In the Flesh


"Try to sneak up on me," I wrote in Discord as I waited. From the raised balcony of a busy London terminal I scanned the crowd. Beside me, three strangers in bodywarmers and coats chatted with Thames accents. Lunchtime: the pub that occupied that balcony was doing a roaring trade. Hundreds of conversations blended to produce a beige, background wash.

Embedded in this hubbub I was nevertheless looking elsewh