Dreams of Sex and Stage Diving by Martin Millar Page A

actually supposed to have tenants waiting to move into these flats but the council were not too bothered by legal technicalities like this. They had no hesitation in using PIOs and then boarding up the flats and leaving them vacant.
    This was what had happened on the Tulse Hill estate and the flats now stood empty, barricaded behind bolted-on metal shutters.
    â€œIt’s disgusting,” said Elfish.
    â€œYes,” agreed Shonen. “Now more people are homeless and there are even more empty flats.”

    What Elfish had actually meant was that it was disgusting that she could not find May when she wanted her, but she let it pass.
    Shonen was genuinely troubled, though. In Brixton, as in all parts of London, the number of homeless people had been growing at an alarming rate; hopeless defeated people sitting in doorways, apparently without hopes or dreams. The sight of this was very distressing to her.
    â€œWhat happened to May?”
    â€œI tracked her down to Camberwell. She is living in the bus with four New Zealanders and three other Irish people till she finds another place to stay. I asked her about joining my band but she wasn’t keen. She said she had too many things on her mind to play music. I would have just forgotten about it but I don’t have time to hunt around for more people so I asked if she wanted to call round for a cup of tea. A cup of tea is quite an attractive prospect when you’re living in an old bus.
    â€œWhen she came I let her play my guitar and she’s really good. She was hitting it like a madwoman. You’d have sworn there was a motorway pile-up going on in the corner of the room. So I must have her in the band.”
    This was not going to be easy because May was, as reported by Aran, severely depressed by her experiences in prison and was having great difficulty in managing her life. The sudden eviction had not helped and May had told Elfish that her continual inability to find anywhere secure to live in London had completely drained her spirit.
    â€œWell, that’s easily solved,” Elfish had told her. “Chevon is moving out of here next week and you can have her room. You will be secure here.”
    At this, May’s spirit had revived, and she had agreed to play guitar with Elfish.
    â€œI didn’t know Chevon was moving out,” remarked Shonen.
    â€œShe isn’t,” said Elfish. “But May is not to know that. And I told
May that the reason Chevon is having to move is because we found out she’d been stealing money from the telephone box so she mustn’t mention it to her as it’s a very touchy subject.”
    â€œWhat’ll happen when May finds out it’s not true?”
    Elfish shrugged. By that time the gig would be over. Elfish would have the name Queen Mab and May could live in a cardboard box under Waterloo Bridge as far as she was concerned.
    In the meantime there was the problem of finding a guitar for May. She had lost hers some time ago during an eviction. Elfish, indefatigable, was now determined to get one for her.
    â€œI saw one in the little secondhand music shop and it was good but I couldn’t afford it. But I’ll get it, I’ll think of something. I will have a band by Saturday. Now, about this speech.”
    Elfish noticed that Shonen had left the room, and waited impatiently.
    â€œHave a good vomit?” said Elfish as Shonen returned. Shonen lowered her eyes, unable to joke about it.
    â€œThe speech.”
    â€œRight. The speech.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWell?”
    â€œI’m not very good at teaching people things,” said Shonen. “Excuse me.”
    She hurried out of the room. Elfish dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands and wished desperately that she knew anyone else in the whole world capable of teaching her how to learn forty-three lines of Shakespeare, because if she did she swore she would never pay a visit to this bundle of neuroses