Where I Go in My Dreams (Part 3)

In which The Author goes dancing
in his subconscious mind

Last night in my dream I visited another pub. I know exactly where this one isn’t – off Moss Row/Little Row in Abernant, on the old tramroad just above Aberdare Hospital.

It seems to vary in size every time I’m there, but in general it’s a long, narrow, low-ceilinged old building with small windows and thick stone walls. There seem to be a couple of rooms, but I’m not entirely sure of the internal layout. There’s definitely a large cosy lounge with an open fire, comfy chairs and settees, a cramped room where the bar is, and a small room beyond that where they serve meals. I think it’s a single-storey structure, and once the entrance was so small that we practically had to climb in through the window.

I’ve been there a few times in my dreams. I’ve been there with relatives a couple of time. I’ve been there with Tim, Dick and some other pals at least once. Cripplecreek were chilling out after an acoustic gig on one occasion. It sells real ale and caters for a crowd of cognoscenti – it’s well off the beaten track, and I get the impression that it’s a bit of a word-of-mouth pub.

Last night I’d approached it in the daytime, so I could read the name for the first time. I think it was called the Pick And Shovel, but when I tried to read the sign again, I couldn’t. Apparently one sign of lucid dreaming is that written words don’t maintain their structure when you try reading them a second time.

Recently, the pub has found itself on the fringe of an out-of-town shopping centre. It isn’t huge, but there’s a supermarket there, a couple of other shops, and a small adventure playground where parents can dump their kids before shopping unmolested.

Last night, I was drinking in this mysterious pub as the prelude to some sort of charity fundraiser in Abernant. The venue doesn’t exist – it was a big community centre, like a Miners’ Institute. My friend Sally E. (Long Tall Sally) had persuaded me to go. (She actually works for a charity in real life, which makes the whole thing even stranger!) We had to get changed in order to go to the dance upstairs. I was wearing a pair of tiny tight shorts, and was worried about dancing with Sally in case people noticed that I was very turned on by the prospect.