.... My Thanks to You !: 'The Final Book of a Lifetime Trilogy'

By Jack Coppard.

When starting this story, some three years ago, I was never sure whether I had the ability or the stomach to awaken all of my past memories, but Im glad that I did. I am also conscious of the fact that the written word is a very powerful tool, and with this in mind I have stuck to the truth, however painful at times, but equally uplifting and amusing.

I have tried not to become judge and jury, and have been mindful of the fact that most of the people I have written about are dead, and therefore unable to defend themselves, or give themselves a pat on the back. These memories have been written as seen through my eyes only, and are as correct as my memory recalls, luckily Ive been blessed with a very good memory.

For those who have followed my story from its start, you will recall that my Mother died during the early years of World War Two, and that I had always felt that the full details of her passing contained a degree of mystery. The family always seemed to keep me in the dark, and when the cause of death was revealed to me I understood why.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Apr 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504938549

Jack Coppard.

n/a

Book preview

…. My Thanks

To You !

‘the final book of a Lifetime Trilogy’

Jack Coppard

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AuthorHouse™ UK

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: [phone]

© 2015 Jack Coppard. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/31/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-3853-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-3852-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-3854-9 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Thursday's child has far to go !

What you achieve can make you rich,

but what you give brings you happiness.

{& some advice from someone who's been on this Earth now, during 9 different decades …

don't spend your days trying to chase money – make a life worth remembering !!}

MY THANKS TO YOU.

Acknowledgements

I have now arrived at the end of my story and yet again realise & appreciate the great debt that I owe to my lovely wife Diane.

Because without her help & encouragement, I would have found it very difficult to complete my task.

The same goes to the usual suspects, my eldest son John for his technical support, and my youngest Mark for his liaison with the Publishers. A task I would have been hopeless at.

Then of course, there is my lovely Grandson Ryan who helped me with the editing, thanks son!!

No book of mine could be complete without mentioning my darling daughter Claire, whose support & encouragement has been ever-present.

The help received from Ray Smith deserves my heartfelt-thanks, since his technical-expertise has been a great help and comfort to Rosie, when on a few occasions her computer has done its best to frustrate her… thanks Ray !!

My final thanks are to the many lovely characters that have littered my eventful & enjoyable life, since without them it would have been very dull indeed. My thanks to you.

–-o–-

An index to help you to understand some of my 'Cockney'

can be found at the back of the book.

CHAPTER 1

A year had passed since the disposal of the Brighton-based business and although I have fond memories of this period of my life, it was well & truly over and I had consigned it to history. I had managed, with the help of Brian and Eddie, to consolidate our position in the meat and frozen food business, and apart from the usual problems associated with the running of this sort of business, things were very comfortable indeed.

Eddie had remained separated, and he seemed to be settling down with his girlfriend in Brighton. Rita and the children were now settled, and had quickly adjusted to the fact that Mum and Dad no longer lived together, something that thankfully children seem capable of doing. Eddie was trying his best to look after his children, and apart from the numerous telephone calls Rita made to Rosie, all appeared satisfactory.

There was one downside to the closing of Brighton, which was that I could no longer call in to see them as often as I'd have liked, but Rosie kept me in the picture, and we did go and visit them over various weekends.

Brian was now renting a small flat in Bethnal Green, which was perfect for getting to the Royals, (the main London docks), or to our yard in Bermondsey. His arrangements with his wife and children were none of my business, and since he wasn't family, I never enquired or brought the subject up.

Being in Bermondsey and only a mile away from Nan's flat meant that I could keep a very close eye on her. This was not out of necessity, because Johnny, Annie and Eileen took very good care of her, but being a natural 'bossy boots', I just couldn't stop myself interfering. They all knew my motives, and appreciated my concerns. The old gal had recovered from that 'mini' stroke, and apart from a mild speech impediment, she was in the best of health. Her face would light up every time I came into her room, and she was always so happy to see me. She did become a little frustrated when struggling to get certain words out, but I used to tease her and make her laugh. She still managed to get over the pub most evenings, so I made sure that there was always money behind the bar. The pub was run by an Irishman and his wife, they were a lovely couple, and used to look after the old gal like she was one of their own.

Johnny drank copious amounts of beer in that pub, so they had more than one reason to take care of the old gal. Like thousands of other Dockers, he had taken a very generous redundancy payment following the closure of Tooley Street, and the Pool of London Docks. The 'Pool' was that part of the river that lay between Tower and London Bridges, where I had worked as a young man. In truth I never imagined that in a few years, even the giant Royal group of docks would be closed. Every time I drive to London and see the massive office blocks of Canary Wharf my mind takes me back to when it was a busy working dock yard – progress!

Johnny had shocked everyone, including me, when he announced that he would be 'doing the knowledge'. This wasn't because anyone doubted his ability to learn the streets of London, but the fact that he didn't actually drive, and did not possess a licence. I had been considering whether to have a chat with Johnny about an idea that had been floating about in my head, and now seemed like an ideal opportunity.

Now that all our lorries were based in, and working out of our yard in Bermondsey, the problem of opening up, and seeing the Drivers away was causing concern. I was certainly not prepared to be at the yard at six o'clock in the morning, and Eddie lived in Brighton, so he was out of the frame. It was also unfair to ask Brian to take on this horrible job, especially as he needed to be at the dock side. It was becoming patently obvious that giving the Drivers the gate key was a recipe for disaster, because by leaving them unsupervised it left the door open to abuse. It was totally unprofessional, so I deserved whatever agrro came my way.

I was getting complaints from the people who lived in the terraced houses that backed onto our yard, over the shouting and swearing that was going on in the early hours. I had no answer to these complaints because I was out of order, and something had to be done about it – enter Johnny.

I allowed Johnny a nice clear wall so that he could pin up a vast road map of central London, which enabled him to study the various routes that he would have to learn, in order to pass the tests needed to get his licence to drive a London taxi. In return he opened the yard up, and remained in the office until I turned up, which was generally sometime around 9a.m. He did this job Monday to Friday, and was of course paid for his troubles. Johnny was totally reliable, and loyal to me, and he certainly did not get any 'lip' from any of the Drivers – everyone's a winner!

Because of my improving finances I was able to take the family on a summer holiday to Spain. At this period of time, the foreign holiday syndrome was affordable by only a privileged few, so we were very lucky. We spent two weeks in a beautiful resort on Spain's Costa Brava, luckily something that would be repeated many many times. It was a pure joy to be able to relax and spend that sort of time with Rosie and our three children, teaching them to swim properly and helping to make large sandcastles. Then there were those lovely warm Spanish evenings when we would stroll through the old town centre, where the sight of three blond blue eyed children mingling with the mainly dark haired Spanish would make them the centre of attraction, especially with the ladies (Senoras). When sighting today's young families strolling around in similar circumstances, it's noticeable how much alike they all seem, perhaps it's the fact that they all dress the same, and are all well fed.

Returning to work gave me a pleasant surprise, because there had been very few problems, and these had been taken care of anyway. This fact alone vindicated my decision to dump Brighton. We were now running a 'tight little ship'.

I was looking forward to seeing Michael this coming Friday, and now that Eddie was amongst us, the three of us would be drinking and laughing together once more. They were all very interested in my Spanish adventure, and I recommended that they should both try and get away themselves, but of course that would be impossible for Eddie, which was sad.

Now that all our time and resources were concentrated in London we were becoming well known in the trade, which meant that when drinking and socialising in and around Smithfield Market, I found it very easy to negotiate good work. I have chosen the word 'I' because both Brian and Eddie were not very good at meeting new Customers, which was no bad thing, because they were useless at figuring out profitable haulage rates. They were however much better than me at on-going relationships. I found it nigh on impossible to stand and drink, or eat, with the same Customers week on week, and laugh at the same old jokes. Eddie and Brian loved that sort of thing, and made a good job of it. My strength was the ability to meet people, do a deal and then get on with it. These abilities, unique yet different, made us a very good team. I must add that I wasn't entirely anti social, and would make occasional appearances.

The early morning arrangement with Johnny was proving to be a roaring success, and it was then that I became acquainted with one of his close mates. He was called 'Big Mick' and like Johnny unmarried. There were other similarities between them, being that they both loved the pub atmosphere, and could both drink copious amounts of liquor. Mick was a devoted and loyal friend to Johnny and had decided to help him try to pass the knowledge, which meant that he would spend those early hours with him. Mick although being a very big rough ex-Docker, was very polite and respectful towards me, so he had actually asked my permission, and I was glad to give it. He used to make a nice cup of 'rosie' (his words), the moment I stepped into the office, and would generally fuss around doing things like tidying up the Driver's kitchen, and rest room. He asked for nothing in return, since it appeared that he just enjoyed being around our family. It is difficult to explain somebody such as Big Mick because he was doing me a service, but when I offered him money for the tidying up, he point blankly refused. I couldn't let him get away with that because I understood people like him, since in some ways he was just a little bit like me, in as much that he valued his independence, and figured that by taking money he was indebted to me. I respected his wishes but before our usual Friday evening drinking session, I would slip him a couple of bob, Buy ya'self a drink Mick. He would give me an old fashioned look, but knew that I wouldn't take no for an answer.

There is one other amusing thing concerning Big Mick, his nick name very quickly became 'Pierre', amongst us little lot anyway. The explanation - Mick spoke in that clipped half sentenced cockney accent, and once he'd had a few drinks, even we couldn't understand him. He might as well be talking fucking French. Hence Pierre. I can definitely state that you will never see the likes of him again, and the world is lesser for it.

The year was galloping past, and before we knew it the pre Christmas rush was about to start. Eddie had asked if he could go with Brian because he'd never actually met the people who ran the Bernard Mathews turkey deliveries. I thought it was a great idea since I'd been to Norfolk many times already. There was a great deal of organizing to be taken care of anyway, so I could do with the extra time in the office. There were other Customers to be taken care of, namely Birds Eye, and the meat importers in Smithfield, and they provided work for our lorries all year round.

Before they enthusiastically drove away I reminded them both not to take on too much work, even stressing the point that I could only allow four of our lorries to become involved, plus a couple of transits, any more would have to be covered by the Owner Drivers who still relied on us to provide the majority of their work.

That took the childish grins off their faces, and probably, for the first time, I detected a negative attitude from Brian, probably because it was he who had brought us that business in the first place.

I knew that Brian, and Eddie to some extent, could only get into their heads the earnings from this December work, which were very good, but they didn't seem to grasp that there are twelve months in a year, not one. I made the important decisions, so what I decided was final!

We now effortlessly slipped into our December routine, with visits to Smithfield Market carrying various bottles of fine drink, and a few well filled sealed envelopes. Brian as usual stayed in Norfolk, and ran things from there but unfortunately I would find out that he had 'pulled a few strokes'. This wouldn't be until a couple of months after Christmas.

We worked very hard during this season, and we also played a bit hard as well. I made sure that all the close family received their Christmas turkey, as did a couple of local butchers, but in their case it was a cash business arrangement.

We virtually took over the local pub on Christmas Eve, because our work had finished, and once the lorries had been put away, I would lay on free drinks and food for all our staff, and because of this I would come up by train. I am a man of routine so upon arrival at London Bridge Station I would make a note of the time of the train that I would be getting home on. Then I would take a taxi to Nan's flat and spend a bit of time with her because I wouldn't be coming back. This would normally give me a chance to see Annie and Eileen as well. They were invited to call in and have a drink, but Eileen used to politely decline, because she didn't like pubs full of noisy drunk men. Annie had no such qualms, well she wouldn't do would she, because after all she was married to Nathan, and if she hadn't been able to stand up for herself, she'd have been swamped.

My first job upon entering the pub would be to borrow the phone and give Rosie a call so that I could let her know my train time, because her and one of the children would be standing spread out on the platform looking out for me, because I'd usually fallen asleep, and would have ended up in Dover. Remember I was 'tanked up' by then and somewhat 'elephants'. This routine would continue for many years and has been the subject of many amusing stories.

Eddie had visited home on several occasions over the Christmas period and had made sure that there was plenty of food and presents for the children. It didn't stop Rita from moaning, but to be fair she had been treated badly.

This New Year would bring about many changes one of which would help us move into a much larger house.

CHAPTER 2

Hello Bill, you look a bit serious, lost some money on the horses? He gave me a half smile and I beckoned for him to take a seat. Don't often see you over this side of the water, what can I do for ya? I could see that he was a bit nervous, but then he carefully explained the reason for the visit. It was now February and he was annoyed because he still hadn't been paid for a couple of turkey runs. He suggested that there must have been some sort of mix up, because as one of my original Owner Drivers he knew that I was very particular about paying the likes of him very promptly. In actual fact it was how I had managed to get started in the first place, and the reason why they had remained loyal to me.

Bill make us a cup of coffee, and I'll get my paper work out, I'm sure we'll have this sorted out. We both studied my December schedules which I knew were accurate, and could find no trace of the runs that Bill was querying. Bill what did you do with your signed receipts? I gave them to Brian. That surprised me. What did you do that for? You normally drop them into the yard. I then showed him a few receipts that I'd received from him, and had been settled. He rubbed his chin and gazed up into the ceiling. Yeah now I remember, Brian asked me to make sure and give him those particular notes.

That sentence disturbed and alarmed me, but I didn't let it show in front of Bill. (Don't educate anybody). Sorry Mate, there must have been a right fuck up, he's probably still running around with your receipts in his back pocket. Leave it to me, I'll get it sorted and you'll have your money by the end of the week, I'll drop a cheque through your front door.

Bill was a talkative fucker, a bit like most of the lorry drivers, probably because they spend half their lives alone in their cabs. I liked Bill but in the end I had to get rid of him, there were things on my mind.

I carefully re-checked my records and I was definitely ' in and out', which meant that all jobs had been invoiced and agreed with the Matthews office. Eddie eventually appeared, and after a while he asked me why I was going through the paperwork so thoroughly. I told him about the visit we'd just had. He shrugged. I'm sure you'll sort it out Bruv, anything I can do? I'm gonna shoot over to the King George Docks, and sort this mess out with Brian, can you look after things here? I think Doug, (our fitter/mechanic) needs to order some parts, can you take care of that for me? He gave me the thumbs up. Say hello to him from me. I kept my inner thoughts to myself.

Brian saw me striding towards him, and I was pleased to note that a couple of our trailers were being loaded. He gave me a wave, but my sixth sense told me that he wasn't happy to see me. After a brief chat and since it was virtually dinner time, I suggested that we go over to the big pub, that lay under the Silvertown flyover. We went through our work schedule, and once we had that sorted I brought up the subject of Bill's mysterious loads. Brian's face went a shade of white, and his stammering increased to alarming proportions, he was obviously uncomfortable, and so was I.

His ever faltering explanation was quite simple. Because I had put a strict limit on the amount of vehicles he was able to call on, he had brought an old friend of his into the frame. He had allowed him to work direct, without any control from us, and obviously no commission coming our way. I wasn't exactly 'over the moon' about that since 'his mate' only had a couple of lorries, my only concern being that it was a very stupid move allowing a competitor to worm his way in. You should have talked to me first, but it's done now, but please tell me that you didn't allow our Owner Drivers to work for your mate, because that's fucking stupid, and it's taking money out of my pocket.

He stammered through his explanation by telling me that things became so chaotic up there, that mistakes had been made, and he was very very s-s-s-sorry. What did you do with Bill's tickets? I thought that he was going to cry, which would have really annoyed me, but he didn't. He did however, come clean and spluttered out his explanation. He owed a lot of money to Caleb, (his mate), and this had been a way to repay him.

I've always been advised to try and never make any rash decisions while being raving mad. I kept my cool! Brian look at me, do you remember the first time we ever met? Let me remind you, it was in the Royal Albert over there. I pointed in the general direction. I told you then never to fuck me about, remember that? He nodded, and started to talk, but I put my hand up. You better decide very quick who's side your on, that fucking yid mate of yours, or mine. I leant forward so that our faces were inches apart. Don't ever fuck me about again. I must have raised my voice, because I noticed a few concerned faces peering at us. And by the way tell Caleb to pay Bill or he'll get a visit from me, and he won't like that. I got off my bar stool, and hurried out, leaving Brian and my half finished beer. He didn't look a happy soul.

During my very disturbed drive back to our yard, I wrestled as to whether I should tell Eddie, or just fob him off with a fairytale. I did what I normally would do, and that was to weigh up all the options, then only cross my bridges when I reached them.

I pulled into the yard, and saw Eddie steam cleaning one of the lorries, and it was then that I made my mind up. Have you had any dinner Ed? He turned the cleaner off. Yeah, Doug popped out and got some fish and chips. How did you get on, sorted it out have you? Lets have a cup of coffee and I'll tell you all about it.

Eddie got quite excited and agitated as I repeated the conversation I'd just had with Brian. It was a good job that Brian wasn't within arms reach, because Eddie would have strangled him. I calmed him down and explained my plan, and that brought a smile to his face. "Just act normal and try to forget anything ever happened, I'll sort it, promise, and Ed, don't say anything to Johnny or Michael.

We carried on as normal, and it was noticeable that Brian was on his best behaviour, and working like a demon. He avoided Eddie like you would with someone who had leprosy, but he was very stupid, because that was annoying him even more. Take no notice Ed, he's only a mug.

I think what was adding to Eddie's frustration, was the fact that the two of them had been partying together whilst in Brighton, and he was conscious of the fact that they had both been drawing too much money on 'expenses'. It had crossed my mind that this lack of extra money was one of the reasons for Brian's current dilemma.

Eddie and me had our own separate desks with two telephones on each, because we had four lines. You've got to understand that there were no mobiles then, and we needed to stay in contact with Drivers and Customers. On each phone we had earpieces in order that we could listen in on each others conversations, when necessary.

One of my phones rang, and on the other end of the line was this harsh east end voice. Hope I haven't called at a bad time, but I'd like to have a chat with you, my name's Caleb. I beckoned to Eddie, and he came over and picked up the earpiece. No, you're alright, what can I do for ya? He prattled on about there being a misunderstanding, and asked if it would be alright to come over and have a drink with me. He then quickly apologised for not mentioning my brother, then said that he'd love to meet both of us. Eddie gave me the thumbs up, so I arranged for him to meet us in our local pub The Gregorian Arms. This was a large well known corner pub in Jamaica Road, which once through the tunnel was easy to find.

The little bit of devilment in me made me ring Brian and tell him all about the call from his mate, and to invite him to our meeting. It took him ages to say the words 'no thanks', he had lorries to get loaded. That would give him a couple of sleepless nights, but he deserved that anyway!

We were sitting at the bar when the door opened and two 'connaughts' came in. The thick set, faired haired one, was instantly recognizable, because he was a villainous friend of those two hooligan twins from over the water. The other was a smartly dressed middle aged Jewish looking man. He smiled and asked if I was Jack. We shook hands, and I introduced him to Eddie. Eddie's face was a picture because he'd recognised 'the face', and he wasn't very happy, and it showed. The air around us was crackling with danger.

Sorry boys I'm being rude, this is George. I shook his hand, but Eddie didn't. Once we all had a drink in front of us, and were seated around a table, Caleb started to ramble on. He said that we shouldn't fall out with each other, and there was plenty of work for all of us, so could we try to work together in the future. He talked about Brian, and admitted that he had been in the wrong by getting involved with him. George just smiled and kept 'shtum'.

Caleb, listen to me, we've never met you before, and know nothing about you, so what can we fall out about, we've never fallen in, The thought 'fuck it' came into my head, so I turned my gaze towards George. You wouldn't win any prizes if you really, (and I stressed that word) upset us. Then I laughed, lets get you another drink. Caleb was looking very uncomfortable, and it got decidedly worse for him, because at that very moment, the door burst open and in came Johnny with a couple of his mates. He looked at us, and then I saw the smile disappear. What you doing over this side of the water George? George suddenly became a bit off guard, and obviously a touch nervous, because just about everybody in Dockland knew Johnny. Nice to see ya John, just keeping my mate company. He turned towards Eddie and me. You know these fellas do you? Johnny roared out laughing. Know them, know them, they're my sister's boys, my nephews.

We're talking about a bit of business John won't be much longer, see ya in a minute. George looked very annoyed with his mate Caleb. People from north of the river are never really comfortable when in the south side, and vice versa, and I think that George was fearing the worse, because although he had a well deserved fearsome reputation, he knew that he was out of his depth, and there was no money in it for him.

Caleb asked where were the toilets and left the table. Eddie gave me the nod, and we both followed him. "Leave us alone for a couple of minutes will ya George, he'll be alright promise, just want a bit of privacy.

He was standing in the middle of the three urinals, and upon seeing us two, gave a very weak smile. Eddie rammed him against the porcelain, and held him in a vice like grip. I hope you didn't think that you'd put the frighteners on us by bringing that fucking gangster over here did ya? He was shitting himself. No please, I'm very sorry I didn't think honest. George does a bit of running about for me, that's all, my children's life. Ed let him go will ya? Eddie let go and stood back. I'm sure that Caleb didn't realise just how much trouble he could have been in, although he was terrified.

I took over. Caleb, we've never met before, and I don't give two fucks if we never meet again, but, look at me! If you ever bring anybody like that over here again I'll put you in hospital. I let that sink in. Now that's not a threat, it's a fucking promise. Eddie piped in. When we go outside finish your drink and fuck off, and by the way don't forget your mate.

George had been around the block, and was no mug, and he had already worked out that he was out of his depth, so the moment we appeared he stood up and hurried out of the pub, with a very wobbly Caleb on his coat tails.

Johnny had been giving George a very bad time, and had insisted in knowing what he was doing over here, George was tough but he knew that he was no match for Johnny. Johnny wasn't worried about the threat of violence towards Eddie and me, because he knew that we could take care of ourselves. He was concerned that we might have been getting involved in criminal activities, and it took a lot of convincing him that we weren't

I would hear a couple of months later that Caleb got a slap from George for nearly getting him in trouble, and that really made me laugh. Serves him right.

I never saw George again, but heard plenty of stories about his activities. Then one day he left home accompanied by his young son, and was never seen again. The word being that he was propping up some motorway flyover. He deserved all that he got, because he was a nasty piece of work, but his son was an innocent young kid, and didn't deserve to be killed. The poor sod was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Things were going very well, and as a consequence, Rosie was on the lookout for a larger house. This is when fate intervened, luckily in a very nice way.

The atmosphere between Eddie and Brian could have been cut into blocks, and for the sake of the business, and my long term plans, I made sure that they rarely crossed paths. Johnny tried to keep out of my affairs, but he couldn't resist asking me what was I going to do about that stuttering fuck dog. I used to smile and reply. Patience John, patience.

We used to go over to Smithfield on most Friday lunchtimes, partly because our Bank was over there, so we picked up the cash for wages, also to have a couple of social drinks with fellow Hauliers, and Managers for the large meat importers. This was where I came across Caleb, but he did his best to avoid Eddie and me. Brian fussed about and tried his best to be diplomatic, and it was quite obvious that he wanted to keep in touch with Caleb.

On this particular lunchtime we were approached by a well known duo who ran the transport department of a large importer. We had done a fair amount of work for them, and we had always got on very well together. There was a large party coming up to celebrate the birthday of Roy's Mum. His Mum and Dad actually owned this pub, which was situated on a large busy corner in Hoxton, north of the river not far from Smithfield. We accepted the invitation, and as history would prove, it was a mistake.

I could tell by Eddie's tone of voice that he was talking to an old friend. He beckoned to me to pick up the earpiece. I recognised the voice immediately because it was his old pal Terry (Russ Conway). He sounded the worse for wear, and was very depressed, begging for help. Eddie promised that he'd try and get over to see him. He lived in a big house in Holland Park, (a very very exclusive part of London).

Once Eddie had cradled the phone we had a long chat together, and we discussed the next move. He's an old pal of yours Ed, and he did get you started in show business, I think you should go over to see him and see what you can do for him, I'll be alright here, I can take care of things.

That telephone call proved to be life changing, and would provide a very colourful episode in our lives. It was late afternoon before Eddie returned, and he seemed all pumped up with excitement. Fancy a cup of coffee Bruv, I've got a lot to tell you. I had already sorted out the next days schedule, so I cleared my desk and sat back sipping my drink and listened to what Eddie had to say.

Conway had blotted his copybook and was finding it almost impossible to get any sort of good work. He was drinking heavily, and had failed to fulfil his contracts. He was now becoming desperate, not that he was short of money or anything like that, but he had been a big star and he missed the adulation. He had begged Eddie for help in smoothing things over with the big Producers, and had agreed to pay him a full 10 per cent of any earnings from his future work. Eddie had pointed out to him that he worked with me now, but if I agreed, then he would certainly try and help.

What's the chances of getting him straight, and finding some work for him? He's still a big name, and his records are still popular, so I think that if I spend some time with him, and he behaves himself well, there's a good chance.

We agreed that Eddie would spend two or three days with Conway, with me assuring Eddie that I'd be alright running the business during his absence. Conway would cover any expenses, but his wages would still come from the Haulage Company. Finally, can he be trusted Ed? Eddie shrugged, I'll make sure he can.

I was having a drink with Johnny and telling him all about the business with Russ Conway, when he suddenly asked me about Brian. Apparently he had been bending Johnny's ear, and had told him that he was becoming increasingly frightened of me, and was shitting himself, because he'd seen how violent I can get. Johnny had laughed it off, but defended me by asking what Brian had done to cause my anger. He had lied because he denied any wrongdoing.

The rabbit was out of the hat, so I put Johnny in the picture. He drew his breath in making a soft whistle. Do you think he's at it? He's a fool, and he's very weak, therefore easily led, and you know what scurrilous arseholes there are down in those docks. Can he harm us? That's what I loved about Johnny, he still considered himself as my bigger brother, and anything that I owned was family! I keep hold of the purse strings John, and basically control everything, the Company is owned by me, so he does as he's told. I let that sink in. "Anyway he won't be with me much longer, because I'm on the lookout for a good dock runner. A Dock Runner was so called because the job consisted of dashing from ship to ship in order to get lorries loaded. In actual fact exactly how I got started.

Other people came into the pub so that subject was dropped. It did give me food for thought, because now I knew what was on Brian's mind. He on the other hand didn't know my plans. (Never educate anybody Son – sic Nathan).

Eddie had another surprise up his sleeve. He had parted company with his lady friend in Brighton, and had moved back to Rita. My first thoughts were that Eileen and Johnny, and in some part Michael, were right when they used to say they were Taylor and Burton. His work with the Piano Player was encouraging, to the point where Eddie was sweet talking Leslie Grade regarding a season in the London Palladium. I was very sceptical because I was aware of Eddie's optimism, but continued to actively encourage him. The truth is that Rosie and me had many a laugh over that one, but things seldom turn out as imagined.

Rosie was at full throttle looking around for a bigger house for us to buy, because although we did have a very nice three bedroomed property, our family was growing up fast, and since we could afford a bigger place, why not?

I was spending more and more time on my own in the yard, but to be brutally honest, although I loved Eddie to bits, a bit of space was a blessing. I found that I managed to get more work done because Eddie was a bit of a chatter box. He was like a pig in shit mixing with the show business crowd, and there was always the chance that he'd manage to sort the Piano Player out, and earn us some money. The funny thing was that I was far from lonely, because there was always a constant flow of visitors, what with relatives, and various trade reps turning up. Michael had become friendly with a couple of fellow tradesmen, and he was considering starting up his own business, so he picked my brains, and I gave him all the help I could. He actually had a drink with me one day and brought his two mates along. It took me less than half an hour to be concerned about one of them because he was a bit flashy and full of himself. His other mate, Joe was a real diamond.

Mike I don't like that flash bastard, be careful, but Joe seems like the real genuine article. Fuck me Pad, you just never change do you? You're an untrusting fucker, ain't you. I laughed. I don't think I could stand by and watch you get turned over. I then put my hand on his shoulder and chuckled. You might be saving him from a lot of pain. With that he grabbed me and lifted me off my feet. We were giggling just like children again.

Nan, as with all of us, was getting older, and although she appeared to have recovered from the mini stroke, I did notice that she was definitely slowing up. I made sure that I was always available, but with Annie, Eileen and Johnny taking care of her, I had nothing to worry about.

This particular morning Johnny hung around for a while. Once you've sorted a few things out I want to have a chat with you. I stared at him. That's alright ain't it? Sorry John, of course it is, just give me half hour. We had an interesting chat where he asked me how I was getting on with finding a runner. I had spoken to many, in the know, people around the dock area, and had actually spoken to a couple of likely candidates, but hadn't found the right man, my cautious nature didn't help. He then found the courage to ask me. Jimmy's looking for a job, he's got brains, just like you, he'll do it for you. I asked Johnny if he'd said anything about the job to Jimmy, but he'd not said a thing, Jim had just mentioned that he was getting fed up with his present job, and would be looking for a change.

Jimmy was Johnny;s older brother, and therefore my uncle, and we had all lived together during the War years. He had served in the Navy, and had contracted T.B. Which thankfully he'd recovered from. It had weakened him to some extent, which was a shame, because he had been a very talented boxer.

Jimmy was always immaculately dressed and was a strikingly good looking man, he was also naturally intelligent. He was one of several of his age group that nowadays would have probably had the talent to go to University, but timing and fate conspired against them.

Our family contained what some called 'nice people' which by the absence of further comment intimated that most of us were nuisances. Jimmy fell into the nice category.

But there was one small problem because I'd had a few fall outs with Jimmy in the past, due to his inability to accept the fact that his Mum, (my Nan), had devoted so much of her time looking after us three. In fairness the war, and his illness played a big part in that. I still thought the world of him, and the more I thought about it, the more I warmed to the idea. One thing for certain, I could trust him and I knew that he'd do his best to assist me.

I decided to call in on Jim since he only lived a mile or so away. Marie was surprised when she answered the door, but he wasn't home from work yet. They had three children, and Mary their middle child was actually Rosie and my godchild.

I was quite ashamed, because I hadn't kept in touch, although to be honest they had moved house a few times. I didn't have to wait too long before Jim came home, and after some small chat, I suggested that we pop over the pub. I need to have a private chat Jim, there's a proposal I'd like to put to you.

I explained what would be required of him and set out his working conditions, and finally the wage he would receive. I had cheated a little bit, because Johnny had told me what he was earning in his present job. He eagerly accepted the job offer, and we agreed on a start time. I ain't got time to come back home with you, so give Marie a hug for me will ya? Come round and have a drink with me on Friday, then I'll explain everything. My plans were coming together.

Eddie was very optimistic about getting the piano player sorted out, and had received some encouraging signs regarding future work, provided that there would be no repeating the bad and unprofessional behaviour that had occurred in the past. Eddie was very excited because he was closing in on a six month contract to appear at the London Palladium. I didn't share his confidence, but I kept that to myself.

I told Eddie about my decision to take on our Uncle, and he was in full agreement, especially when I whispered that Brian's time was getting closer.

Brian had met Jimmy on a couple of previous occasions, and he helped him settle in to his new environment, even though he must have realised that by the very fact that Jimmy was taking over the job of Dock Runner, I was eroding his position in the Company. Jim had only been working for a couple of weeks when I spent the day with him on dockside. I had made the right decision, because he had taken to the job like a duck to water, and he was very popular. After all he was a nice man!

Fate was about to catch up with us, and it would appear at the birthday party in that pub in Hoxton. The place was heaving, and just about everybody who had anything to do with Smithfield Market was there. I didn't like talking 'shop' when out socialising, so I soon became bored. Eddie had spied a full size snooker table in a side room so we put our names down for a game. Brian didn't play snooker, but he had his face up people's arses anyway so we let him get on with it.

The table was now free so we racked up and started to play. We were halfway through our game when a crowd of rowdy lads came into the room. They had obviously been drinking rather heavily but that was no problem, nor was the noise that came with them, but things started to get out of hand. They all worked in the Market, and were north London men, and considered themselves to be a bit hard. We were from south London, and there had never been much love lost between these London regions.

Eddie hadn't played as much snooker as me, so he wasn't very good, but we were enjoying ourselves, but unfortunately our 'audience' were getting a bit impatient, and one particular bloke took it on himself to give Eddie a lot of barracking – a mistake! Eddie laughingly told him to fuck off, but this man was persistent. (Now if you've ever seen those wild life documentaries that are shown on television, well I'll try to paint the picture. Three lionesses had pulled down a large deer, when out of the blue a big male lion took charge of dinner. He did allow the 'girls' to have a mouthful now and again, then a pack of real ugly hyenas appeared and they kept snapping away, trying to gatecrash dinner, and this certainly upset the 'girls'. The 'king' roared at the pack from time to time, and they scattered only to return after a few moments. There was one real persistent fucker, but he came two close and in the blink of an eyelid, the big lion grabbed the hyena and ripped it apart) - Back to snooker.

Eddie had just missed a relatively easy pocket and 'loudmouth' leant over the table and took the piss. Eddie dropped his cue, then stretched across the table and grabbed his quarry by the shirt collar. He pulled him off his feet and across the table, then shook him like an old piece of rag. I stood between Eddie and the crowd, still clutching my snooker cue, just in case! They had startled looks on their faces, but made no move to help their friend. You've spoilt our game with that mouth of yours, if you fuck about any more I'll ram this cue down your throat, so fuck off and leave us alone. He then just slung him away, like the piece of shit he was. Once he'd pulled himself together and rejoined his mates, they all returned to the bar. The incident hadn't gone unnoticed, and I noticed that someone was blowing in Roy's ear. Our eyes met, and I gave him a sign, and mouthed the words 'its alright'. He seemed to be satisfied.

We tried to play on but it was a waste of time, because we were both pumped up, and that could be dangerous. Before we went back to the main bar Eddie turned to me. Jack don't get involved, remember we're guests at this party so just calm down and forget anything happened, lets go and find Brian. I just couldn't help myself, so as we passed the 'aggro crowd' I simply said, we're finished, the table's yours. We then found Brian and stood at the bar.

We were having a good time, and the little incident had been forgotten, by us anyway, when we were suddenly surrounded by four blokes, one of them being our loud mouth friend. He started to give Eddie a load of verbal, and accused him of causing trouble, because they were only having a lark. It is a fucking party after all. Eddie wasn't greatly concerned, but I was. It was nothing to do with what he was saying but the fact that he was stressing his argument by poking his finger at Eddie. I'd had enough, fuck the party. Oy you, stop poking that finger out. Some people never learn. He turned to me and carried on berating Eddie, but by now he was jabbing that finger at me. I've told you already and I won't tell you any more, now fucking listen to me, poke me any more and I'll fucking break it.

I don't know who he mixed with, but he must have been used to people who didn't mean what they say, because he carried on poking that finger at me. I grabbed his finger and bent it backwards until there was a loud crack, something had broken. He went as white as a sheet, and dropped to his knees, then started to be sick. The people either side of us suddenly stopped talking, and were staring open mouthed. The woman behind the bar started to scream out. Eddie took one look at me. Come on, we're out of here.

The pub door had just about closed behind us when Roy appeared, and he looked very angry and upset. Say sorry to your Mum, but that bastard started all the trouble. Thanks for the invite I'll be in touch. We marched round the corner and jumped into Eddie's car. No one had followed us, so that was the end of that, or so I thought.

Sarah had told Rosie that the large corner house that faced onto the Tonbridge Road was coming up for sale. She did home hairdressing, and the elderly lady that lived there had mentioned that they would be moving shortly. Sarah and Roy could not afford to buy such an expensive property, (how things can turn around), but more about that later. Sarah gave Rosie 'the wink'. We discussed the affordability and the suitability of the house, and decided that it would be ideal.

We didn't let the grass grow under our feet, so I went on their knocker and had a chat with the nice couple that lived there. The old boy was concerned as to whether I could afford his price, which I thought was a bit of a cheek, but knowing that Rosie was very keen to move to this house, I bit my tongue and politely informed him that I'm not in the habit of making offers that I could not afford. We settled on a price, and since there were no Estate Agents involved, the deal was settled on a handshake. I offered to give him a deposit, but he insisted that this was not necessary. I've shook your hand young man, and unless you change your mind, then the house is yours.

Rosie was very excited, and then went into overdrive with her planning. She made numerous visits to the house, and luckily the old couple made her very welcome, allowing her to examine, and measure every room. She was on a high, and really enjoying herself. I never interfered with any of her decisions regarding the interior, because she was very good at that sort of planning.

I made contact with the Building Society and they gave me the green light, so I instructed a Solicitor. We were on our way. We were additionally fortunate because a younger couple that we had come to know, were very keen to move onto the estate, and had expressed interest in our house. We very quickly agreed a price, so it seemed that everything was now in place to buy Rosie's dream house.

The move would not happen for a few months because the elderly couple were waiting on the builders to finish the building of their bungalow. This didn't cause any problems either for us, nor for Ray and Carol, so we decided to book a summer holiday, and enjoy the next few months.

There was very encouraging news from Eddie, because against all odds he seemed to have secured the London Palladium season for Russ, and this would mean that a decent bit of money would be headed our way. The remainder of the year would prove to be very exciting.

Brian had been working frantically to smooth over the shock waves that followed from the incident in Roy's Mum's Pub, and had begged me to come over to the Market on Friday lunchtime, where the people that we rowed with had agreed to a meet. I spoke to Eddie before making any promises, and pleased him by telling him that we'd meet him in The Cock at about one o'clock. How ya making out with my Uncle, is he doing the business? Brian spoke very highly of him, and confirmed exactly what I had thought. He was well liked and respected, and yes he was doing fine.

We pushed our way into the very crowded pub, and within seconds Brian was by our side. He pointed out a group of blokes, and amongst them was one who's arm was in a sling. They had noticed us as well. Eddie and me made our way to the far end of the bar, and Brian scurried off to the other end. I could see that he was in deep conversation and every now and again he made gestures in our direction. He then came back to us. His stammering was awful, but the message was that if we were prepared to shake hands, then it was finished.

Eddie gave it the nod, so we pushed our way to their end of the bar. Eddie stuck his hand out, but got no response. Then to my horror, the loudmouth in the sling, said. Well where's the apology? He looked at Brian. You told me that they were going to apologise for what they'd done. I was seething. He don't speak for me. Pointing at Brian, who by now had gone as white as a sheet. We've got nothing to apologise for, because it was you and your flash bollocks mates that caused all the trouble, you just came off worse. I felt Eddie's hand on my shoulder but couldn't stop myself. If you don't take that fucking smirk of your face, I'll put your other arm in a sling, you must be fucking stupid or something. That certainly concentrated their minds. Thanks for not getting the 'old bill' involved, but I never had you marked down as a 'grass'. I then turned to Brian. You'd better meet us back at the yard later, we need to talk. I just couldn't resist it, buy your mates a drink on the Firm, see ya later.

I knew that by mentioning the 'grass' word, in a pub like that, had made certain that he would never run to the Law, because he'd be unable to show his face in the Market again.

We had a laugh on our drive back to Bermondsey, and Eddie insisted on buying me a drink. I don't think we'll get much work from that lot do you? I'll spend some time with Jimmy on the quayside next week, there's plenty of other Importers. Then I looked at Eddie. I'm getting rid of Brian tonight, you've no problem with that have you? He smiled, I could see it coming, and so could he, no problem Bruv, I'll leave it up to you.

I paid the Drivers, well those that were back in the yeard, and tidied up all my paper work, so once we were alone I turned my attention to Brian. Bri that was a real stupid thing you did today, how dare you make promises on my behalf, you could have caused more trouble. He started to speak, but I put my hands up. Please let me finish, I can understand why you're anxious to keep in with those type of people, because you must know that we have no future together. Again I put my hand up, there are ways to do things Brian, and you've made a few silly mistakes, but we've been good for each other, so I'm prepared to put it down to experience. I know your Wife and Children, and would do nothing that might cause them any anguish, but this is the end between us, and all that's left for us to do, is try to be fair with each other. At one time I thought that he would burst out crying, thankfully, he didn't.

We agreed to work together for another month, where