Memento Mori

Last night a bunch of us went out for a walk at 12 midnight. We first played this 'game' where every time we reached the junction of the block, someone in the group had to say the direction everyone was going next, like either left, right or straight. We ended up walking down to Russell Square from the dorm, (a left, right, straight) and then cutting through SOAS (right, straight) and then walking about the University of London grounds. We ran about, laughed, jumped. We marveled at the welcoming night air of 11 degrees. We turned towards Tottenham Court Road. We passed by drunk people. We avoided dodgy wet patches.

At Tottenham Court Road, we walked downwards towards New Oxford Road. Outside Goodge Tube there was a hog parked at the side with it's passenger straddling the seat and ready to go off. Karn stopped and talked to the guy, and Kaisheng got to sit on the hog and take a picture. Opposite the Dominion Theatre a wonderful smell of frying onion was wafting about. We ended up buying hot dogs from the illegal vendor (3 pounds each, a little pricy if you think about it). As I collected the hot dog I was sharing with Sheun, I felt large sporadic rain drops pelt my back. I went with the rest to hide, flush against the closed Boots store, to avoid being hit by the rain.

After finishing our hot dogs (and the rain nicely stopped) we continued down Oxford Road. We marvelled at how crowded it was despite there being no stores open and all. We also went in search of ice cream, but all the places along the road was closed. We finally turned right at Great Portland Street and then took another right when we hit New Cavendish Street.We continued walking onward, Sheun and I ahead as the rest straggled.

Near the BT Tower, I remember looking about and seeing a UCL dorm. This is because I remember Jia telling me that her dorm was in the vicinity, so I was especially looking around for it. I also remember seeing a Saatchi & Saatchi building, because I thought it was in a weird location. I walked past it all and stopped outside a lit building where a teleconference was talking place somewhere sunny (America?) and watched the people inside as we waited for the rest to catch up. They were unusually slow. Then Sheun and I continued walking and somehow lost the rest of the group again. When we finally met up again in front of UCL about a block and 10 minutes later, we encountered a rather quite ashen faced group.

Them: "Did you see the dead body?"
Us: "What dead body?"
Them: "It had two feet with shoes on, we couldn't see the rest"
Us: "WHAT?"
Them: "The shoes were still on."
Us: "HAHAHAHAHA WHAT, you're fucking around right?"
Them: "No."
Us: "Oh. Shit. SHIT!" (this was at the point I also noticed a rather whiter-shade-than-pale Su Ean.)

In our distraction, Sheun and I had walked past two policemen, and a body lying on the street - shoe clad feet sticking out under plastic sheet. The rest weren't so lucky, they were walking slowly and had noticed. They didn't stick around to inquire.

And thus the night ended on a solemn note.