The Man Who Fell to Earth

The Man Who Fell to Earth



I have had the blogger who calls himself "James Higham" of Nourishing Obscurity staying with me since last Saturday. He said he was going to catch the last train from London to Hull. I planned my day accordingly. I was in the middle of doing something when the phone rang, it was James, he said he was in Hull and had caught an earlier train, was in a pub and would I come and meet him. I suggested he make his way up Beverley Road and I would meet him. I got a description of what he was wearing. Halfway down the road, on the other side, on a terrace outside of a pub, I saw a man who I stopped and stared at thinking it could be James. But as he had engaged two other men in conversation, I thought 'perhaps not' and continued walking towards the city centre. I went into the pub James had said he was waiting in and inquired about his whereabouts from the bar manager, and she said he had gone after only waiting five minutes. 'Great', I thought, and backtracked to the pub where I had first thought I had seen him. No sight or sound of him. I pushed on home in case he should be waiting on the doorstep.

After a roll up, I went out again. At the end of Adderbury Grove, I looked across Beverley Road, and stood there looking lost, outside the Dorchester Hotel, with a suitcase on wheels, was a figure I assumed to be James. I shouted across the road "JAMES?". The relief on his face answered my shouted question. When he crossed Beverley Road, I asked rather indignantly, "Where the fuck have you been?". He replied that he was here now. And failed to grasp the directions I had given him. The reason I gave him the clear instructions is that Beverley Road is straight and had he simply walked up it without veering off into pubs I would have seen him clearer. He said that the staff at the Dorchester Hotel stated that they did not know of any Adderbury Grove. Of course they wouldn't, it being straight opposite! I pointed out the rather unhelpful street sign to Adderbury Grove which is only visible to those going into the city centre, and not to those coming from the city centre. The times I have received phone calls from people who arrive in Adderbury Grove but cannot find Adderbury Crescent within the same street, or from those who's SatNav has taken them into Epworth Street, which runs parallel to Adderbury Grove and likewise is a No Through Road for vehicles. Again, the sign stating Adderbury Crescent is only visible to those who have come from the direction of Fenchurch Street Park and not Beverley Road. I explained to James that apparently the only people who know where Addebury Crescent is are those who live there and the postman.

Rocky jumped up excitedly to greet James and nearly knocked him over in the process.

As we spoke in my front room, it soon became clear I didn't know anything about my house guest save for what I had read on his blog. I noticed big gaps in James's telling of his past. I concluded that there was something not quite right about this.

On Tuesday I told James that we were going out for dinner to some friends of mine. During dinner my friends questioned James about his past. Humphrey thought that the whole idea of the internet was anonymity. I said in some cases this is true, however, I pointed out that my profile and past is anything but anonymous. Kathleen was interested in what James had to say about his experience in education. Maureen, their 15 year old daughter, hardly said anything. Near the end of dinner, inappropriately I said, to my friends, "What do you think of him?". Kathleen said, "You can't say that!".

I returned to my friends house alone the next day, and Kathleen said she did not feel that James was being truthful about his past. She added that Maureen had said "Something about his story does not add up". Just then Humphrey turned up and announced he had seen James near Beverley Road and stopped to talk to him for awhile. He also said he felt James was hiding stuff in his past. As these friends are part of my support network, they had discussed their findings and how it might effect me. Humphrey's opinion was that if James had thought of robbing money from me then he was wasting his time because I don't have any. Kathleen did not think James was violent. I clarified that James was not a friend, just being someone I had met on the internet. I described this like the jetsam and flotsam washed up on the beach at Whitby.

I don't see it as any of my business about James's past or the fact that in his telling of it there are noticeable gaps. I am also aware that bloggers are not meant to out other bloggers who wish to remain anonymous. My only concern is that if James cannot satisfy me and my friends, then his CV has gaps in it which prospective employers will jump on. I explained to James that things have changed since he went abroad in 1996, terrorist and criminal justice legislation impinge upon our lives. Like in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth, James has no history.

Last night, James met Liana who turned up with a bottle of vodka and a 25 year old Russian man she had met in the street. I know about Liana's drink problem, when she has had too much she becomes verbally abusive, therefore my task was to ensure it all didn't get out of hand. They turned up just as I had prepared scrambled eggs on toast for James and I for tea. Liana's idea was for a party. I had different idea. It was an annoyance that those three spoke Russian and I was left out of the conversation in my own house. It is not me who is the alien! As it neared 7pm, time to take Rocky for his walk, I announced the party was over. The Russian man appeared to be somewhat puzzled, but understood the need to take Rocky for his walk. Liana was pissed off, saying they could stay whilst I went off, alternatively I could take Rocky later. No, Liana had broken my house rules Don't Bring Any Strange Men To My House. I wanted both her and him to go. The last time she had tried this I did not let either of them in. I only did so this time because James was staying. Apparently, in Russian, Liana had told James that they were both friends of mine. I had never met him before in my life. And the Russian man had told James that he only met Liana in the street for the first time. Liana's message to me is that other men fancy her and I am making a big mistake by keeping her at bay. I told her straight, if she did not control her abusiveness after drinking heavy then I was not interested in her. She said she won't change and that she expected me to change to accommodate her. However, whilst all of my friends like a drink none of them nor I become abusive to others and blame the drink for it like Liana does. On this one I am not prepared to change.

Now its time for Rocky's afternoon walk, half an hour late, then clean the kitchen up a bit ready to make a mess again as I make the blackberry jam.

UPDATE: