The Allsorts

By Mairead Doherty and Brian Doherty

The "Allsorts is a book that incorporates so many of the special memories the author has of his own children and their friends as they grew up. It highlights the development of moral responsibility in children as they come to the end of their primary school years.

It is the author's hope that many children of this age will be inspired as they identify with characters and situations in the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Oct 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496989888

Mairead Doherty

Born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and grew up on a small farm in a place called Slaght, the author was always a free spirit and was eager to taste life’s bounty at every opportunity. In his twenties, while competing in world championship tug-of-war for Northern Ireland, he met up with the Australian ladies team of which Corinne Krarup was a member. The following year in 1993, he visited Corinne in Australia and continued their relationship, eventually getting married in January 1996. Their beautiful twins, Tiarnán and Máiréad, were born on 10 September 1997 on the exact anniversary of the date he met Corinne five years previously. He studied psychology in Australia and found that his desire to understand people and help them was his true vocation in life. They came back to Ireland in 2002 and built their beautiful house on his favorite spot on the home farm where they have lived happily since. He lost most of his eyesight a few years later as a result of retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that attacks the retina. Later he decided to begin studying again and, at present, doing a counseling degree. During this time, he wrote “The Allsorts,” a book that incorporates so many of the special memories he has of his own children and their friends as they grew up. It highlights the development of moral responsibility in children as they come to the end of their primary school years, and the author hopes that many children of this age will be inspired as they identify with the characters and situations in the story. His wife, Corinne; son, Tiarnán; and daughter, Máiréad, are everything to him and have been his inspiration and support for this book, and he loves them always.

Book preview

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Chapter 1

The Last School Bell

Long glorious summer days stretched out before them like an adventure that would hopefully never end. The biggest problem that faced the Allsorts (A name lovingly bestowed on the motley gang by old man Darcy who ran the sweet shop at the foot of hazelnut drive) was how to fritter away eight weeks of lazy, hazy, sunshiny days where school was only a building they walked or ran or cycled past on their way to somewhere much more exciting.

The six minutes since that final school bell sounded had seen a gaggle of hysterical kids charge along the shortcut from the school and down the gravel path behind the main street shops ending with Bri, Kev, Bets, Josie, Sue, Josh, Ted and Ellie tumbling through the narrow door of Darcy’s shop setting the overhead bell clanging madly as they went headlong over the bundle of evening papers that old man Darcy was preparing to put on the shelves. They ended up in a heap on the shop floor with multicoloured schoolbags, coats and indeed heads looking for all the world like a spilt bag of liquorice allsorts. Old man Darcy laughing so hard that tears ran down his ruddy, plump cheeks, exclaimed at last I’ve got the perfect name for you lot. From now on I’ll call you THE ALLSORTS.

Picking themselves up off the floor and swapping belongings until they matched with their owners, the gang looked at one another and then led by Bri they joined in a chorus of three cheers for the newly named ALLSORTS.

This day was just the best ever. Half an hour ago they had sat through the last few minutes of school for this year. Now the holidays had really begun, they had just received a proper name for their gang and they were leaving Darcy’s having spent the last of their school pocket money on an evening’s supply of penny chews, crisps, rainbow drops and spongy pink and white marshmallows.

This was one of the rare times when everyone was so happy that arguments were something that only other people had. Looking forward to tomorrow, the first day of the holidays gave the ALLSORTS that same excited, nervous, can’t sleep sort of feeling that they got on Christmas Eve or the night before their birthdays. Ellie described these feelings as the real meaning of the word happy.

Bri (short for Bryson) and Ellie Bradley were eleven year old twins and lived in what used to be the old vicarage with their mum, dad, and adopted brother and sister, Ted and Sue. Ted eleven years old and his nine year old sister Sue had been orphaned when their Mum and Dad were tragically killed in a car accident two years ago. Mr and Mrs Bradley had adopted the two and they were now part of the Bradley family.

On reaching the ivy draped sandstone pillars and ancient iron gates of the vicarage the four bade goodbye to their friends and raced up the winding tree lined driveway to the sun speckled garden where their mum was carefully weeding the vegetable patch. Hellos were shouted towards the garden and then replaced with Shrieks of excited laughter as schoolbags and uniforms were abandoned with conviction on the laundry floor, almost beside the washing machine.

Mrs Bradley laughed to herself when she next saw them launching themselves into the summer sky from the large blue trampoline which seemed to be the best present they had ever gotten. Ellie’s long brown hair which she had grown forever seemed to be moving one jump later than its owner. When she was up her hair was down and when she was down it was up. Her mum thought about how her own hair had been that long once upon a time. The other three had short hair of the same colour as Ellies. Mrs Bradley marvelled at how they really could all pass for brothers and sisters. Even their eyes were the same colour of vivid blue. It was a pleasure just to watch them play and to remember having that same fun in years gone by. Only grown ups can appreciate the passing of time which seems to stand still for children of this age.

Ten year old Kev ( short for Kevin )and his sister Bets (short for Bethany ) who was almost eleven, now walked at a leisurely pace with their first cousins ten year old Josie (short for Josephine ) and her eleven year old brother Josh ( short for Joshua ). They were still chattering and making plans for the holidays when they arrived at the cul de sac where their houses stood facing each other across a circular yard of red coloured gravel. Some patches of gravel seemed more pink than red where the sun was just squeezing through the thick leaves of the old oak trees which gave their homes the name Oak Cottages.

Kev and Bets followed closely behind Josh and Josie as they entered their cousin’s house and they greeted Mrs Cooper with a jumbled chorus of Hello Mum, Hello Auntie Pat, no more school, great, Yahoo, let’s go outside and play. You see Kev and Bet’s parents who worked in the linen mill in the nearby town of Middleton didn’t get home from work until 6 o’clock so their auntie Pat looked after the kids until then. The children loved this even though it meant they had to abide by the rules of the Cooper family. They were already old enough to understand that parents made rules for a purpose, and that was to keep the children safe, and help them to grow up into good responsible people. Anyhow the Cooper rules were more or less the same as the ones laid down by their own parents Mr and Mrs Burns. There was one big difference this evening and that was that no-one could ask them to do their homework. For two whole months the word homework would never be mentioned.

In a flash the four had changed into shorts, t-shirts and trainers and already complete with neon coloured safety helmets were asking Mrs Cooper if they could ride their bikes down the laneway to see their friends whom they had just left less than an hour ago. (They knew that their parents didn’t have a problem with them riding their bikes on the road since they had only lately completed a cycle safely course at school which they had all passed with flying colours. Let’s not mention the fact that only last week Mr Burns caught Kev trying to ride his bike around the yard on it’s rear wheel. A scolding wasn’t even necessary. The bruise on his bum when he fell off against the garden kerb would be a good enough reminder about the dangers of such stunts.)

But instead of saying yes, Mrs Cooper just pointed towards the laundry door. The kids knew straight away what had to be done so without any argument they abandoned their bikes on the gravel and against the wall and raced inside to put their school uniforms in the laundry basket and schoolbags in the cupboard. During the school week Auntie Pat always washed Kev and Bets’ clothes along with those of her own pair saying that it was just as easy to wash a full load. This was a great help to Mrs Burns especially when she was tired after a hard day’s work at the mill. Kev and Bets were now at the age when they could understand how kind their aunt was, doing these things to help out their family. They always made sure that they done as many things as they could to help their Auntie Pat and repay her for the kindness she always showed to them. Having avoided possible trouble they jumped on their bikes again, the other three shouting hurry ups to Bets who took a moment to give her favourite aunt a thanks for everything type hug on the way past. Auntie Pat beamed with pleasure at this welcome gesture and watched as the lively redhead picked up her bike and wobbled off to catch up with the others. It wasn’t difficult to spot that Kev and Bets were brother and sister. In fact they could quite easily have passed for twins with their red wavy hair and freckled complexions.

After the kids had disappeared from view she felt a little sad that her own children didn’t give her hugs like that as often as she would like. Maybe it was just that Bets was growing up a little faster than the others and she already understood how important it is to show affection and gratitude to the people whom we love. It is so true that mums and dads love to get hugs and kisses from their children and it is at times like these that we can feel what family love is all about. Families who love each other feel happy when they are near each other and they feel lonely or sometimes worried when they are apart. Even though we sometimes have arguments, our love remains strong and we are soon happy again. There is no better feeling than knowing that you love your family and that they love you too. The Allsorts were just reaching an age where they were beginning to understand the importance of family and friends. Their baby years were already becoming a far away memory.

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Chapter 2

Plans For Tomorrow

It took Bets the whole half mile from Oak Cottages to the sandstone pillars of the old vicarage to finally catch up with the rest. They were pulled up, leaning on the pillars with one hand while balancing on the pedals ready for a final burst of energy which would take them all the way up the evening shaded driveway. Bets rounded the corner and momentarily took the lead as the others pushed off hard from the pillars. Her face was crimson and she now stood upright on the pedals in an effort to beat them to the top.

Just as she was trying incredibly hard to prevent them from passing, there was a loud pop, popping sound and the race was over as they almost fell off their bikes in fits of uncontrollable laughter. YUK! Shouted Kev pretending that the smell was about to choke him. I didn’t realise that girls fluffed (a word meaning fart that the more mannerly children at school used). Poor Bets was very embarrassed, her face momentarily becoming more red than her hair but instead of being childish she joined in the laughter along with the rest. Her cousin Josh said that it was good to get the holidays off to a roaring start and once again this sent everyone into bouts of giggling. Secretly the others admired Bets for the way she had been able to handle this embarrassing situation without getting cross, or sulky which is what would have happened about a year ago. As they picked up their bikes and set off wheeling them the last few yards up to the house they were still laughing and Josie couldn’t help wondering if she would have been as grown up as her cousin, in the same situation.

Bri and the others were still jumping like mad things on the trampoline, and almost out of breath shouted for their friends to join them.

You four can have a go now and we’ll lie here on the grass and watch Bri said as they somersaulted off the end of the trampoline just missing landing in the oval fish pond where their dad kept his multicoloured Japanese fish. After jumping wildly for a short while the four sat down