Just an ordinary lad
............to 1970.........…
It's late summer and dads outside washing his lordships Bentley, the year is as I recall 1967 and I'm almost 3, we're on a beautiful
private estate in Northern Ireland owned by one of the most influential and
well respected gentry of the United Kingdom.
Gerry his lordship's son is playing football on the lawn
in front of the garages were dad is washing the cars. He's about 11 I think
and on his last week of holidays before he goes back to his english boarding
school.
Suddenly we hear the distant hum and we all look out to the
lake, Gerry shouts they're coming let's run down to meet them, dad and Gerry run
on and mum picks me up to watch, out of the sky a bi-plane drops down, it has big ski like
structures where the wheels should be and it swoops down onto the water
at the bottom of the garden where dad and Gerry are stood, Gerry waving and
jumping shouting out, but we can't hear what he's shouting over the noise of the
planes engines.
The plane lands and taxis into the quayside just like a
motorboat would and is met by several staff. They wait for the doors to open, a
very distinguished gentleman steps out of the plane closely followed by a tall
man in military uniform (I found out many years later he was commander in chief
of the British army). Dad helped the staff unload the plane onto the back of
the trailer pulled by a small blue fordson tractor that was used around the
estate for all sorts. "Bring up to the house Willy" his lordship shouted
to dad, " the old Bentleys looking good, lovely job you've made of her"
he continued, dad raised his hand to acknowledge the comments, dad wasn't for
chat, especially with such an important person as the Duke.
Dad was a train fireman in the late fifties then in 1958
Lord Beacham decided trains were no longer the most cost effective means of
transport and followed many closures of stations and lines, many men lost jobs
including dad and had no option but to seek work elsewhere. Ice cream man, abbatoir, general labouring, bus driving were
amongst many jobs dad endured before his cousin one day said the old duke is
looking for a chauffeur and general handyman, go for it, I'll put in a good word
with the butler he's a friend of Alice's.
A day later off dad went to the estate for the
interview, complete with wedding suit duly dusted down, clean crisp shirt, tie
and the obligatory clean hanky that some 50 years later mum would still say to
myself have you got a clean hanky?
Several days passed and nothing was heard and then out of
the blue one morning the editor of the local newspaper that owned the flat
above that we lived in, rattled the door............."Willy there's a letter for
you, the delivery boy brought it back from the lodge this morning, very posh
envelope it must be important". dad opened the door his bus uniform almost
complete as his shift started in an hour, "thanks Ivan" said dad not
letting on that he was expecting anything..........................................
To be continued.........................post me a message if you want some more?
