Extract from Inside The Square Circle 1989 copyright The surgery that i had done to repair my talipese hadnt made much difference to my foot, even the tendonotomy couldnt rectify my problem. i knew my foot had stopped growing and that i would always have one foot considerably bigger than the other. there was and inch and a half difference in leg length and the left leg had muscle wastage. I continued to wear the caliper even though i was now boxing; i hated the fact that everyone knew i was disabled. There was another lad in our school called Chris Lorrimer and he wore a caliper too; we became friends because whilst everyone else was going to play football on the sports field; Chris and i were resigned to watch from the side lines. It wasnt because i couldnt play football because we played in the street; The lamposts were the goals. we played with a smaller ball incase we kicked someones windows in. There was always games going on when we were kids; no one got bored because there was always something to do. Weather it was tin a block hide and seek knocky door neighbour or just playing in the Baccas (Council Yard) where we made bogies and collected old timber for bonfire night and played in a derelict building. We played cricket using the gate as a wicket. the bat was made from an old railing and the corker was a round heavy stone from the Baccas i played with my brother and a couple of kids in the street until i bowled a grassy (one that went acrooss the ground) i hit my brother on the shin and he was screaming. i shouted LBW (leg before wicket) Your out! my elder brother Tony saw our John crying as he came down the street; he picked up the bat and whacked me across the shoulder with it; breaking my collar bone. There was crazes in our day too, like the kids of today who collect computer games we collected cards like The man from Uncle and james Bond and Mars Attacks. I collected sets of cards from Brooke Bond tea packets which had a stamp on the front of the packet. you got a card and when the card was filled you could take it to the shops and get 5 shillings for it. Senior Service cigarettes also had sets of cards inside them too. Players Number six had coupons which you could save up to buy goods with. Pop bottles and Pureu milk gave you some money if you took the time to go round and collect them. i know i did as people just left them in the bins so i would get myself a big bag and collect them and take them home ; wash them out and then return them to the shop to get the money. i used the money to buy bags of marbles because that was the latest game to play. Everyone was at it. we played a game called Pots where you made a hole in the earth and tried to get as many of your marbles in it from about 10 feet; the one who got the most marbles in the pot got to keep them. For months we played collecting some marbles that were 3 times and even four times the size of a normal one. Some times you would win a Steelie which was a large steel ball baring. My brother and i were playing marbles with Billy Wilson and David Cawley one Afternoon when my prizes 4 timer went down a storm drain on Bridge Road. looking down inside the drain i could see it so i tried to lift the heavy iron grid but it wouldnt budge so i looked around and found a couple of lolly sticks and scraped away the mud that was caked around the grid then i tried to lift the grid again and this time it moved. I got it up so far and asked my brother to hold it whilst i got my marble out. leaning on my stomach i reaching in with both hands I got the marble between my fingers and was working the marble against the inside trying to get it to the surface when my brother let go of the storm drain on both of my wrists. I screamed in agony as the iron grid crushed my arms. Tony quickly raised the grid again and i stood up and ran all the way home screaming. My mother calmed me down and said your alright; she aplied some vasoline and wrapped both wrist in old rags. by the end of the day they were worse and i went over to Pear Tree Cresent where my mother was over at Billy Beans house. talking with him and his wife who were very good friends. I told my mother that i couldnt move my fingers so Billy asked if he could have a look. When he took off the rags that my mother had put on the broken bones were jutting out under the skin and both my wrist were badly swollen. Ivy your going to have to take him to Tynemouth infirmary his wrists are broken. Billy drove me to the infirmary where i was put into plaster again. Mam said i really looked like a monster now with those big clod hopper boots and now the plasters on your arms. when my father found out what had happened he went into the draw where we had hundreds of marbles he scooped them all up into a bucket then went out side and threw them all down our street and forbid us to buy any more Over the years ive been stitched, plastered and banaged umpteen times at the infirmary. T
Posted on: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:35:57 +0000
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