The Meridian Phoenix

Further Info

This story was made on a five-day digital storytelling workshop for members of Watershed staff and local artists, led by Ruth Jacobs, Liz Milner and Beth Trimmer,

The course took place at Watershed during May 2005 and was supported by Bristol’s Museums, Galleries & Archives.

Transcript

I first met her at a film festival at Royal Court. They were screening Pasolini’s “Odepus Rex”. We’d both just been to Greece for the summer and so we hit it off straight away.

[Greek music]

I then had to go home for two weeks to write up my dissertation and when I returned to Bristol, I of course went straight round to her flat in Meridian Place.

[Firework sounds]

It was the evening of November 5th and, when I got there, the house was on fire. Someone behind me asked “Is there a fire?”. I turned round, and there she was, along with my flatmate Steve.

[Fire engine siren]

They’d been to Goldney Grotto, found out afterwards they’d held hands in the dark.

Since she was now officially homeless… I asked her if she wanted to stay with us. She resisted for over a week, sleeping under the burnt rafters… then finally she relented and we got together, and we have been ever since.

Because it was 1971, we’d always assumed that a careless joint was the cause of the fire. It later transpired that the fire was started by a student prank. [Firework sound] They’d fired a rocket up the chimney. In the spirit of the age, the fire was extinguished when the water bed exploded in the heat of the flames [water sound].

[Free jazz style music]

Credits

All media not otherwise credited created by the story author, or permission obtained, used under copyright licence.