Dear Diary Some Days In My Life Tripping In The Woods

We came to a stop as Mark turned off the engine, then got out of the van. Sliding my side of the door back, I grabbed my rucksack and climbed out noticing a square bit of lawn surrounded by bushes, it was sparse with no colour apart from the grass, which told me the brothers weren't green fingered, I was glad because gardening was the last thing on my mind at that time, I had a feeling I was going to be busy enough with the house.

A Siamese cat came through the bushes, wandering across the patch of lawn, meowing as if welcoming me on my first day, I later found out it belonged to the neighbours, apparently they called it Miss Ting because it would go off wandering a lot, only returning when it felt hungry. I often think of myself like a cat, going off exploring only returning home when needing something to eat, or some warmth to sleep. Ah! That's the life. I remember going to see a psychic once in the 1990s, she said I had several cats watching over me in the spirit world, which I found very gratifying.

After my encounter with Miss Ting, I was led down the side of the bungalow, the front door apparently never got used, apart from post being delivered, or a stranger ringing the bell, their friends always used the side door at the back.

Mark led me into a minuscule kitchen, that only seemed to have enough room for one person at a time, before it became confined. There was a window next to the back door, with a sink below, full of pots – pans and dirty plates, probably from the night before.

A view of the fence was all you could see, so nothing of any interest to look at while you were washing up. Makes me realise how lucky I am now, to have such a nice garden that attracts wildlife and gives me a reason to enjoy washing up. Yes! I still wash up by hand, even though we have a dishwasher, but I've never used it.

Anyway, next to the sink was a work top with a kettle...which left me gasping for a cuppa! A gas oven stood the other side, with a small fridge against the far wall. As Mark was about to show me around, he shut the back door quickly, before Miss Ting decided she'd come in and make her presence known, inquisitive as all cats are.

There was a door opposite the kitchen window that led into one huge room, that I guessed was supposed to be a lounge diner, though there wasn't a dining table in sight, just a settee and two arm chairs at the far end of the room, and a television next to an electric fire...I later discovered this was where they ate their tv dinners.

Back at the other end, the space was kept empty for parties, which Mark informed me...they had a lot of. GREAT! I loved parties. Two other doors led into bedrooms each side of the television. Next to the kitchen was the bathroom, then opposite the bathroom was the front door, now I understood why the front door never got used.

Next to the front door was the room I was to share with Chris, although on the first night I slept in his brothers empty room. But now It was nice to have someone to cuddle into finally. Chris never had a bed, just a mattress on the floor, which suited me fine. There was a window above the bed with an ashtray full of dog ends, which I thought was typical of Chris being a smoker. There was also an empty cereal dish...probably from the morning's breakfast, I bet he and his brother only washed up when there weren't any clean dishes left. Chris had been burning incense sticks, it was a glorious aroma and just what I'd hoped for, it seemed we had a lot in common, I was going to enjoy myself...that's for sure.

It was on the weekend that Chris wanted to show me around, so we went on our first pub crawl with his biker mates on the Friday night. They were some great characters and just the beginning of some memorable times, that if I could have bottled I would have. I felt part of something at last, like I was needed and cared about.

I did have one experience that I'd rather forget, but I suppose it's quite funny now I look back. We were over at one of Chris's biker friends, he had a triumph which never had a back bar to hold onto, I was desperate to have a ride all the same. I wasn't that experienced on a motor bike, but didn't want to seem like a sissy, so although he told me to hold on tight, I said, “no it's okay I'll be fine!” Well the guy pulled off, driving half way down the road, before he realised I was no longer on the back, I'd come off and was now sitting on my backside, feeling such an idiot, thinking! I'll never live this down. They did all have a good laugh at my expense, but then I ended up laughing too, which was all I could do really, with red cheeks and a sore backside.

I needed my other clothes that were still at home, also my music tapes which I was missing desperately. Chris had lent me his spare bike helmet, but I had my own, so after phoning Mum and telling her that I was fine and had a place to stay, Chris took me home to pick up the rest of my belongings. Having a fresh change of clothes that were more fitting for my lifestyle now, gave me such a lift...the real Jenny was back and raring to go.

That first Saturday with Chris, was mind blowing. I had my first experience on acid. Being a bit sceptical of purposely putting drugs into my body I was warey, but Chris assured me that as long as we stayed together and kept an open mind, we would be fine.

Producing a small plastic bag with a block in, he cut a tiny crumb size piece off and told me to eat it, giving me some water to swallow it down. I never felt anything for about two hours, but after packing some crusty rolls, cheese and wine and a mattress, we jumped in the van ready for a day in the woods.

Our first stop was the student union bar in Clifton, a great place to bump into people you knew and hang out. It had a long bar with tables placed along the far wall, and was always busy with young people desperate to meet up with friends, in fact it was a place where anything goes, and I had my first taste of parsnip wine...boy! Did it hit the spot, I got hooked on that drink from that point, always ordering it whenever we went there, you couldn't get it anywhere else, so I presume that someone in the Union bar made the stuff, it was very strong indeed.

The acid was now beginning to work, I remember feeling like anything was possible, but also reflecting on what Chris had told me about keeping an open mind. He could see the stuff was starting to take affect, so leaving the bar, we took off in the van, making our way to Leigh Woods, with Genesis; Wind and Wuthering playing on the cassette. We were both fans of early Genesis and Selling England By The Pound always got us in the right frame of mind.

The sunlight glinted through the trees as we made our way, driving deeper into the woods, and a feeling of calm overcame me. Once we stopped, hunger seemed to come quickly, so opening the back of the van, I climbed in and got the food out, we had to laugh, as the heat had melted the cheese and it was more like spreading cheddar butter than cheese, but it still tasted good and in fact I was so hungry I'd have eaten anything at that point.

I suddenly had this urge to go for a walk, so hand in hand we made our way along a path without a care in the world, just breathing in the day and loving the vivid colours of the trees, as leaves gave us shelter from the hot sun. We hardly spoke, we were so engrossed in what we were seeing, where colours changed and it was like being in a Walt Disney film, except when I said I needed to take a pee. Letting go of hands we went our separate ways, not considering for one minute that we could get lost. I didn't feel afraid, just a feeling of contentment and euphoria filled me with enthusiasm for adventure.

After taking a pee, I made my way back along the path, completely unaware that Chris wasn't around. The earth below me began to feel like walking on sponge, I wanted to jump up and down as if on a trampoline, it was a strange sensation. Waves of colours began to appear, I could only describe them as looking like the Northern lights, dipping in and out, right in front of my eyes.

Finding a place to lay down and take this scene in, I found the best spot I could have imagined, right below a tree, the twinkling of the sunlight between leaves, reminded me of a million crystals gleaming.

Just a few feet above my head was a spider's web, with one huge spider in the middle...now I was in a Disney film, I smiled and said hello, oblivious to anyone who maybe passing by and thinking I was a right nut case. It lowered itself down on a thread, coming to land on my chest. I never moved, but continued to converse with this huge insect, which normally I'd have run a mile from. I don't know what it thought of me, but at that moment it began to crawl up towards my chin, so close I could see every detail in its face, still I continued talking, as it watched me closely, then out of the blue it raced back up the thread and was back in its web. I felt like I'd been on a journey of discovery, suddenly my fear of spiders had gone. The strange part about tripping, is that you remember every detail, unlike when you're drunk, but as I look back and write, it's as if I'm watching a film that happened to someone else...very strange indeed.

Eventually Chris found me and I told him about the spider. Pulling me up, his face seemed to be contorting, as he smiled at me, taking my hand and leading me back to the van. As we lay in the back on the mattress listening to Hawkwind's Space Ritual, we eventually fell into a sleep. When we awoke, the Sun was starting to go down and it was cooling off slightly, so we made our way back home.

To be continued...