Like all teenagers, I plastered my bedroom with posters of my favourite bands - and not so favourite - I was never really a fan of Ozzy Osbourne or Kiss, but I can see posters of them. I imagine that they came from a copy of Kerrang! or Metal Hammer.
In the photograph there is a certain brightness of light that I associate with my teenage years - or at least that portion of it that happened when I was 15. That brightness was oddly harsh and strangely empty, mirroring the mild isolation I felt living in Ickenham where I knew no-one. Most of my friends lived in Hayes, while others lived in Hillingdon, and another in Uxbridge. These places were near enough that we could visit each others houses, but this required planning and co-operation from parents regarding lifts. I missed getting back from school and just hanging out with friends for an hour or two.
I liked my teenage bedroom. It was large and light, and was at the end of the house, looking out onto the front garden. My room was on the detached side of the semi-detached, if that makes sense. When I passed by here after nightfall in the November of 2011, the curtains were open and the lights were on and I could see straight into my old room. It was a very strange and surreal experience.
I would love to see my old room in real life, and not just in those frequent dreams where I am in my old room, and everything is dark and fascinating and haunted. I wonder what the current occupants would say if I rang on the door and asked them if I could have a look around? What would I say if someone rang the door of the flat here and asked the same?
