until me and Monica are working. Yer’ll be able to buy all the food and everything, and have money over to go to the pictures.’
Jimmy held his hand up. ‘Before our Danny starts getting ready for his nightly hop, can we get back to discussing the decoration of this room? It’s no good putting the wallpaper up before the ceiling and frieze have been whitewashed, and the woodwork painted. I’ll try and get them done over the weekend, but the place certainly won’t be ready for papering until the middle of next week.’
‘I’ll help yer with the painting, Dad,’ Danny said, ‘on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. It won’t take long if the two of us get stuck in.’
‘I’ll buy the paper and the rest of the stuff we need on Saturday, and then we’ll just take things as they come, eh?’ Ada tried not to sound too eager. The men were working all week; she couldn’t expect too much from them. But she couldn’t help feeling a little impatient. She wouldn’t mind having a go at hanging the paper herself, but was afraid of putting Jimmy and Danny’s noses out of joint. Besides, she couldn’t paint the ceiling, she didn’t have a ladder big enough. Jimmy would stand on the table to do it, but Ada didn’t fancy that. No, she’d leave it to the men of the house. After all, if she had to wait an extra week to see her living room bright and cheerful, it wouldn’t hurt her.
‘I’ll give yer a shilling towards the paint, sunshine,’ she told her husband. ‘It’s not much, but as they say, every little helps.’
‘There’s no need to, love. I’ve already asked one of the blokes in work to get it for me. He knows where he can get it cheap.Two bob for a tin big enough to do all the woodwork in this room. It might even stretch to the hall and kitchen.’
Ada began to feel excited. ‘Oh, that sounds marvellous! Ay, we won’t know ourselves, will we? I’ll be telling me mate to wipe her feet before she comes in.’
Danny chortled. ‘Don’t tell me Auntie Hetty walks on the ceiling? I know you talk to the walls, ’cos I’ve heard yer, but I didn’t think yer mate was a bit loopy as well.’
‘Ay, Mam,’ Monica said. ‘When the new wallpaper is put up, perhaps the walls will think they’re too posh to listen to you.’
‘I’ll soon put them in their place, sunshine, don’t worry about that. All I need to do is stop passing the street gossip on to them and they’d be on their knees to me in no time. Yer see, they enjoy a bit of gossip ’cos it brightens up their day. There’s many a time I’ve made stories up, just to put a bit of sparkle into their lives.’
Jimmy had a smile of affection on his face as he listened to his wife. Any stranger listening would think she was as crazy as a coot, but he loved her just the way she was. Warm, loving and humorous. ‘Have yer ever considered that yer might be sorry to see the old paper go, Ada? Yer never know, the new paper might not be so friendly.’
‘The thought had crossed me mind, sunshine,’ Ada told him with a chuckle. ‘That’s why I had a talk to the paper in the shop. But it assured me it would be very happy to be out of the shop and on someone’s walls. Especially someone who would talk to it. Apparently the man behind the counter is a miserable beggar. He hasn’t spoken one word to the paper the whole time it’s been rolled up on the shelf.’
‘I should have known it was a daft question to ask, that yer’d have an answer. I’m getting to be as crazy as you are.’
‘My old ma used to say that if yer lived with a person long enough, yer grew to be like them,’ Ada told him. ‘Mind you, she used to have a lot of funny sayings.’
‘I remember one yer told me about yer mam,’ Danny said. ‘Yer said she was taking yer to the shops one day, and yer passed a woman with a dog. And she said, “Did yer notice that the dog what just passed, girl, had a face like its owner? She’s had it since it was a pup, and every time I see
Jimmy held his hand up. ‘Before our Danny starts getting ready for his nightly hop, can we get back to discussing the decoration of this room? It’s no good putting the wallpaper up before the ceiling and frieze have been whitewashed, and the woodwork painted. I’ll try and get them done over the weekend, but the place certainly won’t be ready for papering until the middle of next week.’
‘I’ll help yer with the painting, Dad,’ Danny said, ‘on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. It won’t take long if the two of us get stuck in.’
‘I’ll buy the paper and the rest of the stuff we need on Saturday, and then we’ll just take things as they come, eh?’ Ada tried not to sound too eager. The men were working all week; she couldn’t expect too much from them. But she couldn’t help feeling a little impatient. She wouldn’t mind having a go at hanging the paper herself, but was afraid of putting Jimmy and Danny’s noses out of joint. Besides, she couldn’t paint the ceiling, she didn’t have a ladder big enough. Jimmy would stand on the table to do it, but Ada didn’t fancy that. No, she’d leave it to the men of the house. After all, if she had to wait an extra week to see her living room bright and cheerful, it wouldn’t hurt her.
‘I’ll give yer a shilling towards the paint, sunshine,’ she told her husband. ‘It’s not much, but as they say, every little helps.’
‘There’s no need to, love. I’ve already asked one of the blokes in work to get it for me. He knows where he can get it cheap.Two bob for a tin big enough to do all the woodwork in this room. It might even stretch to the hall and kitchen.’
Ada began to feel excited. ‘Oh, that sounds marvellous! Ay, we won’t know ourselves, will we? I’ll be telling me mate to wipe her feet before she comes in.’
Danny chortled. ‘Don’t tell me Auntie Hetty walks on the ceiling? I know you talk to the walls, ’cos I’ve heard yer, but I didn’t think yer mate was a bit loopy as well.’
‘Ay, Mam,’ Monica said. ‘When the new wallpaper is put up, perhaps the walls will think they’re too posh to listen to you.’
‘I’ll soon put them in their place, sunshine, don’t worry about that. All I need to do is stop passing the street gossip on to them and they’d be on their knees to me in no time. Yer see, they enjoy a bit of gossip ’cos it brightens up their day. There’s many a time I’ve made stories up, just to put a bit of sparkle into their lives.’
Jimmy had a smile of affection on his face as he listened to his wife. Any stranger listening would think she was as crazy as a coot, but he loved her just the way she was. Warm, loving and humorous. ‘Have yer ever considered that yer might be sorry to see the old paper go, Ada? Yer never know, the new paper might not be so friendly.’
‘The thought had crossed me mind, sunshine,’ Ada told him with a chuckle. ‘That’s why I had a talk to the paper in the shop. But it assured me it would be very happy to be out of the shop and on someone’s walls. Especially someone who would talk to it. Apparently the man behind the counter is a miserable beggar. He hasn’t spoken one word to the paper the whole time it’s been rolled up on the shelf.’
‘I should have known it was a daft question to ask, that yer’d have an answer. I’m getting to be as crazy as you are.’
‘My old ma used to say that if yer lived with a person long enough, yer grew to be like them,’ Ada told him. ‘Mind you, she used to have a lot of funny sayings.’
‘I remember one yer told me about yer mam,’ Danny said. ‘Yer said she was taking yer to the shops one day, and yer passed a woman with a dog. And she said, “Did yer notice that the dog what just passed, girl, had a face like its owner? She’s had it since it was a pup, and every time I see
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