laughing gas

The balloon is filled with some kind of compressed air pump. Only the air is nitrous oxide. The air from the balloon is released into the lungs. Then blown back into the balloon. Then back into the lungs. Some laugh, others feel a brief rush. It's cheaper than wine; it is a throwback to a time when balloons made a party; you walk away with the evidence.

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Soup recipe. Cook chicken thigh and two and a half red peppers in oven with fresh thyme and bay leaves. Cook stock. Cook onions gently with one red chile and pimento. Put all the ingredients together and blend. Add stock to determine consistency. Season; add yoghurt and olive oil. Chill before reheating.

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Brixton market on a Saturday. A young woman with a fag in her mouth sells fruit to an elderly haggling West Indian. The smoker deals with the haggling, saying Summer's plentiful but Winter's always hard. A young black kid is preaching his version of the gospel. An old white drunk runs out of a shop and tells him to shut up.