Another channel catching the end of a breakfa st T .V.
programme, just the titles and the sad whinning music.
Enougth Rope by Mr. Jones on behalf of reality conver-

-gance community television. Red lettering superimp-

-osed over the image of a figure dressed in black sat-

-In or velvet, freeze framed in home movie quality film

the lags blured in frozen movement while a chair lies

out of reach of the noosed figure.

Sylvia switches off.

Picks up the red hand bag.

Walks to the supermarket.

leaves the house.

Walks to the door.

Turns off the television set.

gets up from her seat.

Decides to go to the supermarket.

She is at the supermarket with two minutes on her hands|
before she can begin to consume something, she has
been waiting all night to get to the place before anythi- I

-ng on the shelves has been bought,, , all those long   I
perfect virgin shelves, fresh snow untrodden,, 0 bliss to|
the eye, , Sylvia stands outside looking at the posters '
advertising products for sale , , , her television mind
tunes in again, .unwelcome, .cold morning light reflects
in polished glass, , ,a perfect dark mirrored surface,
crystal ball clear window into the future indistinct time
zone, , ,an advert continues and she catches mid-flow.
A wild pan along the supermarket shelves fast and frezie
bluring the untouched products immacculate on display.
the camera freezes at a random spot along the shelf and
the chosen product is brought out of focus until it is
just a buzz of colours. Sound leaks from a vacant chan-j

-nel,,,, ( crackle), , , multipule images flicker over the ;

blure of product colours, indistinct unknown faces and
objects until she sees what appears to be her husband
standing facing away from her wearing the black velvet
supermarket uniform, trying to get the shreaded wheat
power off those shoulders.

The scene is destroyed by the click of the supermarket
doors being opened, Sylvias sensitive ears picking up
the sound of the assistant walking to the door with the
key, and then putting out a pile of wire baskets for the
early morning supermarket users, ,the music Is freshly
piped ln,pourlrg forth from the over flow channels.
Sylvia kicks a brandy bottle left empty on the path,
but the sound heard is not of glass rolling on concrete
but the noise of defrosted blood dripping on a kitchen
floor. She walks with the red hand bag towards the open
doorway and the now departing assistant: the air is in-

-tense and distortions from the overloaded atmosphere
Impeaches her clear vision.

PREMATURE ACTION:

Sylvia opens the red plastic hand bag and deposites the
stringy severed head of Mr. Mattlock/Meathook, dripping
congealed melted blood, , enougth to ruin a days shopping
, , on the threshold of the supermarket entrance.. .;

entrails colled under fat neck...

PREVIOUS ACTION:

The assistant glances briefly at Sylvia, leaves to resume
morning duties. Sylvia reaches into her handbag taking
cold grey eyes turned from the poster advert expresslon-

-less but for the blankness.

LATER ACTION

Sylvia removes the blooded hook from her kitchen ceiling
the fires flare up outside and loud cheers from a BBC
sound effects record rapidly fade in, flickering shadows
from window to opposite wall, The small barred prison
window high up by the ceiling, and its rectangle of light
reflected on the kettle looks like a television set.

INTERMEDIATE ACTION:

The bitter chemical taste in the tea that Mr Mattlock put
down to the new brand of tea bags his wife had got from
that new supermarket which opened this week.

15