A Coventry Kid's Tale

Chapter 13: 15 years old

The learning never stopped for the child, it was relentless. He plucked up the courage to ask No.3 out for a date. "Yes" she said. Amazed, the child said when and where. So to the pictures with Hazel Hall he went. As per usual, upon seeing her home he missed the last buzz and had to walk home from Red Lane....

Coming up to Easter the child was again going on the school holiday to Belgium. This time though girls were going too. On the coach the boys started to sing, the song which included the words "When she went into the water, but she ain't got her ----- wet yet". Mr. Douglass was very quickly on the scene and stopped the singing for the rest of the holiday. Shame really, it's a good song! The child had learnt this song at the A.T.C. He had also learnt many more, like the one about "Hitler went out in a rowing boat", but I wont say what he did to his overcoat...!!!
Again staying at the hotel "Rose Marie" the girls and boys were separated, the boys in the back, the girls in the front. With Mr. Douglass in between for safety. The front of the hotel was on the main street where the trams ran on tracks, so at least the child would have peace and quiet in the back of the hotel, for he had slept in the girls' room on his last holiday there!! The child, going out for an evening stroll before dinner, was hailed by one of the girls. Leaning over the balustrade Diane Carey asked him to get her some shampoo. This the child duly did, for it was his good deed of the day. Taking the shampoo back to her room Mr. Douglass caught him and said he would deal with him after dinner. The boys were banned from the girls' part of the hotel. This the child already knew. After dinner, which the child thoroughly enjoyed, Mr. Douglass banished the child to his room. The child accepted his fate and went to his room while everybody else went out to enjoy themselves. In the room the child relaxed on his bed reading a magazine, well, looking at the pictures really as it was written in French; the child could not read French!!!

After about an hour the child felt like having a ciggie, so opening the window and leaning out to disperse the smoke, he lit his ciggie. Taking in the night vista (view) and sweet smells of the evening sea breeze he relaxed with his evening smoke. Flicking his dog-end away and watching it cartwheel away into the distance he returned to his bed. (All views were of back yards and the smells came from the kitchen underneath his bedroom). A knock came on the door and was opened straight away by Mr. Douglass. (Luckily for the child he had left the bedroom window open so there was no smoke in the bedroom). "Well John" said Mr. Douglass "the girls came to see me and pleaded your case. It appears you were only doing a kind deed, therefore I am letting you out of your room. There's not much time left until everybody has to be in, so I'm giving you an extra half an hour out". "Thank you" said the child "but I think I shall stay in". So the child stayed in that night. (Not much point in going out on your own anyway?) This holiday passed as a blur to the child for he cannot remember much about it, but he does remember that another child, Alan Wilkins, was caught in the girls' bedroom on the second night. All the children were listening to Rose Marie's son playing the guitar and singing when all of a sudden Mr. Douglass shot out of the room. He had suddenly realised Alan Wilkins was missing, back he came and sent everybody to bed!!

The next day at breakfast Mr. Douglass informed everyone that he had caught Alan where he should not have been and banished him to his room for the rest of the holiday. Shame really but no one else dare go to see the girls after that. They went to a war graves cemetery, Brussels (he always did like sprouts), and many more places, but for reasons to the child it was now time to return home (mainly because he cannot remember where they went). Leaving the hotel and going by coach to Oostende they embarked on the ferry and said farewell to Belgium. Back in Dover they all disembarked from the ferry and then went into the customs shed. This the child was dreading!!! For he had bought his girlfriend a watch and had also been told that they were not to buy watches. Seeing Diane's arm outstretched to put her case down for the custom man to inspect it, the child tried to put the watch on her arm. "No, no, no" she said "I'm not getting banged up for that." (I think that was because of the other 15 watches up her arm that she said that). So the poor child put the watch back in his pocket.... the customs man came to the child and asked "Anything to declare sir?", "No" stammered the child and at that he drew a big "X" on the child's case with chalk. Onto the train then back to Coventry they all went, and back to the learning?