9. BIGGLES AND A BRA

Wallace starts his secondary education

It took a change of schools for Wallace to lose touch with Ricky Shepherd, who had been his closest friend and sometimes ally since his first day at the Infant school, where he had been subjected to the worst and then the best of human nature by two contrasting nuns. But Ricky went to the John Hudson Grammar school, a boys only establishment that prided itself in the way it prepared boys for Universities or colleges. He had, it seemed, a greater aptitude for academia than did Wallace, who found himself reduced to attending the Mickelthwaite Secondary Modern School.

It was at Mickelthwaite School that Wallace formed a friendship with Innocent Umbago, a bright and cheerful lad with an African ancestry and a fondness for all things to do with space. This, of course, was before there had been any terrestrial adventure into space. Sputnik, the Russian craft that had bleeped its way in orbit round the Earth, was still three years or so off

But Innocent had a little book, and he showed it to Wallace on their first day at Mickelthwaite School.

“I’ve had this since I was too young to write,” he said, and showed him the first page on which he had drawn a childish picture of a rocket. “I was only four when I did this,” he said proudly, “I copied it out of a comic.”

“It’s good,” acknowledged Wallace.

“And since then, every time I’ve learned something about space and the stars I’ve written it down,” said Innocent proudly, “until, that is, Miss Girdler in my Junior School told me some lies!”

“A teacher?” asked Wallace, shocked, “telling lies?”

“She told me lies,” confirmed Innocent, “and I wrote them down. Look here: I’ve crossed them out!”

It was the last page of his notebook and he had placed a wiggly line over a few lines of writing.

“I can’t make it out,” confessed Wallace.

“Well,” said Innocent, what I wrote down is what Miss Girdler told us in class. She said that the sun was a hundred times bigger than the Earth and that the Earth was a hundred times bigger than the moon, and that’s all wrong! I checked it in a library book and the sun’s much bigger than a hundred times the size of the Earth!”

“That’s amazing,” breathed Wallace, meaning it was amazing that a teacher could get anything wrong.

“I told her,” said Innocent, “and she threatened to smack me for being cheeky! I think it’s disgusting when a boy knows more than his teachers, don’t you?”

“Outrageous,” agreed Wallace. “Tell me some more.”

“Well,” grinned the dark-skinned boy, “I wrote down about the planets. I think it’s really wonderful that our world is only one of several and that there might be men on some of the others. Mars is likely. It’s a bit smaller than the Earth but I reckon it’s got some air. Not enough for us to breathe maybe, but enough for men who evolved on it. There might be underground cities and stuff like that. I’d love to meet a Martian, wouldn’t you?”

Wallace hadn’t thought about it before but suddenly he realised that there was a whole lot of stuff he ought to know about, but didn’t.

“Yes,” he said, awe-struck at the breadth of knowledge held by his new friend, “yes I would.”

“We’re white like you or black like me, and other colours in between, but what if Martians were green?” posed Innocent. “You know, like the green roof of the Council Hall, where the copper its coated with has become green with copper rust.”

“Green men? Awesome,” breathed Wallace.

“Our blood is red because it’s to do with what it’s made of, which is iron,” Innocent told him, “but what if Martians had green blood because it’s made of copper?”

“Awesome!” repeated Wallace.

And with that conversation a friendship was formed, one that was cemented into their lives over the days and weeks to come. Wallace found himself getting increasingly interested in the things that Innocent knew so much about, and at the same time he introduced his friend to Biggles.

Biggles was a character in a whole set of adventures in books, a pilot from the first world war who flew in one of the rickety planes that was all they had back then, yet who still managed to have adventures in the skies. And Innocent became an avid Biggles fan and one of their favourite games was being the characters from the books as they charged about the playground at school, or, after school, the park that was just about equidistant from their two homes.

Helen was proud of her son for developing a friendship with a racially different boy, especially one who seemed to be a positive influence on him, and clever with it.

“He’s really bright,” she told Amy over a cake and tea in the library cafe. Amy worked in the that library, full time now that Maureen was no longer a child, and this was her lunch break. Her income helped the family because Jess, despite trying everything, had to accept his injuries limited what he could do. Even driving was out, what with the way his leg ached after too long at the wheel, and he’d long fancied a job driving buses for a living.

“Jess is portering at the hospital,” Amy told Helen. “He’s tried no end of jobs, but there’s often a problem. It’s that leg of his. But our Maureen’s got fixed up, working at the swimming baths on the booth, taking money and the like. She’s happy enough there, she says.”

“Did I hear she was walking out with a lad?” asked Helen.

Amy snorted. “You mean Sid. That’s a story and a half, that is,” she said, “according to our lass he wanted a bit too much and tried to touch her you know where, chest,” she said, “and out Maureen was having none of it! She says her body’s hers till she finds a husband and she don’t want any lad to touch her where it ain’t welcome! So she’s finished with him, and good riddance is what I say. You know what it can be like, Helen, a lad might cop a feel of a bra one day and who knows where it’s going to end up.”

“Like you after your William went a bit too far with you?” asked Helen.

“Now that’s enough of that talk!” grinned Amy, “and yes, but things were different back then. There was too much talk of war and youths being called up even though Chamberlain had reckoned there’d be peace. Anyway, that’s my excuse, and if we hadn’t done you know what then there’s be no Maureen, and I love her to bits!”

“I know, I know, I know,” laughed Helen, “and your Maureen does right to keep fellas at an arm’s length.”

“That’s what I tell her,” nodded Amy, “and she will. She’s a good girl, you know. Tips up her pay packet and helps with the chores. But you know what, Helen, I reckon she misses your Wallace even though she’s getting on to be a grown woman and he’s still a kid.”

Helen nodded. “And he probably misses her, too,” she sighed.

© Peter Rogerson 05.06.19