The stage is in darkness.

Iggy   say it

Gerry   no

Pause.

Iggy   it might be of use to ya at some stage a the game

Gerry   i know what’s of use to me an what’s not

Iggy   it’s a journey ya should make the effort to take

The lights slowly come up on Gerry and Iggy.

Gerry   have you made it

Iggy   no

Gerry   well then you look after yer journeys an i’ll look after mine

Iggy   that’s typical a you

Gerry   that right

Iggy   you make no effort to do anythin

Gerry   are you there or are ya here with me – makin no effort to do anythin

Iggy   typical

Gerry   aye – typical a you always talkin – slabberin on an on

Iggy   i’ll stop then

Gerry   no you won’t

Iggy   a will

Gerry   good

Iggy   good – (Pause.) angel

Gerry   leave me alone

Iggy   angel

Gerry   why the fuck can’t you leave me alone

Iggy   don’t know

Gerry   take a deep breath count to ten an just stop yerself from talkin

Iggy   angel – victoria line

Gerry   east finchley – there you go – done it – angel to east finchley – done – right – no need for more

Iggy   the journey – the route – the path – the whole thing

Gerry   i don’t care

Iggy   ya have to care – this is where we’re at – we need to know the routes

Gerry   if a say it will ya leave me alone

Iggy   no

Pause.

Gerry   is this tea different from yesterday

Iggy   everythin’s different from yesterday

Gerry   nothin’s different from yesterday

Iggy   except the tea

Gerry   is it

Iggy   no

Gerry   thought not

Iggy   why’d you say

Gerry   just in case a was wrong

Iggy   right – angel – victoria line – i dug the victoria line – ya know that

Gerry   yes i know it – a want to go back to belfast

Iggy   fuck that

Gerry   fuck you

Iggy   always what you want

Gerry   never what i want

Iggy   angel – victoria line – kings cross – northern line – all northern line straight the way through from there

Gerry   if you don’t leave me alone i’m goin to torture ya

Iggy   what way

Gerry   don’t know – i’ll find somethin

Iggy   you couldn’t torture me anyway – haven’t got the stayin power for that

Gerry   stayin power alright – still here an many’s a one isn’t – do ya think there was many at it

Iggy   no – angel kings cross euston …

Gerry   think there was any at it

Iggy   you should’ve been at it – angel kings cross euston camden town …

Gerry   so should you

Iggy   next time – angel kings cross euston camden town kentish town …

Gerry   aye next time

Iggy   typical – angel kings cross euston camden town kentish town tufnell park …

Gerry   i like a good funeral

Iggy   used to like a good funeral – angel kings cross euston camden town – kentish town tufnell park archway

Gerry   aye – used to – when there was drink involved – you need drink at them types a things – hard goin without it

Iggy   needs to be drink involved right enough – hard goin is right – angel kings cross euston camden town kentish town tufnell park archway highgate …

Gerry   plenty a drink or plenty a people – one or the other – or both – both’s better

Iggy   angel kings cross euston camden town kentish town tufnell park archway highgate east finchley – the cemetery

Gerry   god bless wee jimmy – may his arse never feel the heat of a flame

Iggy   wee jimmy – say it

Gerry   you just said it

Iggy   what happens if i die

Gerry   ya stop breathin the world keeps spinnin and time moves on

Iggy   you’ll not know yer way

Gerry   who says i’d want to go – no drink – no people – a don’t think so

Iggy   fuck you

Pause.

Gerry   wee jimmy – wha

Iggy   drinkin paint thinners takes its toll

Gerry   aye – he was good value for it though

Iggy   good value for it – did ya ever graft with him

Gerry   graft with him – no – don’t think he was at the buildin game – not sure what he did

Iggy   never heard him mention it right enough

Gerry   never really heard him mention anythin about graftin

Iggy   no

Gerry   decent man though

Iggy   he was – decent wee man

Gerry   belfast man – decent wee belfast man

Iggy   he was – a dyin breed – not many of us left

Gerry   bet ya there was no one at it

Iggy   don’t be sayin that

Gerry   me sayin it makes no difference to it happenin

Iggy   he had a woman once ya know

Gerry   a woman – wee jimmy

Iggy   aye – a women

Gerry   he did his arse

Iggy   he did

Gerry   what ya call her

Iggy   don’t know he never mentioned her name – think she was at the funeral

Gerry   as much chance a her bein at it as anyone else

Iggy   if we had’ve gone we might’ve met her

Gerry   met her what way

Iggy   met her – stood in front of her an talked to her – met her

Gerry   aye – right enough – what was wee jimmy doin with a woman

Iggy   not now – not now if it was now she’d be known to us – a long while back it was

Gerry   a long while back – where’d he get her

Iggy   where’d he get her – he won her in a fuckin raffle – where’d he get her – they used to drink together that’s where he got her

Gerry   on the streets an that

Iggy   started off on the streets – ended up they had a gaff of their own

Gerry   didn’t know that now

Iggy   she left him like

Gerry   an why wouldn’t she

Iggy   it’s not what ya think

Gerry   it’s always what ya think

Iggy   she wanted some other geezer to move in with the two a them – wee jimmy told her to do one

Gerry   move in what way

Iggy   move right in – in completely

Gerry   the whole shebang like

Iggy   oh aye the whole shebang – wee jimmy said he couldn’t handle it

Gerry   no – difficult stuff alright

Iggy   he told me he wasn’t sure whether he was in love with her or not ya see

Gerry   he said that – wee jimmy

Iggy   aye – he said because he wasn’t sure about that he thought that a threesome maybe wasn’t the right way to go

Gerry   a threesome what way

Iggy   he never said – you’d imagine the normal way

Gerry   aye right enough

Iggy   after she left he gave the flat away

Gerry   no good on yer own

Iggy   out on the gargle this day – met some geezer just arrived from belfast – not a sausage on him – jimmy told him the story about yer women and the threesome – jimmy said yer man told him the same thing happened to him back in belfast – but it wasn’t a threesome

Gerry   a foursome – like golf

Iggy   no – his girl had wanted her ma to move in with them

Gerry   three – that’s a threesome

Iggy   aye but fuck – not the same territory as wee jimmy is it – anyway yer man from belfast left – he said he couldn’t take the keys of the flat for nothin – and he had nothin to give him but he still wanted the flat – jimmy says he could fight him for it – yer man says aye – jimmy beat the fuck out a him an then gave him the keys a the flat an says there ya are kid

Gerry   decent man

Iggy   would you do that

Gerry   beat the fuck out a someone an then give them a flat – certainly – stuck there on yer lonesome – mustard

Iggy   no – share a woman

Gerry   share a woman

Iggy   aye

Gerry   who with

Iggy   i don’t know

Gerry   with you

Iggy   with anyone

Gerry   don’t know – that’s complex stuff – a mean – ya know – you’re talkin about complex stuff there

Dotty appears. She is clutching her handbag. Plucking up the courage to speak. In the distance – the Tennessee Waltz.

Iggy   should’ve gone to the funeral – maybe wee jimmy’s girl was there

Gerry   nobody there – women are all nuts anyway

Iggy   she might’ve been alright

Gerry   mad – all a them

Dotty   hello

Gerry moves into the scene.

A bar. A pint of Guinness.

Young Gerry   alright

Dotty   are you alone

Young Gerry   aye

Dotty   i’m with friends – they’re all …

Young Gerry   do ya want …

Dotty   yes

Young Gerry   a drink

Dotty sorry – i thought you meant a dance

Young Gerry   no

Dotty   i have a drink thank you – all my friends are up dancing – by themselves – not with men – not that time yet – the time when the men start doing the asking

Young Gerry   no

Dotty   they say it’s better fun dancing by themselves – i don’t think it is – what do you think

Young Gerry   a wouldn’t know

Dotty   i don’t normally do this

Young Gerry   what

Dotty   talk to strangers – it’s just you were standing all alone – and i thought

Young Gerry   aye – sure no harm done

Dotty   do you want me to move back to where i was

Young Gerry   why would a want that

Dotty   i just thought – the way you – it doesn’t matter

Young Gerry   alright then

Dotty   boiling in here isn’t it – all the dancing

Young Gerry   it’s been colder

Dotty   maybe cooler outside

Young Gerry   i imagine it might be

Dotty   where are you from

Young Gerry   belfast – workin on the roads – all over – england – ya know – no matter where you go there’s a road – an if there’s not there soon will be

Dotty   i come from around here

Young Gerry   handy enough then

Dotty   handy enough

Young Gerry   for here – handy enough for here

Dotty   i don’t come here that often

Young Gerry   right

Dotty   too handy maybe – i’ve lived here all my life – i work here – that’s why i don’t – you know

Young Gerry   aye

Dotty   so you dig the roads

Young Gerry   aye

Dotty   i work in a shop – my name is dorothy – dotty

Young Gerry   dorothy dotty

Dotty   just dotty

Young Gerry   gerry – i’m gerry

He shakes her hand. Formal. Awkward.

Dotty   belfast – i went out with an irishman once – he ended up forgetting i was there – some women seem alright with that – i don’t think i’m one of them – his name was dessie – dessie and dotty – there’s a nice fancy restaurant beside where i work – i thought it would be nice if we had a meal together – he ate the way all big men do – woofed it down – then he sat and watched me eat – didn’t say much – we went for a drink afterwards – a pub around the corner from here – he went up to the bar to get a drink and met another fella from where he was in ireland – the two of them just started talking away – he just forgot i was there – at first i thought he’ll only be a few minutes – i could see him talking and laughing – then as time went on i thought he’s just being polite and he can’t get away – then i realised he’d forgotten i was there – i walked home on my own – i thought i’m never going to let that happen again – i made a special effort that night – new dress – my best make-up – i pictured him at closing time turning around and looking at an empty chair and thinking where’s your woman gone – he hadn’t forgotten i was there – he just didn’t care whether i was there or not – it would’ve been better him forgetting rather than not caring at all

Young Gerry   what is it ya sell

Dotty   sell

Young Gerry   in yer shop

Dotty   shoes – we do lovely men’s shoes

Young Gerry   good pair a workin boots is more my line a things

Dotty   no just shoes

Young Gerry   are ya happy with that

Dotty   not sure – are you happy with digging the roads

Young Gerry   does rightly – money’s good – enough for yer keep an pints an that

Dotty   i don’t mind selling shoes – maybe one day i’ll have a shop of my own – or at least run the one i’m working in now

Young Gerry   people with feet will always be needin shoes

Dotty   i’d rather own a flower shop though

Young Gerry   flowers be different – ya need shoes ya don’t need flowers

Dotty   smelling flowers is better than smelling feet

Young Gerry   right enough

Dotty   i got these shoes in the shop i work – do you like them

Young Gerry   fine pair a shoes

Dotty   i wear them for dancing – they’re my dancing shoes – whenever i leave the house to go out i say to my mum where are my dancing shoes – that sounds really stupid doesn’t it – it sounds like the shoes dance by themselves – the shop would make a fortune if they sold dancing shoes like that – if my shoes could dance maybe your boots could fly – sorry i’m being silly – do you come here a lot gerry – do you live near by

Young Gerry   be in the pub across the way most nights – live in digs nearby

Dotty   is that where the word digs comes from – diggers working around the country living in digs

Young Gerry   don’t know – sounds right though

Dotty   gerry

Young Gerry   what

Dotty   i would really like it if you would dance with me

Young Gerry   belfast men don’t dance

Dotty   all of them

Young Gerry   maybe – a don’t know – that was just somethin my da would say to ma mother when she wanted to dance

Dotty   so you will then

Young Gerry   maybe later

Dotty   no now

Young Gerry   would ya like a drink

Dotty   i’m going in to dance with my friends – no point in wearing your dancing shoes if you don’t – you know – it was nice talking to you

Young Gerry   aye

Dotty moves away from Young Gerry.

Dotty   bye then

Gerry   (back at table) i used to do some drinkin

Iggy   i’d drink more hot lead

Gerry   what would you know about hot lead

Iggy   enough to know that i’d drink more of it than anyone round this table

Gerry   is that right

Iggy   don’t start – ya know ya can’t win this – no point in startin

Gerry   what size is yer liver

Dotty disappears.

Iggy   jesus christ not the size of the liver again

Gerry   what size is it

Iggy   hold on i’ll take it out an have a look

Gerry   aye very good – the size of a dinner plate – is it the size of a dinner plate – no – why – because ya can drink none

Iggy   drank plenty

Gerry   frightened to get yerself checked out

Iggy   frightened a fuck all – i was man enough to make a decision on my own without runnin to the doctor every time a pissed blood

Gerry   the size of a dinner plate boy – nothin to do with the doctor – shows you what you know – wake up in the mornin – slip yer hand down in yer trousers to see if you’ve any readies – feels like a roll of notes maybe – happy days – what is it though – what is it – swollen liver – the size of a dinner plate

Iggy   i stuck the drinkin out longer than you did

Gerry   that’s because you weren’t doin yerself enough damage – sure if ya don’t do yerself enough damage ya could stick it out for ever

Iggy   plenty a damage – i handled it better that’s the point

Gerry   were ya ever told you were goin to die

Iggy   yes i’ve been told i’m goin to die

Gerry   by a doctor

Iggy   no – not a doctor

Gerry   who told ya ya were goin to die – and don’t say god – some moment a weakness or some fuck like that – that doesn’t count

Iggy   a was told a was goin to die by myself

Gerry   we’re all goin to die by ourselves

Iggy   a know that – who doesn’t know that – a mean i told myself a was goin to die

Gerry   like the god trick that doesn’t count either

Iggy   why does god not count –not that this’ll happen – but if god downed tools an took time out of his day to inform ya that ya were goin to bite the big one is that not a significant thing – is god not higher up the fuckin chain than doctors

Gerry   of course he is – that’s not the point and ya know it

Iggy   iggy – yes god – you’re going to die – thank you for taking time out to tell me that god – do we know how – are we allowed to say – yes – one more drink and it’s coco pops

Gerry   sure ya could make that up talkin to god – standin in front of a doctor is a different matter – it’s real – ya need stones to stand in front of a doctor – ya don’t need stones to talk to god – ya need the opposite of stones for that

Iggy   what’s the opposite a stones

Gerry   don’t know – gerry – yes doctor – one more drink and you’re a dead man – is that really true though doctor – yes gerry it is – i have no vested interest in whether you live or die – this is not a moral issue – we are not talking about punishment here for leading a fucked-up life – i’m just telling you a fact – what is the story doctor – if you take any more drink your liver will cease to function and your body will poison itself – could you tell me what size my liver is doctor – yes i can gerry – it is the size of a fucking dinner plate

Iggy   what would you know about dinner plates anyway eat everythin out of a fuckin tin

Gerry   a dinner plate – a big stinkin rotten dinner plate

Iggy   couldn’t fit a dinner plate into yer stomach

Gerry   how the fuck would you know

Iggy   a have a stomach an a know what size a dinner plate is

Gerry   dinner plate – dinner dinner dinner – dinner plate

Iggy   stop goin on an on

Gerry   i’m only doin what you do – all that tube nonsense – ya see you go on an on

Iggy   me go on an on – i’m the quiet one

Gerry   are we a couple now – has somethin happened that i missed – was there a ceremony

Iggy   i’m the quiet one – you’re the slabber

Gerry   slabber – an you have nothin to do with me by the way

Iggy   only for me you wouldn’t be here

Gerry   where would a be

Iggy   east finchley – in the dirt – face up – worms in yer eye sockets an a cheap suit warmin yer bones

Gerry   it’s me that looks after you – i make sure yer head’s right – have to make sure ya don’t go off in the wrong direction – that wee world a yours ya visit now an again

Iggy   what wee world a mine

Gerry   the one where you burn everythin that belongs to ya – that one

Iggy   why wouldn’t ya burn everythin that belongs to ya if ya have nothin – i look after you – paper in the mornin – breakfast sorted out – clothes cleaned an ironed – all of that – you wouldn’t know how to wipe yer arse if i wasn’t here – stoppin me burnin stuff now an again is the least ya can do

Gerry   you’re not right in the head – you need me

Iggy   you’re not right in the head and you need me

Gerry   i could walk out a here any time – on my own – walk out on my own

Iggy   why don’t ya

Gerry   why should a

Iggy   why don’t ya

Gerry   why should a

Iggy   ponce

Gerry   scrubber

Pause.

Iggy   i’ve drank in more boozers than you

Gerry   how do ya know that

Iggy   a know it in the same way that you know the size of people’s livers – all over the place – you name the boozer i’ve been in it

Gerry   feeneys

Iggy   fuck feeneys

Gerry   becketts

Iggy   aye

Gerry   o’hanlans

Iggy   which one

Gerry   which one which fuckin one – either one

Iggy   both

Gerry   gibneys

Iggy   aye

Gerry   spoof – i made that up – ya drank nowhere

Iggy   there’s a gibneys – shows you what you know – used to call it the plough

Gerry   heard of it

Iggy   gibney took it over – mad man – glass eye – used to throw all the punters out when he felt like it

Gerry   right – so you’ve been in more boozers an i’ve done more damage

Iggy   i’ve travelled an you’re wrecked

Gerry   work has me like that too it’s not just the drink ya know

Iggy   did i not work

Gerry   alright alright – well-travelled an more damage

Iggy   if we’re asked that’s the official line

Gerry   that would be right

Iggy   life’s funny like isn’t it

Gerry   ya reckon

Iggy   now that i’m officially well-travelled i immediately want to be more damage – we could swap – do ya want to be well-travelled

Gerry   no

Iggy   it’s that thing isn’t it

Gerry   what thing

Iggy   life never being quite right

Gerry   aye – never quite right

Iggy   never – even if it was quite right it wouldn’t be quite right

Gerry   correct – there’s no such thing as quite right anyway

Iggy   quite right

Gerry   funny that

Iggy   aye

Gerry   no quite right but it can be definitely all wrong

Iggy   wakenin up in a skip that would be definitely all wrong – always had a razor in ma pocket – a razor a toothbrush some toothpaste an a bar of soap – can’t be goin through the world smellin like a bull’s hole

Gerry   not like a bull’s hole no – an it rainin

Iggy   the rain – oh aye – rain all over the place an yer mouth as dry as dust

Gerry   up an at it for work though all the same

Iggy   could’ve dug to china in them days skipperin an all

Gerry   half man half shovel

Iggy   hardly somethin ya save the day with though is it – diggin a hole

Gerry   those that do save the day would be lost without roads tubes an holes

Iggy   long-term benefit right enough

Gerry   work an wakening up in the street

Iggy   an the rain

Gerry   aye – always need a drink right away to – hits ya quicker than breathin – strong an weak at the same time – wha

Iggy   aye – could’ve dug a hole deep enough to hide a house in in the time it would take to peel an orange

Gerry   but

Iggy   but – couldn’t keep a wee dribble in the bottom a the bottle to save yer life – the offer of a million pounds or a gun at yer head would make no difference to that situation

Gerry   grown men the size a gable walls cryin for the want of a drink

Iggy   serious stuff

Gerry   weepin

Iggy   break yer heart

Gerry   never cried myself like

Iggy   no

Gerry   came close like

Iggy   aye – came close

Gerry   the drink

Iggy   oh aye

Gerry   i couldn’t talk for three days once – woke up with no voice – was just gettin used to not havin it an it came back again – don’t know what it was – must’ve drank somethin that banjaxed the throat – coughin up blood an that – maybe somethin burst – thought a was going to have to make up my own language or somethin – sign language – with a shovel – shovel language – a felt good about that – thought a might be better at the shovel language than a had been at the talkin up to that point – only drawback is you’d have to carry the shovels around with ya

Iggy   use yer hands

Gerry   a know that – a know that – the shovel thing might’ve meant somethin – ya know – meant somethin

Iggy   could’ve used wee shovels

Gerry   wee shovels – what are wee shovels

Iggy   don’t know – i’ve one better than that anyway

Gerry   what

Iggy   i went blind once

Gerry   blind

Iggy   aye

Gerry   how long for

Iggy   just a day like – luckily a had a few quid on me so a didn’t need to go to work

Gerry   blindness – fuck me

Iggy   pretended a could see like

Gerry   sure what else could ya do – blind – sure what chance would ya have

Iggy   up out a ma scratcher – clothes on an away down to the boozer – same dander every day so a knew which way a was headin – planked myself in my usual spot – drank until a got full an fell home – nobody the wiser – next day it was away – days that you’re blind ya need money though – ya can drink blind but ya couldn’t work blind

Gerry   blind an no talk – serious stuff like

Iggy   if the doctor was to give ya somethin an say it would make ya blind an speechless ya wouldn’t take it

Gerry   certainly ya would

Iggy   right enough – if ya didn’t want to see or talk that day it would be the right thing for ya

Gerry   one last drink in belfast – haven’t been there in a lifetime – one last drink there

Iggy   no

John appears.

Gerry   get the boat over

Iggy   no – i’m not goin to belfast

John   jab jab jab

Iggy enters the scene.

They shadow box.

Young Iggy   jab jab jab – bang – guard up

John   jab jab jab – bang – guard up

Young Iggy   elbows in – guard up

John   elbows in – guard up

Young Iggy   bang bang – whack whack whack – bang bang

John   whack whack – bang bang bang – whack whack

They stop shadow boxing.

you goin back to the boxin

Young Iggy   are you

John   of course a am – i’ve been goin for months

Young Iggy   then aye – wasn’t sure if i’d like it – but it’s good – ma ma doesn’t want me to go – says it messes up yer face – she says look at the wee lads that boxes all the time – all as ugly as sin

John   doesn’t mess yer face up if you’re good – guard up – always guard up

Young Iggy   aye

John   do ya think big frankie the trainer was any good

Young Iggy   as a boxer

John   no iggy as a ballet dancer – aye a boxer

Young Iggy   he’s not as ugly as sin so maybe he was good

John   how do you know whether he’s ugly or not – he was ulster champion or somethin like that – ya know the way at the start a the fight ya go to the centre a the ring an touch gloves – i heard one a the fights he was in yer man went to touch gloves an big frankie smacked him – knocked him clean out – if you’re any good ya know he puts ya in for the championships – i won the first two fights then lost the third – up against this big skinny moron – too tall couldn’t get near him – if a had’ve got near him i’d have done him – he got through to the semi-finals – got beat by another big skinny moron – it’s a good laugh – he’ll ask you to go – even though it was yer first night – he’ll ask ya – you’re good

Young Iggy   ya think so john

John   aye

Young Iggy   i punched the head off yer wee man mckeown the other day

John   he’s a moron

Young Iggy   felt good diggin him like

John   what he do

Young Iggy   spat at my wee sister – bang bang – whack whack – take that – waitin to get into the kids’ club at the pictures – had to take her – ma ma made me – she’s runnin about – a don’t know what happened – next thing he spat at her – thought because he has loads a brothers an that i wasn’t going to do anythin – take that – a big lamp in the gub

John   what was on at the pictures

Young Iggy   kids’ club – roy rogers an all that

John   rubbish

Young Iggy   aye

John   ya goin to stand round the chippie tonight

Young Iggy   don’t know – might

John   everybody be there – carmel

Young Iggy   you say anythin to her – don’t be sayin anythin to her

John   a didn’t say anythin – what would a say – she said to me

Young Iggy   said what

John   said she thought you were very handsome – maybe yer ma is right about the boxin – ask her to go to the pictures

Young Iggy   no

John   why not

Young Iggy   just not

John   ya get a grope off her

Young Iggy   how do you know – did you go out with her

John   no – if a did sure wouldn’t you know

Young Iggy   maybe you did on the sly

John   why on the sly

Young Iggy   whenever she was goin out with junior – maybe you saw her on the sly

John   wise up

Young Iggy   how’d you know then about the gropin

John   from junior – you ask her i can ask linda

Young Iggy   why can’t you ask her on yer own

John   a would but it’s just easier in couples – wee girls are like that – talkin to each other about the wee lads they’re on the date with – be better anyway the four of us

Young Iggy   why

John   the two of us together – be more of a laugh

Young Iggy   why linda

John   she’s nice – didn’t you see her – why did you see her

Young Iggy   don’t know

John   she let ya slip the hand

Young Iggy   i’m not sayin

John   wise up – don’t be a girl – top – bottom – what

Young Iggy   nearly the top

John   nearly the top – what does that mean

Young Iggy   it means a was goin for the top an she wasn’t stoppin me – then her ma came into the room

John ya never try again

Young Iggy   no

John   why not

Young Iggy   she blow me out

John   because ya were too slow – that’s why – bet ya ya were too slow

Young Iggy   wise up

John   what then

Young Iggy   nothin

John   what – can’t be nothin – ya don’t get blown out for nothin

Young Iggy   ya can’t say

John   is it somethin big

Young Iggy   no just stupid

John   what

Young Iggy   she said she would just rather be friends

John   that oul one

Young Iggy   i didn’t mind

John   they never say that after ya get slippin the hand – always before – we’ll go to the chippie tonight an talk to them

Young Iggy   you talk to them – i think junior fancies linda anyway

John   all the more reason to get in there first

Young Iggy   he’ll slabber

John   slabber all he wants – box him round the street

Young Iggy   junior

John   yes

Young Iggy   what does that mean

John   what

Young Iggy   that someone would rather be friends

John   don’t know – maybe it means they’d rather be friends

Young Iggy   aye but why – any wee girl ever say that to you

John   no chance

Young Iggy   nobody wants to be friends with you that’s why

John   no wee girls do

Young Iggy   who have you been out with anyway

John   loads

Young Iggy   who

John   a just said – loads

Young Iggy   it’s none isn’t it

John   no

Young Iggy   you’ve never been out with a wee girl round here – we’ve been standin at the chippie for two years an you haven’t been out with any a that crowd

John   ones from other areas – why would ya want to be going out with ones from around here anyway

Young Iggy   linda’s from around here

John   right scrub it then – don’t ask her

Young Iggy   it’s no one isn’t it – it’s alright to say

John   it’s not no one

Young Iggy   alright – but it is – i’ll not tell anybody

John   ya better not

Young Iggy   a wont

John   don’t

Young Iggy   won’t – you never ask anybody

John   no

Young Iggy   why not

John   don’t know

Young Iggy   neither have i

John   what about linda

Young Iggy   she asked me

John   did she

Young Iggy   aye

John   she asked you an then she said she just wanted to be friends

Young Iggy   at least i’ve gone out with one – you must be the world’s best at not goin out with any wee girls

John   that’s why we need to stand round the chippie tonight

Young Iggy   it’s better here

John   how’s it better here – nothin here – it’s just a street corner – no chippie – no wee girls – nothin

Young Iggy   we’re here

John   we need more than us

Young Iggy   no we don’t – we’ll practise boxin – jab jab jab – bang – guard up

John   jab jab jab – bang – guard up

Young Iggy   bang bang – whack whack whack – bang bang

John   whack whack – bang bang bang – whack whack

They shadow box. They get into a clinch. They move away from each other. They get into another clinch. Young Iggy kisses John. John pushes him away.

John   get away from me

Iggy   (back at table) never worked in belfast – in fact never drank there either

Gerry   did both – worked in a brewery – on an off – no good – not enough money an too much drink – bad combination

John disappears.

Iggy   did enough workin an drinkin when a got over here to do me a lifetime – two lifetimes

Gerry   ya wouldn’t know what work was if it spat in yer gub an kicked ya up the hole

Iggy   spit in yer gub an kick you up the hole

Gerry   aye

Iggy   did more graftin than you ever did

Gerry   diggin tunnels – that’s children’s work that’s not grafting

Iggy   not what – how’s it not the same as diggin roads

Gerry   how is it

Iggy   how’s it not

Gerry   you’re protected from the elements underground – no rain beatin down on ya – makes everythin twice the weight it’s meant to be

Iggy   you know fuck all ya know that – there’s water everywhere underground ya eejit – get drown – floods as big as the ones in the bible – no chance a gettin drown in the rain is there

Gerry   where do floods come from but the fuckin rain – there were times it was so heavy ya could’ve been drown in it – raindrops the size of a tin a soup

Iggy   it’s easier workin outside – get the sun on yer back – there’s no sunnin yerself under the ground

Gerry   doesn’t too much a the sun give ya cancer – i’ve never heard a light bulbs doin that

Iggy   you’re tellin me you got cancer from the sun

Gerry   might have – don’t know – the information about the liver was enough for me – didn’t want to delve any further

Iggy   ya haven’t got cancer

Gerry   a might have

Iggy   ya don’t look as if ya have it

Gerry   you a doctor now – diggin the underground equip you to give out medical advice did it

Iggy   a didn’t just dig the underground ya know

Gerry   you tellin me you worked in the medical industry are ya

Iggy   a helped build a hospital

Gerry   ya helped build a hospital

Iggy   aye

Gerry   and from that you know i haven’t got skin cancer from the sun – fuck me that’s some trick – you help build somethin an from that the knowledge used in that place gets into yer head – how does it do that – does it seep in through the shovel or what – funny that it never worked for me – dug the motorways an still know fuck all about cars

Iggy   i’m only sayin a just didn’t dig the underground – did loads a shifts at everythin – all i’m sayin is – the point is – workin out in the sun is an easier shift than workin underground with no natural light

Gerry   there wasn’t a great deal a sun back in those days anyway

Iggy   no – that’s right – you wouldn’t let there be

Gerry   the point is with my work there was a possibility of cancer – with yours nothin

Iggy   fuck cancer – mini-sewers in birmingham

Gerry   an what

Iggy   sorry not birmingham norwich

Gerry   i was an asphalt spreader in birmingham

Iggy   i dug the canals there

Gerry   kip of a place

Iggy   it was

Gerry   probably still is

Iggy   probably is – mini-sewers in norwich – every week – an you could bet yer last feg paper on this – one was either drown or gassed – bein gassed was better – no struggle – off to sleep – unless a naked flame hit – then the war was all over – see drownin down in them tunnels – ya could hear the water flowin through the stone walls – didn’t know how close it was until – bang – hit the wall with a pick – gush – a fuckin gush like a water explosion – people behind the ones gettin it first knew to – could hear it everywhere – like the rumble a thunder it was – all scramblin – couldn’t turn round – tunnels too narrow had to move backwards – movin backwards – hear the water comin towards ya – it was close – there were times it was very close – all them men died just tryin to earn a few quid – no statue anywhere for them men

Gerry   i did the roller mills – makin copper – mustard

Iggy   where was that

Gerry   enfield – middlesex – hotter than the sun in that place – hotter than hell – furnace was on the go all the time – you’d say to the foreman – furnace is gettin too hot – bastards always wanted to leave it to the last minute – fuckin penny grabbin – called it right most a the time – but then sometimes they called it wrong – it would blow like a volcano – any man caught in somethin like that better off dead – the screamin of them – men still alive an bits a them meltin away with the heat – but sure what can ya do about them things – that’s what the work was so that’s that

Iggy   had to go where it was – just two jobs then – the motorways an makin copper

Gerry   no – asphalt spreader – a said that

Iggy   three then

Gerry   plenty more

Iggy   not as many as me

Gerry   go

Iggy   timber yard in scotland – hands chopped off in a second if ya didn’t keep yer wits about ya

Gerry   factory worker in newcastle – cannin peas – bored ya stupid – i’d rather it be dangerous than borin – couldn’t face a pea after that stint

Iggy   worked for all the builders a did

Gerry   name them

Iggy   john murphy

Gerry   correct

Iggy   r s kennedy

Gerry   correct

Iggy   an lavery’s

Gerry   correct – worked for them all

Iggy   miner’s labourer

Gerry   that’s a hard number

Iggy   had to watch out for the gas there

Gerry   how do ya watch out for somethin ya can’t see

Iggy   correct

Gerry   concrete leveller – a liked that – a could’ve stayed doin that – you do that

Iggy   no – i’ve seen it done though

Gerry   would’ve stayed at it rightly – up in leeds it was – where a was livin wasn’t brilliant but a liked the job – ya know the way ya can be doin somethin and ya think to yerself i could stick this out rightly – it was like that

Iggy   what happened – the drink

Gerry   no – not the drink this time – the foreman came into the boozer this night – midweek – he wasn’t meant to be there – gettin paid by the week – friday was his night – he knew that too – went to buy us all a pint – there was no way i was havin any a that – he treats ya like dirt an he thinks a pint is goin to sort that all out – a didn’t have any problem with how he treated us by the way – that’s his job – a man does what a man does – ya make a decision an ya have to stick by them things – him comin in there to say he was one of us – can’t have that – no respect – i threw the pint round him smacked him a few times then turfed him out the door

Iggy   had to be done

Gerry   it did – there’s rules

Iggy   you ever do the railways

Gerry   no – never the railways

Iggy   no me neither

Gerry   irishman – navvies – railways – felt like it was mapped out for ya – that’s why a never went near it

Iggy   hard enough without that round yer neck

Gerry   did jail

Iggy   aye jail alright – wouldn’t consider that work though

Gerry   time spent – time spent might as well be work if it’s not the fun it’s meant to be – only time a dried out

Iggy   it was handy enough that way – bognor regis – have ya ever been in bognor regis

Gerry   oh aye

Iggy   kip

Gerry   it was alright from what a remember

Iggy   kip – waitin on a shift this mornin – skint – been on the gargle hadn’t worked for a while – builder a didn’t know says do ya want a turn in bognor regis – few weeks before christmas

Gerry   get the readies for the dead time between christmas an new year’s

Iggy   correct – me an another one – english fella

Gerry   english fellas – there was work in some a them an not in others

Iggy   ya could say that about any tribe – we had to go down to this site an dig founds – no bed an breakfast an that – the guy had a caravan on the site so we stayed in that – left us there – had enough readies for grub an that – he came back that thursday with the week’s money – me an the english fella had done all the money in – but that wasn’t a problem because he was comin back the next week when we were finished up – pay us an take us home – worked like trojans all week – nothin else to do – come pay day – the whole site’s closin up for christmas – everybody leaves half day – we’re stuck waitin on yer man – just worked on to the death – he never weighed in – ten days in the caravan with the english fella – no readies – nothin – no one to tap – tin a soup for christmas dinner – ended up not talkin to the english fella – ten days stuck in a caravan – there was no fun with that man – ten days – put yer head away – stuck with somebody for that length of time ya need them to be a bit like yerself in order to get on with them – not enough talk about him – or maybe too much of the wrong talk it was – good lookin fella – looked like he shouldn’t have been on a buildin site – too refined – not like us – site opened up in the new year – tapped the foreman for a tenner – some grub an get us home – funny thing too – see the ten days we were sittin around – after a while ya just went out an did some graftin – even though ya knew there was no money in it an it was for yer man who did the dirty on us – rather than just sit there ya grafted – you do what you’re used to a suppose

Gerry   nothin else for it

Iggy   that’s right

Gerry   all subbies are the scum of the earth

Iggy   worse than that they are

Gerry   the worst ones too were the irish – never knew an irish subbie that wasn’t a scumbag

Iggy   every last one a them

Gerry   what way is that to treat yer own – you’re meant to look after the ones that come behind ya not treat them like muck

Iggy   they knew what they were doin too – not like it happened by accident

Gerry   certainly they knew it – wouldn’t have done that had we been back in belfast

Iggy   no – gettin squared up for yer day’s wages in the boozer – what way did they think it was goin to end up

Gerry   aye – a know

Iggy   drunk all the time – no roots – no thinkin ahead – if you don’t think ahead you’ve no real need for money do ya – ya just need enough that’s goin to do ya for that moment

Gerry   wasn’t money – drink vouchers it was

Iggy   drink vouchers

Gerry   drinkin cheap gargle in the street an yer hands boggin – damn sure they weren’t doin that – come to london and make yer fortune – wha – you could understand if it was the english keepin ya out – but yer own

Iggy   that’s the way it is all over

Gerry   that’s no excuse – we’re irish – we’re meant to be different

Iggy   no different

Gerry   i’m different

Iggy   different what way

Gerry   different

Iggy   ya came over here to work – ended up an alcoholic that’s lived most of his life on the street – how’s that different – every irishman in this place tell ya the same thing

Gerry   you’re the same – you’re no better

Iggy   i wasn’t sayin i was better – it’s not a competition – i’m just sayin we’re no different

Dotty appears. Dancing.

Gerry   i never did another man a bad turn – that’s how i’m different – any man that ever drank with me knew that i was a sound solid dependable man

Dotty stops dancing. She addresses him.

Dotty   do you know what it takes for a woman – any woman – to walk up to a man they don’t know and say something – say anything – thinking what if they don’t like me – to say things that will let you know that it is ok – in fact i want you to tell me you like me – everything i am trying to do is saying tell me that you like me – or even that you might like me – or just to notice that i am there – that i am not invisible – tell me that i am not invisible – that’s all – and to think that that mightn’t work – what it is like to try and make yourself seen – and that to be told by a look – a noise – by no noise – by a punch – by a scream – by silence – that you cannot be seen – that you are indeed invisible – do you know what that’s like – one dance – one dance – what that dance could’ve led to – what was on offer – maybe everything – maybe everything all the time – making you sandwiches the way you like them – knowing how tired you are – wearing a dress you like – my smell – my walk – my body – to lie together and not speak because there is no need – to feel me shiver – to know why you hate yerself – to let you be a man – a woman and a man – to let you respect me – to know that even though you never say it that you love me – to listen to you talk – just to love my voice if nothing else – or – to see my lying in the gutter covered in my own dirt – having drank my life away because i felt that no one understood – no one understood my soul – or to hate the very air i breath because i am a fat useless lazy slob who would drink a glass of her own spit rather than get up and turn the tap on – who beats her children and never baths them – a woman who ignores the cries of her own baby because she needs to dry her nails before she goes out to meet her fancy man – no sandwiches – yapping in yer face morning noon and night – a life of bile – a life of love – everything all the time – it can always go either way – but how do you know if you don’t speak – if you don’t dance when you’re asked – if you never take the chance – do you know what it feels like to be told that a man would rather stand on his own drinking in silence or be in the safe company of those like himself – rather than be with you – if nothing else – if nothing else – it could’ve been a laugh – a laugh

Dotty disappears.

Iggy   fuckin no

Gerry   fuckin yes

Iggy   fuckin no

Gerry   yes

Iggy   no

Gerry   no

Iggy   this is bloody stupid – it isn’t just about sayin the friggin word

Gerry   you can’t go back on yer word – once it’s said it’s out there floatin around for all to hear

Iggy   i didn’t say yes – alright fuck it – here we go – yes

Gerry   yes

Iggy   no – i’m not doin it

Gerry   one last drink in belfast – that’ll do the two of us – one last crack at it – finished – over – done

Iggy   go back to belfast to die

Gerry   what are ya sayin it like that for – there’s no need to say it like that

Iggy   what other way is there to say it

Gerry   the way i said it a moment ago – one last drink in belfast

Iggy   aye but what does that mean

Gerry   it means we’ll have one last drink in belfast

Iggy   no

Gerry   it would be class

Iggy   no

Gerry   it’s the right thing to do

Iggy   i’m not goin back on the drink

Gerry   you’re not goin back on the drink

Iggy   how is takin a drink not goin back on the drink

Gerry   one last drink – the big word there being last

Iggy   ya see

Gerry   what

Iggy   it’s about dyin

Gerry   why do you always have to pick up on the negative

Iggy   say we survived – say we gave it our best shot an still survived

Gerry   what’s the chance a that happenin for fuck sake

Iggy   say it does – say we go over there – plank ourselves somewhere – an start gettin tore into the drink – how long – a week

Gerry   aye a week would do it – you’d need no more than that

Iggy   say after a week of hammerin away at it we’re still up an at it – what then – livin like that in belfast would be a fuckin disaster

Gerry   livin the way we live now isn’t fuckin brilliant is it

Iggy   don’t give me that shit it is what it is

Gerry   it’s nothin

Iggy   an say you die over there an i don’t – what about that

Gerry   if it looks like that’s the way it’s goin to go just hammer more drink into ya

Iggy   very good – that’s me left on ma tod in belfast – on the drink

Gerry   come back here then

Iggy   aye – as if that would happen – what part a me would be able for that decision

Gerry   go back off it again then

Iggy   aye – as if that would happen

Gerry   there’ll be someone there to look after ya – a relative or somethin – someone ya know

Iggy   i don’t want anyone there to look after me – jesus christ what’s wrong with you – goin back there like this what type of a man would they think i am

Gerry   who thinks like that – people’s other things to worry about than the fuckin way we ended up

Iggy   is that right – if that’s the case you go over then an get in contact with some a yer ones – have one last drink with them – they’ll look after you

Gerry   don’t have anyone over there – all dead

Iggy   you don’t know that

Gerry   i sense it

Iggy   i sense it too well

Gerry   there ya go then – not there – make up who the real you is

Iggy   a think people know by the look of me who the real me is – anyway – that just means we’re back to me alone an drunk in belfast

Gerry   do it for me – i’d do it for you – in fact that could be the way it goes – you could take bad and die an i’ll be left on ma tod

Iggy   the difference is you want to be there – i don’t – it would be happy days for you – walkin around belfast – street to street – tin in yer hand fuckin slabberin at everyone – the king of fuckin belfast

Gerry   if that’s all a wanted i’d go over on my own – it’s better if the two of us go

Iggy   stop talkin about this – i’m sick to death talkin about it

Gerry   no – what’s the point in what we’re doin at the moment – sittin here day after day at this table drinkin big mugs a tea an pretendin we’re alive

Iggy   let’s do somethin then

Gerry   like what

Iggy   who knows the world’s a big place

Gerry   ours isn’t

Iggy   go for a walk – sit in the park – look at the birds – talk to the birds – talk to people – go out for somethin to eat – talk to people – i don’t fuckin know

Gerry   go out for somethin to eat – talk to people – who the fuck would want to talk to us – that’s not doin somethin – that’s just pretendin to do somethin – still come back here an end up round this table with the tea – same thoughts clatterin around in there

Iggy   you’ll have the same thoughts clatterin around over in belfast

Gerry   not right away – for a while they’ll be different – an by the time the old thoughts creep back in it’ll all nearly be over – it’ll just be good to see what’s different about the place

Iggy   it’s a kip

Gerry   places change iggy – belfast is no different

Iggy   it’s a kip

Gerry   shut up

Iggy   people don’t change – it was a small place full a small people when i left it – that won’t have changed

Gerry   fuck people then – just look at the buildins – there has to be different buildins – half the place was blown up – different scenery ya know – don’t know how that effects people’s minds – make them think they’re livin somewhere else – buildins ya know

Iggy   there’s buildins here

Gerry   shut up about here

Iggy   have a drink here what’s the difference

John appears. He is shadow boxing. His punches are vicious.

Gerry   what would a want to do that for – what would be special about that – one more trip for no one to make from here to east finchley

Iggy   a drinks a drink

Gerry   it’s not just the drink it’s the whole deal – if all i wanted was a drink i’d be doin it right now

Iggy   it doesn’t matter anyway – i’m not going back to belfast – i left it and that’s that – fuck it

John stops.

John   you’re nothin but a dirty fruit – scum you are – all those times in the gym – you lookin at us all – dirty fruit – i’m goin to tell everyone – everyone in the gym is goin to know about you – there was an oul lad like you – a fruit – used to hang around the toilets in the park – i got him to go behind the bushes – everyone was there waitin on him – we all beat him with lead pipes – only for someone seein us we’d have beat him to death – screamin like a wee girl he was – no fight in him – didn’t stand up for himself – he just let us beat him – maybe he liked it – dirty fruit – i’m goin to tell everyone about you – everyone in the district – yer ma an da will know they have a fruit for a son – everyone know about you – chase ya out a the place – you’re not fit to live with people anyway – wee kids runnin about the street an you lookin at them – is there any other ones in yer house like that – you an yer brothers all dress up in wee girls’ clothes – maybe yer da’s a fruit is he – is that where ya get it from – tell the whole place about him too – run you an him out a the district – out a the city – there’s no fruits in belfast – do you hear that – no fuckin fruits in belfast

John disappears.

Gerry   ya know what a was thinkin the other day

Iggy   probably

Gerry   the amount a walkin i’ve done – i was a walker ya know even when a was a young man in belfast

Iggy   ya don’t do any now – wouldn’t walk the length a yerself

Gerry   no – you learn a lot about a city that way – street after street

Iggy   what you learn

Gerry   don’t know – forgotten – a learnt if you’re goin to do a lot of walkin ya need a good pair a shoes – up an down the streets a belfast – all that walkin an i’ve forgotten what it was for

Iggy   stop it

Gerry   look – we’ll not drink – all that it becomes then is about goin back somewhere – maybe that in itself is enough – not to see anybody – not to do anythin – just to be there – just to sit somewhere – sit on a bench in the middle a town – watch the world go by – take a deep breath – fill yer lungs with the smell of yer own city – i don’t want the london version of belfast in my head any more i want the belfast version

Iggy   it’s not my city – it doesn’t mean anything to me – it’s a fucking dirty kip – i’m not going back – i’m never going back

Gerry   are you listenin no drink a said

Iggy   i’m not goin back – not with you – not on my own – not with drink – not with no drink – ya got that straight now – ya understand what i’m saying

Gerry   we’ll talk about it later

Iggy   no – no later

Gerry   i can’t go on my own

Iggy   don’t have me to slap you

Gerry   don’t be talkin like that to me

Iggy   then stop – just stop – it’s not my city – that’s it – there’s no point in this

Gerry   where is then – here

Iggy   no – nowhere – i belong nowhere – and so do you – you have no one and you belong nowhere – that’s it – that’s who we are

Digging and rain. This continues for more than a moment. Gerry and Iggy sit in silence, no tea drinking.

Gerry   not talkin

Iggy   aye

Gerry   that’s what it’s like

Iggy   correct

Gerry   no point now

Iggy   not really

Gerry   no point in there bein no point really is there

Iggy   not really

Gerry   all dressed up an nowhere to go

Iggy   aye

Gerry   i was taught not to talk ya know that

Iggy   we were all taught not to talk

Gerry   waste like isn’t it – fuckin waste

Iggy   aye

Gerry   by the time ya work that out it’s too late

Iggy   it is – too late

Gerry   belfast taught me not to talk

Iggy   doesn’t make sense does it

Gerry   aye

Iggy   a city built on the notion of not really saying stuff – an then you’re kicked out with not enough words in yer pocket

Gerry   aye

Iggy   desperate

Gerry   work as well like wasn’t it – same type a thing – men with men

Iggy   didn’t help – that type a world like – i spent my life punchin people – any incident – any problem – a solved it by whackin somebody – before i left belfast a was a boxer ya know – a kid like – me an this other fella john – he became a professional – came over to england an that – round the circuit – did alright for himself – went to see him fight a few times – never hung around after to talk to him or anythin like that – on the drink ya know – he wouldn’t want me to be botherin him – wasn’t as good a boxer as me like – i’d have punched the fuckin head off him – last time a heard he was livin in liverpool or somethin – married an all – runnin a gym a think – good luck to him – funny thing about that – never really wanted to do it – hit anyone – it was like a reaction or somethin – immediate – see if i had’ve had time to think about it – wouldn’t have done it

Gerry   same with me an the drinkin – the whole world looks at you an thinks that’s what ya want – not what i wanted at all – didn’t know how to get what a wanted – didn’t try

Iggy   aye

Gerry   lazy

Iggy   frightened

Gerry   frightened to use the words ya need to use to get what ya want

Iggy   diggin all day every day – built like a house – frightened of no man – but scared to talk – what the fuck’s that about

Gerry   belfast taught ya not to talk – wha – fuckin joke

Iggy   aye

Gerry   and the point is what’s the point in knowin that now

Iggy   don’t know – we’re talkin now

Gerry   aye – right enough

Iggy   talkin now an no harm in it

Gerry   no – (Pause.) – i met this woman once – a was standin in a boozer – she kept lookin at me – an then she came over an talked – lovely looking girl – from london like – can’t remember what ya called her – worked in a shoe shop but was more interested in flowers – the whole time she was talkin to me – ya know – you could see the way she was movin – the way she was talkin – her tone – you could see that she was makin an effort you know – she was makin an effort ya know – she made an effort to talk to me – to make contact – didn’t know what to say to her – head full of words – an nothin – she asked me to dance – i told her belfast men don’t dance – i could dance alright – ya see whenever i said no – the look on her face – it was like she had offered me somethin and i spat at her – i remember watchin her walk away – different from when she walked towards me – a little less spring in her step – you think ya don’t care – and that somethin else will always happen – you do care – an nothin else happens – i wanted to dance with her – and i didn’t – simple as that – that’s what all this is about – me not dancin when a had the chance

Pause.

Iggy   a know what you mean

Gerry   i’ve never told anybody that

Iggy   right

Gerry   you somethin like that – somethin ya never told anybody

Iggy   no

Gerry   if you have say it – no harm in talkin

Iggy   a haven’t

Gerry   right – sure

Iggy   aye

Gerry   right

Pause.

Iggy   do you want to dance

Gerry   dance

Iggy   aye – a just thought – ya know – we’re talkin an that – ya know

Pause.

Gerry   who’s goin to lead

Iggy   you lead

Gerry   right

They stand and get into position.

Iggy   do ya know the kentucky waltz

Gerry   no – a know the tennessee waltz

Iggy   ya know the tennessee waltz but ya don’t know the kentucky waltz

Gerry   correct

Iggy   jesus christ you’re awkward

Gerry   how’s that awkward – america’s a big place ya know – you know one thing doesn’t mean you know another – not all fuckin connected

Iggy   can you sing it

Gerry   no i can hum it

Iggy   thought ya said ya knew it

Gerry   humming it is knowing it

Iggy   ya right then

Gerry   aye

Iggy   well start fuckin hummin it then

Gerry   been a long time – might be a bit ropey

Iggy   a bit ropey aye

Gerry and Iggy waltz. Gerry hums the Tennessee Waltz. They part. Iggy walks off the stage. Gerry continues to dance on his own for a moment.

The noise of a busy London street at night. Gerry is sitting in a shop doorway, a polystyrene cup with money in it beside him. He is talking. The noise of the street drowns him out. The noise of the street dies. We hear him.

Gerry   rivers a tea an mountains a sugar –

Dotty appears waiting to be asked to dance.

dotty – remember now – dancin dorathy dotty and her dancin shoes – better smellin flowers than smellin feet – always be needin roads – dead maybe – all dead – a life of love – a life of bile – go either way with dancin dotty – belfast men don’t dance –

Dotty disappears

didn’t believe you by the way – there’s no man hasn’t got somethin they keep to themselves – somethin that’s theirs – should’ve told me somethin – said somethin about yerself – shared – fuck – no difference – fuck all difference – go to the cemetery tomorrow – not right today – bad day today – no quite right – quite right – bring two mugs a tea with me – ya got it wrong by the way – no kings cross – should’ve looked at the map – never looked at the fuckin map – i have –

He takes a tube map from his pocket. But doesn’t read it.

angel to east finchley – thought i wasn’t listenin – fuckin listen alright – angel euston camden town kentish town tufnell park archway highgate east finchley – cemetery – fuck kings cross – fuck feeney’s – fuck feeney’s wha – that was good – got ya there – wee jimmy wha – wee jimmy and his woman and the threesome and yer man and his girl and his ma and the flat and the keys and the fight – wee jimmy wha – decent wee belfast man – and you – decent belfast man – the blindness and the cancer from the sun – and the english fella in the caravan and the tin a soup for christmas dinner – big iggy wha – i’ll pass it on – no sweat about it – i’ll do that boy – the blindness – ya can drink blind but ya can’t work blind – i’ve started learnin off street names –now that i’ve done the tubes know what a mean – streets that are in both belfast an london – walked the same streets in two different cities – walked them as two different men – when you think about it i walked them as two different people – not get back to belfast now – aye – sure if nothin else sayin them gives me somethin to do – ya want to hear them – could tell ya them tomorrow – but just in case somethin happens an a don’t go tomorrow i’ll tell you them now – learned them alphabetically – easiest way – (Pause.) – dotty – if she asked me now i’d dance – no fuckin use in that though is there –(Pause.) – invisible –(Pause.) adelaide street – amelia street – argyle street – arthur street – bedford street – cadogan street – castlereagh street – catherine street – cavendish street – chichester street – church street – college street – conduit street – curzon street – danube street – denmark street – dock street – donegal street – durham street –

Lights begin to fade down.

essex street – finsbury street – galway street – gloucester street – great george street – gresham street – harrow street – henrietta street – india street – james street – john street – kendal street – lancaster street – lombard street – london street –

Darkness.

marlborough street – marshall street – molyneaux street – mill street – mount street – nassau street – northumberland street – oakley street – oxford street …