Part 15: Mother’s Singularities

One of the many duties Mummy gave me to do, was one of ‘supply officer’ – I’d get sent around to a neighbour to accrue various supplies, on loan, but of course they rarely if ever got returned.

The items would be, ‘a cup of sugar’, ‘a spoonful of tea’, ‘three slices of bread’, ‘ a knob of Echo (margarine, no one in our Terrace had butter), ‘a cup of milk’, or ‘two fags’ until whichever day she said she would return them.

The responses I would get would differ, but generally they would be: ‘Sod off’, ‘She hasn’t gave me, me bread (or whichever commodity) back from last week yet’, ‘A swift belt around the head and the door slamming to’, or occasionally they would encourage their dog to attack and chew on my leg.’

Oddly enough, I cannot recall any of our neighbours coming to our house to ‘borrow’ food or anything else really.

For a while, apart from the nub collecting, fag making, and hairnet packing etc – I was ensconced into a job in the wood yard, either bundling the wood or collecting scrap from building sites etc.

It was a friend of mothers who owned the yard, and he paid very well… it soon ended when he was sentenced to three years for nicking the wood in the first place.

Mummy Returns – Work Commences

Just as I was about to leave school at 14 years of age, Mummy re-appeared on the scene after a nice 3 year break.

And Dad once more relented and took her back in, a move he much regretted later. (So did I)

Dad got me job as goffer and van lad at Whiteheads Robin Hood Confectionery, Imperial Street, Bulwell. (the building is still standing today. (January 2014)

The wage was £3.3.0 a week (£3.15), for a 50 hour week.

Of course mother got most of it out of me by guile or stealth, to help her with her addiction to the weed, bingo, and betting.

I enjoyed the job, when I was out on the delivery run, a great adventure to me – but the few times when I had to help in the factory – I really liked!

Apart from helping yourself to any toffees in the production lines, it was the women and girls there that made my day, they would help themselves to me whenever they liked!

They would even play with me in the dinner hour and a half.

It reminded me of ‘Auntie Mabel’.

http://leagueofmentalmen.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/the-magical-mysteries-of-auntie-mabel-part9/

But with a little more input from me!

Boy did I get further educated!

I was their toy, and did they enjoy their toy!

If only I could go back to that time…. Ah well, on with the disastrous dilemma of the Tales of Woe.

Several moves of abode

Later, I cannot recall why, most likely they were going to pull the house down before it fell down, but we moved into 52 Ipswich Circus, Sneinton Dale, into a council house.

I swapped jobs and went to work for Tesco, working my way up to assistant manager eventually.

And I met Sue, the love of my life, and started ‘Courting’.

But I later lost her. Best thing perhaps, because she always deserved better than me.

So, the house was gigantic to me, and the garden enormous!

So big, I built a little shed for my motorbike to go in. (Fair enough it fell down within two weeks, but I did make the effort)

Then after about 10 months or so, I returned home from Tesco one Friday night, pushed my motorbike round the back where the shed used to stand, and went into the house – only to find the lights not working – so I stumbled my way through to the front door lobby where the electricity metre was, digging out a shilling to put in it from my pocket on the way.

As I entered the front room, the light from the street lighting, offered enough illumination for me to see that there was no furniture in the room – nothing but the television set! (and that was on tick from Wigfall’s Pay-Slot Rentals.)

Had we been robbed?

Surely not, they’d be hard pushed to get a tenner for everything in the room.

I made my way to the bottom of the stairs, all the clothes pegs were bare, I went upstairs, everything had gone, curtains, everything, I went back down stairs, thinking I was going mad, was I in the right house?

I opened the front door, looked around, confirmed I was in the right house, turned around to go back in, and then saw the ‘Eviction Notice’ on the door. Mummy had been at it again!

A neighbour, rushed up to me, apologising for missing my arrival, she’d hoped to catch me and break the news to me before I got in the house.

Dad had been given a railway house, and had taken all the stuff with him.

Mummy had done another bunk, and I could stay with her (the neighbours) house until I found somewhere to live!)

This seemed to please her Security Guard husband’s Alsatian no end, as I able to supply the snarling, vicious, yet pampered beast with a choice of bone selections for him to chew on overnight, as I slept on the settee.

To Follow:

Part 16: A Nottingham Lad’s True Tale of Woe – Inchy goes into an ex-offenders hostel – without realising it!