A Coventry Kid's Tale

Chapter 4: Approx 8 years old

Somewhere around Christmas time the pantomime was always a must for the family. To the Coventry Hippodrome the family would all go. Sitting themselves down in the "gods" the child would be entranced from start to finish. The child waited patiently for the only love of his life to come on the stage, and when she appeared the child would drool with saliva in quiet anticipation with the song to come. When it came time "EVE BOSWELL" would sing "Picking a Chicken with me". Oh, the child would dream about picking that chicken with Eve Boswell for years. But never did!!!!! The only thing wrong about sitting in the "gods" was that the actors on the stage could never throw the rubber hammers far enough to reach them, so only the children in the stalls got to fight over them. A small price to pay though after seeing Eve Boswell.

In the winter, to relieve the boredom, the father would say "We will all go for a walk", so a walk we all went. It was usual to go window shopping around town. This the child liked, for head down he would look for lost money in the gutters. Now one night to beat all nights the child had walked round town and had not found a penny, but upon walking down Ford Street he came upon a purse. Now this purse was unusual in the fact it was stuffed with hundreds of pounds, the child could not believe his luck. Running up to Fagin (sorry, meant father) the child presented the purse. "Son" he said "where did you find this?". There the child pointed, upon looking the father saw a woman in tears being consoled by her husband. "Excuse me" said the father "but have you lost something?". "My purse" said the woman. "Is this the purse?" said the father. "Yes" said the woman, grabbing the purse and jumping on a buzz leaving the child out of pocket. "Son" said the father "for being honest here is half-a-crown". The child took it gleefully, but the child remembered who rewarded his honesty. The child also remembered what his father said, "They were that relieved at getting their money back they forgot to say thank you". Oh, for a wise father. On another walk the child's mother admired a fur coat in a shop window. This shop was in Hertford Street. While his mother was admiring the fur coat, the father and child were admiring the second hand pocket watches which had come from the railway. The father admired the station master's watch, the child admired anything. Home they all went, but many weeks later on the child's mother's birthday a fur coat appeared. The mother was very pleased, so was father with his station master's watch, and the child with his porter's watch. The station master's watch still keeps time to this day "2009".