My Night Life

My Night Life.

The weather has taken a chilly turn in Brighton, bringing strong winds and clouds and rain with it. Today, it has cleared up and the sun is shining, but the wind is still blustering about robustly. Wearing sweaters or, "jumpers" are now a necessity for going outside (and even indoors if it's at our flat!).
On Wednesday, Ed, one of the people from the Ultimate Frisbee club, let me borrow a couple of large mixing bowls and so, on Thursday I baked some biscuits. They turned out pretty well considering I didn't have buttermilk, and I they were whole-wheat. I didn't realize I had bought whole-wheat self-rising flour at Sainsbury's. But, I guess I did.
I took them to ultimate practice on Friday, and that night when we were hanging out at The Bear (an ultimate tradition), all 17 of them were devoured quite quickly. I was happy they enjoyed the "American" biscuits.
Friday was a good night. That night I dreamed, among other things, that there were pianos sitting on every street corner and were open and free to play. Yesterday, Catt and I went to the pier to see if the aquarium was open. We got a Moo Moo milk shake, which was incredibly delicious (and heavy!). We played in the arcade for a bit, because we discovered the aquarium had already closed and then we were walking back to the bus stop, and WHAT should happen to be sitting behind our bus stop? Yep. A piano.
Dreams really do come true, you know.
We caught our bus back home. And I hung out in my flat for a couple hours until I decided I was going back. I was so hyper and keyed up, waiting for the bus to get there was almost unbearable. You'd think I was going to play at the Carnegie center, or something. I was so excited. I ran to see if it was still there. And it was. No one had moved it, it wasn't busted, it was just as it had been earlier that day. Words can not express the happiness I felt when I beheld that little worn, tired piano, sitting so patiently behind the bus stop at the Pavilion. I played on it for almost two hours, during which several people came up to me, talked to me, played their own music, and sang along to the songs I was playing (mostly, "Hallelujah", because I couldn't really remember any more). I did take a hat, just to see if people would pay me, but once I got there, I didn't really want anyone's money. It was just fun to sit there and play. It had been so long. It's ridiculous how much I enjoy playing the piano and singing. However, one person did ask me, "do you have a cup or something I can put money in?". So, I think it goes without saying that I could have made some money at it. But I'm sort of glad I didn't. Although, it is good to know that I could. I felt like I was dreaming. At one point, there were about five people singing "Hallelujah" with me and we were all trying to remember the next verses. I taught someone to play the little "fist roll" song, as I call it. Someone showed me how to play "Hey, Jude", and I played a couple of originals that received favorable feedback. It was the first time I actually had some conversation with strangers. They were all very willing to talk to me, which I have find to be kind of rare. A lot of people took pictures, too. But, for once, all those people watching didn't bother me. Usually, when I play the piano, the more people watching, the harder and harder it is. But not last night. I think I was so desperate for playing the piano, it didn't make a bit of difference to me. *sigh*, it was lovely.
I think next time, if there's no piano available, I'll go sing jazz tunes a cappella, or something. If I need laundry money. That's a joke.
But, THAT is my idea of a night out. I had the time of my life. And there are so many people who can play amazingly! It was so nice to hear them play. I enjoyed every second of it.
Today, daylight savings time kicked in, which means I get some extra time today, so I'm going down the pier again, to see if the aquarium is open today.
Who knows what's actually going to happen.
Life, like I had said before, is a never ending surprise.
And I have discovered I have a strange addiction to olives.
From me, having a blast in Brighton, to you: have a fantastic day!

Cheers!

Hannah