My bed was warm, I so didn’t want to get up and face the day. After the weird dream that I’d had last night I really needed an extra couple of hours in my pit. The ringing phone woke me, without opening my eyes, I reached out to the bedside table to lift the handset, a handset that I am sure should have been there. Wait a minute what if last night wasn’t a dream! What if… I opened my eyes and surveyed the chaos- that remained of my room, shit!

Where the hell was the phone? Whoever wanted me was being pretty insistent. I found the phone in the remains of my sofa, you gotta admire Jo ‘No Clothes’ O’Brien’s tenacity, she really didn’t leave any stone unturned or piece of furniture whole in her search for me! Now who’s on the phone? “errr Hullo?” I answered. “ahhh Mr Walker, I’m so glad I managed to catch you this morning, I do hope you are not busy? only a mutual friend told me to look out for you. As part of the service I will now be providing to you I must inform you that the Bubblettes are looking for you!” surveying the remnants’ of my life I nearly laughed as I replied “you don’t say! Look who is this?” the voice on the other end of the phone remained cold and very emotionless “Well to be honest I’m the only friend you have right now, and I suggest you get out of the remains of your apartment before the explosive device filled with scarlet washing up liquid goes off” CLICK…..the line went dead. I wasn’t sure what had been said to me, the only words that were in my head right then were Explosive and Device , isn’t it odd how some words can stimulate you more than a hot cup of coffee in a morning?

Normally it takes me at least 30 minutes to complete the ‘3 S’ routine, have breakfast and be ready to meet the day. Today I met the day in under 3 minutes and hit the pavement at full tilt and oh so very alert as I ran for my life from an apartment that was going to kill me! it really is amazing what fear of death can do. Now I have watched lots of movies and know that a really satisfying explosion has a big bang and a fireball, well today when it was for real it didn’t sound like a big bang more a ‘Crump’ sound although there was a very red glow in the corner of my eye I really don’t know if there was a fireball, still no more cleaning and that place had really needed a damp dust after No Clothes visit last night. I just kept running! Well what would you do? Whoever my ‘friend’ on the phone was he had certainly just saved my life, I hoped it was for the first and last time.

So this is me. The clothes I stand up in, one small bag containing a dog eared copy of some cyberpunk novel, 2 Bubblecards both nearly maxed out, a four red bubble $50 notes and some assorted change, my notebook (don’t leave home without it!) and my camera. Not what I would especially like for a road trip but hey that’s what Ive got. Lord only knows where the trashy novel came from. What was it that the old fella said; ‘they are going to be watching me! No really?’ well I really hope that they didn’t see me running from my apartment just before it blew up! I could do with at least a minute or two to gather my thoughts.

With all this mayhem going on around me should I stick my fat head over the wall and go back to the day job of being a photohackpap journalist busting my hump for the RedBubble Journal ? Or is that just asking for trouble? Answers on a post card please, usual address… The other option is follow what the old fella said (or didn’t say) to me and find the what did he call the ‘muses’ and ‘apostles’! So I could do with a holiday these mornings are going to kill me! so where to start? Usually I’d have an editor to tell me to get this or that (and usually with a lot more flowery language), but if I’m on my own trying to find all these people across the bubble well that’s just a tad crazy and the first question is where and with who do I start? How do I pick my starting point, names in a hat or pin on a board? Do I use the technical eenie meenie miny mo? Or the one potato two potato? After 2 coffees and an almond croissant at the nearly local coffee shop I decided to go for the which ever name comes to mind first. Maybe not technical but hey there is nothing wrong with a lo tech solution to a high tech problem, just ask the lunatic who bombed out my apartment ! Now off to find the first name on the list in my head…

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EPISODES FOLLOW ON FROM EACH OTHER IN A SOAP OPERA STYLE. WHILST EACH EPISODE SHOULD BE A STORY IN ITSELF IT IS HOPED THEY THREAD TOGETHER. THERE ARE MORE EPISODES TO READ, JUST CLICK HERE! SOAP BUBBLE