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Name: Morris Telford
Age: 33
DOB: 18/04/70
Occupation:Unemployed
Hobbies: Enlightenment, Philosophy, Bingo
Favourite
book – Ordnance Survey Map of Shropshire 1999 edition
Favourite
foods – Pickled Eggs
Favourite
film – Late For Dinner
Favourite colour – The delicate cyan of the dinnertime sky in
Moreton Say.
Favourite British County – Shropshire
Favourite Place – Moreton Say
Favourite Postal Code Area – TF9
Favourite radio
frequency - 96FM
Favourite sound – The gentle breeze rustling through the leafy
glades of Moreton Say
Favourite Clive – Clive of India
Favourite Iron Bridge - Ironbridge
Favourite
band – *(shameless plug)
Biggest inspiration –
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Is
Morris a madman, a genius - or both? Have your say on our
- and see what other people
are saying about him.
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Mother called me, she seems obsessed with the garden.
I
always used to mow the lawn, trim the hedge and keep the flowerbeds
tidy, and now I have left home to face the myriad threats of the
international jet set, she feels I have abandoned my horticultural
responsibilities to her. I was under the impression that Toby
helped do the garden but Mother made a real issue of it all. I
was on the phone for the best part of an hour fielding recriminations
and emotional blackmail, but her argument basically boiled down
to "you have to come home now, the grass needs cutting".
Needless
to say, I once again stressed that my one man mission to bring
peace and harmony to the world via the medium of telling people
about Shropshire takes precedent over any horticultural responsibilities
I may have, and no matter how high the grass grows, or how overrun
the path is with dandelions, I shall not be flying home from Amsterdam
to just to pull up some weeds. I shall not return to my beloved
Morton Say until my work is complete and every single man and
women realises that the only way to universal harmony is to expand
the boundaries of Shropshire until they cover the globe.
I suspect
the whole garden thing was not the actual problem and the real issue
upsetting her was something else entirely.
IÂ’ve
been walking around Amsterdam; there really is so much to see here,
and so much diversity. I thought the Market Drayton village hall tabletop
sale had variety, but Amsterdam almost makes that look like some small-town
operation. I actually went in a shop that sells nothing but rubber
clothing, with all sorts of bobbly bits, straps and buckles to go
with it. Some of the garments seem anatomically suspect and not the
sort of thing you would wear in the main street of Market Drayton.
The
shop owner, Helga, who bore a quite uncanny resemblance to a woman
I used to work with called Theresa who bought me Jammie Dodgers
every Thursday, was very receptive to my tales of Shropshire village
life. She seemed particularly interested when I told her that nearly
everyone in Moreton Say wears rubber, but did not hide her disappointment
when I revealed the rubberware was primarily Wellington boots. Despite
this, Helga agreed to meet me tonight and show me some of the Amsterdam
nightlife.
IÂ’m
in my hotel room waiting getting ready, I have to travel light and
my choice of clothes is limited. I hope a pair of jeans and an "IÂ’ve
been to Ironbridge" T-shirt are acceptable for a night on the
town with Helga. IÂ’m very excited, I havenÂ’t been out
clubbing since the Moreton Say CE Primary School under-11 disco
in 1980.
Helga
asked me not to take my palmtop with me ("Morris no play with
dinky computer, tonight you play with Helga yes?") so IÂ’ll
report on my night out when I get back.
Goodness
me.
Last
night was a taste of a whole other world. Helga took me to the sort
of clubs where the noble sport of Bingo has almost certainly never
been played. I had no idea so many people went out at night.
She
took me to somewhere called "Escape" first, which was
appropriate since all I wanted to do was escape the moment I got
there. All I really remember were lots of very sweaty people, constant
dance music at ear-splitting levels from speakers the size of bungalows
and these inflated white spheres hanging from the ceiling that reminded
me of the Rovers from the Prisoner. It was impossible in this atmosphere
to tell people about Shropshire so I convinced Helga to show me
somewhere else.
This
proved to be a mistake. What I meant when I said, "show me
somewhere else" was somewhere quieter, possibly somewhere with
bingo. I think she misconstrued "show me somewhere else"
as a request to see the less savoury aspects of Amsterdam and so
Helga took me on a nightmare trip the to the sordid underbelly of
the city. A twilight world of private parties, deviants, ambiguous
genders, tight clothing and rubber balaclavas, it was all a bit
like Telford Town Park on a Thursday night.
Helga
translated for me and protected me from any permanent damage; suffice
to say I wonÂ’t be buying instant custard again in a hurry.
The night out has made me realise that there are sub-cultures out
there so far removed from quiet Shropshire village life that my
simple message of harmony and mutual respect may never make any
sense to them.
At
one party I did meet one really interesting man called Django. IÂ’m
not sure what he looked like as his face (and indeed his entire
body) was covered with post-it notes. On each of the hundreds of
notes different things were written, I couldnÂ’t read them as
they were in Dutch but I did contribute and wrote "Visit Moreton
Say" on one and stuck it on his elbow.
It
looked to me like he had used the yellow 38 x 51mm adhesive notes
and I was able to give him the order details for the larger size
75 x 75mm ones (Made in Slovenia Order No, 180891) which, if he
insisted on covering himself with post-it notes, would provide better
coverage and be more cost effective. Django was disproportionately
grateful for this advice. He kept saying "Dank je wel"
again and again and followed me around for a couple of hours until
Helga explained I had to give him a command before he would go away.
I asked Helga to tell Django "Put some clothes on and go and
live in Shropshire.", Django wrote this on a post-it note,
stuck it to his leg and wandered off. He seemed very happy at my
instruction, I hope he follows it.
Helga
dropped me off at the hotel at about Eight this morning and left
"To see her sick Uncle".
IÂ’m
resting in my hotel room for the rest of today and mulling over the
events of last night.
The news
is talking about SARS and how worried people are about it spreading.
I rang home and confirmed there have been no cases in Shropshire yet.
Apparently Aunt Felicity had a nasty cough last Tuesday but the doctor
said it was more likely to be the 100-a-day cigar habit she has causing
it than any oriental virus.
Helga
popped in to see me at the hotel, I asked her to translate a paragraph
into Dutch for me so I can overcome the language barrier more easily.
I’m going to have some leaflets made. The paragraph was –
"Hello.
My name is Morris Telford and I come from a small village in Shropshire
called Moreton Say. I am travelling the world telling people they
would be much better off if they lived in Shropshire. I am in Holland
at the moment so if you see me (Photo below) stop me and ask me
about how I can help you reach new levels of fulfilment, pleasure
and joy without resorting to misusing post-it notes, rubber or instant
custard."
I took
the text to a printshop along with my passport photo and they are
getting several thousand made up for me. IÂ’m also including
the URL for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Shropshire website so anyone who gets the leaflet
but doesnÂ’t catch up with me personally can read my weblog
and learn about Shropshire. The leaflets will be ready tomorrow.
I had
tea with Helga, she is very open to my ideas about transforming Amsterdam
into a larger version of Moreton Say. Every time she gets the opportunity,
Helga has vowed to tell people about me and about Moreton Say. We
went back to her shop and she put a little sign on the wall, just
under the knee clamps, that proclaimed the shop to be officially part
of the county of Shropshire. She also promised that in the unlikely
event Camilla Edwards ever shops there she will sell her sub-standard
latex.
IÂ’ve
hired a helicopter and IÂ’m gong to do a leaflet drop over the
city. The pilot, Javen, is an ex-army helicopter pilot and does tourist
flights all over Amsterdam; he boasted to me that he could land a
helicopter on a "geldstuk". I donÂ’t know what a geldstuk
is, or why landing a helicopter on one is something impressive, but
I nodded and smiled and told Javen how I wished I could land a helicopter
on a geldstuk and it seemed to make him happy.
I have
five thousand leaflets in three big bags and IÂ’m sat in the
helicopter now looking down on Amsterdam. The people down below
look strange from way up here, their heads are like hundreds of
little coloured cotton buds jostling between the buildings.
IÂ’m
dropping the leaflets now, Javen the helicopter pilot is shouting
something at me, but I canÂ’t hear him.
WeÂ’ve
landed. From what I can gather it is illegal to do a leaflet drop
on Amsterdam and the pilot I hired is quite angry. ItÂ’s strange
when someone is angry at you in a foreign language, even though
I only understand the odd word, itÂ’s really easy to understand
his meaning from the tone of his voice and his hand gestures. I
think Javen is calling the police so IÂ’m gong to go now.
IÂ’m
back at the hotel; it has occurred to me that I should have checked
on local law before dropping the leaflets. I suppose from a certain
perspective my kind gesture of assistance to the people of Amsterdam
could be seem as littering on a grand scale. This is all made worse
by the fact that the police now have five thousand pictures of me,
I think it might be time to leave.
I feel
the fascinating land of tulips, clogs and elm disease deserves a more
thorough examination, itÂ’s clear to me that some of these people
are in dire need of a little Shropshire in their lives so though Amsterdam
is behind me, IÂ’m striking out to see what else Holland has to
offer. IÂ’m going to try hitchhiking.
IÂ’ve
fashioned a cardboard sign with the words "hier of daar, ergens"
on it. Helga told me this is the thing to write if I want to get
picked up quickly. I hope it isnÂ’t rude.
I miss
Helga, she would have fitted right in at Moreton Say. She would have
needed to diversify her stock to make a living there though. Less
bondage, more waterproof coats and walking boots.
I saw
my first real windmill today. Tulips surrounded it. I walked up to
it from the road and when I knocked on the door a little boy opened
it wearing clogs and greeted me warmly.
The whole atmosphere was tarnished when I found out that this was
something called a Corporate Theme Windmill. ItÂ’s where Dutch
businessmen go for team building events; the little boy was infact
a 37-year-old midget business guru and motivational speaker.
The
whole windmill was made of a melded polymer and contained an underground
complex of conference rooms, canteens and cheap carpet. The tiny
guru soon lost interest in me when he realised I wasnÂ’t one
of the delegates for the Milk Products Conference and I had to leave.
Windmills
should be for milling things, or showing people how things used
to be milled, not for some materialistic conglomerate to warp to
their own ends. I hate it when people take something old and special
and try to mould it to their own needs. IGMT are trying to turn
Ironbridge into a multimedia experience, all computers and projectors
and interactive facilities.
The
money would be much better spent keeping Ironbridge looking like
it used to, a magnificent monument to the engineering, architectural
and building prowess of times past. Surrounded by majestic countryside
and a gateway to a period when innovation and craftsmanship were
uneasy partners on a new frontier of bridge construction. Sent IGMT
an Email and warn them about the Corporate Theme Windmill scenario,
it will probably just confuse them but at least they will be reading
that and not putting a multi-story car park next to Ironbridge.
IÂ’ve
met up with a fellow hitchhiker called Barclay. Barclay looks like
a young James K. Polk, he tells me that the only way to see Holland
is by Motorcycle, so IÂ’m going to buy him one as soon as we
find a shop that sells them. Barclay promises me I will not regret
it.
He
doesnÂ’t know me very well, I donÂ’t regret anything.
I donÂ’t
regret leaving Moreton Say. I donÂ’t regret giving up my career
in paperclips. I donÂ’t regret that I never know what the next
day might bring. My life is now one long carnival of wide-eyed wonder
and I canÂ’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me. Wherever
the wind of fate blows me, I know there is a small rubber shop in
Amsterdam that will be forever Shropshire.
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