So here I am in Jamestown NY. Actually though, we’ve been here since Friday night, but it’s just been a crazy few days.
Where to begin?
Let me think…. OK -we ( myself and Jean McEwan) flew to Buffalo via Washington, me with an enormously heavy bag (full of clothes, artwork and sweets for our host, Debra ) Fairly uneventful, but very long flight, which was made stressful by first the long queue at Customs in Washington, then having to pick up our bags ( which I never had to do last time I went to the US, just 5 years ago) and then another unbelievable grilling by two female ‘jobsworth’ numbskulls, who seemed hell bent on humiliating people. People in front of us had to open their luggage to be searched, so I was really panicking about the artwork I had in my bag. (plus the sweets etc I had in there after saying I didn’t have any!)
But a quick telling off and a threat of getting a $300 fine for having an apple, left us an incredibly short time to catch our transfer to Buffalo. But they didn’t open my case – yeah! ( not that I had anything illegal – it was just that we were made to feel so bad for even existing!)
Got there, Debra picked us up at airport, chatted…almost fell asleep in car (after all. It was close to midnight ‘our’ time and we’d been up since 5am) and made the 90 min journey to her house. Vowed to stay up till at least 10.30 ‘their’ time, so thought it was a good idea to do a detour to a liquor store. Got some really sweet red wine – attracted to its mad label. It was a bit disgusting, and despite waking at 4am with a banging headache and having to get up for paracetamols, I then slept til 7.30. Result!
So Saturday…. we had to leave around 11.00 to set up our stall at the Reg Lenna Centre for the SWAN event. ( zines and cards we’d made) Feeling a bit disorientated by now, we went off to find some veggie food ( which we did and it was excellent) and sat eating while poor Debra did most of the running round. Just after 12noon, we were able to use the room set aside for our zine workshop. By ‘we’, it was actually Jean’s baby, but I was there to help.
Really good afternoon making zines. It was so weird talking to so many people and swapping ideas. I had the usual ‘oh – do you know the Beatles?’ when I said I worked In Liverpool and I think they were a little disappointed when I said I didn’t.
So.. bringing this almost up to date, we went for a meal Saturday night for the artists who are in the present exhibition at the gallery we are taking over. Really nice idea that they set up this meal to ensure that all of the artists turned up to collect their work. Must try that ourselves one day!
Oh oh – it snowed while we there, so as soon as we got back to the house we shot out again to take some photos – amusing the neighbours who threw back their curtains to watch. Maybe the 3 months of snow they’d already had wasn’t so entertaining to them.
I went to bed shattered around 10.30 and woke up at 4am full of life this morning. Ho hum.
But that’s all I can write today. Its.. .. oh I don’t even know the what the real time is anymore….
To be continued…..
