Alright lovely sinister people; I'm back from my week in Austria with mes parents. I've spent YEARS reading your messages (....but where has espadrille gone! I kinda miss him... ....er, I mean him/her!) and have loads to say, but in the end it all adds up to this: 1. Ok, everyone! Stop making fun of my sig files! 2. Red Monkey: As far as I know, Red Monkey IS Rachel and the other one who run Slampt. So not Huggy bear then....? I'm in contact with the Slampt peeps and the've never said anything.... ...ho hum. 3. The Phantom Pregnancies. Thanx whoever mentioned them. W!O!W! they were good, but I'm sorry to tell you they split in '96 so all talk is now retrospective I'm afraid :-( You all HAVE to hear their track on my tape tree tape. Ok, enough of that - I've brought you back some ink polaroids from Austria - Here you go: This one is of an endless sea of cars as far as I can see. It was taken in a long stay car park in Manchester, and apart from the cars there are wiry plants and lots of dust. Only the whole dismal scene is rendered beautiful by 'Catholic Education,' the chimes of which turn it into something much nicer. This one is of all of us sitting in one of the rooms in the 'Pension Silvia.' To the left of the picture is my mother. She's reading 'The Game' by A.S. Byatt. Next to her on the sofa is my stepdad Lance, reading 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin'. On the right is my sister Katie lying on the bed in a position intended not to mess up her hair, but.... ....failing miserably. She's reading 'The Colour Of Magic' with occasional giggles. In the foreground of the picture you can see I'm reading 'Nana' by Emile Zola. The curtains are closed 'cos it's late at night. This one is of of the side of the Wolfgangsee. At the side is a little shop taking photos of people in sepia tones and victorian clothing. In the centre- left is a jetty leading out to the ferry port with a line of sweaty tourists lining up. Also in the centre two German girls of about ten have released their scraggy and sodden mongrels. The dogs are trying to attack the 2 swans who have been there for ages undisturbed. On a bench in front of them an old Englishman tells another old Englishman that he's seen a swan kill a dog. On the right of the picture is the White Horse Hotel, subject of an operetta by someone. I'm reading the end of 'Nana' and poor Zizi has just stabbed himself with Nana's scissors. This one is two German girls whose smiles follow me as I walk down the street. They must be seventeen or so, and as they sit on the bench and I continue to walk away from them down the hill, I keep turning and they are still looking at me. behind them is a copse and an unbelievably steep hill with a speck of a man mowing it. This one is of the Dwarf Garden in Salzburg. All around a loop of a path are stone statues of dwarfs of various occupations and the rest of the garden is full of trees under which Me, my mother and my sister find the only shelter in an incredibly hot day. Under the wall at the edge of the garden is a wall where three men sit and sing and play a guitar and a flute. They look like something out of a french arthouse film - perhaps 'Jules et Jim' but with three men. This one is in the lobby of the 'Pension Silvia'. The lobby is decorated with lots of austrian flowers, and outside the steps can be seen leading down to the road. Mike, the Airtours rep is looking uncomfortable wearing a bright red uniform. His cool sunglasses only draw attention to how old and worn out he looks. he's just said he spends every summer season here, and Silvia, the owner of the place, has suddenly gone all shy and girlish. She's 45 or so and here face is so red you wouldn't believe it. My family all look thoughtful as they have read the subtext. This is England again, somewhere in Manchester. It looks like England really does, overcut a-road verges and lots of tarmac. It looks a little dull and soulless, but to me it looks like home and I love it. I hope you enjoyed them! they are fun to do - I may try more. I think someone should compile a best-of compilation of Sinister ink polaroids. In fact, maybe I will...... But don't hold your breath. If someone does it we should all send them our addresses and they can send us a copy. hey, maybe Honey Paul could put it on the site. Love 'n' Apfelstrudel WeeJay "...All you can do is laugh All I can do is cry..." james@twopounds.u-net.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +---+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+