My feet hit the floor of the caravan and I’m awake. I go out and wash my face in cold water, using the tap in the car park – rain or shine. The pub has an outside toilet, too. I avail myself of it, as and when. Oh happy day!
At least I’m not at home with my parents and brother any more. That was not nice. I am now free to live however I choose ( within the bounds of my humble 1970s budget ) – I have friends who come round to listen to music – talk rubbish – have a laugh – or traipse round town with. We all have longish hair, our clothes are unremarkable; practical, like jeans or in my case combat trousers, you know – durable. Rents were affordable. Multiple occupancy houses were popular – many of which hadn’t really been done up since the war. You got what you paid for. Also, lots of empty places so squatting was common.
Personally speaking, when I was in my teens I had no fear – might have been because of very low self-worth. Or lack of common sense. Hard to say….I often went hitch-hiking. To London – to see bands. To free festivals in the summer. To bum around. To see what might happen.
Admittedly, I had been encouraged to do various jobs as I grew up. To get outdoors.
I don’t remember saying ” I don’t want to…”, there would have been no point. It was expected of me and I liked being in new situations. I was getting a bit of regular dosh – I could buy records, literally anything that caught my ear that week. I had no conception of “good taste” or whatever – still don’t…everything has something interesting about it, that’s what I’ve always thought.
I was about 10 when I started doing an early morning paper round – on my bike – lot’s of boys did one – rarely girls, as I recall. My Sunday round started in the dark in winter – I just did it unquestioningly – don’t remember ever being ill – if anything, it probably toughened me up. There was an old bloke who’d been in the navy – an early riser. He unfailingly gave me a tot of rum to ” keep the wolf from the door ” – there were many dangerous freedoms back then. However, I have no recollection of any ” threat ” from grown-ups, apart from an occasional clip round the ear – maybe I was just lucky.
I did all sorts of odd jobs – physical, manual work. I graduated to working in kitchens at weekends by the age of 13. You could go to hotels – I lived in a seaside town, they always needed washer-uppers. Cash in hand. And plenty to eat…..I was, becoming self-reliant I suppose.
I’m the kind of person who’s a bit “slow to realize” – so all the above was an immeasurably valuable real-world education.