This is the story I submitted to the story competition for Sex Wales and Anarchy…. Enjoy
Sex and Wales and Sausage Rolls
When I was told I'd be spending two weeks in Wales, I nearly threw up. Yes I did.
Come on, I'm a teenager. We need something to occupy our minds 24/7. You know what it's like. Our brains need stimulating.
What can you do for two weeks in Wales? They have loads of sheep. Slag
heaps and mud. It rains most of the time….and they speak a different
language to us. They sing a lot, but have a good rugby team. You can tell, it's
my first time there. And my last, if I have anything to do with it.
I imagined myself getting up every morning to the sound of sheep bahing at
my window and rain pounding against my window pane. Mud soaked shoes
and umbrellas. Choirs and Charlotte Church. Yaky Dar and daffodils. Leaks and Brass bands.
Heaven. Not.
Was I in for a surprise, or what?
When the train passed through the Seven Bridge Tunnel, I closed my eyes.
'Here we go' I thought. 'Sheep ahoy!'
I opened my eyes. There was wide open spaces and not many sheep. I was
flabbergasted. It was stunning. The countryside was green and lush. The hills
covered in trees and bushes. I wanted to see more.
We stopped at Newport Station and just before the station were the remains
of a castle. How magical was that? I could see myself hanging from one of
the windows, waiting for my knight in shining armour to come and rescue me
upon his trusty white stead. He carry me off to a far kingdom where we'd be
married and I would be his Queen.
Foolish girl.
Twenty minutes later and we were in Cardiff Central Station. No hills. No countryside. And definitely no sheep. It was brilliant. I couldn't wait to drop our cases off at the hotel and go exploring.
St Mary Street. Home of the Nite Clubs. The famous Chippy and The Jazz
Club.
Our Hotel was on this street. The Sandringham Hotel. No lifts. Seventy
two stairs up to my room. But who's counting? Only me. My daily workout.
Four times a day. Wicked.
We dropped off the cases, and, after signing in, we walked up to the bus stop,
just up the road. We jumped on a bendy blue bus headed for the Millennium
Centre.
The ride was short, but the view at the end breathtaking. I have never seen
such an impressive structure in my entire life - given that I'm only 17 - It was
massive. It's copper covered roof jutting out at the front with it's words in
Welsh and English IN THESE STONES HORIZONS SING Magical all on it's
own. But there was more. Opposite the Centre was a tall, sleek silver Water
Tower, water dripping down all side, daring you to touch it. Feel it's wetness. I
did, of course. Had to.
With camera in hand, I clicked away from every angle possible. Good job
they'd gone digital. I'd have used a couple of films on the Water Tower alone.
Moving on - no, we had too, dad insisted - we walked towards the Bay and
Mermaid Quay.
Shops, restaurants. Pure delight. Swans, ducks and a shrine to a dead TV
character.
Ianto Jones, from Torchwood.
Mum and dad licked at ice creams while I read through the tributes left there. It intrigued me. I hadn't watched the show, but I knew friends who had and they were upset. I remember laughing, telling them, 'It's not real' They didn't care. It was to them. We were there for about an hour and I must have read every single letter, poem and card half a dozen times. Now I knew what my friends were on
about. I wanted to go and buy the DVD's and watch it. Buy the books, wear
the T shirt, so to speak….
Was there a t shirt?
Never mind.
Dad called to me after an hour.
"Molly, time to go. It's nearly dinner time."
"Do we have too? It's neat down here."
"You can always come back another day," he told me.
I wasn't convinced.
"Okay."
Reluctantly, we left. Going back to the Millennium Centre to get the bendy
bus back to the Hotel.
Dinner was okay, but I couldn't get the sight of the 'wall of words', as I called
it, out of my head. I had to go back there as soon as it was light tomorrow and
just stand and look at it. And the Water Tower, with it's strawberries all over it.
Festival time in Cardiff.
We were told that on Saturday, St Mary Street would be closed off to all
traffic and stalls would be on the road. It would be throbbing with tourists and
locals alike.
The Bay would be throbbing as well. They were getting it ready when we
were there the day before.
I was the first awake and sat on my bed with my laptop, Googling the Millennium Centre. It was fascinating. A theatre complex was inside as well as café's, gift shop and public performing area. Most days at 1pm, you could listen to people playing instruments or singing. Not for me, but mum and dad would like it.
It also brought up Torchwood and Dr. Who. They were filmed in Cardiff at
the Bay and apparently, The Hub from Torchwood was supposed to be under
the Water Tower. Ace!
I delved deeper into the history of the Water Tower. 'Jack's invisible lift', oh, I
had to stand on that. Maybe mum or dad would take a picture of me on it.
Right, like they'd give an invisible lift the time of day. Not.
A knock at my door.
"Molly, breakfast."
"Coming." Switching my laptop to standby, I put on my shoes and opening
the door, went for breakfast.
It was okay. I had Weetabix and bacon and egg with fried bread. Not as
good as mum's, which I hated to admit, but if filled a gap until lunch. I had a
glass of milk to go with it.
On the next table was a Scottish family. Mum, dad and son. He kept staring
at me. I didn't mind. He was cute, and about my age.
"Hello," he said, in a thick Scottish accent. "How long are you here for?"
"Two weeks. You?"
"The same Two weeks. What's there to do here, for two whole weeks?
Boringsville."
"It's neat down by the Bay and the Millennium Centre is really cool."
Did I sound too enthusiastic? Too geeky? I hoped not.
After breakfast, we introduced ourselves.
"I'm Molly, by the way."
"Jason. So, when did you get here?"
"Yesterday, about 3.50pm. You?"
"Last night at 8.30pm. We came down by coach."
"Long journey. We only came from just outside Guildford. So, have you been
out and about yet?"
"No. We went to dinner and then bed, unfortunately."
"Bummer."
"How old are you anyway?"
"17. You?"
"Just 18."
"Cool."
Mum and dad came through, they seemed to be getting on with Jason's
mum and dad, like a house on fire.
"Samuel said it would be okay if we let you two go off on your own for a while. Is that alright with you, Molly?"
Was it. I beamed.
"Yes, I'll be able to show Jason the Bay area."
We exchanged looks.
"I'll go and get my backpack and we can go now. If that's okay," I said.
"Fine. I have everything I need." He smiled at me, and for a second, my knees went all funny.
Mum and dad had given me some money to buy lunch and for the bus fare, so I was pleased as punch. I wouldn't have to spend much of mine.
When we got to the bus stop, Jason and I were chatting like old friends. He
was really nice. The bus arrived and we bought all day tickets. We could ride
Cardiff Buses all day, if we wanted to.
We got off at the Millennium Centre but before that, we passed a notice board that I hadn't seen the day before. The Dr. Who exhibition in the Red Dragon Centre. I just had to go in there. It was all new to me. Mum and dad weren't big fans of Science Fiction, so we didn't watch those kind of TV programmes. I was going to look until my eyes got sore, or I was bored.
Whichever came first. Sore eyes I think, don't you?
Jason followed along, checking the roads as I just sauntered across without really looking.
"You're gonna get yourself run over one of these days and you'll be flat as
sausage rolls."
I had to laugh. I'd never heard that expression before.
The exhibition was brilliant. It had Captain Jack stuff in there, too. I touched his coat, even though it said not to. Who takes any notice of the 'do not touch'
signs anyway? If it says 'wet paint, do not touch' everyone touches it, just to
see if it's still wet. Sods law. We all do it.
Yes we do.
After visiting the RDC, as we called it, Jason and I went across to the Millennium Centre. I stood outside while he took lots of pictures. Then on to the silver Water Tower. The water hadn't been switched on yet, so I caressed the silky smoothness of the tower.
Jason was watching me. His face blank. I couldn't read him. Then he said.
"You're kinda weird. I like you."
I laughed, then ran off towards the Bay. He was bound to like it down there.
Morbid curiosity about the shrine. I wondered if he already knew about it.
On reaching the waters edge, I stood by the big Welsh ring, and Jason took
some more pictures of me. He had hold of my camera, and was taking ace
pictures of me.
As we walked round the corner, you could see the shrine off at the end of
the boardwalk. I could see Jason squint, trying to see what it was. I wasn't
giving anything away. We kept walking until we came to some benches, then
Jason sat down.
"My sister would love this. She cried for days when they killed him off. Did you watch it?"
"No. What was it about?"
"Alien catchers. Well, sorta. Captain Jack Harkness, he was the leader of
Torchwood Three. Well, he couldn't die. He was immortal. No mater how many times you killed him, he kept coming back. There was a doctor called Owen. He did die, but Jack bought him back with a resurrection glove." Jason laughed. "Mmmm, weird I know, but it was good. Then there was the police woman they recruited and a computer programmer wizard and then there's Jack's love interested, Ianto."
He pointed to the shrine.
"He was Jack's love interest? Two men, having sex?"
"Yep. It was cool. Not shoved in your face. It started off with looks, like shy, kinda thing. Then a kiss, kinds like, I don't know. Jack dies for a few days and Gwen kisses him…."
"A woman kisses him to?"
"Mmmm, complicated, but if you saw it…. Anyway, when he comes back, Ianto goes towards Jack and he's gonna shake Jack's hand. Well, Jack ain't having any of that. He pulls Ianto into a hug and kisses him. You guess from then on they're sleeping together. Not that they sleep much, I'm guessing."
We giggled.
At our age, talking about sex was a funny thing. I still couldn't believe mum and dad had sex at their age. I guess I'd appreciate it more when I got older. Right now, I wasn't that interested.
"Oh, that kind of kiss."
Jason laughed. "Yeah. Anyway, it progresses slowly from there. Jack asked Ianto out on a date. Which we never see, buy the way. That was a cheat, really. We saw where all the others lived, but never Ianto's flat. Then Ianto snogs Jack
well good. Like it goes on YouTube. Everyone thinks they were shaggin' from
day one. But I don't."
"Never been on YouTube. Never watched Torchwood. Been missin' out on loads."
"Well, after the snog there's just looks and stuff like that. So you know their
getting it on together. But the viewers are okay with it. It's done in a sensible
way. No graphic homosexual acts. No groping. Just fun, really."
"The sex act, fun?"
"Mmmm, well, it's the 51st century pheromones that do it. In one scene, Gwen catches them kissin' in the hot house. It's funny cos they're all laughin' about it."
I just laughed. "I'm gonna have to get the DVD's."
"Defiantly a must."
"So, how come Ianto died? Couldn't Jack save him? Jack didn't do it, did he?"
"No. It was these aliens. They wanted some of earths children and Jack and
Ianto went there to, well, to….talk them out of it, I suppose. See, years ago,
Jack gave them 12 children. Now they've come back for millions. But they
leaked poisonous gas into the building and everyone died. Well, except this one guy who, after running through the building put on a protective suit, der…."
"But not Jack?"
"He comes back to life just as Gwen is looking at Ianto."
"Sad."
"It was. That sparked all this off. The fans wanted to see more of Jack and Ianto's love affair. I've never seen anything like it. Not likely to again, either.
They come from all over the world to put bits on it."
"I noticed. Japan. Germany. Canada. France."
"They won't bring him back, though. So this is all for nothing. But it brings the tourists to the Bay."
"I kinda like the idea. True love. Love dies. Other lover is broken hearted and
has to live on without him."
"He runs away."
"What?"
"Jack. He blames himself. So he runs away."
"That is sad."
"They're making a new series."
"Great."
"In America."
"You're kiddin' me? America? But…. it was set in Wales. The Rift thingy is in Cardiff. How did it get to America? Virgin Atlantic?"
"I guess." Jason laughed.
"Will Ianto be in it?"
"He's dead."
"No. They gotta bring him back."
"From the dead. Like a zombie?"
"It's science fiction. Anything can happen in science fiction."
"The creator doesn't want to."
"Has he seen all this?" I emphasised with my arms.
"He only lives in that apartment block. And no, he's not there at the moment."
"No, cos he's in America."
We both laughed.
"I read something like that over there. Mobiles, landlines, tin can with bits of
string…."
We stayed there, talking, laughing, just sitting, for most of the day. We watched people come and go. Some took pictures. Other thought it daft. We all have our own opinions. I loved it. It was quiet, peaceful, yet full of memories and feelings. I'd be down here every day.
Wales wasn't just sheep and mud. Wasn't just Slag heaps and rain. It was breathtaking buildings. Cardiff Bay. Outstanding countryside. Pleasant people
- who I could understand, by the way - It was magical. Mystical. Enchanting. It
was everything I thought it wasn't an then some. I'd be coming back here for the rest of my life. I think Jason would, too.
I didn't see much of Jason after that. He spent most of the time with his mom and dad. But that was okay. I'd remember my day with him forever.
Sex and Wales and Sausage Rolls.