Alex Pearl is not in the Antarctic

More adventures in Leicester

On the platform in Leicester I was sat next to a young woman. We were both watching a wasp about to fly up her skirt. I was seized by a sudden urge to slap at it with my notebook. An act which would surely have lead to a sting and my arrest.

Conversation with a toddler before he was told to face forward by his mum:

Hiya
Hiya
Hiya
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Hiya
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Hiya
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Hiya

I'm traveling back from Leicester where I've just set up a show in the Phoenix Arts Center. I say set up actually it just involved taking Rachel Cattle's dvds out, taking down her drawings and and bunging my stuff up, to be honest Eric did most of it. I decided to show three of the automatic films and one small print of a still.

The journey up was characterised by the first break in the weather. Rain clouds were gathering. As usual I managed to seat myself next to the toilet so my thoughts were constantly interrupted by the fumblings of incontinent passengers. At least this was an old fashioned toilet with a mechanical lock. I'm frequently an unwilling audience to the difficulties people have with the electronic versions whose sliding door threatens to sweep open leaving its occupant in flagrante. Seeing the problems this system causes have made me think of becoming a sort of convenience bell-hop (in cap) pressing the "open", "close" and "lock" buttons in the right order. Despite the time these trips allow me to think I am getting bored with the views from trains. I am always seeing the backs of things as if the world is facing the other way. The journey is punctuated by the same experience of back yards and back gardens which I glimpse unsatisfactorily like a peeping tom in hell. I seem like I'm in a bad mood, I'm not and my city break has gone well, I have been described as the Mike Leigh of automata film making (a narrow field I admit).

We've just gone through Melton Mowbray a place with almost mythic status for me. A few years ago I decided to cycle from my home near Ipswich up to my parent's home near Manchester. I decided to do it in a day and on the hottest day of the year. Melton Mowbray was the place I nearly gave up suffering from dehydration/heat stroke. But after a little rest in the park and several litres of water I made what felt like one of the most important decisions of my life, got back on my bike and carried on. I made it, but did have to soak my shorts off in the bath and had nasty sunburn on my eyelids.