Once Upon a Crime Read Online Free PDF Page B

confidence and boldness. Once my target had been sighted I would act quickly but never in a rush. It was important to look and feel natural and it was always an advantage to be of good appearance, clean and tidy. If you enter a store dressed in a well-cut suit then people naturally assume that you are respectable. There were lots or other tricks I learned over the next few years that enabled me to steal thousands of pounds worth of goods in a single day.
    I always took this type of work very seriously and was constantly striving to be as professional as I could be. But it is important to stress that there were other factors in play here. Firstly, I liked my ‘work’. In fact, it was more than liked – I loved it! Secondly, there was the element known in the trade as the ‘buzz’. Though I probably wouldn’t have been able to articulate it as such in those early days of becoming a career criminal, I was certainly aware of the warm glow I felt whenever I was successful. The term used these days is ‘adrenaline junkie’ and that is very appropriate, as I was well and truly hooked.
    I was now into my final year at school and I elected to stay on until the following Easter, in 1969. The reason for this had nothing to do with exams or furthering my education but everything to do with winning my football colours. This very prestigious and much sought-after award was given at the end of the school term to the player who had not only been the most valuable to the team but who had led by example. I had an outstanding season in the senior football team, finishing top scorer and being voted Player of the Year, and it had the perfect ending with me winning my colours. Theaward ceremony was conducted in the assembly hall of the school, where I was called onto the stage and presented with my colours for ‘outstanding contribution and achievement’. This is something that I remain very proud of to this day.
    I left school on that very day and my formal education was over. It was now time for me to join the big, bad world. I was curious to see what it had to offer me in an official capacity. I was soon to learn the answer: not much.
    Before I had left school an interview had been arranged with the careers officer that consisted of him giving me the addresses of two local factories and being told to apply for a job there. I chose the nearest one to home. It was repetitive work, but there was a good group of young guys there. I would give my ma £ 4 a week from my wages, which left me £ 3. That was more than enough for me as I would supplement my income with my Saturday thieving sprees. I also took orders for goods in advance and would deliver them to the customers at work. This meant that my thieving stepped up a notch and there were times when I would travel to towns like Reading, Slough and Windsor.
    The job lasted for about six months until I had an argument with a foreman and sabotaged one of the production sheds. Being out of work did not affect me in any financial way. It was quite the opposite, as it allowed me to go full time with the thieving and I also indulged in breaking and entering. I’m sure Ma knew what I was up to as she would occasionally say to me, ‘You better watch yourself or you’re gonnae get yourself in bother.’ On the one hand I wanted to help Ma as much as I could but I knew that if I gave her too much money she would only worry about me all the more.
    One thing I would like to make clear is that Ma never everasked me for anything. Yes, maybe she turned a blind eye to what I was up to, but she never encouraged me to get anything. It should be remembered that she was on her own and still had my siblings at home who were growing fast. While she always did her best for all of us and put us first, there must have been times when it was very difficult. I would sometimes come home with clothes, saying I had got a good deal from a guy at the market.
    The youth club was still on and one Friday evening in March