by Brian Darley
Stunning countryside passed by. Many trees were just beginning to turn colour in the late summer come early Autumn of that year. Life seemed perfect at that moment. We rolled into our destination, which was around 10 minutes walk from the football ground, which I had been to with Grandad to watch our town play. I had no idea that I too would be playing at this ground whilst still at school. As we left the station Angela held my hand and we walked hand in hand towards the ground. We both seemed to have a massive spring in our steps. A couple of minutes later we heard a toot from a car horn and as we looked over we could see our Form Teacher, Miss Page, in the car. She offered us a lift to the ground. “Well Billy McFirley you are certainly full of surprises” she said. As I went off to get changed for the match Angela wandered off with Miss Page who, by this time, had told Angela she could call her Sue out of school hours. Miss Page (Sue) lived in a village close to the town where the game was being played and she had wanted to give a member of her class a big surprise by supporting him. Surprise! She had nearly given the two of us a heart attack but it was nice that she cared enough to come along.
“Can you please keep this a secret” Angela asked Sue, “as my parents don’t approve”. Sue gave her word but told Angela to be careful. She also said we looked very sweet together. In the changing room the players all did their best to get to know each other. We were usually in opposition not on the same team. It did seem quite odd. I hung my clothes on the peg, putting my towel under my shoes. I had decided to have a shower and make myself nice and clean after the match. I really wanted to impress Angela.
As I ran onto the pitch it was easy to spot Angela, although it did seem really daunting that she was sitting there with our Form Teacher beside her. The crowd was rather sparse, probably only about 60 to 70 people. Nothing like the District Matches which were really well attended. Rather to my annoyance I noticed a man standing behind my goal in both halves. He was making notes and I wondered if Angela’s Dad had smelt a rat and was having her followed. Time after time I had to make saves as we were comprehensively outplayed until I eventually let a soft one drop from my grasp for their centre-forward to tap in. One saving grace was that none of the other players in the team did very well. A further late flurry resulted in us being beaten 3 – 0 but late in the game worse was to happen to me. Going up to take a high cross I was challenged and fell awkwardly, hurting my shoulder and back but luckily it was nearly time for the final whistle to blow. Getting changed and showered was not very easy but somehow I managed. The organiser of the County Team (Manager’s were a thing of the future) gave every player an envelope to hand to the Heads of their schools on Monday morning. I took mine but didn’t give it much consideration.
Embarrassing or what! I had to ask Angela to do my shoes up for me as I couldn’t bend down but she was so sweet and kind she didn’t mind one bit. We walked to the station holding hands and it all now seemed so natural. Engineering works on the line were causing minor delays so we had around 20 minutes to wait for our train. To pass the time we walked to the far end of the platform. The idea being we could get in the last carriage and lessen our chances of being spotted when we arrived at Colwood. We both thought it easier that way. I would be able to leave the station first and Angela shortly after by the other exit. That way, hopefully, no suspicion would arise. Whilst waiting at the platform end we started cuddling and shared our first kiss. Numbers two, three, four, ninety nine, hundred, nine hundred and ninety nine and one thousand quickly followed and I held myself slightly away from Angela as I felt my willy stiffening. Throughout our journey home we snogged continuously, barely stopping for breath, and saving the last marathon one for the journey between the last two stations. On arrival, as planned, we left the train and without turning back I made my way swiftly to Grandad’s. I guess I must have had the biggest smile ever on my face. My kit was in one of Mum’s shopping bags, designer kit bags were a generation away yet. This bag was particularly useful as I could hold it in front of me until my erection finally subsided. For the first time in my entire school life I couldn’t wait for Monday to arrive.
Grandad was waiting for me and wanted to know how things had gone. I told him we had lost 3 – 0 and he then asked how I had performed. With a little bit of the devil in me my answer was “very well”. Little did he know I was talking about something quite different to football. That weekend seemed to drag like no other
CHAPTER 14
Let’s Do It Again!
Late on Sunday afternoon I popped up to see Grandad. I was feeling like I had recently conquered Everest. I was nice and clean after bathing off all the coal dust from working with Dad that morning and still full of excitement from that magical day before. As I walked up the short path to Grandad’s house Georgina came rushing out of her front door to ask how Saturday had gone. She wanted to know every single detail and I asked if she had spoken to Angela but she said she hadn’t and had not dared to call for her as her father was such a strict disciplinarian and she did not want to upset the apple cart. Finally she mentioned that she really envied Angela. What an awful position for me to be in. I had just found a girlfriend and then I find out my best friend, who is also a girl, had the ‘hots’ for me. Girls such as Georgina had great morals. They would always be truthful but would never double cross their friends and Angela and I were her real friends. She asked if Angela and I were going to go out again. “A stone certainty” was my reply, although nothing was arranged as yet.
At school on Monday Georgina was once again the go-between, passing messages back and forth between Angela and myself whilst Miss Page winked as I passed her in the hall. I handed in the mystery envelope to the Head and he came into our class during first lesson. Contained in the letter was a badge which was presented to those who had represented our County. I was called to the front of the class, where Miss Page mentioned to the class that she had seen me play. She also told them that I had suffered quite an injury and asked how it was doing but I had forgotten about the pain which could possibly have given me a reprieve from the coal yard on Sunday morning. Other things were not surprisingly clouding my mind. As Miss Page presented my badge to me I almost slipped up and called her Sue as I thanked her for her support. Red as a beetroot is the best way to describe Angela, but she need not have worried. Miss Sue Page, who lived a long way from the Arches, was now an Honorary Member. I knew she could be totally trusted.
As the class clapped I proudly held my badge aloft, for what seemed a lifetime. This was largely because Georgina, Angela and Sue kept the applause going way beyond what the achievement merited. At break time kids from the other classes asked what all of the commotion was about and it suddenly dawned on me I was getting celebrity status but other things were certainly stirring my thoughts far more than my football success.
‘Eventually, after lots of exchanges, Angela and I agreed to meet after school, not outside of school but near the far bridge on the main railway line. She would rush there straight from school and would be okay for an hour or so as she could tell Peter not to wait as she was staying behind for extra tuition. That would suit her Dad who so liked to brag of his kids ability to anyone in the pub who cared to listen. He was supposedly quite popular with the drinkers but presumably most were pissed most of the time. Getting away from school a bit early was easy for me as my last lesson was gardening and I was trusted with making sure that all of the gardening tools were returned present and correct. Starting to get them collected a bit early was as easy as pie. Mr Clark, the gardening teacher, was a real easy touch.
Rushing as fast as possible I quickly made for home. I said a quick hello to Mum and Daisy, got changed and said I was going out. We had arranged that Angela would walk to meet me but she also had to be certain not to let Peter or any of his mates notice her. It probably wasn’t that difficult as Peter’s mates didn’t number very many, thank the Lord he was so quiet. Arriving first I had a brainwave as I remembered that Grandad and I used to get through a hole in the wire fence a
nd sit inside a railway workers hut if it rained when we were collecting numbers. I recalled that the keys for these huts were always nailed onto the panel above the door. As Angela came up to me I suggested we go there, which we did as quickly as possible, after double checking that nobody had seen us. The key was there and we let ourselves in and locked the door from the inside. The fire was still aglow, although the coke fumes were a nuisance, so we opened the only window. Although Angela was dressed in her school clothes she looked wonderful. Her eyes were full of warmth until the first express train thundered by at around 60 mph and probably only two yards from where we were. She seemed worried but I comforted her with the knowledge that no express train had yet run into this hut. This made her laugh. We kissed and cuddled our time away but left in plenty of time so as not to cause any suspicion. This hut was to be our safe haven so we decided to make excuses for after school three days a week.
CHAPTER 15
Taking Chances
Without us realising, we couldn’t see or get enough of each other and so we began taking far greater risks, but I had the easier task, my only real worry was of Angela getting caught. The fact I couldn’t tell anyone except Georgina was quite exciting, I often used to laugh to myself when I heard the other boys talking about which girls they fancied. Most of the girls got a smutty mention here and there, but Georgina was never mentioned within earshot of me. They all knew she was special. Once I heard a couple of my best pals, another Billy and a Dave, talking about Angela’s big tits but I had to remain silent in order not to blow my cover, but inwardly I felt like giving them a good hard slap or a kick in the balls.
Meanwhile, Angela was having to tell white lies all of the time. Extra tuition, netball practice, popping round to Georgina’s house after school, she took chance after chance but somehow her parents never suspected anything. Her Dad, in particular, was far too wrapped up in his own self importance. It was hardly surprising that Angela’s sister had moved out as soon as the chance arose.
One of our biggest fears was that Angela’s Dad would question Georgina’s Dad Charlie, who was a regular in the pub. Charlie was a nurse at a large mental hospital across town and usually got semi drunk, supposedly to cope with the complications of his job. Charlie was a jolly sort of man, even without a drink inside him and I got on really well with him. He seemed to assume that Georgina and I were meant for each other but it was never to be. What might have been, who knows. Fortunately Charlie never got into deep conversations in the pub. His limitations were football and horse racing which was par for the course for the men in this part of town.
Angela and I met every Monday, Wednesday and Friday straight after school and went down to the railway hut, except the days when I had a football match. If there was a home match Angela would come along with Georgina but they only got to see the second half as the match began during last lesson because of the fading light during the winter months. Hence the damned homework, a chore I was finding increasingly difficult to fit in to my new and exciting lifestyle. I knuckled down though as my school work, however, could not suffer as it was a pre condition of my being allowed to play in both football teams. We also started going to Saturday morning flicks in the next town. We travelled on the same bus but didn’t sit together. We walked to the cinema separately and both paid 3d extra for the privilege of going upstairs in the circle, where very few kids went. Most of the kids who went to the flicks here came from our neighbouring town and although some of them knew me from football, none of them knew Angela so we assumed we were pretty safe. Our biggest dangers were adults who might accidentally drop us in it without realising. For that reason alone it was only in the cinema we had any contact and oh boy, what contact it was. We never watched a film right through. We were always kissing and cuddling until one Saturday morning, when I took my biggest risk, and put my hand up Angela’s jumper and inside her bra. She didn’t mind at all as I felt her tits for the first time. I felt so special and hoped I was the first. From that moment onwards I would get her top off whenever we went to the hut. I used to gaze at Angela in class and look at the outline of her chest through her cardigan and realised I was the one who had touched them. Most of the boys in my class would envy me if they knew but this was so special and private. Georgina had told me in the past that lots of her older brother’s friends really fancied Angela, so why she chose me, I didn’t have the faintest idea. Miss Page nabbed Angela one night as she was rushing out of school to meet me at the hut. By this time whoever was there first let themselves in and made themselves at home. On cold days it was better if the workers had used the hut as the fire was alight, but we were getting more confident and lit it for ourselves if we were feeling cold. It was so cosy and like our little home. On this particular day, I lit the fire, which was roaring by the time Angela arrived. She explained to me that Miss Page had spoken to her and asked if we were still together. Miss Page was amazed we had managed to keep things so quiet and said no members of staff had a clue and our secret was safe. She also told Angela to take care as young boys had strong desires.
Despite all of my feelings for Angela, I was still always drawn towards Woollies and I would go there if ever I had half a chance. The girl on the record counter had by now changed her hair style. It was much shorter which suited her down to the ground. It also showed her earrings which were just very plain small rings but boy did they make her look even more gorgeous. Every time I popped in, I noticed a glow in her eyes but she was a sales assistant, wasn’t that how they got customers to part with their money? After much soul searching I came to the conclusion that all I had ever spent there was the money for my record player. I couldn’t afford sweets and no matter how desperate I became I would never stoop so low as to buy their crap records. She was always so nice and friendly to me and I so wanted to find out her name but always lost my nerve. Her conversation was slowly becoming more intense but being so much younger I only really answered questions as opposed to instigating any conversation. On one occasion she asked if I had a girlfriend, she just seemed interested and I was liking her more every visit, although these were becoming sadly less frequent. Somehow she didn’t seem so concerned when Supervisors came round and they seemed to accept me being there. I mentioned to her that she was taking a chance and she said that she had told the Supervisors that I was her younger brother Peter.
CHAPTER 16
Mystery Man
Footie was going well and it made me feel extremely special that Angela and Georgina often came to watch the matches, although communication between us was rather minimal and matter of fact. Suddenly I was hoping that games would be called off. I didn’t like missing out on seeing Angela, either at the hut or Saturday morning pictures. She always came with me to County home games and stood with Miss Page, who was now becoming more of a friend than a teacher. Some games attracted really large crowds where others, such as school matches on rainy days, were watched by only a handful of spectators, mainly kids and sometimes an unfortunate parent who had lost his job. Whenever a parent showed up my first thoughts were ‘poor sod, he’s right down on his luck, please don’t end up at St Jude’s’, which incidentally now was running on a near empty tank and about to have the last rites administered. Employment was in reasonable supply if men were prepared to work for paltry wages. Bosses were beginning to get really greedy and four lads from Liverpool had somehow managed to change the World almost overnight. More families were getting cars and most were now getting televisions, including Mum and Dad. Grandad would come to our house on Friday evening after we had tea together and I had finished playing footie at the rec. He would stay with us until the box went off the air around 10 pm. I still remember the white dot slowly disappearing and the awful humming noise which sounded as though the television was about to explode.
Very few adults watched kids football unless they were a parent but I began to notice one very smart suited man making notes as he watched a County match and then a while later another slightly younger man see
med to be watching every match and making me feel very uneasy.
At one away game, the younger of these two men spent almost the entire match speaking to Mr Tindall, the games teacher. This wouldn’t be possible at home matches as Mr Tindall had to referee. I remember him being equally as bad at refereeing as those that people regularly criticise on the television today.
I told Angela and Georgina about this as I was rapidly becoming paranoid that somebody had been sent by Angela’s Dad to spy and report back to him. Or could it be a detective? I seemed to vaguely recognise the younger of the two but, for the life of me, I couldn’t think where I had seen him before.
Nothing much seemed to happen between Angela and myself until one evening after school when, for the first time, my hand ventured inside of Angela’s knickers. We were in the hut and had got carried away so much I had tried my luck and although it was nearly dark I saw her naked for the first time. We had both left in a very excited state and when I arrived at Grandad’s he said that Mum had put a note through his door telling me to return home straight away.
By this time of my life I was trusted with my own front door key and I let myself in and wandered straight into the front room where Mum and Daisy were watching the tele which was Daisy’s treat before tucking down for the night. Previously Dad had read to her but more often than not it was him who had fallen asleep and not Daisy. Mum didn’t seem at all troubled and then Dad called me into our dining room where the second man, who was always at football matches, was sitting at the table. My first thoughts were ‘oh bloody hell, surely he doesn’t know I have been in Angela’s knickers, he must have been following us for days, what excuse can I make? Mum and Dad will murder me and I am sure Angela’s Dad will do the same’! He was smartly dressed in black trousers, white shirt and a very expensive looking blue tie. His tie was very official looking, which further made me think that he was a plain clothed policeman. As soon as Dad told me who this man was I recognised where I had seen his picture before. His picture had been on one of the fag cards I had collected from bubble gum. They were still referred to as fag cards, although cigarette companies had withdrawn them many years previous. Most lads bought the bubble gum just to collect the cards and the bubble gum was nearly always thrown away without being chewed. It came to me in a flash that when I was collecting cards at around the age of 9 I had a picture of this man playing for a top football team. Had he retired from the game and joined the Police Force I wondered? He explained he was now a Manager of a team whose name I had heard of many times and knew they were not a Southern club and were based many miles from my home town. Unbeknown to me, firstly his scout and then himself had been watching me play for ages and were impressed enough to want me to join them. He asked Dad if he could take me into town to buy me a tea and Dad agreed but said I would have to pop into Grandad on the way to explain things as he might worry. This gentleman had a very luxurious car, I think it was a Jag but couldn’t really be sure. This was an adventure in itself as I had only ever been in a car once before and that was an old crate.