Just an Ordinary Lad

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?