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Northern Lives -Salford Revisited |
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| Bill Entwistle trudged down the ginnel
and round the corner on to the river bank,cigarette in mouth. He glanced
briefly across the dark, smooth water, it was a dank and desolate scene.
A grim smile came to his face, it amused him slightly as he always
imagined this the ideal spot for a desperate suicide, the premature
ending of a mundane life in a final act of despair. As he trod along the
bank he considered the bare facts of his imaginary drama. He wasn=t
unhappy, just a slave to dull routine. His job payed adequate wages, he
neither liked nor disliked it -simply did it. Then, positively, there
was the Pub and fishing, the match at weekends-he found a modicum of
enjoyment, even actual merriment at times. Soon he reached the bridge,
only a short flight of steps and he was on the road and almost at work
but first came the theatrical climax. With one cynical flick he
despatched his cigarette end into the water. |
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There was a sudden sizzle and it sank slowly into the murky depths. This was the image of a monotonous existence coming to an abrupt end and again it made Bill smile but never failed to send a shiver down his spine. He was thankful for his
>home comforts=, despite their limitations.Annie gaped into the mirror, it was infuriating ! There was just a faint smudge of lipstick out of place! She would have to fix it on the bus or make herself late. She had a tutorial at nine >o=clock,= the stream of consciousness in the modern novel=, a subject she had researched and prepared well. The problem was it was rapidly becoming confused with Disco dancing,cocktails, laughter and nocturnal excitement. She enjoyed the night life and the Bar work but it left precious little time for study. Often she had to repress a giggle on the bus or in lectures. She recalled the morning she had inadvertently lit a cigarette on the bus and looked up to see a group of hostile faces glaring at her The older people had little time for students at this time of day. It became a mock challenge which she dealt with by calmly stubbing out the cigarette, replacing it in the packet and then gazing at her adversaries as one does at an uninteresting landscape which comes into sight as one crosses the brow of a hill. This was nothing compared to a =grilling= from Professor Hardaker on Joyce or Robbe-Grillet! Next she gathered up her belongings,rose and pressed the bell prior to edging carefully toward the platform ready to alight. The unfinished cigarette was a reminder of business to be continued ;more lectures,more work behind the bar at the Brown Bull and more fun in her favourite Clubs, =Brown=s,= =Scott=s >,= The Hacienda=.
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The former
two she particularly liked as she imagined one day that she might own
her own Club, =Quinn=s=,
she would call it, proud to see her name up in neon lights.
One person who had surprised Annie was Bert Gartside.He had approached the bar in the Brown Bull on one of her first nights working there and asked for a half of Chester =. She reailised he meant Mild but accidentally over-charged him. He calmly but gruffly corrected her and then reminded her that he had, =served in two wars to make sure he got a decent pint at a fair price=. The blunt reality of it shocked her as she realised that this man must be almost one hundred years old! The amazing thing was that he was so alert ,and apparently had survived unscathed. Later she became fascinated watching his unhurried but deliberate habits; rolling a cigarette or hanging up his coat or moving his chair to his favourite position facing the bar half -way on. You name it Bert was resigned to it, little objection, little argument. |
| The new trams had disappointed him, he had expected a lumbering vehicle like the one he remembered rattling up to Waterhead on one Bank Holiday; instead he found a slick, quiet machine that was, =liable to run you over because you never it coming. =Bert=s son- in- law had told Annie later of the time he had actually shown disapproval. They were walking away from the Memorial after the service of Remembrance that year and as they entered Albert Square the Town Hall came into view. Cabled to it was a gigantic inflatable Father Christmas, a treat from the City Corporation, no doubt. Bert=s reaction was terse and laconic. ==He just looked round at me,@ said the son-in -law , and muttered,@>Bloody ridiculous ! Let=s go down the >Bull before I freeze to death != >= | |
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