paul_stapleton02

Arrivals: Saurday 20th & Sunday 21st
We just got back form Rathlin Island, where Meabh and I went for my birthday. I had been working so hard I just wanted to get away for a while and have a bit of peace and quiet and a bit of sea as well. I have to say I love the sea. I am a water baby, as happy in water as I am on dry land. Anyway, we got back into Belfast about 3pm. We were both a bit tired as aside from the breakfast each morning, it was hard to get good food while we were away. The main reason for that is because we are vegetarian and we were travelling outside the tourist season in the middle of the week.
When we got back to Belfast Meabh and I started to clean the house. I had a wash and got ready to go out and meet Paul. I caught a cab to the Europa and met him off his bus about 7pm. It was really great to see him again; I hadn’t seen him in ages. It’s one of those funny things, Paul’s someone I feel I could see in thirty years and just pick up wherever we left off, it’s never difficult or awkward or unfamiliar to be in his company. We greeted each other and grabbed a cab up the road. We had a catch up. Oddly enough a guy called Nathan Berry that I had not seen in ages telephoned Paul while we were in the cab. It was an odd crossing of paths.
When we got home I showed Paul his room and let him get settled. Meabh and I were trying to decide whether we should go out for the night. We were waiting on a phone call from Luke, who was staying at his grand parents. He was enjoying himself with them and was thinking about staying another night with them. We told him that it was his decision. So we were waiting to see what he wanted to do before we made plans for the evening. He rang not long after Paul and I got and said he was going to stay with his grand parents so Meabh and I then began to make arrangements to go out. We ordered in some Indian food to save us the bother of cooking. Paul and I went for a walk to the local shop to buy a few beers to go along with the meal we had ordered. I was really enjoying seeing Paul again and Meabh was enjoying getting to know him. It was nice.
When we got back we waited on the Indian food to arrive. We had a glass of wine, relaxed and chatted. It was the first time Meabh had met Paul. They got on well, which made me happy. We ate food then got ready to go out. We went to bar twelve to meet our friends Anna, Warren and Jill. Jill was out with two polish Friends. The polish guy was called Lukas and I can’t remember his sister’s name, but she was nice also. Other friends joined us over the course of the night and Paul met one part of my network of friends here in Belfast. I was incredibly tired by the time I got in. Had a snack to soak up any excess alcohol and went straight to bed.
Sunday Morning
I slept in this morning. This is a rare thing for me. When I got up I went round the shop and bought some things to make everyone a cooked breakfast. Not long after breakfast, or should I say brunch, look arrived home and met Paul. He was less shy than he normally is when he meets new people. Paul was really good with Luke, so I reckon Luke likes him. After everyone had got themselves together for the day, I headed off to Sainsbury’s to get in some shopping. I knew that Paul was going to be doing some cooking this week, but I really needed to do a shop, as we had no food at all in the house, apart from some frozen goods like tuna fish fillets, because we had been away for a week. After I bought the food, I got a cab home. Owing to what Paul was doing, I started to think about what I’d bought. When I shop I always think what I am buying is pretty healthy, but I also know my idea of healthy is a bit warped. The reason for this is that when I was a child my mum would tell me what foods were good for me to eat and these ideas have remained in my mind. Yet, as an adult some of these things don’t add up. The big one for me is dairy products. I love cheese and even having glasses of milk. My mum always told me these were good for me. But now in adult life I know that cheese is really fatty and that milk is full of god knows what because of the chemicals they give to cattle to make them lactate. Yet, I still can’t view these things as unhealthy, even though all the knowledge in my head says so. It’s a funny thing.
With a head full of thought’s like this I decided to take some time to actually look at what I’d bought. So I divided my food in groups:
1. Fruit and Veg
2. Dairy
3. Breads
4. Canned things
5. House hold stuff
6. Things that I couldn’t put in other categories
Then I photographed it so I could look at it and then think about it. Not only could I think about what I’d bought but also the way I’d categorised it. What the reader will probably notice is that there is no meet, apart from the tuna, because we are all vegetarian. Paul photographed the food with me. Although what Paul concentrated on was the small detail of the food labels, which featured animals. These pictures can be seen on his blog about this day.

Image: Kitchen and toilet rolls, Bedding for the rabbits, washing up liquid and envelops. Justin what every house needs.