B..The Lift Home

The lift home

It was good of you to give me a lift home, what with the shopping and
all. I was getting cold and wet standing at the bus-stop. I don't know
why they call them shelters. They don't shelter you from anything.
Busses never come along when you want one, do they?
Oh, you don't use the busses.
No, I haven't a car, I sold it when my husband died. Well, I had never
learnt to drive and traffic moves so fast now, it frightens me to half
to death.

When I was younger it didn't seem necessary. Occasionally one of my
boyfriends would take me out in his father's car. When we were dating
we used the buses. Life seemed so simple then, back row of the cinema,
where we could kiss and cuddle, then round to the Chippy for fish and
chips. Holding hands, running through the rain, laughing and shouting,
trying to be first in the queue. We never were of course! The shop all
warm and steamy. They cooked fresh then. None of those half cold flabby
chips you get now. I remember when the first new potatoes came in. Now,
that was a treat. You had to pay a penny extra for new! As winter went
on, the potatoes got worse and worse. Full of wormholes and black bits
where the frost caught them. Sometimes the chips were quite dark and
flabby and had a sweetish taste. By early summer we were all looking
forward to the new crop. It didn't matter that the new chips were
short, they were crisp and tasted lovely. When the Chippy had taken our
order, it was all put together and lowered into the boiling fat in
individual baskets. We would wait at the back whilst they cooked.

Our chip shop was posh! It had a jukebox and we would stand around it
listening to the latest tunes. Often we would see our friends there and
arrange all-night parties, if the parents were going away. When the
order was cooked we would greedily watch as the golden contents of the
strainer was turned out on greaseproof paper, sprinkled with salt and
vinegar and tightly wrapped in newspaper. Then down to the bus-stop to
wait for the buses. At the bus-stop we'd tear a small hole in the end
of the package and dip our fingers in and gingerly pull out the
steaming chips or pieces of fish.

Oh! Look at those clothes in the shop window. Nothing smart, all jeans
and T-shirts. Not at all feminine. Did you see that film star at the
Oscars, well, she didn't leave anything to the imagination, did she?
Just two strips of fabric joined at the shoulder, and they say those
dresses cost a fortune.

Us girls, we liked to dress up, of course. You ought to have seen us.
We must have looked quite a fright, but we thought we looked the cat's
whiskers. But the boys were just as vain. We wore tight tops and short
very full skirts. Underneath we had layers and layers of petticoats
which all had to be starched, even the nets, so they pricked our legs.
Later they were made out of paper nylon, which was stiff. I remember my
uncle went to America and brought back a beauty. It was blue with stiff
nylon under a layer of net. On top of that, blue lacy nylon, edged with
ribbon. The idea was to get the skirt to sit out as straight as
possible. We all wore stockings and suspenders then, they hadn't
invented tights. So they wouldn't show when we danced, we wore witches
breeches. These were pants with long tight legs and rows and rows of
lace and ribbon. You must have seen photos of Little Mo playing tennis
in her short skirt and frilly knickers. Haven't you? She caused quite a
stir at Wimbledon, earlier.

There's the shoe shop, I've traipsed all over trying to find a
comfortable pair of shoes. I don't know how these youngsters walk in
them nowadays! They look so heavy and awkward.

Mind you, our shoes were useless in winter. They were made of suede or
shiny patent, very pointed and just covering our toes. The Americans
called them pumps. The heels were very high and slender. They were made
of wood which easily broke if you caught them in a grating or between
the slabs of the pavement. Many's a time you'd see a girl crying her
eyes out, wobbling along with one broken shoe in her hand. They cost a
fortune, usually a week's wages.

Oh! Just look at those girls. One's got blue and the other's got
bright red hair. They look as though they haven't had a comb through it
for weeks. Looks as if they have just got out of bed!

We back-combed our hair into a beehive. We spent ages getting it
smooth and just so. Because my hair was curly I used to stick it down
with beer between two sheets of paper, held down with clothes pegs and
used sugar water to keep it from flying about in the wind. There was no
hairspray then. At night I slept in huge blue rollers, most
uncomfortable.

Whoops! He pulled out a bit sharpish, didn't he? Nearly cut you off!
Roundabouts, I hate roundabouts. Give me traffic lights any day. You
know where you are with traffic lights. When the light is red, the
traffic stops and you can walk across the road. You try walking across
a roundabout!

Now where was I? Oh yes! So we froze in winter and hugged our
fish-and-chips and cuddled up to each other trying to keep warm while
we waited for the bus. If we were caught in the rain we looked a sorry
sight. Black streaks of mascara mixed with red rouge and green eye
shadow running down our cheeks combining with the beer and sugar water
on our shoulders.

Oh! Here's the park, I like this bit of town, it always looks cheery
with the flowers. They look a bit bedraggled today in the rain, don't
they? Ah! There's the grandstand. I always look out for it. After I was
married and first moved here we used to come down Sunday afternoons and
sit in the deck chairs to listen to the music.

In summer of course, us kids went up the Rec.

Core! Did you see that couple cuddling by the bandstand and in broad
daylight too. His hands were all over her. I could hardly look for the
shame. It's all out in the open now, isn't it?

Sex? We were never told about sex, we had to find out for ourselves. A
boy told me you couldn't get pregnant standing up! One of my friends
found out the hard way! She became pregnant and had to get married even
though he soon ran off with someone else. Well! You either had to get
married or were sent away as soon it started to show. When the baby was
born it was put up for adoption. The girl had to come home as if
nothing had happened and it was never mentioned in the family
again.

Boys had the bright idea that they wanted to marry a virgin but still
tried it on with anyone who was willing. It was called "Sowing their
wild oats." Well! When the Pill came in, didn't things change. We said
"What had been sauce for the gander was now sauce for the goose!" The
boys didn't like that, of course. Typical males thought they could go
on as before, but they wouldn't have to worry. They thought a trip to
the cinema and a fish and chip supper could buy them anything. They
wouldn't need so many haircuts!
Haven't you heard about the barbers? Until the Pill, barbers used to
sell condoms. When a man had his hair cut, the barber would ask
"Anything for the weekend, Sir?" If you weren't married you had to find
a barber who was also "A bit of a lad" and didn't ask questions. Mind
you, you had to go through some to get the Pill. You could only get it
through the family planning clinic to start off with. This meant buying
a cheap ring from Woollies, to pretend that you were just married. You
had to spin them a yarn about not being able to have children yet as
you had to live with your in-laws. Housing was difficult to come by
then! They asked a lot of questions as to why you did not use other
methods, saying it didn't matter if you did fall, seeing as you were
married. Then a physical, and they were none too gentle, even though
they were women. Telling you all the time that abstinence is the best
contraceptive. Than as long as you remembered to take it, you were
safe.

Listen to me prattling on, telling you a lot of things and you only
interested in what you have to do when you get home.
That's right dear, turn down here. You could drop me off at the next
corner. You mustn't take me to the door.
Really you didn't have to, it's too kind! I could have walked that
short distance.

Well, I will say goodbye and thanks again for the lift.