78 Sunny Days

Leeds Square: When playing football with Stanley Slaughter and others on the green outside Stan’s house, I was mesmerised by the skills of Alan Hughes, a friend and neighbour of Stan’s. He wasn’t just miles better than us; he was miles better than any kid I knew. Only Charlie Donahue, who played for Walderslade and tore our Upbury side apart, had made a similar impression and it came as no surprise that Alan and Charlie would go on to play for Gillingham's youth team.

At home: I was now the eldest of seven. Dad kept me off school for a couple of days. ‘Stay here and help your mam,’ he said, so I did, running errands to the shops, helping with the little ones and doing anything that needed doing while Mam looked after my new baby brother. The arrival of a sister two years earlier had interrupted a run of five successive boys so I was glad normal service had been resumed, even if it meant we’d need a nappy bucket in our kitchen for another two or three years. No matter, the smell of ammonia was something I’d grown up with.

At school: Upbury Manor had it’s own swimming pool. Freezing it was. No matter how carefully I eased myself into the water, it always took my breath away. How anyone could just dive in, I don’t know. I never did learn to swim.

At school: on a beautiful summer morning 1A1 were having a maths lesson in our own classroom with Mister Potts, our form teacher. A good few of the class were missing – the Wigmore contingent – but at 9:30 there was a knock on the door and they all trooped in.

‘Sorry we’re late,’ they said. ‘The school bus didn’t turn up. We’ve had to walk it.’

Mister Potts beamed. ‘You mean you’ve walked all the way here?

Indeed they had and they suddenly looked very pleased with themselves.

Mister Potts was clearly impressed. ‘Others might have gone home and taken the day off… but not you… blah blah blah. Well done! I think this deserves a round of applause!’

So we gave them a clap for their stroll in the sunshine. And at the end of the day, when the pampered gits of Wigmore, Hempstead and Rainham boarded the special coaches at the school gates for express rides home, we Twydall kids trudged to the depot to catch a regular service bus, or walk it home as usual.