in the street of denmark

that was meant to sound a bit like 'in the port of amsterdam, so just nod and smile.

as i was a-walking down denmark street, the sound of an altercation taking place down a side alley was heard. we walked past, and stopped. a tall black man was being held against the wall by a shorter, peak capped, be-spectacled, white man, who was saying he was a police officer and the man was under arrest for dealing drugs, saying he'd just swallowed something, while a nearby homeless person was protesting that he'd just asked for some change. the man claiming to be police shouted at us to ring for the police, which under the circumstances was the only reasonable thing to do, and i would have done if someone else wasn't already doing it. i stood and watched for a bit, offering moral sympathy, while adrian went to pick up his bass. the man - now adding he was an off duty police officer - was holding him firm, and being wound up by accusations of racism by the 'dealer', who seemed to absolutely accept whole-heartedly that the man was indeed a police, something that i just wasn't sure about. why on earth would an off duty police officer take it upon himself to walk down central london backstreets and look out for drug deals, before going it alone to try and arrest people? as he harped on to the man - he did sound like a police - he was holding about how when they got him to the station and took his prints and see what they led them to, &c, the 'dealer' started resisting a lot more. he shouted at me - straight at me - to help him hold the guy. i told him it was none of my business. he said 'i'm ordering you as a police officer to help me'. i walked away. rounding the corner, the 'dealer' legged it past some seconds later, and then the police cars rolled up. i'd have loved to find out if the guy was actually a polcie man or not, but i suppose we'll never know now.

it all reminds me of the start of 'a confederacy of dunces' - i should have started shouting that 'the poliss are all comuniss' and how the poor boy was just waiting for his mother. that would have been confusing, if nothing else.