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Authors: Rosie Goodwin
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them rather than be on her own, and her offer had been gratefully accepted.
‘Don’t you worry about that – I have everything in hand,’ Briony winked, and when their neighbour raised a questioning eyebrow she told her, ‘I’ve ordered a nice plump cockerel off Charlie Mannering – you know, the man that has the large allotments off Church Road? He’s been fattening the birds up for months and I got my order in early, guessing that everyone would be after them. He has some pigs as well so we’re going to have a small joint of fresh pork too.’
Mrs Brindley’s mouth watered at the thought of it and she grinned. In actual fact, she knew Charlie very well. They had been childhood sweethearts and whenever they bumped into each other she got the feeling that he still had a bit of a soft spot for her. Bless him, he had lost his wife, Maggie, only the year before and had taken her loss badly.
‘There ain’t no flies on you, are there, love?’ she said approvingly. ‘Yer mam should be proud o’ you. I know I would be if you were my daughter. An’ fer my contribution I shall be supplyin’ the Christmas puddin’. I made it a few weeks ago an’ it’s got a sixpence and a threepenny bit in it.’
Martha Brindley’s heart ached for this girl who seemed to be keeping the family going in her father’s absence. Lois had gone completely to pieces again without James around. Just that very afternoon, she had watched Lois coming home after collecting Alfie from school and she could have sworn the woman had a sway on. But then she had told herself she must be mistaken. You’d have to be in a pretty bad way to drink during the day, surely? Although she’d had her suspicions for a while now that Lois might be hitting the bottle. There was no sign of her at present. Briony had informed her when asked that her mum had gone upstairs to have a lie-down because she had a headache, and now the poor kid was up to her neck in ironing the kids’ clothes. It was all wrong to Mrs Brindley’s mind, but then she knew better than to put her two penn’orth in.
Could she have known it, Briony too was concerned about her mother’s drinking. Lois had taken to splashing a bit of whisky in her tea from very early in the day, and usually by eight o’clock at night she would be snoring in the chair whilst Briony got the children to bed. The girl had found bottles of spirits hidden all over the place, and each time she did she would discreetly tip them away down the sink and dispose of the bottle in the tin dustbin, but Lois never commented on the fact.
Briony had taken to reading the newspapers religiously and listening to the wireless whenever she could, which was something she had never done before. She had been terrified to read of the new magnetic mines that were taking their toll in the North Sea. The Admiralty had reported that submarines were finding it difficult to surface to mount attacks on the enemy, and several British ships had been lost as the sea war escalated. Briony wondered how long it would be before the fighting spilled over onto the land, and trembled inside at the thought of it.
If anything, the weather deteriorated further in the build-up to Christmas and the wireless reported that it was the coldest winter since 1888. Even so, the atmosphere was joyful on Christmas morning as the children excitedly opened their presents. They were especially thrilled with the gifts that their father had left for them. There was a skipping rope with wooden handles for Sarah and a small wind-up train engine for Alfie, which had him cooing with delight. For Lois he had left a bottle of Evening in Paris perfume and a bright red lipstick with matching nail varnish, and for Briony a lovely blue scarf with matching gloves that would be very welcome on her cold journeys into work. He had even remembered Mrs Brindley, and when she opened the large tub of Pond’s cold cream her eyes welled with tears.
‘Why, God bless ’im.
‘Don’t you worry about that – I have everything in hand,’ Briony winked, and when their neighbour raised a questioning eyebrow she told her, ‘I’ve ordered a nice plump cockerel off Charlie Mannering – you know, the man that has the large allotments off Church Road? He’s been fattening the birds up for months and I got my order in early, guessing that everyone would be after them. He has some pigs as well so we’re going to have a small joint of fresh pork too.’
Mrs Brindley’s mouth watered at the thought of it and she grinned. In actual fact, she knew Charlie very well. They had been childhood sweethearts and whenever they bumped into each other she got the feeling that he still had a bit of a soft spot for her. Bless him, he had lost his wife, Maggie, only the year before and had taken her loss badly.
‘There ain’t no flies on you, are there, love?’ she said approvingly. ‘Yer mam should be proud o’ you. I know I would be if you were my daughter. An’ fer my contribution I shall be supplyin’ the Christmas puddin’. I made it a few weeks ago an’ it’s got a sixpence and a threepenny bit in it.’
Martha Brindley’s heart ached for this girl who seemed to be keeping the family going in her father’s absence. Lois had gone completely to pieces again without James around. Just that very afternoon, she had watched Lois coming home after collecting Alfie from school and she could have sworn the woman had a sway on. But then she had told herself she must be mistaken. You’d have to be in a pretty bad way to drink during the day, surely? Although she’d had her suspicions for a while now that Lois might be hitting the bottle. There was no sign of her at present. Briony had informed her when asked that her mum had gone upstairs to have a lie-down because she had a headache, and now the poor kid was up to her neck in ironing the kids’ clothes. It was all wrong to Mrs Brindley’s mind, but then she knew better than to put her two penn’orth in.
Could she have known it, Briony too was concerned about her mother’s drinking. Lois had taken to splashing a bit of whisky in her tea from very early in the day, and usually by eight o’clock at night she would be snoring in the chair whilst Briony got the children to bed. The girl had found bottles of spirits hidden all over the place, and each time she did she would discreetly tip them away down the sink and dispose of the bottle in the tin dustbin, but Lois never commented on the fact.
Briony had taken to reading the newspapers religiously and listening to the wireless whenever she could, which was something she had never done before. She had been terrified to read of the new magnetic mines that were taking their toll in the North Sea. The Admiralty had reported that submarines were finding it difficult to surface to mount attacks on the enemy, and several British ships had been lost as the sea war escalated. Briony wondered how long it would be before the fighting spilled over onto the land, and trembled inside at the thought of it.
If anything, the weather deteriorated further in the build-up to Christmas and the wireless reported that it was the coldest winter since 1888. Even so, the atmosphere was joyful on Christmas morning as the children excitedly opened their presents. They were especially thrilled with the gifts that their father had left for them. There was a skipping rope with wooden handles for Sarah and a small wind-up train engine for Alfie, which had him cooing with delight. For Lois he had left a bottle of Evening in Paris perfume and a bright red lipstick with matching nail varnish, and for Briony a lovely blue scarf with matching gloves that would be very welcome on her cold journeys into work. He had even remembered Mrs Brindley, and when she opened the large tub of Pond’s cold cream her eyes welled with tears.
‘Why, God bless ’im.
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