was pretty good, but she wasn't going to argue with her new friends.
'You'll soon have a whole wardrobe full of clothes,' Suzanne giggled. 'But don't ever be tempted to dip in the till, Mel. They've got millions of ways of catching us at that.'
The party in Hornsey Lane was something of a disappointment to all the girls from the hostel, aside from Madeline who fancied one of the boys in the flat. There was only beer or cider to drink, no food and the lights consisted of a few red bulbs.The flat was disgustingly dirty as Madeline had warned them and the boys had only a couple of Rolling Stones LPs, no good dance music. Camellia thought the boys were all very arrogant considering they were grubby looking with straggly unwashed hair. The main entertainment was a beatnik playing guitar and singing protest songs. There was no sign of the promised reefers either; all the boys did was cadge the girls' cigarettes.
But even though this party didn't transform anyone's life, the shared scheming to persuade Miss Peet to allow them out until one in the morning, the help they gave each other with hair and make-up, and the giggling about the evening afterwards cemented new friendships.
A few weeks ago, weekdays had crept by for Camellia, while days off and Sundays had seemed even longer. Now, with friends at work and at home, they sped by. The party was just a taste of life outside the hostel, a glimpse of wild people who stayed up all night listening to music, went on protest marches and refused to conform. Suzanne said her mod friends took something called Purple Hearts so they could stay out all night dancing. When it was summer they'd all be going down to Brighton on their scooters.
As winter turned to spring, the fashions in magazines began to change, mainly due to the designer Mary Quant. Her clothes were made exclusively for the young, with vivid geometric designs and skirts way above the knee. Young girls responded eagerly, abandoning old calf-length mod skirts overnight, substituting boots for the old Granny shoes to counter-balance all that exposed leg. Someone in the media hit on the description 'miniskirt' and all at once a whole new look was born.
There was no stopping Camellia. She studied fashion magazines, watched what other girls wore, and asked advice from anyone she thought knew better than her. And the items she stole almost daily from the shop were designed to set herself up as a fashion plate.
Her weight continued to drop off and by Easter she was under nine stone. She no longer slunk by shop windows afraid of catching a glimpse of her reflection, but looked at herself and smiled. She was the embodiment of a dolly bird with her swinging hair, eyes accentuated with black liner, pale pouty lips and long slender legs. Who would have thought that plain fat girl who'd once been nicknamed Camel would be the first at Archway House daring enough to buy a miniskirt?
Now and then Camellia found herself wishing Bonny could see how she'd changed. She would have liked her approval. Sometimes too she thought of going down to Rye. It would be sweet revenge to see the girls who'd teased her in the past reel back in amazement and envy. She didn't want to see Mrs Rowlands, but it would be so good to see Bert Simmonds again. He had been a true friend.
But 1966 was too exciting a year to waste precious time visiting a place that had nothing but sad memories. Freddie Laker introduced cut price air fares to New York. The space race between the United States and Russia was neck and neck. In April the Russians orbited the moon, and in June the Americans retaliated by landing the first unmanned spacecraft right on it. Labour won a landslide victory in March. The Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were jailed for life in May. In the summer England won the World Cup at Wembley, beating Germany 4–2 in a thrilling final. Bobby Moore, the Charlton brothers, Geoff Hurst and Nobby Stiles were public heroes and thousands of fans
'You'll soon have a whole wardrobe full of clothes,' Suzanne giggled. 'But don't ever be tempted to dip in the till, Mel. They've got millions of ways of catching us at that.'
The party in Hornsey Lane was something of a disappointment to all the girls from the hostel, aside from Madeline who fancied one of the boys in the flat. There was only beer or cider to drink, no food and the lights consisted of a few red bulbs.The flat was disgustingly dirty as Madeline had warned them and the boys had only a couple of Rolling Stones LPs, no good dance music. Camellia thought the boys were all very arrogant considering they were grubby looking with straggly unwashed hair. The main entertainment was a beatnik playing guitar and singing protest songs. There was no sign of the promised reefers either; all the boys did was cadge the girls' cigarettes.
But even though this party didn't transform anyone's life, the shared scheming to persuade Miss Peet to allow them out until one in the morning, the help they gave each other with hair and make-up, and the giggling about the evening afterwards cemented new friendships.
A few weeks ago, weekdays had crept by for Camellia, while days off and Sundays had seemed even longer. Now, with friends at work and at home, they sped by. The party was just a taste of life outside the hostel, a glimpse of wild people who stayed up all night listening to music, went on protest marches and refused to conform. Suzanne said her mod friends took something called Purple Hearts so they could stay out all night dancing. When it was summer they'd all be going down to Brighton on their scooters.
As winter turned to spring, the fashions in magazines began to change, mainly due to the designer Mary Quant. Her clothes were made exclusively for the young, with vivid geometric designs and skirts way above the knee. Young girls responded eagerly, abandoning old calf-length mod skirts overnight, substituting boots for the old Granny shoes to counter-balance all that exposed leg. Someone in the media hit on the description 'miniskirt' and all at once a whole new look was born.
There was no stopping Camellia. She studied fashion magazines, watched what other girls wore, and asked advice from anyone she thought knew better than her. And the items she stole almost daily from the shop were designed to set herself up as a fashion plate.
Her weight continued to drop off and by Easter she was under nine stone. She no longer slunk by shop windows afraid of catching a glimpse of her reflection, but looked at herself and smiled. She was the embodiment of a dolly bird with her swinging hair, eyes accentuated with black liner, pale pouty lips and long slender legs. Who would have thought that plain fat girl who'd once been nicknamed Camel would be the first at Archway House daring enough to buy a miniskirt?
Now and then Camellia found herself wishing Bonny could see how she'd changed. She would have liked her approval. Sometimes too she thought of going down to Rye. It would be sweet revenge to see the girls who'd teased her in the past reel back in amazement and envy. She didn't want to see Mrs Rowlands, but it would be so good to see Bert Simmonds again. He had been a true friend.
But 1966 was too exciting a year to waste precious time visiting a place that had nothing but sad memories. Freddie Laker introduced cut price air fares to New York. The space race between the United States and Russia was neck and neck. In April the Russians orbited the moon, and in June the Americans retaliated by landing the first unmanned spacecraft right on it. Labour won a landslide victory in March. The Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were jailed for life in May. In the summer England won the World Cup at Wembley, beating Germany 4–2 in a thrilling final. Bobby Moore, the Charlton brothers, Geoff Hurst and Nobby Stiles were public heroes and thousands of fans
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