chapter 1

Jamie had a very active social life. He was out six nights a week, every week. Three times a week, he’d be out clubbing until one or two in the morning. The rest of the week he would go to the pub, or more than likely several pubs, getting home around midnight.
He shared a house with four other people who all did the same. The house had central heating, but it only came on for an hour twice a day, which was not long enough to heat rooms with lofty ceilings and poor window insulation. The sash for the front window was broken, so it was always at least six inches open. The heavy curtains helped, but the room was still freezing and draughty.
The timer on the thermostat on the heating system was broken. They could leave the heating on 24 hours a day, every day, but they could not afford to run it like that. The landlord had knocked through the living room into the dining room and knocked through from the dining room into the kitchen. Open plan living was all well and good, but it made all of the downstairs rooms draughty. Putting on the gas fire in the living room did not help as the warm air was always replaced by cold air from the open window or one of the other rooms.
One resident had worked out that it was cheaper (and warmer) to go to the pub and make two pints last all evening. While in the pub, they could sit by a roaring fire, watch the telly and socialise. Jamie did not see the point in staying in after that.
They lived close enough to the centre of the city to be able to walk home, if necessary, so they could all take advantage of the city amenities without having to worry about expensive taxi fares home.
The good thing about living with four other people from different backgrounds was they all liked different music and different atmospheres, so where he went on his nights out depended on what night it was and who was available to come out.
Two of the female residents were nurses who worked shifts. This meant they often had early finishes followed by a late start or days off midweek, so they were keen to go out and didn’t have to worry about getting up with a hangover. It also meant that on other days they had a late finish and an early start the next day, so they weren’t available, but someone else in the house would be.
It was the mid-eighties. The music scene was as vibrant as the fashions and Jamie liked to look good!
His sister was a hairdresser and had cut his hair into a long mullet. He loved the style! He could tie his hair back into a ponytail for work and hide the length of his hair down his jacket. That same technique would get him passed the bouncers to get him into all the trendy places without question. If he was going to the university bar or function room, he could spike up the front of his hair to look like a young Bono out of U2. However, if he was going to the rock clubs he favoured, he could just leave his hair loose. He had enough length to fling it about when he was dancing.

Despite being on a tight budget and not drinking a great deal when he was out, Jamie enjoyed himself when he was out. He likes to dance, as long as there was enough room to move. He hated being forced to dance like a hamster in a cage because there was no room.

He preferred to go to traditional style pubs. These trendy cocktail and wine bars were not for him. The trendy set would stand freezing queuing to get into a bar where they were unable to sit down and got blinded every five seconds by the flashing lights. They did not wear a coat because once they got inside, there was nowhere to put it without it being trodden on and covered in beer. Jamie’s preferred pub was more traditional, where he could sit down and chat with his mates over a decent pint while listening to a juke box with a selection of music that did not include anything from the charts.
Depending on who was free in the house and which of he is friends wanted to go out, Jamie would be out six nights a week, three nights out of the six, he would go out clubbing until the early hours. Nevertheless, he was usually home and in bed by three o’clock in the morning, which gave him a good 4 and a half hours sleep before he had to get up and get ready for work.
He thought his lifestyle did not affect his work, but he was often late and was chronically tired. He would often make silly mistakes simply because he was not concentrating properly. He was an office junior for an insurance company. He hoped to start climbing up the promotion ladder as he gained experience and got older.
He had been warned about his tardiness by his manager. He had made no changes to his lifestyle since then, so his work did not improve.

He had his fair share of girlfreinds. He did not have an emotional attachment to most of them and his relationships rarely lasted very long.
He was slim and he had never had to worry about his weight. He knew his diet was not the best. He was no cook, so he survived like a student eating cereal, toast with baked beans, cheese toasties, sandwiches, sausages, super noodles, pot noodles, other convenience foods and occasional takeaways when he was feeling rich.
He did not play sports, but he did raise a sweat when he was dancing in the clubs and he saved his bus fare by walking whenever he could.
Money was always tight. The little money he did have was spent on clothes to keep him looking good.
One day, he would get that promotion! With extra money in his pocket, he would be able to afford a house of his own. Maybe he would find someone to share his life with. Maybe then, he would start to settle down and go out less, but until then, he was too busy having fun enjoying himself.