Ghost mall

Well we're waiting here in Allentown,
For the Pennsylvania we never found,
For the promises our teachers gave,
If we worked hard,
If we behaved...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHnJp0oyOxs

It has turned cold today and my room is freezing. The window mounted aircon sits on the sill with the window resting on the top of it. Freezing air pours in through the gaps.

So, I work in the living room, while raucous chatter emanates from a client down the hall. I pop downstairs for a toastie at lunchtime, and when I return the aircon is gone. The room is still not warm, but the temperature is rising.

I walk into town looking for somewhere to eat. It’s a chill -2C with a stiff breeze. The lack of people on the street is not surprising, but it feels soulless and dead.

I turn around and head across the river. A Turkish restaurant is fully booked all night. Then I find a Caribbean place on the Parkway, where I get a great curried goat, plantain, rice & beans takeaway.

I’m not doing well with my jetlag and by eight I’ve given in and gone to bed.