About 11 days ago Ink and I went on a NYC adventure that has totally rocked my socks and left me feeling as though my brain has been replaced with a pretzel.

We’d been planning to visit the city for ages and hadn’t expected to go for quite a while yet – mainly because we were thinking of doing a three month thing and that place ain’t cheap – but when we were invited to Cynthia Von Buhler’s birthday bash the weekend before comic con, we realised fate was telling us to pack our bags and practise softening our Scottish accents a little. (This was only medium successful, I think we almost brought someone to tears trying to tell him the time was half past eight – he eventually gave up and walked away, mournfully clutching his bag of takeaway goodies and muttering).

Getting there was a bit stressful, especially because I originally gave the airline the shortened version of Ink’s name and that didn’t go down well but we spent our first night in CvB’s Staten Island castle and that was pretty freaking sweet. And then, just as we were emerging from the dreamlike state of jetlag, we hotfooted it down to her penthouse party where the lovely lady herself was resplendent in a gorgeous mermaid outfit and holding court from a full bath with oil-slicked mermaid minions spread around the floor around her.

From candyfloss to a roof top carousel, some excellent instillations by Cynthia and her friends – such as Stephen – and performances from Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys (totally fallen for these guys), Jason Webley and Amanda Palmer, it was a crazy night I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. The Toys crew came back to the castle that night, and as I was the only person with the key I got to play hostess in Cynthia’s castle for a few hours which felt awesome, although Ink later told me I was the drunkest person in the house…

After our Staten Island adventure, we made our way to our budget hotel to explore Manhattan in true tourist style then mingled with graphic geeks at comic con – but I think that’s for another post. The strangest thing about it all for me is that, aside from a few notes in the last few days, this is the first thing I’ve really written since before the holiday. No copy, no editing, no stories; I feel like someone else, and while it’s been fun, it’s time for that to stop.

I’m going on a mini road trip with my good pal Martha on Thursday and will read as part of the Bugged Project at the Manchester Literature Festival during our mini break. But once I’m home in the ‘burgh again, it’s back to the grindstone – I promise!