by Gary Seeary
“I don’t know, Sidney. I only just scraped through the Merit Certificate and these machines look so technical,” I admitted.
“Well give it some thought, because I have thought of asking you, ever since you came up here with William. And as for Bill, I would have thought he could send us a letter or something by now,” Sidney wondered. “You know about Agatha, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “I think he made a very brave choice to go and help her.”
“I do too,” Sidney agreed.
“All right, Seb, I’m a busy man. Do you want me to teach you to become a projectionist … Yes or no?”
I sat looking at Sidney, not believing that I was being asked to decide my whole future in a few seconds, but maybe that’s the way life works.
“Yes,” I replied loudly, the sound filling our tiny room, as I felt an amazing sense of relief that I had finally done something right for myself. “But, can you train me at the weekends for a start until I can get my family and my foreman used to the idea? I owe them a lot.”
“Fine, what if we begin next Saturday afternoon, just for a couple of hours. I’m sure you don’t want to climb up the stairs again tomorrow.”
“Too right, I don’t,” I acknowledged, “and thanks a lot for doing this for me, Sidney.”
I could have sworn that the pain in my ribs had decreased by half as I walked a little faster back to Aunty May’s, excited, but also scared that one day I will be responsible for making a film run as smooth as silk, in a theatre where the owner would be taking a huge risk on a very nervous, newly trained projectionist.
*
Lettie brought two people home from work with her on Wednesday afternoon and a cake from Madeline. Elaine and Charlie were extremely cheerful as they were asked to come into Aunty May’s kitchen, and it had little to do with my twenty-first birthday.
Elaine and Charlie introduced themselves to Aunty May. They chatted for ages before Elaine revealed she had finally received a letter from William, and to her everything in it sounded positive.
“William wrote that he was due to meet Agatha in Barcelona a few days after this letter was sent, and that she had sent him a note stating she wanted to leave Spain for a rest in France or England. But, William didn’t say if he was planning to stay with her the whole time or if he was coming back home.”
“Reading between the lines, it sounds as if Agatha is exhausted and if she has a long enough break, she will find it difficult to return to Spain,” Charlie assumed, I think for Elaine’s benefit.
“We can only hope so, Charlie,” Elaine quietly accepted. “Now, it is Seb’s birthday. It should be about him.”
“No, Elaine, that’s the best present I could have hoped for. And did I hear someone mention that they had brought around a bottle of beer to share?” I said looking at Charlie who immediately pulled out a bottle from an inner pocket of his coat.
In the lane at the rear of Aunty May’s, Charlie poured a glass of beer for each of our small group of friends, and then he, Lettie and Elaine shouted.
“Happy birthday, Seb. Cheers!”
We all had a swig and then I called for another toast.
“And, here’s to absent friends,” I said as we raised our glasses again, before drinking the last of our beer.
*
A light drizzle had turned to steady rain, soaking my gabardine coat, as I pushed my way through the thick ivy that still choked the path that led to the rear of Madeline’s house, glad to see a light on and movement through the small glass window in the door.
I knocked firmly on the same fly-screen door that I had passed through on more than one occasion of need.
“Is that you, Sebastian?” Madeline shouted above the steady beating sound of the rain on her roof.
“Is everything all right?” she added, peering through the small window, probably wondering why anyone would be calling in this weather.
Madeline unlocked the door, and then held open the screen door while still holding her dressing gown tight around her waist.
“No, everything is fine, Madeline,” I replied, shivering as I spoke.
“Just dropping in to say hello.”
“Come on in out of the rain, Sebastian,” Madeline demanded, with a little concern in her voice. “You look soaked, you duffer.”
I stepped only a foot inside the door, apologising as a large puddle of water formed almost immediately.
Madeline told me to wait where I was, while she went to grab a towel.
“I came by because I wanted to tell you something …” I started to yell, when I saw Bernadette wheel herself into the kitchen, looking excited, before stopping suddenly, perhaps thinking I was someone else.
“How are you, Bernadette?” I asked, glad that she was home.
“Pretty good, thanks, Sebastian,” she returned in her tiny voice. “How are you?”
“Better on seeing you, Bernadette,” I winked.
Bernadette smiled and then waved before she went back in the lounge and I was left wondering how anyone could have left such a beautiful child. Madeline returned seconds later, throwing me a towel.
“Madeline, I can’t stay. I just wanted to thank you for the cake you sent me on my birthday.”
“You’re very welcome, but you shouldn’t have gone out in the rain to tell me that,” Madeline replied, looking a little perplexed.
“You might as well have a cup of tea while you are here,” Madeline suggested. “Then, if you remember why you really dropped in, you can tell me.”
“Madeline, what I came around for, is to tell you something that I should have told you on more than one occasion, and I didn’t. And that is thank you for what you have done for Lettie, and me, when we really needed a friend. You changed our lives.”
Madeline stepped up close and put her arms around me, and despite my wet clothes held me tightly, finally releasing me as she said.
“Thank you for saying that, Sebastian, I have been so unsure of myself since my husband left … I am very grateful for your kind words.” She pulled away and said, “Now, this puddle is getting bigger, and a little birdy told me that you might be making a career change, so you’d better get on with it.”
I stopped a few yards from the back door and then turned back to Madeline.
“Madeline, why did you take me in on the night of the fight?”
“Because you reminded me of my youngest brother — and I miss him very much.”
* * *
Post Script
On August 27, 1938, after receiving massive internal injuries when the supply truck he was driving in support of Republican forces was forced off the road during an air raid, William Albert Reinecke, weakened by exhaustion, passed away in a small Spanish village, less than thirty miles from the French border. Madeline’s husband, Leo McFarlane himself badly wounded, lay by his side.
After receiving safe passage from the Provisional Government in Barcelona, Agatha Parmenter crossed the French border at Cerbère on February 12, 1939, only hours in advance of Franco’s army.
A month later, Agatha attended a rally at Whitehall, London, at which she and another woman proceeded to 10 Downing Street, where they threw lambs’ blood at the front door of the Prime Minister’s residence, in protest at his betrayal of the Spanish Republic, as well as the men and women who came to its aid.
Glossary of slang terms
A bit for ’ron: A bit for later on
A bit of a hurry up: A hurry along, made to go faster
A bum: A person of poor character, often without means
A do: A show, event, party
A fair whack: A good slice, piece
A hiding: A beating
A lark: A lot of fun
A shag: Cormorant, often perched alone on a rock
A squiz: A quick look around
A zack: Sixpence, roughly five cents
Abode: Place of residence, home
Accept the cards as they were dealt: Accept what you have been gi
ven in life, your destiny
Adieu: French for goodbye, farewell
Aga: Cast iron stove and cooker
All and sundry: Everyone, the general public
All in a flap: To be agitated, panicky
All over the shop: Everywhere, all over the place
Anglophile: A person that loves everything English or British
ANZAC: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
As happy as Larry: Extremely happy
As rare as hen’s teeth: Very rare
Bag of fruit: A suit (clothing)
Baggy-green caps: Cap worn by Australian test cricketers
Battleaxe: A formidable, older woman
Beau: Boyfriend, male suitor
Be full of yourself: Exaggerated sense of self-worth
Be on the up and up: To be legitimate, honest or sincere
Be unable to lie straight in bed: To be too crooked or devious to lie straight in bed
Beggar belief: Too unbelievable to be credible
Beside oneself: Almost out of one’s mind with a strong emotion, usually worry
Big bruiser: Big, powerful man
Big wigs: The people in charge, authority
Bite hard down the track: To have bad consequences in the future
Blowies: Blow or mature flies
Bludger: Useless character, often avoiding work or responsibility
Bluebaggers: Nickname for Carlton football club players (Australian Rules football)
Bodgey character: Worthless or untrustworthy character
Brothers in arms: Comrades in battle
Brouhaha: Noisy and over-excited reaction
Browned off, straight up: Very annoyed, straight away
Bugger: Bloke, man
Bulldogs: Nickname for Footscray football club players (Australian Rules football)
Bullshit: Lies, rubbish, crap
Busybody: A person who has to know everyone’s business (see Sticky beak)
Buy for nicks: For next to nothing
Cackin’ your pants: Pooing in your pants, scared
Camp rough: Sleep outdoors, often in a tent
Caper: Activity, game, line of work
Cat that got the cream: To be happy with what you’ve done
Cheshire cat smile: Broad smile; from the book ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Chin wag: A chat, to talk to someone
Cinch: Easy
Clacker: Backside, bum
Clip under the ear: Slap behind the ear
Clobber: Clothes
Cockney: The accent of a native East Londoner
Cocky: Farmer, and or overconfident person
Coin: Money
Comeuppance: A punishment or fate that someone deserves
Connie: Tram or train conductor
Cop somebody: To hit somebody
Copper (the): Cylindrical tub for washing clothes in
Coppers: Police
Cottee’s: Popular soft drinks at the time
Cotton on: Begin to follow the thread, understand
Couldn’t knock the skin of a rice pudding: To have a punch too weak to do any damage
Crack up: Laugh hard or hysterically
Cut a pretty good rug: Dance really well, often energetically
Cylinders: Forerunner of the music disc
Dags: Dirty wool hanging off the back of sheep
Dandy: A man overly concerned with looking stylish
Dardanelles: Refers to WW1 military campaign (Gallipoli)
De rigueur: Standard practice, from French
Deadly: Extremely
Digs: Room, home
Dismissed offhand: To dismiss something without consideration
Do your ‘nana’: To lose your temper
Dob someone in: To inform, tell on someone
Dole out: Distribute, hand out
Doozy: Something outstanding, unique; origin Duesenberg luxury car of the 1920/30s
Dosh: Money
Doss house: Cheap lodging house
Down memory lane: To remember things in the past
Drab: Boring, dull, or lacking colour
Dray: A low, sturdy cart used for carrying heavy loads, generally pulled by a horse
Drink like it is going out of fashion: To drink large amounts in a short time
Drongo: An idiot, a fool. Named after a horse that never won a race
Duffer: A silly or inept person
Dummy: Open air seating at the front of a cable tram
Dungarees: Like overalls, but with a bib at the front held by straps over the shoulder
Dust up: Fight
Eejit: Irish slang for idiot
Evil eye: A look to inflict harm or suffering with a curse
Fair dinkum: Genuine, authentic
Fair touch up: A thrashing, soundly defeat
Famished: Hungry, starving
Fellmongers: Tannery workers who generally prepare sheepskins
Fellow travellers: A person who is sympathetic, but not a member of a certain group, or party
Fib: Small lie
Fine and dandy: Fine and well, everything as it should be
Fire and brimstone: The torments of Hell
Fix someone up: To get even with someone
Flat out like a lizard (drinking): To be very busy
Fleece someone: To steal money or goods by deceit
Fleshing knife: Long curved knife, sharpened on both sides
Flip your lid: Become angry, fly off in a rage
Folding stuff: Bank notes, money
For a song: Very cheaply
Franco: Leader of the Rebel Nationalist Army in Spain
Full of hot air: To talk without saying anything useful or with meaning
Galoot: Big, but perhaps not often bright man
Garb: Clothes of a distinctive style
Georges: Fancy department store in Melbourne, now defunct
Get on your bike: Get on your way, hurry
Get toey: On edge, ill at ease
Git: Not a smart person
Give someone stick: To tease or give someone a hard time
Glad rags: Clothes for a special occasion, Sunday best
Gladstone bag: Very popular working man’s carry all at the time
Gorra hat: Spanish-style small hat
Gripe: To whine, whinge, complain
Gully trap: Trough with tap at the rear of a house, used frequently at the time
Gun the motor: Rev up the motor
Half-baked: Not quite right, or thought through
Hard earned: Hard earned money
Hard nuts: Tough guys
Haughty: Arrogantly superior, stuck up
Have a gawk: To stare or gape for no good reason
Have a run in with someone: To have a serious argument, or trouble with someone
Have a turn: To put on a performance by becoming unwell, or faint
Have a word with someone: To talk to someone in order to criticise them
Have some pull: Have an influence or say, to be able to pull strings
Have someone cold: To be exposed, to have no comeback
Have tickets on yourself: To have a high opinion of yourself
Having kittens: To be very nervous, or worried
Hay-making right: Wide sweeping punch with the right hand
Heidelberg School: Late 19th century impressionist art movement, based in Melbourne
Hell’s bells: Said on surprise or anger, milder than ‘bloody hell’
Hit a wall: To become suddenly exhausted, or sleepy
Hit the sack: Go to bed, go to sleep
Hostellerie: Lodgings (French)
Hotham Hill: Western area of North Melbourne (formally Hotham), almost obsolete usage
How many strips could somebody possibly tear off: How big a telling off could somebody get
I’m in suspenders: I’m in suspense (pun)
Icing on the cake: To finish something off nicely
Impressionist movement: Artists that capture an
image as a glance, often painted outdoors
In the black: In credit, in the positive
Jack up: To rear up, to not take something well
Kerfuffle: Commotion or fuss
Kick oneself: To be angry at yourself
King hit: A sudden, powerful punch
Kip: A nap, short sleep
Knock down: Drink quickly
Knock off: To finish work for the day
Know the ins and outs: To know every detail
Kosher: Prepared according to Jewish custom, genuine
Lackey: Servant, flunkey
Lag on someone: To inform on someone (see Dob)
Lamb’s fry: Fried lamb’s liver
Lantern shows: Films shown in halls or smaller spaces using portable projectors
Larrikins: Boisterous, often badly behaved young men
Lash out: To spend freely on something Lay it on a bit thick: Grossly exaggerate something
Lazy wind: A wind too lazy to go around someone
Let someone go: To terminate employment, sack or fire someone
Like a shag on a rock: An isolated, exposed position
Little birdy: A person that is known, but not identified
Loll away: To relax, to lounge about
Long winded: To continue something over a prolonged period
Loo: Toilet
Loose cannon: An unpredictable person who could cause damage; from a loose cannon on a ship
Madam: A woman that runs a brothel, a female pimp
Majors: Goals (Australian Rules football)
Make a stand: To stop and fight for something
Manifesto: Publically declared aims
Mattock: Gardening hand tool, a cross between a pick and a hoe
Merit Certificate: Awarded at the end of Form 2 (current day Year 8)
Mick: Derogatory term for Irish people, or Roman Catholic
Milko: Milkman, delivering milk from behind a horse and cart
Moggy: House, or domestic cat
More crap than a night cart: Refers to a night cart that would routinely collect from lavatory pan
More front than Myers: Cheeky, bold person, not afraid to front up; from Myer, Melbourne
Muck up: To make a mess, bungle, spoil
Mug: Idiot or fool; also to rob people on the street
Natter: To talk casually