The Beggar's Diary, 28.09.2007

Dear Filch!
We send you hearty greetings from
Paris. At the moment we are drinking
something on the Eiffel tower.
With love, Uwe+Ricarda

Filch has received postcards in the past, but this one is special because it was not delivered to him by his friends at the info point, but by the postman, who delivered it to the following address:

Mr. Filch
Sculpture Nr. 06
Auf der Straße
Nebem dem Kiepenkerl
D 48143 Münster
Allemagne

As Filch wasn't "auf der straße," the postman decided to give it to the owner of the restaurant ... and that’s how it got to Filch. In the meantime, all the usual rituals are being performed at the Spiekerhof: the waiters bring out the cushions for the terraces, the bakery’s delivery truck parks in front of Filch, the post girl on her bike smiles shyly at him, the DHL man passes by in a hurry, the window cleaners take their time in the car, and the waiters take the cushions back inside because it is going to rain. Filch now sees all those details in a different way. He knows it will be the last time they will be performed before him (the weekend rituals are different).

A young man approaches him:

"We're in the same kind of business, you and me."

It appears that Lars is an unofficial SP07 guide, who charges “only” 30 Euro per hour for his services. He goes up to people and just asks them if they want a guided tour, "because a lot of visitors get lost using only the official map. That’s when they can use my help." He has a lot of stories to tell, like for instance the one about showing a shaman from Birmingham around.

"Can I call you a 'well dressed beggar'?" Filch asks.

"Uh … I don't know. But some people really treat me like I am one. They try to avoid me."
He’s now ready to practice for the 'Movement Study for a Future Former Sculpture’ (see yesterday's post). Achim, Filch, and a woman called Irmgard meet at Nauman’s “Square Depression.”

Achim, who calls himself Mobility Specialist (MS) and Amateur Wizard, brought some presents for Filch's journey: a book by Terry Pratchett and a candy bar ("the journey to the other world may take a while, especially as we cannot be sure that the other world really exists").
They perform the magic trick under the interested gaze of some bystanders: they move to the centre of the square and Filch is covered in a white sheet while as following words are said:

Ma idjân, Filch, ma tolahed? (Hello, Filch, how are you?)
Ma hin ôdo? (Are you tired?)
Alwaq olaghan! (Pleased to meet you - as a farewell.)
Asîkel izzuwên! (Have a good journey.)
Ar essaghat, Filch ... ("until the hour," = goodbye - our feet are the same.)

The wizard Achim must say two more words to make Filch disappear, but he hesitates. The thing is that, actually, he doubts he can bring Filch back. This is just a try out, a rehearsal: if he cannot bring Filch back, then Filch will have disappeared before the end of his agreed upon lifespan. So they both pretend, they just do "as if" The Beggar has been effectively reduced to "something of little value" (see yesterday's post), something the wizard can then take away furtively, stealthily. This is called: "filching The Beggar."

Well, this might work after all, and Achim and Irmgard invited him to the Grotemeyer, the oldest Café-Konditorei in Muenster. There they tell him about the Sahara desert, the Touaregs, America, the Grand Canyon, the Big Bend, and many more places he will never get to see. When they say goodbye, Irmgard says:

"Oh, by the way Filch, will you be at the Spiekerhof tomorrow? My husband is an orthopaedist and he might come by to check on your knee."

Add new comment »