The final year art show for the 'Visual Art & Design in Context'bit of my course. It was a dog's dinner, partly because of my teachersand partly because of the amount of attention I'd given it, you'll getan idea from the following story...I'm looking rather severe I think you'll agree. You can still see faintblack eyes & a blood stain on my tee-shirt. What happened was this...after a days drinking with Mick Totten & some of his navy friends (!) we went a-drinking some more and he showed us a trick. He lined up an empty beer glass against his forehead and went 'one, two, three' SMASH!He actually threw the glass on 'two' so that it broke on the ground at theright time for 'three' if you see what I mean. Anyway, myself & the chapacross the table from me where pissed enough to think he had really done it.This bloke across the table went ahead and REALLY did it. As far as I was concerned, TWO people had just broken beer glasses against their own headswithout too much harm. As luck would have it (?) I had just finished my beer,took aim, and WHAM! Before the blood blinded me, I saw two jets of blood shootingup and out just above my eyes. The main two arteries where clean severed!Sobering up immediately, I asked someone to follow me outside and get anyglass they could see out, after doing that they pressed hard against the woundto staunch the flow. The ambulance arrived just behind the police car. Dumbpoliceman thought my friend leaning against my head as I leant against the wallwas doing me over, he rugby tackled him off me. The ambulance man proceeded to go mental at him. Amid scenes of general fracas, a kind old nurse lead me away.I had 6 stitches and an uncomfortable night in Otley hospital. While stitching methey asked me 'Did it happen at the show' I thought it best to say 'yes' not reallyknowing what they meant, they didn't find out that it was self inflicted.Next morning they released me, it was raining, my clothes were still ripped andcovered in mud from the mad, drunken rugby we'd played. An old woman heard me comingand glanced over her shoulder. She took fright at this Frankenstein bearing down uponher. She flattened herself against a wall as I trogged passed. Not my finest hour!
Hughie 15 Oct 2000