The Cheeky Single Bed

It was time to buy my little boy a new bed.  This one was going to be a full size bed and NO, a single bed isn’t ‘just’ a single bed.  You can buy short single beds for when they advance from the cot.

So the new bed arrived and all was well.  On the same day, after advertising his old bed, I had a phone call from someone who wanted to buy it.  This was the conversation “Is the bed still for sale?”
“Yes”
“I see that it’s up for £35….will you take £25
“It’s your lucky day…..go on then…”
“Thanks.  I don’t have a car, any chance you can deliver?”

I was feeling generous that day so said “Go on then……”

He gave me the address, which was 7 miles away from where I lived, so I immediately loaded the car and was on my way.

After driving around a one way system 3 times, I eventually found the house and as always (you’ve experienced this I’m sure) the house I was looking for had no number and didn’t follow the sequence of numbers in the rest of the street.

I stood at the top of the steps, they were steep and as I knocked the front door I could hear lots of shouting, which didn’t stop, even when the door opened.  I wasn’t sure whether to laugh because the man would face me and say something, and then turned facing up the stairs and carried on shouting at his wife.

“I’ve come to drop the bed off for you….it’s in the car….”

The shouting was still going on “Yes thanks, just leave it by the door, I’ll get some money for you” he turned again and walked off, still shouting.

Piece by piece I carried the single bed on my own down the steepest set of steps known to man and left it by the front door, with no one to be seen.

Miraculously, as the last piece of the bed arrived at the door (and for the record was the nuts and bolts…in a bag….all labelled up) he emerged…. still shouting.  Now remember the bed was £35 but he knocked me down to £25 and……let’s not forget that I delivered it to his house and carried down the steepest steps I’ve ever seen.  In fact it was exactly like walking down the side of Mount Everest with a bed on my back.

Again may I remind you that the single bed was now £25, but in his hand were three £10 notes….yes that’s £30.  I then think to myself that maybe he’s giving me the extra £5 for the delivery and bringing the bed down to the front door….BUT NO!  He looked at me in the eye….and with no hesitation said “Sorry I’ve got no change….do you have £5 on you?”

 

Now usually I’m on the ball and I’m happy to be like a bull in a china shop and say what’s on my mind…… but that day I thought ‘let’s give this guy a break…he’s clearly having a bad day’, so I said nothing and gave him the £5 change, and drove home thinking to myself that I wouldn’t want to carry a large fridge freezer down those steps.

 

As ever on the Easy Blend I’m listening to some great music, today it’s Dixie Chicks – The Long Way Around

You can find out more about my book ‘Farrago: Ten Tall Tales’ and buy it here…. (click on the cover)

Until the next Easy Blend blog……….. 

Stay warm and fuzzy……..

The entertainment we had growing up on a Council Estate

This was the era of the 1980’s, yep that’s right, when it was always sunny and you always had time to play.  I know what you’re thinking….there was only one place to play and that was outside.  They were the days of playing on the streets with a pen knife in one pocket and in the other, a packet of crisps with a slice of cheese inside (I don’t know why…but I still eat crisps like that today).  There weren’t so many cars on the road and you always saw the local Policeman walking his beat.

These were the days before computers and tablets and mobile phones and of course before Health and Safety went mad.

Playing as a child was always an adventure, whether in the woods, forestry or in the surrounding streets and if you had a fight, it was a proper fight…you remember the ones with that started with a bit of pushing and some fists, not like today where everybody brings every weapon possible, even a tank on their heads……

As well as playing and making up your own games, you also had the older boys who were a little on the crazy side and you were never too sure of what they were going to do.

So here are just some of the things I’ve seen and experienced.

I was playing on the field one day when I heard the sound of a motorbike.  As I turned, I smiled….. a young boy on a Suzuki PE175cc was doing a wheelie up the main hill of the estate.

I looked thinking “WOW….who is that?”  He came on to the field riding around me as if he was the sheep dog and I was the sheep.  Eventually he stopped and we became friends.  For ‘Health and Safety’ reasons let’s call him ‘Moriarty’.

A week later my friends and I had just bought ourselves a 99 from the ice-cream van, and were enjoying the sunshine sitting on the wall, when at a terrific speed, a blue Ford Capri ‘R’ reg, year 1976 with far too many young lads inside, came full throttle in too low a gear up the hill towards us.  But they were playing a game; it was how fast they could turn into the side street from the main hill of the estate.

 

 

Of course we were all asked if we wanted to go for a ride….. but there were a few reasons why not!

1. The driver (Moriarty) didn’t have a licence
2. The driver wasn’t old enough to have a licence
3. There was no room (not even in the boot)
4. I wanted to live

And finally 5., Mother Frantony would have hit me with the tea towel, taking it from her shoulder at lightening speed.

This, by the way, was regular weekend entertainment.  So was the time my Dad let Moriarty (thinking he had a bike licence) borrow his bike so we could both go to the Gym.  I was on the back of my Dad’s Honda XL 185cc (a very good bike) with 2 gym bags over my shoulders.  On a long straight road and with a bus in front of us, Moriarty decided it was a good idea to overtake…….  

Well….. it took so long I nearly made friends with everyone on the bus looking through the window.  I did wonder if we were ever going to see the front end of the bus and make it alive.  Another occasion was the time Moriarty would borrow other boy’s motorbikes.  Like the time (again with me on the back or as we called it ‘a backie’) on a Kawasaki KX 400, on the road (again) overtaking a Ford Escort XR3i and suddenly the chain came off.

Yes…..I look back and see how silly we were and of course how lucky we were and I definitely wouldn’t recommend all of these things…..but when I look back it does make me smile, thinking of the days when we didn’t have a care in the world (You remember those days?).  Dangerous YES, but funny all the same, we all know someone who provides crazy entertainment no matter where you lived.

 

 

As usual on the Easy Blend I’d thought I’d tell you what I’m listening to.  Today it’s Barenaked Ladies – If I had a Million Dollars.

You can find out more about my book ‘Farrago: Ten Tall Tales’ and buy it here…. (click on the cover)

Until the next Easy Blend blog……….. 

Stay warm and fuzzy……..