remote cards

I've parked in the car park where the ticket costs £5 for 24 hours,
one of those deals where the car can happily be left there and you
don't have to worry. We parked there just before 11am, and its about
9pm when we return. The car park is now mostly empty, a few cars, as
usual, scattered around. There is a mobile police station just at the
exit to the car park, which throws me, because it kind of makes it
more difficult to get out, given where it is placed. As I ease round I
spot the flowers at the base of the lamp post, the cards. Someone died
here.

This time the week before. I was out with other people, out for S's
birthday, we were up at "gourmet burger" place in Ingram Street,
before coming down to Mono for a drink or two. It was probably, more
or less, the same time when we left there to call it a night. I was
bemused then to see a police van parked across the road, blocking
traffic. As we walked towards the corner, we spotted another police
van blocking the other end. Between, a man on the road, spread eagled.
Two people in bright yellow jackets crouched by his side, one pumping
at his chest. There are a couple of people standing, at the lamp post,
the one where the flowers are now, looking distressed, like they are
about to cry. Across the road, outside the 13th Note, a group of
people smoking outside the pub, watching what is going on. Then
another couple of officers, surrounding another man.

The woman pumping at the chest turns round, shouts - mouth piece,
anyone got a mouth piece!? One of the officers at the Note shouts he
has one, tells people to support the other man, and as he steps away
we can see blood running down his face, the man looking dazed. We only
pause a moment, nothing we can do, trains to catch, police on the
scene. We move on, leave it all behind us.

It had already happened by the time we came out, whatever it was that
had happened. A car accident? A disagreement gone horribly wrong? We
don't know. But a week later I learn that the man died here, that the
police have their mobile incident room - did you see anything? Do you
know anything? They wait for answers, across the road from the
makeshift memorial.