by Pam Weaver
When, after a few more months of uncertainty, coronation day – May 12th, 1937 – finally arrived, coachloads of people, including Cousin Lily and her new husband, along with Aunt Vinny, left Worthing in the small hours of the morning from the seafront, to be part of the crowds in London. Ruby knew they wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning, but hopefully they would have a day to remember.
As for the rest of the family, they had decided to have a get-together and enjoy the procession through the town. The coronation service was being broadcast live on the radio waves in the Odeon cinema. It was free to anyone, but Ruby said she preferred to wait for the newsreel film, which was being flown to Shoreham airport later in the day and would be screened that evening in the Odeon, the Rivoli and the Plaza cinemas. Ruby guessed the cinemas would be packed out for the first couple of evenings, so everyone planned to go on Saturday.
The plan for the day itself was to enjoy being together under one roof and catching up with each other’s news; to have a meal and then to gather on Heene Road to watch the procession as it went past. They should have a good view. It might not be as exciting as seeing the King and Queen in person, but there would be marching bands and floats and a carnival atmosphere. Ruby was looking forward to it.
She and her mother had shared the preparation of the meal. Rex staggered in with a roast beef joint, which Ruby covered in greaseproof paper and put into an old-fashioned hay box to keep warm, alongside the roast potatoes, parsnips and other vegetables.
As the people gathered in the street, a van drew up outside Mrs McCoody’s old place. Bea and May were keen to cross over the road and watch the procession from the other side, because without overhanging trees in the way, they would be able to watch the procession coming down the road for a lot longer. Rex wheeled Jim across, and it only remained for Ruby to join them. Instead she stood still and watched as a man aged about twenty-five climbed out of the car and walked up Mrs McCoody’s driveway. He knocked on the door. Getting no answer, he stood by the window and peered in.
Ruby had to do something. He obviously had no idea what had happened. He must be a guest and had booked to stay with Mrs McCoody some time ago. As she followed him up the drive, the man moved back to the front door and crouched down.
‘Auntie,’ he shouted through the letter box, ‘Auntie, are you in there?’
‘Excuse me,’ said Ruby, by now right behind him.
Startled, the man nearly jumped out of his skin.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Ruby apologized. ‘I didn’t mean to make you jump. Are you Mrs McCoody’s nephew?’
The man straightened up and backed away slightly. ‘So what if I am? What’s it to you?’
‘Oh dear,’ Ruby began. ‘I’m afraid I have some very bad news.’
The man stared at her in amazement. They could hear the sound of distant music. The marching bands must be on their way.
‘I live next door,’ Ruby went on. ‘I wonder, would you like to come in for a minute? It might be better to tell you indoors, rather than outside on the street.’
‘Tell me what?’ the man insisted. ‘Just say what you have to say.’
Ruby had no choice. ‘I’m sorry to tell you that your aunt has died.’
She could tell at once that it was a body-blow.
‘She went very peacefully,’ said Ruby, anxious to give the poor man a crumb of comfort. ‘Her solicitor has been trying to find you . . .’ Her voice trailed away as an angry voice interrupted them.
‘Oi, you there!’ A policeman was waiting by the gate. ‘Yes, you, sunshine.’ The man looked even more startled. ‘The parade is on its way,’ said the policeman. ‘Get this van out of the way.’
‘Parade?’ said the man faintly.
‘We’re having a coronation carnival,’ said Ruby quickly.
‘You can pull it up onto the drive,’ said the policeman. ‘There’s nobody living in that house, but get it off the street – and look sharp about it.’
‘This man is Mrs McCoody’s nephew,’ Ruby explained, as the pair of them hurried back down the drive.
‘Oh,’ the policeman nodded curtly. ‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ he said crisply, ‘but you need to get this van out of the way.’
The music was getting louder all the time. Given another five minutes, the parade would be upon them. The man climbed hurriedly into the driver’s seat and swung the van off the road. Ruby could see a woman and a little girl inside. Should she stay and help them? In the end she decided that if they were still in the van when the parade had passed, she would offer to tell them the name of the solicitor. He would most likely have the key, but he probably wouldn’t be back at his desk until tomorrow. Coronation Day had been declared a national holiday. Ruby waved at them, then hurried across the road to find the rest of her family.
The procession wasn’t long, but everybody enjoyed watching the floats and seeing friends and neighbours taking part. May was on the back of a lorry, with all her friends from the ballet class. When she saw her mother and Ruby she gave them a shy wave as they cheered her on. The floats continued on towards the seafront and the centre of town. By the time the parade reached Homefield Park, Rex would be waiting there to bring May back home in the car.
The day itself was fine, but there was still a bit of a chill in the air. Everyone had their fingers crossed that in London it would be warm and sunny. After the Year of the Three Kings, the whole country was eager to settle back down to normal life, even though they knew in their hearts that across the Channel the whole of Europe trembled. In Spain the Civil War raged on, with thousands feared dead; in Germany, Hitler was gaining the admiration of other leaders, like Benito Mussolini; and just a few days before, in America, the majestic airship the Hindenburg had crashed while attempting to dock, killing thirty-five people.
It took about thirty minutes for the rest of the parade to pass and then everyone in Heene Road drifted back home. Ruby glanced over at Mrs McCoody’s driveway. The van was still there, but there was no sign of her nephew or his family. She was suddenly concerned for them. If they had come from a distance, the likelihood of having had anything to eat was remote. There was certainly no food at all in the house. Ruby, at the behest of the solicitor, had removed everything from the kitchen and larder, to discourage rats.
‘You go on in, Mum,’ said Ruby. ‘I just want to check that they’re all right. I may invite them to join us to eat.’
Bea nodded and Ruby headed up the path. She knocked for some time before the woman came to the door, and even then opened it only a crack. Ruby could see just half of her face, but she looked pale and tired. Her hair hung loose and was badly in need of a wash.
‘Oh, hello,’ Ruby said brightly. ‘I’m sorry to intrude, but I spoke to your husband before the parade. I live next door. I was just wondering if you would like to come and eat with us after your journey. You’d be most welcome.’
‘No thanks,’ said the woman dully.
Ruby didn’t want to give up. ‘My little sister was on one of the floats in the parade,’ she said. ‘I’m sure she would love to play with your little girl. Have you come very far?’
The woman seemed a bit alarmed. She closed the door firmly.
Ruby was stunned. How rude! The man was coming down the street carrying what looked like fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. They met by the gate and Ruby smiled. ‘I’m so glad you had a key to get in. I’ve just asked your wife if you would all like to pop round to my place for a drink and something to eat. You’d be most welcome.’
‘We’ve been on the road all day,’ said the man. ‘We’re too tired.’
Ruby felt a bit affronted. No ‘thank you’, no acknowledgement of her kindness? ‘I’m so sorry you’ve come here to find bad news. Were you and your aunt very close?’ she asked, determined to be pleasant. ‘My name is Mrs Searle. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your stay a pleasant one.’
But the man walked right past her and up the path. Ruby stared after him. How o
dd. What strange people.
Once in Mrs McCoody’s house, Eric put the fish and chips on the kitchen table. Lena had found plates, knives and forks and had laid the table.
‘I’ll repair the kitchen door tomorrow,’ said Eric. ‘It only needs the hinge replacing.’
Lena nodded and sat Jean on a cushion on the chair, then pushed her closer to the table.
‘Keep away from that nosy cow next door,’ said Eric, unwrapping the food. ‘She asks far too many bloody questions.’
CHAPTER 12
Cousin Lily came by the next evening to tell the family about her coach trip to London with Nick and Aunt Vinny. She looked very tired, but it had obviously been the trip of a lifetime. Ruby sat her at the kitchen table, and she and Jim listened with rapt attention.
‘When the coach dropped us,’ Lily said, ‘we managed to find a spot along Northumberland Avenue.’
‘Where’s that?’ asked Ruby. She had never been to London, and although she knew the names of all the greatest landmarks, she’d never heard of Northumberland Avenue.
‘It’s a road that leads to Trafalgar Square,’ Lily explained, and at last Ruby got her bearings.
Even though they had arrived in the capital very early in the morning, the crowds were already four or five deep. ‘I was so disappointed. Even if I jumped up, I still couldn’t see over the heads of the people,’ she said, ‘so Nick bought me a periscope.’ She produced it from her bag. It was a long white tube with a mirror at one end. Ruby was fascinated when her cousin showed her how to use it. ‘It was the only way to see anything,’ said Lily. Ruby thought it was a very clever idea.
‘We’re going to see it on the newsreel on Saturday,’ said Ruby. ‘They’re showing it from tonight, but Mum and I thought we’d wait until all the fuss has died down.’
‘Good idea,’ said Lily, ‘but it won’t be nearly the same as the real thing.’
Ruby was forced to agree, especially when Lily talked of the marching bands, the colourful uniforms, the Indian army, the New Zealanders and the Scottish pipe-bands of the British army.
‘And when we saw the golden coach,’ said Lily, her eyes shining with excitement, ‘we all waved our hankies and cheered like mad.’
How Ruby wished she’d been able to be there too. She sighed inwardly. It sounded wonderful.
The last time he’d been in this church, Jim was just a kid. Every Sunday the children in the orphanage walked here in a crocodile to attend the morning service. They’d also take the same route on Good Friday and on Ascension Day – which, for some reason he’d never quite fathomed out, was always on a Thursday.
He looked around, but the person who had wanted to meet him wasn’t waiting outside. Jim pushed the wheelchair towards the door of the church. Most of the services here had been fairly nondescript, but there was one that stuck in his memory. That was the Sunday when the children had been invited to the christening of Mr Starling’s baby. He smiled to himself. That baby would be in her twenties by now. They’d arrived a bit too early, and while the well-behaved children waited in a neat line along the path, Jim and his friend Danny took the opportunity to skip off and wander around the churchyard. Jim remembered that it had seemed like a fantastic place. In places the grass was almost up to his waist, and the whole area was a haven for dragonflies and bees.
He smiled as he recalled the moment when he’d found the frog. It was hidden in a damp area and sitting so still that he’d almost trodden on it. He picked it up and fell in love with it straight away. Danny had wanted to hold it, but Jim decided it was his, and his alone. They put the frog on a tombstone and encouraged it to jump. That frog was a brilliant little jumper – it leapt for miles. Hearing the master shouting at the boys to ‘keep in line’, they made their way back to the others. They’d hardly been missed, certainly not by the staff anyway.
Jim pushed the heavy oak door now and, manoeuvring the wheelchair awkwardly, managed to get inside. It hurt his back as he went down the deep step, but he made it. These places hadn’t been built for people like him. You had to be hale and hearty to get inside God’s house, it seemed.
As usual, the inside of the church smelled musty and damp. Jim remembered spotting a birdbath-thing just inside the door. It was the font, of course, but he didn’t know that at the time. Curiosity drew him there and he lifted the lid and dipped his finger in the water.
‘Don’t let old Brown see,’ he’d whispered to Danny, and then he’d put the frog into the water. He and Danny watched it doing breaststroke, until one of the masters came over and clipped Danny on the head and told them to sit down. A few minutes later Mr Starling’s family arrived, complete with the bawling baby.
Jim pushed the wheelchair down the aisle and found the very pew where he and Danny had sat. He stared at the high altar, recalling the moment the vicar turned up and the ceremony finally began.
‘Hello, Jim.’
Mr Starling’s sudden appearance made him jump. Jim wouldn’t have recognized him in any other setting, but seeing him standing next to Mr Brown, he realized that this wizened old man was indeed his former teacher. The years hadn’t been kind to him.
They exchanged pleasantries and talked a little of their memories of the home and then Mr Brown said, ‘Walter, Jim wanted to know about his parents. You were in the office a lot of the time – can you tell him anything?’
Jim hadn’t known Mr Starling was called Walter. It felt strange knowing such an intimate detail. It made his former teacher something more than just the voice of authority. It made him somehow more human.
‘I can’t tell you much,’ he said. ‘It was all very hush-hush.’
‘Were they healthy?’ Jim asked. ‘I mean, did they have something physically wrong with them, that they couldn’t look after me?’
Mr Starling shook his head. ‘Not as far as I can remember.’
‘Then if they didn’t want me, why didn’t they let me go for adoption?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Mr Starling. ‘I’m sorry. It was all so very long ago.’
‘Did you ever see them?’
‘No.’
Jim stared at the floor. ‘Then you can’t help me much.’
‘I can give you the name of the solicitor who dealt with the legal side of things.’
Jim’s head shot up. ‘Is he still alive?’
Mr Starling shook his head. ‘I don’t know, but the offices are still there, and the same name is on the board outside. It’s Naiper-Raikes. His offices are in Liverpool Terrace.’ He told them he had to get back. He didn’t often leave the house and, if he was gone too long, his daughter would be missing him.
‘When I came in, I was remembering her christening,’ said Jim, as the three men walked back up the aisle. ‘Us boys held our breath when the vicar lifted the lid on that font.’
‘I always wondered,’ said Mr Starling, ‘did you plan it?’
Jim shook his head. ‘Your baby was yelling her head off and, as the vicar cupped cold water all over her head, the frog took his chance for freedom.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Mr Brown. ‘I remember now. It landed on the edge of the font and sat there, croaking gently and looking around.’
Jim smiled and Mr Starling actually laughed. ‘It landed on the vicar’s sleeve. Half of my relatives legged it to the back of the church, and my mother was so shocked that she all but fainted.’
‘What happened to the frog?’ Mr Brown asked.
‘It went under one of the pews,’ said Jim. ‘Us boys cornered him halfway down the aisle and, while everyone else tried to calm everybody down, I took him back outside. I was sad to let him go.’
The two old men chuckled. ‘You were a bit of a tyke, Jim Searle,’ said Mr Brown.
‘I meant no harm,’ said Jim. ‘I was just curious.’
They helped him out through the awkward doorway and set him back on the path. ‘It’s been nice seeing you again, lad,’ said Mr Brown. ‘Good luck with the solicitor.’
‘If you take my
advice,’ said Mr Starling, ‘you’ll let sleeping dogs lie. It might not do you any good, knowing the truth.’
‘I know,’ said Jim as they all shook hands, ‘but I feel driven to do it.’
Ruby could hardly wait for Saturday evening to come, when she would see the pictures of the coronation. She’d kept a lookout for the family next door, but they hadn’t even drawn their curtains back. The van was still on the driveway, so they must be inside, but they kept themselves to themselves. Pity – if she’d managed to catch them, she would have asked them to join them at the cinema.
She cleaned the rooms, once her overnighters left after breakfast. She had some more people coming on Sunday afternoon and they were staying until the following Friday, so she was facing a busy week. The trip to the Odeon this evening would make a welcome break. Jim had refused to come – as usual. Ruby was a little annoyed, because he never seemed to want to do anything together these days. He spent money they could ill afford on more and more magazines and, apart from sitting in the garden for a while, or playing with the monkey, he was doing crosswords. It frustrated her and she grumbled every now and then, but he would make her feel bad by reminding her that the way he was wasn’t his fault. She dropped hints to find out where he’d gone that afternoon, but he wouldn’t tell her anything. It was as if he couldn’t talk about it.
She had planned to wait until her actual birthday before wearing her lingerie, but late that afternoon she changed her mind. She might save the nightie, but she would put on the underwear. She was only going to the pictures with her mum, Aunt Vinny and Lily, but she didn’t care. Tonight she wanted to feel a bit special. The material felt lovely against her skin. She smiled as she pulled her dress over it. Her hair was looking good as well, and her hands were beginning to feel a lot more attractive too. Following Rachel’s advice, Ruby had been creaming them thoroughly at night. She’d even worn cotton gloves in bed, so that her skin would reap the benefit of the moisturizing hand cream she’d put on. She heard voices downstairs and knew that her mother, aunt and cousin had arrived with her father and May as well. They were going to walk down to the town together, and after the pictures they planned to drop into the licensed bar underneath. As she walked downstairs and said goodbye to Jim, Ruby felt more alive than she had done in ages.