Rogues Gallery: Derek Adams

So onto gallery entry number six, and this time I turn the spotlight on my friend Derek Adams (who really isn't satanic at all, despite what he looks like in this picture... at least I don't think he is). Sorry for the bad photo mate!

Derek is the older (and shorter) brother of Richard Adams, and the pair share a flat near the supermarket where I work. It strikes me as I write this that I don't know nearly as much about Derek as I thought I did. I'm not sure how old he is for example, or what he does for a living, though I do remember he works somewhere in or near the nearby town of Wellington. As a result of having to commute to work, Derek is one of only a very few of my friends who can drive.

A fan of sci-fi and fantasy, Derek enjoys a wide variety of roleplaying systems, from Werewolf through D&D to Kult. His interest extends to television and movies too, and he is a big fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine having every episode on tape.

He also likes skulls and japanese symbols, or at least the imagery of them, and anything featuring them generally gets his interest, as evidenced by the decor in the lounge of the flat. The lounge also features a bay window, much like the one in my own room, which overhangs the pavement outside, and this does seem to be Derek's favourite place to sit (I've witnessed him on several occasions being quite eager to give up a sofa seat to a friend, in order that he can sit there).

When I slipped and broke my left wrist in the (now thankfully closed) Cafe Mamba nightclub, about 3 years ago, Derek (along with Richard and Sean), caught up to me as I was walking home alone. I was in shock and a pretty serious state of denial, refusing to admit that I'd broken a bone (I'd never done so before). The trio insisted I go to Rich and Derek's flat, and they called for a taxi to take me to Musgrove Park Hospital. When it arrived, Rich and Sean were elsewhere (think they were getting takeaway food down the street, not sure), and so Derek accompanied me to the Casualty dept. He stayed there with me for more than 4 hours, while I waited (in a LOT of pain) to be seen too by a Doctor, and then kept me company as they X-Rayed my wrist and then plastered it up. He kept me talking, kept me thinking, about things other than the pain I was in, and he made sure I got home afterward. Not sure I've ever really thanked him enough for that.

It occurs to me that what I don't know about Derek kinda outnumbers what I can say for sure about him. I've been out on the town with him a few times, yet for the life of me I can't recall what he likes to drink, or what music he likes. I don't know what his favourite movie is, or even if he has one. I do know that I enjoy his company and that he is a good person to talk with, his opinions make sense and he is a good conversationalist. Ohh one other thing I can say about him, is that the mess in his bedroom is the stuff of legends (though I just have his brothers opinion to go by on this one, as I don't think I've ever seen inside his room).