THE sound of the ice-cream man outside plays the sad
song of death. The battery runs down as " Popeye the
^ilor man dies in the agony of realism.
No-one comes to buy the ice-cream... .no-one hears
the tune from the mechanical bell-box. . .nowhere is
there any sign of life.. . .the air cold and damp the br-

-ass cogs in the mechanical machine seize up and f'n-

-ally drown out the hollow bells with screaching from
their un-ollness whinning and scratching out an abstr-
act beat with their gr'nding. . .metal against the goose
flesh of popeye dead and decaying in the dark light.
Small flinches of the curtains as the van drives mute
into the estate. . now surrounded in sil'ent echoes ar-
ound and off the faces of sten e walled housing odd bur

-nt out windows seem to speak un-welcome to this van
of the popeye creature. . . . .on-one come to buy its 'ce
cream, .no-one stires outs'de now dead and decayed;

Night now and the van is st'll and sweating the cold
condensation from the air. . .no one comes to bu^.. .'.
there ''s no welcome from the un-bumt windows, , ,n6
blue homely light of the telev's on to bring you inside

and out of this insane cold air.                  ,  ;

Seven days the van stood there rusting imperce''vably
to the human eye ,. .decaying as all does .... all that
lives.. .but there is no need now of the television nor
the bells that call of ice-cream to the estates humans..
indeed no humans are in the estate. .. .no cats no degs
nor living bird in the twig-trees surround, .no driver in
the van and no sound that emits from the hom bailor. ..
Light in the estate in the only substance that has sur-

-vived the time test. . .nothing else comes out on the
photographic sensor plate of your eye now seeing at
several thousand time frame units faster than it used to
Alll that you see in the estate is the decay of the stone
the wave-like motion of the land as its hills and valleys
change.. .continental drift and the sun draw'ng earth
into its yellow grasp.

U7-

FILM REVEIW

For weeks the rumours had flowed around the small tw'n
towns somewhere on the edge of the larger city that the bus
that was now pulling in was a new alternative form of trans-

-port that had been devised by the collaberation between the
scientists and the television programmers. The stores varied
between the actual interior of the bus . which noone had seen
and the effiecient nature of the timetabling. Get you to the
work place in double quick y time.to the shopping center in
before closing time. To the bank just as it opened after lunch.
All time to make life easyer. Although the bus would be filled
in the rush hour filled with commuter to the city/work place
it would wait just that little bit longer for the odd straggling
workers . .slightly longer that all could get on board, .nothing
sinister about that and still get every one there at the train
station before the wait at the platform crowd was too long or
rushed. No ra'n or leaking roofs nor disturbing engine noise.
The bus was a time capsule that took you through the route
with anxia.ty or fear of being late.
The bus dr'yer waited then lured the small child with the pro

-mace " 1'ir'take you right tot the school gates, " and this
polite and clean service was on its way.
At the termination proggressive organised executives bought
the retum'ticket for their journey after work to the home place
The r sk that the same bus would not be waiting after disen-

-barking from the train in the early evenning was a factor that
was beyond possibility.. .some held the new ticket in chock -

-olate hot melted eager to please hands ready for some future
date others took the bus straight away back to where they had
come to enjoy the journey again in the comfortable surrounds,
Outside the tinted windows the rain poured down on those
unfortunate pedestrians who time had left behind, .still walk-

-ing to work or to the car.

Getting off the bus the driver shook your hand accompanied
by a seductive smile, .welomed you aboard, .lead you to you
seat. .the regulars had invested in personalised name plates
tn brass.. with a small eppigraph printed below.." Here sits
XXX rest in comfort. " a sugar cube to suck on and the driver
began the bus like a bed-time story.. " are you all sitting

comfortable" then he began.

^