A Coventry Kid's Tale

Chapter 9: 13 years old

Home they all went and back to school. Also at this time the child started Confirmation Classes at the vicarage, ready to be a confirmed member of the church. Every Thursday night for 13 weeks he attended these classes. The vicar, Rev. Jones, was a very diplomatic vicar. Whenever he saw the child fall asleep in an armchair he would ask the child a question. The child with bloodshot eyes would then have to guess what the vicar had been talking about. He always got it wrong. So the vicar took the child to one side and suggested to him that it might be better to sit in an upright chair. This the child did and still fell asleep!!!!! My how the child could sleep!

Brother Stuart, learning to be a vicar, asked the child if he knew anyone who had a tape recorder. The child said "Yes, me. Would you like to use it?". So the child took his tape recorder along to the next confirmation class hoping to escape a lesson. It didn't work, he still had to attend the class. The tape recorder the child bought by saving all his "message money", which he gave to his mother to keep. This took the child a long time but what pride he took when he walked into the shop in Whitefriar's Street and paid cash for the tape recorder, a whole £18. A small fortune.

While attending the confirmation classes the child met Clive Cartwright, who talked him into joining the A.T.C. (Air Training Corps) 8F squadron, which was round the back of the science block at Freddie's. The child's life was now getting very busy.

Tuesday night = the Locarno
Wednesday night = A.T.C.
Thursday night = confirmation classes
Friday night = the Locarno (over 18s night)
Saturday night = pictures
Sunday morning = A.T.C.
Monday night = the Cov boys club

It was no wonder the child fell asleep in confirmation classes?
This was only his night time agenda, in the summer he would go swimming all day at the "Gossey", being the Gosford Park swimming pool. When that got too busy he would cycle to Kenilworth Park, which had a small swimming pool, but you could stay all day. Taking a picnic with him, the child and his friends, using their bicycle pumps as water pistols, would play all day and then cycle back home. What a long day!