Last week was a good one. So good in fact, I am taking a break from my usual shoving my opinions in the internet’s face for once and just making a diary of how much I enjoyed it. For context, future Dan, it was the week of your second time seeing Arctic Monkeys, and Ben had come all the way from Cornwall to spend it with you.
Wednesday
After picking Ben up from the train station, we ventured into Derby to waste the rest of the day. I’ve purposefully been putting off going into cities since I got back home so I could really have a mooch when I was reunited with Ben, and I’m happy to report my plan worked. I bought a stripe-tastic new t-shirt and some shoelaces for my squash shoes, and we wasted a good few hours just browsing the stores, like we did when we were in school together. This wasn’t my only motive though. As you’ve probably seen, the new Spider-Man game came out on PlayStation 4 this month, and is so far up my alley it may as well move in with me. Now, this is the only console I am yet to own from the current generation. I only bought a Nintendo Switch earlier this year as a treat for all my hard work at uni, and use my Xbox One almost daily, controlling a certain orange marsupial. I do not need this console. I cannot afford this console. I am not buying this console.
So I’m walking back to my car, holding this PS4, because of course I am. Like I have the self-control to resist my own desires, plus Ben whispering the idea of leaping off the Empire State building before swinging away to safety in my ears, like a Devil on my shoulder, good one. Anyway, we get home, set up the system, and within minutes I do not regret my decision. We drink cider and beat up bad guys long into the night, worth every penny.
Thursday
One thing that constantly amazes me about Ben is his energy in a morning. Having recently found a job (super proud of you if you’re reading this) and a subsequent routine, Ben was up and ready for the day at 7am each morning. Naturally, being the downbeat bedroom-dweller I’ve found myself turning into these days, this hit me like a train, and Ben was resultantly banned from entering my room until at least 9am each day. Even then, I’m walking around like an overworked Dad looking after his constantly hyperactive son, but it’s worth it since we are heading into Nottingham to have lunch with one of Ben’s closest friends from uni. We ate at Annie’s Burger Shack, chatting about the past 3 years and what lies ahead in-between bites of damn good burgers, before heading into town and basically having a repeat of the day before, just minus spending 10% of my savings.
Friday
As I’ve mentioned before, there really isn’t too much going on around where I live, so after racking my brain to come up with something entertaining for us to do, I settled on an old reliable; Alton Towers. Armed with cheap student tickets (probably for the last time ever), the bedroom ban was lifted and we woke up bright and early to arrive at the park as soon as it opened, stretching our long legs to beat school trips into the park. Take that, 12 year olds.
I think theme parks are really good testers of friendships. If you can stand in a line with someone for hours at a time, and not have a single awkward silence, you’re golden. As is always the case with Ben, I couldn’t be more comfortable. We discuss which songs we want to see on the setlist tomorrow, our memories of coming to the park together before, and play Ben’s new favourite game of ‘Rank 4 Arbitrary Things’, all whilst managing to get on every major ride on the site, including the Smiler twice. Check us out.
Saturday
All week, Ben was constantly asking me if I was excited for the show, he can read me like a book and could see that I wasn’t itching for time to move faster like I usually am. I don’t know if this is just a side-effect of how I’ve been feeling recently, but nothing could galvanise me. Driving into Birmingham. Nothing. Playing mini-golf to pass the time. Nada. Standing 5 rows from the stage. Zip.
But oh my god, what a show. From the first note to the last, the entire arena was just transfixed. Every time I see Alex Turner perform I am amazed by his ability to captivate an audience, keeping thousands of people hanging on his every word and yet still managing to entertain and surprise you. I have never been to a show with so many individual moments that I know will stick with me, if you’re lucky you get one or two per performance, but they just rolled out with every song that night. The ironic anticipation of guessing what was coming after Alex drawled “I want to take you all back to the very beginning”, before launching into The View From the Afternoon. Seeing Ben absolutely lose his shit upon hearing the genius opening lyrics of Ritz. Dancing to the unreal drops of Pretty Visitors and Do Me a Favour. Having Knee Socks make its way from our conversation at Alton Towers to being surprisingly performed in front of us. 505 and Cornerstone making me even more emotional than I thought they would. Hearing 15,000 people scream “Well I bet that you look good on the dance floor” and knowing that that song means as much to each and every one of them as it does to me. I could go on, but I fear most people stopped reading this paragraph after the first line anyway.
Anyway, there you have it. The happiest I have been in a long long time, immortalised. I just searched it, and I have typed/you have read the word ‘Ben’ 12 times (13 now I guess), so I just want to thank him for such a great week/reassure the rest of you that I am not in love with him. But yeah, thanks mate. Next up, the serious work begins. I’ve applied for a couple of jobs before writing this today, and the plan to kickstart my life moves forwards.
‘Til the next time
Dan
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