Foggy Old London Town

An introduction, of sorts

About 3 months ago I absentmindedly tweeted 'Watching the episode of the the simpsons with the sensory deprivation tanks- looks well legit', or something as captivating as that last sentence obviously was (how i have 180+ followers is beyond me. this isn't a form of complaint though ^^). I didn't think anything of it until a month later i got a reply from Floatworks telling me they could offer some kind of discount if I wanted it. Again i thought nothing of it- more the fool me- and went about my little sensory-laden life. Then I got an email from floatworks, offering me a complimentary session if i'd write about the experience on both my Blog and Twitter. Someone offering me the opportunity to do something I wanted to, for free AND asking me to spend time tweeting and blogging? I don't think excited is really the word. exploded is probably more accurate, albeit messier. I jumped at the chance- literally, actually, as when i told my Dad i found myself hopping on the spot with yayness- and after ensuring Alex would be accompanying to avoid panic, confusion and a bad case of, well, Amy, THE DATE WAS SET. That date was 27th May 2010, when me and Crudenforth embarked on an Epic adventure across Foggy Old London Town. Enjoy.

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London. LONDONIA. Landaan. Loldon. Call it what you will- it still makes me spazz with excitement. Alex has more experience of this than anyone, so I figured he'd be the best person to tag along with me today. My Dad really didn't like the idea of me being there by myself, doing something completely new and alien to me, in an area of London i barely know. I say that as if I know any of the areas of London. I don't. So as I sat looking out of the train window, my face adorned with a sly smile as i was bewildered by the mass amounts of glass, metal and human expression squashed together in the London skyline, Alex was sat opposite, looking at me with a bemused expression and generally looking ginger. The train journey itself was fairly uneventful. It involved me being slightly hungover, and Alex receiving many good-natured insults courtesy of yours truly. good times.

We got to Londonia at around 13:45 and I instantly started freaking out- Floatworks had asked I be there by 13:50, in order to get everything sorted, and we had none ideas where this place even was! Alex reassured me overandoverandover that it "would be fine", "we'll be fine", "you'll be fine, everything's fiiiiine" whilst i stood flapping my hands around my head and generally being a retard. A lovely man in the information bit printed off a map for us, after freaking me out by saying "Thrale Street? I've never heard of there." As i said to Cruden- if the man in London doesn't know where the street in London is then we have no hope whatsoever. As it was i shouldn't have been so cynical; the map was awesome sauce and we ended up outside Floatworks in no time at all.

When we got to the building though there was simply a brick wall and a door with no handle on anything on the outside. It was as if we had to figure out how to get in in order to deserve the floating session- I half expected Richard O'Brian to appear from behind one of the parked cars and jostle us into solving the puzzle. We ended up following a bohemian-looking woman in, for she was wise to the door's antics and used the buzzer me and Alex had ignorantly missed whilst dithering. Instantly, the overwhelming smell of salt and cleaner hit me and a little bubble of excitement and anticipation rose up through me. We walked through to the reception, and I timidly asked after my appointment, and I was told to wait and that someone would come to get me to take me to 'my tank'. I couldn't help but experience a delusion of grandeur at being allocated my own 'tank', but decided not to let it go to my head. I had to change my shoes for these funky looking plastic flip-flop-type-sandal extrvanganzas that made my sporadic inability to walk without tripping a constant problem, and then followed a very lovely young woman to my allocated room. When you go in there is a massive pod that looks like this;

Cool, right? i mean, let's face it, it looks like every sci-fi fan's ideal bathtub. And it pretty much is. You have to shower before and after you enter the tank, so i quickly hopped in and out of the small shower cubicle in the corner of the room. Then I, conscious of the fact i was now about to lie completely naked in a tank of salt water that makes you float, hopped into the tank, closed the lid, and very carefully allowed myself to sit.

WOAH. It was unreal!! i had to push REALLY hard in order to touch the bottom of the tank, and the water had only come up to my shin when i was standing in it! there was a light at the lower end of the tank that projected relaxing light onto the white walls of the tank. there was a cushion provided, incase i wished to rest my head on it but i'd been told it was a more natural position if you trust the water. There's a light at the foot of the tank, which slowly shifts to different subtle, but bright colours, and a button at the side that when you touch switches the light off. You're also given a bottle with a spray nozzle that has water in it- the woman who'd shown me to my room watched as i tripped over the mat in the doorway and instantly pointed it out to me, saying should i accidentally find myself with salt water in my eye to spritz it with the bottle. The girl did good, as i did end up getting salt water in my eye and it hurt so bad i writhed around a little. But the spritzer bottle did work fantastically so no worries :)

I lay back, and already felt so much more comfortable and relaxed. they play 10 minutes of 'music' at the beginning of the session and then start it again to let you know the session's over. As the music played i switched the light off, ready to experience complete darkness, whilst also preparing myself to freak out, and discovered little shines of light coming through the lid of the tank. I was massively disappointed, thinking 'well...that's not complete darkness, there's like little bits of annoying light'. I spent around 3 minutes in a huff before gradually the music faded away; And then the lights went out.

It was COMPLETELY dark. i held my hand in front of my face and tried so hard to see it, but couldn't for the life of me!! Once my eyes adjusted to being in the dark i stopped freaking out and started relaxing. And oh my god it was amazing! My arms kept lifting above my head because they were floating and i felt like i was actually moving, like you do when you lie on your back in a swimming pool, but i wasn't going anywhere. After a while i thought the lights had come on of their own volition- but then i realised that in the darkness my eyes and my mind were creating a pattern of light above me, in different shades of blue!! It was amazing, but kind of intense- i'd never experienced anything like it before and it made me think about all the potential our minds have that we just take for granted, and can't access unless in completely abnormal situations. Also, it looked fucking cool.

At one point i semi-freaked out because i thought i had my eyes closed and then i blinked. It was incredible though, the way i felt afterwards; I suffer from tendonitis in my knees, and it had recently been stupidly painful, but after 'the tank times', as i like to fondly remember it, i had no issues whatsoever for at least a month. Also i felt 1000 times better about myself, i really felt like i could've done anything at that moment. That also might've been due to the fact that once you've left the tank, and then showered etc you go to a room where there's a coffee machine, scented candles, hairdryers, straighteners, beauty products, 10 different kinds of hairbrush. And MASSIVE mirrors, with amazing lighting!! I was able to make myself look buff ting, despite having just been floating in a tank for an hour. Everything about the experience was wonderful- and I cannot wait to go back for next session!

After all of the flotation tank tomfoolery, me and Alex went to go meet his good friend Leo, who lived in London. I'd never met Leo before, but Alex had told me he was made of awesome so i was quite excited; turned out he is in fact made of awesome, and several other lovely things too. After deciding where to go;
Leo: Where'd you fancy going then?
Alex: Well, I don't really have anything in mind, and Amy's just happy to be here so it's up to you

We walked to the monument and then paid some money to do more excercise than i had done in the last 4 years of my life, after which we got a certificate. I think that's the first time i've ever gotten a certificate for sweating off my entire body weight. Then again that was the first time i had ever sweated off my entire body weight- and hopefully the last, unless i'm expected to climb mount killamanjaro. Or Beccles Church tower...same difference. Anyway, being distracted, where was I? Oh yes- being healthy.

So the next thing we did was locate a pub for lunchles and alcohol. Miraculously i wasn't ID but i think that may have been cos Alex bought my drink...either way, i ended up with alcohol without having to flash the ol' citizen card which = epic win. The three of us had this simply epically lovely time, chatting and laughing and insulting each other. it was ace.

After some more wanderings, and a discussion about how im a fool for A) Loving Glee, B) never haven been on a boat and C) Using the word 'LOL' in real-life, we settled at another pub by the riverside, where Leo revealed his penchant for dressing like a school teacher. More LOLZ occurred, during which I pointed out that Leo had learned as much about me in half a day as Alex had in over a year and a half. We parted ways, and then Alex walked me to Piccadilly Circus, because I'd never been before, on route discovering I had missed the UK Premiere of SATC 2. After recovering from heart-break I couldn't help but marvel at London. No matter how often i'm there (which isn't very often to be honest) I'm always taken aback by how great it makes me feel, and the absolute want i get to do well, and completely push myself whenever i see another landmark on the horizon. It's almost as if the City is so incredible i'm in competition with it- i need to earn my stripes, and my place, by excelling. I don't get that feeling very often. and certainly not in Beccles.

After a weary journey home, during which i fell asleep in Alex's lap and a man who kept picking his nose and eating it kept rubbing himself against Alex, we were back in Canters. And already all i wanted to do was go back to London.

xXx