1996

Ray Archer

wip

Visiting Ray’s parents in Smethwick

Is Ray’s dad a pornographer?

• Page 3 boobs were all over the place which was a bit embarrassing I thought.
• Ray’s dad maybe had a small business as a photographer running out of the house.
• In his little area where he did that, near the sitting room, he had a photo of a lovely young black woman on the wall and she was naked - at least the top half of her was.
• The photo was cut off just above the boobs so it was obvious there was no way she was actually wearing anything on top.
• I asked Ray about her and he told me that was his dad’s job of sorts, portrait photographer, and she lived down the road.

Looking at their photos

• Ray’s dad shows us hours and hours of family photos he’s put on VHS!
• Hours, like over three hours we all sat in the living room and looked at these photos and I thought I might die of boredom, but I was polite.
• A test of some sort?

A party at their house

• The next evening they had a party.
• Was it someone’s birthday, I can’t remember?
• Did Ray introduce his uncle as a swinger? I think he did.
• There was a lot of drinking…

Has Ray told his mum we’re visiting to borrow money?

• The next morning just before we were leaving, I had the weirdest set-up conversation with Ray’s mum.
• Before I did, Ray says, “my mum wants to talk to you about something, and make sure you shout your answers loudly because she’s deaf”.
• He goes into the kitchen with his dad and they hover at the door.
• Ray’s mum starts talking about mortgage deposits to me. I have zero idea what’s she’s going on about.
• Later I wonder if Ray’s whole purpose of inviting me to his parents was to ask them for money under the pretext we were buying a house together.
• Perhaps I was supposed to think that.
• Totally bogus to leave that conversation to the last minute.
• It sounded like she was saying no anyway.

Ray’s sister

• Ray’s sister doesn’t talk to her parents.
• She left the family with the cousin, who she married.
• The maddest thing EVER was that in May 2002, in Hastings, when Brian and I go out one time to Hastings pier which has a nightclub, they’re doing security at the gate.
• What are the chances?

Queen’s Avenue

Mr Siniestra

The caretaker

My dad meets Ray and gets very freaked out

• I only time I ever saw my dad similarly freaked out was when the Irish nuns from the family came to visit.
• He’d run out of the backdoor and we wouldn’t see him again till nightfall.

The everlasting light

• Ray drank a lot too.
• One night after we had split up but we were still friends, he was on his way home from Finchley Central to Muswell Hill walking through Long Lane.
• There were building works at the North Circular bridge and Ray decided to steal a workman’s flashing light and bring it to me.
• He said it was the everlasting light, and it was mine, he had to bring it to me.
• He kept saying; the everlasting light.
• I’m sure he’ll remember that.
• He was very drunk, but I thought it was lovely - a bit strange, and criminal, but lovely still.