Darren was a committed vegetarian, Ken was not.
I moved in to share Darren's Stamford Hill flat after Jane and I had split up. He is an enthusiastic music lover (now working as a promoter in his home town of Belfast.) Darren loved television and radio's John Shuttleworth. John has a neighbour Ken the impresario. Ken is slightly timourous, has a heightened sense of self importance and entitlement and has a squeaky high pitched voice. Deep down he is a good person though I think.
Darren began to impersonate Ken, and he did it perfectly. But Ken became something of an alter ego and it got so as Ken was threatening to take over, especially when Darren/Ken drank.
Darren and Alison became a couple, they moved to Brighton for a while. When I visited them we went to an indie gig that Darren was promoting I was ever so drunk on the return journey but Ken was more drunk and he was becoming quite boisterous. He was jumping up and down in the black cab and yelping. The cab driver stopped more than once and told us to get out but Alison reasoned with him.
We arrived at their house in Hove, close to the beach. As soon as the cab had come to a halt Ken was off. He hopped out onto the road, dashing down the street and away along the beach not to be seen again until the following morning.
Darren told me that, while we were living in Stamford Hill, Ken would nip down to the greasy spoon under our flat and enjoy a mixed grill now and again and I honestly don't know if it was a joke.
I haven't seen Darren (or Ken) for a long time and I look forwards to the next time I do.
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