by Joan Jonker
‘Well, I used to run to the corner shop for our mam when she ran out of anything, so you’ll be able to do that for her. And ye’re big and ugly enough to fill the coal scuttle before yer go to school in the mornings as well.’
‘Blimey! All that for a penny comic? Oh, I’ll have to give it some careful consideration before I agree to those terms.’
‘If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t spend too much time in considering, son,’ Beth said, her face serious as though the subject was one of importance. ‘With the penny pocket-money I give yer, that means yer’d have tuppence in yer pocket every Saturday. Enough to go to a matinee at the pictures, or even buy two comics.’
Joey didn’t intend to spend too much time in consideration, but it wouldn’t do to give in too easily or his sister would be adding more chores for him to do. After all, as he’d said, girls were bossy beggars. Mind you, he didn’t need the enticement of a penny to do jobs for his mam, he’d do them anyway ’cos he loved her. Still, as he’d heard his grandma saying, ‘If yer look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves.’ So if there was a penny going spare, he may as well be the one to look after it. ‘Okay, Ginny, ye’re on.’
Her face deadpan, Ginny said, ‘Oh, I almost forgot. I’d like yer to clean me shoes every night for me, too.’
His eyes bulged, his jaw dropped, and the look of utter horror on the boy’s face was enough to send his parents and sister into fits of laughter. When he’d recovered enough to speak, he said through gritted teeth, ‘Yer know what you can do, don’t yer? Yer can go and take a running jump.’
‘Oh, son, if only yer could have seen yer face.’ Beth wiped away a tear of laughter. ‘It was a picture no artist could paint.’
‘We’re going to have trouble with her,’ Joey grunted, jerking his head towards his sister. ‘If she thinks I’m going to be her slave for a penny, she’s got another think coming. If she wants a slave, she should look in a second-hand shop for an old lamp, like what Aladdin had. If she gave it a good rub a genie would appear and he’d be her slave and give her three wishes.’
Ginny was shaking with laughter. ‘I don’t want yer to be me slave, Joey! I’m not that big-headed. I’ll be quite happy for yer to be me dogsbody.’
The boy’s brown eyes were twinkling with mischief and he was having a struggle to keep his face straight. ‘Mam, d’yer know what Mrs Flynn next door shouts when she’s chasing the kids away from her front door? I know I’ll get a smack if I say it, so would you do it for me? Just pretend ye’re Mrs Flynn and tell our Ginny what to do.’
‘I will not! I know I’ve told you to sod off when yer’ve been getting under me feet and I’ve been in a bit of a paddy, but it’s not ladylike and I don’t think I should be saying it to Ginny on behalf of a thirteen-year-old boy. So no, I will not tell yer sister to sod off.’
Joey gave a cheeky grin. ‘Thanks, Mam, that should do it.’
The two children were very close, and would stick together through thick and thin. All the kids in the street knew that if they picked on one of the Porter kids, they’d have the other one to reckon with. They shared many of their parents’ characteristics, one being a fine sense of humour. This came into play now as Ginny said, ‘Ay, Mam, where’s the nearest second-hand shop from here? I’d be better off with a genie who wouldn’t answer me back and wouldn’t be moaning all the time. And I’d probably get an old lamp for a couple of coppers.’
‘There’s a second-hand shop on Rice Lane, sunshine,’ Beth said. ‘I’ll have a look in there next time I’m passing.’
Andy was sitting shaking his head. ‘I don’t know who’s the daftest, ye’re all crazy.’
‘Ay, Dad, if yer think we’re crazy, yer should come with me tonight to the Flynns’ for half-an-hour. There’s never a dull moment in there with Mrs Flynn, she’s an absolute scream. And Mr Flynn and David are the same – they’re all crazy. Going in there is as good as going to the pictures to see Laurel and Hardy. They never stop laughing and talking and it’s hard to get a word in edgeways.’ Ginny heard the piercing whistle of the kettle and jumped from her chair. ‘I’ll make the tea while Joey clears the table.’
Her brother heaved a sigh. ‘See, I told yer, all girls are bossy.’ He got to his feet and began to collect the empty plates. Then he had a thought and called through to the kitchen, ‘If they never stop talking, and yer can’t get a word in edgeways, how are you and Joan ever going to tell each other where yer’d like to work?’
‘Easy-peasy,’ Ginny called back. ‘We let them get on with it while we sit on the stairs for some privacy. Yer see, Joey, where there’s a will, there’s a way.’
Dot Flynn was tall and thin, with mousy-coloured hair and hazel eyes. She was an active woman, always on the go, and she kept her house like a new pin. Although she talked a lot, and her language was sometimes very colourful, she had a heart as big as a week. She would never turn anyone away if they were in need. Like all their neighbours, the Flynns didn’t have much money, but Dot would never see anyone without a loaf in the house, or a penny for the gas meter. They were a bit better off financially now their fifteen-year-old son, David, was working, even though he earned very little as an apprentice, and Dot was happy with her lot in life, so happy and content that she was seldom seen without a smile on her face. When she opened the door to Ginny that night, she was beaming.
‘You again, is it, girl? I’m beginning to get confused into thinking I’ve got two daughters.’
Ginny grinned as she stepped into the tiny hall. ‘Me mam’s just asked me why I don’t bring me bed down.’
‘Trying to get rid of yer, is she? Well, tell her there’s no room at the inn, we’re fully booked.’ Dot closed the door and pushed the girl into the living room. ‘Joan’s down the yard, but she won’t be long ’cos it’s freezing in that lavvy.’
‘Oh, blimey, look who’s here.’ David’s long legs were stretched out in front of the fire. He was tall for his age, and a nice-looking lad with his father’s sandy hair and blue eyes. He had a happy, open face, the only flaw on it the few pimples dotted on his chin and cheeks. They were the bane of his life, a real embarrassment, and he found little consolation in his mother telling him that all lads his age suffered from them, and they’d disappear as he got older. ‘I suppose you and our Joan are going to talk the socks off each other for a few hours and we’ll get no peace.’
‘That’s no way to talk to a visitor.’ Dot pushed at his legs. ‘Get those long things out of the way and let someone else see the fire.’
The man of the house, Bill, lowered his paper. ‘Hello, love, come and get a warm and take no notice of the queer feller. Put his ignorance down to his age.’
David sat up straight. ‘Ay, I’m not ignorant!’
Ginny stood near the fire rubbing her hands. ‘No, I wouldn’t say yer were ignorant, David! It’s just that yer’ve got no manners.’
When Joan came in her nose was bright red and her teeth were chattering. ‘I wish we had an inside lavvy, Mam, like some people do. Two of the girls in our class have got a proper bathroom in their houses.’
‘Good for them, girl! And one of these days, yer never know, we might have a house with a bathroom, too! But until then, light of my life, yer’ll just have to make do with an outside lavvy and a tin bath. That’s all me and yer dad have ever known and it hasn’t done us no harm. We might have had frozen backsides a few times, but nothing more serious. Besides, while ye’re sitting on the throne out there, ye’re exposed to the elements with the door falling to pieces and ye’re getting plenty of fresh air. That’s more than yer posh friends at school get. I bet they haven’t got rosy cheeks – on their faces or their backsides.’
‘Oh, Mam, d’yer have to be so rude?’ Joan raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘Honest, I’d be ashamed to take yer anywhere.’
‘Ah, what a shame, I’ve upset yer! Silly me, I keep forgetting yer have a very sensitive and delicate nature. So I’ll rephrase what I’ve just said for you
r benefit.’ Her arms wrapped around her thin waist, Dot struck a pose. ‘I do hope your posterior didn’t suffer from the icy winds that are inclined to blow under the door of our outside lavatory. We could, of course, repair the door, but I’m inclined to be against that idea because I believe it has its advantages. You see, if it was comfortable out there, my husband would slip down the yard when no one was looking, with the Echo tucked under his arm, and he’d sit there for hours on end, reading it from cover to cover, while we’d be running around with our legs crossed.’
Joan exchanged looks with Ginny and they both burst out laughing. But the loudest laugh came from Bill because his wife had him spot on. He enjoyed the quietness of the lavvy to read the paper in peace, and had made a habit of it. Mind you, he didn’t sit for hours, but why worry about a small detail when people were having a laugh at his expense? His wife was able to make a joke out of anything and he admired her for that. He remembered the first time he’d taken her out on a date and thought now what a pleasure it still was to be in her company. Attractive, warm and funny, it was a combination he couldn’t resist and they’d married the following year.
‘I hope the whole street haven’t been told about the Echo, the lavvy and me? Or is that why Mrs Stevenson from number three always has a grin on her face when she sees me?’
Dot chuckled. ‘Bill, ye’re the talk of Irwin’s, the butcher’s, the baker’s and the candlestick maker’s. Not to mention every wash-house from here to the Pier Head.’
Thinking, wrongly as it happened, that Mr Flynn might be feeling embarrassed, Ginny came to his aid. ‘My dad reads the Echo in the lavvy, too! But only when the weather’s warm, like, not if it’s freezing cold.’
‘I knew your dad was a man after me own heart, we seem to share a lot in common. In fact, right now I bet he’s wishing the same thing as me – that we were going to the pub for a pint.’
‘You crafty bugger, Bill Flynn!’ Dot wagged one finger. ‘Yer got that in very nicely, didn’t yer?’
‘Yer wouldn’t begrudge yer hard-working husband a pint, now would yer? It’s not as though I’m out every night drinking until the pubs close. One pint never did no one any harm.’
‘Well, if you’re going out, I’m going out. You go to the pub with Andy and I’ll sit with Beth to pass an hour away.’
David groaned. ‘Ye’re not both going out and leaving me with these two, are yer? I’ll not only be bored stiff, I’ll have an earache into the bargain ’cos they natter non-stop. I wouldn’t mind if it was anything interesting, but it’s just rubbish.’
‘It won’t be rubbish tonight, ’cos we’re going to discuss what we want to do when we leave school.’ Joan pulled tongues at her brother. ‘Just because ye’re fifteen doesn’t mean ye’re all grown up, yer know. Even though ye’re a year older than me and Ginny, it doesn’t mean to say ye’re more intelligent. I bet we could both knock spots off yer.’
‘Ginny might, but you certainly couldn’t, ye’re as thick as two short planks. Me dad asked if yer’d like him to get an application form for yer from Dunlop’s, but yer dithered and couldn’t make up yer mind. And yer’d stand a good chance of being accepted with me and me dad working there.’
‘Ooh, that would be good, Joan,’ Ginny said. ‘They’re bound to look more sympathetically at an application from an employee’s relative.’
‘Yeah, but what about you? I thought the idea was that we’d try and get a job together. That’s what we said.’
‘I know what we said, Joan, but it mightn’t be possible. Me dad said tonight we might have to take what’s on offer.’
‘And yer dad was right,’ Dot said. ‘There’s thousands of people out of work in Liverpool, mostly men with families to keep. Times are hard, and the men that have got a job are lucky. And you’re lucky, too, ’cos employers are more likely to take school-leavers on because they don’t have to pay them much in wages.’
‘You’re telling me,’ David said. ‘I get paid in buttons, even though I work as hard as the older men do.’
‘Yer’ve got a job, son, so stop moaning.’ Bill pushed himself up from the couch. ‘I’ll swill me face and then give Andy a knock.’
‘I’ll nip next door and let him know, so he can start getting ready.’ As Dot was slipping her arms into her coat, she looked at Ginny. ‘Yer know, girl, Bill could get you an application form for Dunlop’s, if yer want. Not that it means yer’d definitely get a job, but it’s worth a try.’
‘Thanks, Mrs Flynn, but I’ll see what teacher has to say tomorrow. Yer see, I quite like the idea of working in a shop if it’s possible. I don’t know if there’ll be any vacancies, not with so many of us leaving school and looking for a job, but I’d like to see what Miss Jackson has to say first.’
‘If that’s what yer fancy, girl, then you go all out for it. But it’s only three weeks to Christmas now, so yer better start putting the feelers out. As yer say, there’ll be hundreds of kids looking for work and I doubt if there’s that many jobs going. Have a talk with yer teacher tomorrow and see if she has any ideas.’ Dot had her hand on the door handle when she turned to look at her son. ‘You behave yerself, David, and don’t be giving the girls a dog’s life. Bury yer head in a book or something, and leave them to it. I’m only next door if anyone needs me for anything.’
Bill came through from the kitchen with a towel in his hand. ‘Are you still here?’
‘I’m going, I’m going, I’m going! Ta-ra!’
Chapter Two
There was surprise on Beth’s face when she opened the door. ‘I didn’t expect to see you, I thought yer’d be curled up in front of the fire.’
‘I would have been if my feller hadn’t decided he felt like a pint.’ Dot brushed past and went into the living room. She ruffled Joey’s hair while smiling at Andy. ‘Bill will be knocking any minute to see if yer feel like going down to the pub with him.’
Andy beamed as he quickly vacated his chair. ‘I never say no to a pint, Dot, so I’d better give meself a swill before he comes.’ On his way to the kitchen he added, ‘I’m not getting changed, though, he’ll have to take me as I am.’
‘Bill’s not getting changed either, so yer’ll be in good company. And anyway, nobody goes to the pub dressed up, they’d get laughed at.’
Beth shook her head. ‘I think they want their bumps feeling, going out on a night like this. They’ll be frozen before they get there, then they’ll stand in a draughty pub drinking cold beer. They’re crazy!’
Andy put his head around the kitchen door. ‘Yer don’t begrudge me a pint, do yer, love? I mean, if yer don’t want me to go, I won’t.’
‘Oh, aye, and be the worst in the world! No, if you’re daft enough to leave a nice roaring fire, then far be it from me to stop yer.’ There was a tenderness in Beth’s eyes which belied her words. She would never begrudge her husband anything. ‘Just remember Christmas isn’t far off and yer’ll need money to buy presents, so don’t go mad. No whisky, just two pints of beer and that’s yer lot.’
‘Whisky! When have I ever bought a glass of whisky? I’m not partial to it, so I wouldn’t buy it even if I was loaded. I much prefer a glass of bitter.’
When the knock came, Andy backed into the kitchen. ‘I’ll just run the comb through me hair, then I’m ready. So there’s no need for you to leave yer warm spot, I’ll open the door to Bill and grab me coat off the peg at the same time.’
But old habits die hard, and Beth followed him to the door. ‘I’ll keep the fire going for yer and have the kettle on the boil.’
When she heard the front door close, Dot sighed and shook her head. ‘I suppose yer know that with you spoiling Andy, my feller thinks he should get the same treatment? Ye’re making all the women in the street suffer ’cos ye’re too soft with him.’
Beth used all her strength to push the heavy couch nearer to the fire. ‘I don’t know how yer have the nerve to say that, Dot Flynn! No man is more spoiled than your Bill! At least I don’t have Andy’s slip
pers warming by the fire when he comes in, and I don’t put two spoonsful of sugar in his tea and even stir it for him.’
Joey’s head was moving from side to side as he kept up with their talk. He loved it when his Auntie Dot from next door came in, she was so funny. She wasn’t his real auntie of course, like Auntie Flo from next door the other side wasn’t his real auntie, but they were as good as.
‘Ye gods and little fishes! Warming my feller’s slippers and stirring his tea isn’t spoiling him, girl! It’s not like I wait on him hand and foot.’
Beth waved to one end of the couch. ‘Sit yerself down there and get comfortable. And shut up about your feller, ’cos we all know yer check him every morning before he goes to work, to make sure his ears are clean and he hasn’t got a tidemark.’
The springs in the couch twanged when Dot plonked herself down. And when she began to shake with laughter, they twanged even louder. ‘Ay, we often have a laugh about tidemarks. Bill says he’s got one ear sticks out more than the other because his mam used to pull at it when she was dragging him back to the kitchen sink every morning to get a proper wash. I tell him it’s that one ear sticking out what stops him from being more handsome than your feller.’ She noticed Joey sitting quietly with his head bent over the open book on his knee, which he obviously wasn’t reading. ‘How are you, lad? Are yer fed up listening to what Ginny’s going to do when she leaves school and gets a job? I know I’m fed up with our Joan. She thinks she’s going to break eggs with a big stick on her first week’s wages. It’s all a novelty to her and I’ve had a bet with meself that it’ll be two weeks before the bubble bursts and she realises yer have to work for yer money.’
There came a frantic rapping on the window and both women jumped. ‘In the name of God, who can this be?’ Dot pushed herself up. ‘They’ll get a piece of my mind, frightening us like that. I nearly jumped out of me skin.’