wing of kaz has added a photo to the pool:
鹿児島県さつま町、クルメツツジの山 / Satsuma Town, Kagoshima Prefecture: Mountains covered in Kurume azaleas
Een verdrietig verhaal: Buurman (bekend van de van oorsprong Tsjechische reallifesoap Buurman en Buurman) moet noodgedwongen verhuizen. De klusfanaat meldt dat hij zijn flink gestegen huur niet meer kan betalen.
“M’n huisbaas knijpt me helemaal uit”, zegt Buurman, die een sigaretje staat te roken voor de beroemde twee-onder-een-kapwoning. “Een hufterige huisjesmelker. Ik woon hier al sinds de jaren zeventig hè. M’n hele leven is hier, ik ben hier elke dag lekker aan het rommelen, ik heb goed contact met de buren… nou ja, vooral met één buurman.”
Buurman, die leeft van een uitkering, ontkent de geruchten dat hij financiële problemen heeft vanwege een geschil met de Belastingdienst. Volgens recente berichtgeving zou hij zwart geld ontvangen voor de klusjes die hij doet. “Allemaal onzinverhalen. Ik help m’n buurman hier weleens, is dat soms illegaal? Nee, dacht ik ook.”
Na een paar minuten komt zijn buurman, (“naam liever niet in de media”), naast hem staan. Hij wrijft eens over zijn rode trui. “Het is belachelijk. Buurman woont hier al tientallen jaren. Die hele buurt veryupt. De ijzerwarenwinkel waar we altijd kwamen, is nu een koffietent geworden. Dat was nog tot daaraan toe, maar nu gaan ze te ver. Als Buurman zijn huis uit moet, komen we in opstand. Niemand pakt m’n klusmaat af en komt daar zomaar mee weg.”
Buurman knikt eensgezind. “Aje-fucking-to.”
&
Ten years after his debut novel, the poet and musician has written a follow-up exploring self-discovery and a life lived on the edge. He talks about sexuality, pronouns and drawing strength from the literature he loves
Kae Tempest sidles into a pub near his house on a weekday afternoon and orders a pint of mineral water. At his side is Murphy, an enormous, 14-year-old alaskan malamute dog with startling blue eyes who settles down on the floor next to his master and goes to sleep. “He’s all right,” Tempest says. “He’s very friendly. He won’t even put his nose up.” The rapper, performance poet, playwright and novelist has a ginger beard and is wearing Timberland boots, baggy jeans and a black hoodie over a blue-and-white striped collared shirt. His hair is hidden by a cap. Years ago, his dramatic russet hair was long, but he cropped it when he dropped the “T” from his first name and came out as nonbinary, a watershed moment in his gender transition. Now testosterone has deepened his voice and his journey has reached its final stage – from they/them to he/him.
As Tempest has been famous since his late 20s, showered with accolades ranging from Mercury nominations for two of his albums (including his debut, Let Them Eat Chaos) to becoming the youngest poet ever to receive the Ted Hughes award for the epic performance poem Brand New Ancients, this odyssey has taken place in public. On his song I Stand on the Line, from his last album Self Titled, Tempest vividly describes the anxiety of having to deal with the hostility of some people’s reactions to his “second puberty” (“Out in the limelight like, please, nobody look at me / I’m looking for myself, all I’m seeing is the bitterness / Coming my way when I’m using the facilities”). So is it a heavy burden to be such a visible trans person? “It’s just my life,” Tempest replies, his voice a soft south London growl, much quieter than the thrilling, declamatory style of his performances. “I’m just glad to be alive. How beautiful,” he adds. “Because you felt like you might not be at some point.”
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