaborate with the summoned other of my imagination. I named my creation Bissy. Bissy and I were always busy; we made tree houses out of dinosaurs and clouds out of faces. We were inseparable, to the point of detachment. Together we designed, prototyped, tested, shaped, bent, twisted, fashioned, hardened, weathered, pioneered, conquered and mastered love; sadly we learnt that the delicate personal truth of our definition has been corroded by facades on falsity; but I still carry the blueprints etched on my skeleton, and this map protects my eyes from those smokescreens.

My big brother envied our limitless galaxy of imaginary constellation prizes. The next day he introduced Bissy and me to his astrospace engineering physician friend, Nevermind. Nevermind and my big brother, for days, weeks; and still at this very moment of inscription, reside beside my Dad's shed in an old tipped over fridge. Bissy and I, two satellites, watch from our earthly canopy, as they wired arterys, veins and capillaries into the cockpit of their space shuttle of memory.

The switchboard pulsed with the jugular LEDs, as electricity was pumped through all the circuit board's circulatory system. At the heart of the vessel, the battery pumped, no valves strained and no resistors resisted.

My big brother had created a ship to sail the universal eternity of space. But there were only two thrones in the cockpit, and this shuttle had no antechamber. My brother and I watched two figures, in airtight armor, fog their bubble helmets with farewells, as Bissy and Nevermind ascended the gangplank threshold of potential.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…


By Stuart Bowden



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