Yours sincerely, Lionel Davies.
‘Well, aren’t you going to read that out, too?’ Paddy asked her.
‘It’s from the West Wick council offices. A special celebration is planned for the coronation in May! They want to revive the End of the Pier Show and the old-time beach entertainments on that day – which will be a public holiday! I am asked if Pomona and I will set up Jas Jolley’s Punch and Judy booth on the front, or, if inclement weather, in the school hall! They want to know, too, as soon as possible, if I am in touch with – wait for it – the O’Flaherty family, and Carlos and Carmen, the flamenco dancers! Apparently, we were all named on the request list which appeared in the local paper.
‘Oh, Paddy, I must reply today. This letter is dated March, and it’s April now – it has been to several addresses before arriving here, what shall I say?’
‘Say we’ll come! Young Jim and all!’
‘Just a thought. Your family still sing, and Mum and Carlos are dancing partners once more, but Mr Punch hasn’t been out of the trunk in ten years, there’s only the wooden Toby you made that time, and can I remember the script?’
‘Dear May, the other day I overheard the version of it that you made up for Jim, and he was impressed. So – what are you worried about?’
She hugged him tight. ‘After those reassuring words – only that you’ll be late for work, if you don’t hurry!’
Coronation Day, 12 May. Most parts of the country woke to cloudy skies, but this was nothing unusual on such occasions. The pomp and pageantry of the London scene were to be recorded by the British Broadcasting Corporation’s fledging television service, which had been launched the previous year, in 1936, but only a minority would view the footage; the majority would gather round their wireless sets for the live broadcast and or the King’s speech scheduled for that evening.
Tatiana travelled to West Wick by taxi, with Carmen and Carlos. She was so delighted to have been asked to join the family members that she insisted on booking a suite of rooms for them all, in the big hotel that was recommended by her travelling companions.
‘I never imagined when I visited Mum here all those years ago that I would ever stay here,’ May said, as they settled into their room, prior to the ‘light lunch’ at midday, which they’d ordered earlier. ‘I do believe the receptionist is the superior one who was behind the desk then.’ She bounced on the bed to test the springs, laughing like the Young May Moon, while Paddy inspected the cot and then put Jim in there for safety, while they sorted out their luggage.
A tap on the door: Tatiana and co had arrived. ‘I hope you are going to wear your peacock dress?’ she asked May.
‘Not for the Punch and Judy Show, but tonight I’ll be sparkling in the stalls at the end of the pier show! Which room is yours?’
‘I’m next door to you, and Carmen and Carlos, who signed in as Mr and Mrs by the way, are in the room beyond. Your parents, Paddy, are on your other side, and Pomona and Bella are sharing a room further along with your friend Bea. Her brother and Pomona’s boyfriend will be on the second floor.’
‘A wise move!’ Paddy managed to keep a straight face.
‘That was naughty of you!’ May teased him after Tatiana left. ‘I hope Jim doesn’t make a mistake on my lovely dress, that’s all.’
‘I’ll hold him, or one of the girls will, I imagine, if I decide to be on stage with the family. Just take a good supply of muslin wipes. Did Dad tell you he hoped you’d do your jig?’
‘I’m still thinking about that. I’ll see how this afternoon goes.’ She thought, I hope Cluny doesn’t divulge our secret. I taught her the jig while she was with us over the Easter holiday in March. Of course, I didn’t know, then, about the exciting time ahead!
It was deemed too chilly to be on the beach. A notice directed the crowds to the school hall. This was a new addition to the school since Pomona and Danny had been pupils there. The booth was erected on the small stage and rows of chairs were already in place. The hall was full of excited children and parents by 2 p.m. Earlier, in the playground, the family had watched as the school children danced round the maypole: bunting fluttered in the breeze while small girls attempted to hold down their skirts, and curls unwound as hair was blown about, too.
Pomona observed that the odorous block of latrines was no longer in evidence – indoor sanitation had arrived in West Wick! She pointed out to Terence the tree in the field beyond where, on a hot day, she’d slaked her thirst with tepid water from a bucket placed in its shade. ‘I wonder what happened to the old tin cup?’
Before the performance began, the children were called by name to receive a coronation spoon, with a royal crest on the handle, from the headmaster. Brigid, who was holding the sleeping baby while his mother was on stage, overheard a mother say: ‘Just right for the jam dish.’ There were also free tickets for some of the rides at the fair, due to arrive on the green on Saturday.
‘My brother’s not well, so he’s not here,’ a small girl told a teacher, who replied: ‘I’m sorry, but the tickets are only for those present now.’
‘Seems rather harsh,’ Brendan whispered to his wife. ‘We gave mugs to every child, present or not, yesterday.’
‘Shame you had to miss today, at your school.’
‘They understood; I came with their blessing,’ he said. ‘I’ll be there for the party on Saturday.’
Pomona was not bottling today, as she had done when she was eight years old, but she helped May put the puppets in place inside the booth, then emerged to make the introduction.
‘Boys and girls of all ages, I am proud to present Professor Jas Jolley’s Punch and Judy Show!’ Then she descended the stage steps and took her place in the front row, with Terence, Bea, Danny, Bella and Cluny. The little girls were now good friends. Paddy stayed out of sight in the wings, fingers crossed. May was on her own now, but she needed to know he was near by. Tatiana sat with Brigid and Brendan, but Carmen and Carlos decided to rest back at the hotel before the big show, that night.
The curtains swished open and Mr Punch appeared with his familiar cry of:
Boys and girls, Pray how do you do?
If you are all happy, then I’m happy too.
May relaxed and began to enjoy herself. The audience was responsive, and the words came out loud and clear. She remembered all the changes, and it was if she were transported back to the days when she was, as Paddy always said, the Punch and Judy Lady.
When the curtains closed and the little play had ended she hoped that her father would have been proud of her. She was about to leave the stage when Paddy rushed forward and told her to take another bow. The clapping seemed to go on for ages.
‘You’re still a star!’ Paddy murmured, as he escorted her back to her seat. ‘Pom and I will pack it all away: I guess the applause has woken Young Jim, and he will be calling for his mum!’
‘Life is easier now he is learning to drink from a cup, and has a bottle at nights,’ May said.
‘You’ve got your figure back,’ he said appreciatively, which earned him a playful cuff on the head.
Back at the hotel, they listened to the King’s Coronation speech at 6.30 p.m. on the wireless, in the sitting room. All had gone according to plan, with the sun shining briefly in London. As the King finished speaking, there was a general chorus from all the guests of: ‘God Save The King!’
Cluny and Bella were excited about going out in the evening. ‘It’ll be midnight before we get to bed!’ Bella whispered to her friend. She was envious that Cluny would be appearing briefly with her grandparents and her uncle Danny, and wearing her new kilt, bought for the occasion.
‘You, Bella,’ Carmen said unexpectedly, ‘shall learn the flamenco. Surely one of my daughters shall follow in my footsteps?’
They had front-row seats, and Paddy sat next to the aisle, where Young Jim was tucked up in his pram, which was of the folding variety so easy to transport in the dicky-seat of their present motor car, which they’d bought when
they returned the one on loan from Brendan. ‘I’ll take him out for a bit and wheel him around on the pier if he cries,’ Paddy promised May.
‘I don’t want him to catch cold,’ she worried.
‘He seems to be quite content, and the lights will soon go down. There’s always the emergency bottle of milk, eh?’
Some of the earlier acts were new to them. The snake woman contorted her limbs in seemingly impossible poses; the magician produced endless bunches of paper flowers and two white doves flew round the stage when he raised his top hat. A comedian with a false red nose told some rather dubious jokes, and was jerked off stage into the wings. The O’Flahertys appeared as the final act before the interval.
They came on in their green kilts, with harp and fiddle, and Cluny raised a cheer when she was led on by Danny. They performed the old repertoire, Tea for Two and Danny Boy. Then Brendan came front stage and called: ‘Are you there, Young May Moon? Please come up and join the party.’
‘Go on!’ Paddy urged her.
‘Did you know this would happen?’ she demanded.
‘I can keep a secret—’
‘Well, so can I.’
She wasn’t dressed for the jig, in her peacock blue dress, but, ‘just in case’, she was wearing her dancing shoes. ‘Follow me,’ she encouraged Cluny. Together, they danced, arms at sides, with raised knee, pointed toes, hopping, then three little steps back. Cluny was sometimes a step behind, but her enthusiasm was obvious. Feet were tapping in the audience at the lively fiddle music. The applause was deafening, and woke Young Jim. Paddy rocked the pram.
The curtains closed, and the performers joined the family party.
Carlos and Carmen were the main act in the second half. Carmen appeared years younger, partly due to skilful make-up and newly dyed hair. She embodied the free spirit – the duende – of flamenco, in her frilled, tiered skirt and high-heeled red shoes in which she strutted to the staccato beat. Carlos, in matador breeches, Cuban-heeled shoes with polished buckles, strummed his guitar and sang from the heart.
However, as the programme noted, the end of the pier show was for one night only, and would not be repeated.
May and Paddy were in their room. It was indeed midnight, as the children had predicted. They were already asleep. Young Jim had been whisked away by his grandparents, his cot wheeled into their room.
‘You two have never had a proper honeymoon,’ Brigid said to May, making her blush.
There were lovely flowers on the dressing-table, for Tatiana had arranged for bouquets to be delivered on stage to her friends. It was typical of her generosity.
Paddy enjoyed a bath, despite the late hour, but May decided to go to bed. She’d just wait, she thought dreamily, for Paddy to return in the white towelling robe provided by the hotel, then she’d ask him to undo the diamante clasps which held her dress up. She knew exactly what would happen then.
By the Same Author
The Spirit of Millie Mae
Our Cousin Rosanna
Bicycles and Blackberries
The Little Train Home
Hot Pies on the Tramcar
The Gingerbread Girl
The Watercress Girls
The Popular Penny Whistlers
Copyright
© Sheila Newberry 2012
First published in Great Britain 2012
This edition 2013
ISBN 978 0 7198 1016 9 (epub)
ISBN 978 0 7198 1017 6 (mobi)
ISBN 978 0 7198 1018 3 (pdf)
ISBN 978 0 7090 9906 2 (print)
Robert Hale Limited
Clerkenwell House
Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.halebooks.com
The right of Sheila Newberry to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Young May Moon Page 22