....I decided to make a stand. I went into the kitchen, picked up a large carving knife, and walked out into the front garden......
My intention was to cut back the growth from the previous Spring's daffodils, but there was a little part of me that was hoping to put the wind up 'em, if only for a fleeting second before they realised that I was just cutting back flower growth. I succeeded all to well.
The only person who saw me walk out of the front door holding the knife was the very same woman who had mouthed off to me minutes earlier, she saw me, gave a start, and held on to the woman next to her as her knees began to buckle. She recovered quickly enough when she saw that I was just hacking at the daffodils, but I confess to feeling ashamed that I had frightened her so much. I also didnt like the thought of someone being so afraid of me, so I gave her a big grin and went back inside.
A few months later I was having a bevvy or two in The Unicorn. Here I am with Jock, the landlord of the pub:
As I was saying, I was having a pint with Jock, when who should walk into the pub, but Craig and Becky (son and eldest daughter) from Dub house number 1. They told me that the 2 dub families on each side of me had had a serious disagreement and they were now not even saying hello to each other. What a hoot!
We got down to serious drinking then, Craig also got down to some serious smoking. Funny smelling stuff it was too. Craig said he thought he was going to be DF'd because a fellow dub had grassed on him to the elders about him smoking pot.
A bit later on, I came home from work, let myself in, and who should be there but the Mum from Dub house number 1, Craig and Becky's Mother! My wife said, "Mike this is Nickie from next door, she says that if ever we need a baby-sitter we only have to ask!"
As you can imagine, I was totally knocked out by this, even more so by Nickie's big smile at me. I chatted away to her and she kept smiling and nodding, she spoke to my wife several times, and then it dawned on me: She was sitting in my home, drinking my tea, she was smiling (quite flirtatiously, I thought) at me, but she was not speaking to me! In her own way, she was obeying WTBTS instructions, and for all the smiles and chatting with Her Ladyship, she was shunning me! Harumph!
We did get the family to baby-sit too. The middle daughter did it mostly, she was still a keen dub, and she would do just the same as her Mum, smile sweetly as I paid her a few pounds for sitting and leave without uttering word to me. My wife (never a dub) would do all the arranging.
We even lent tools to each other, each time Her Ladyship and Mum would negotiate, then I would pass the stuff silently across the fence. Becky and Craig also played along in front of their parents.
Sadly, their own demise as family members was now only weeks away, and those other young sisters next door on the other side were looking a bit restless too............
End of part 4.
In part 5: Craig is DF'd and is the life and soul of the street party...
Englishman.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....