The Pearly Queen Read Online Free PDF

don’t think we’d better tell the neighbours she’s started to call ’erself Mother Mary.’
    â€˜Dad, I don’t want no bread and water,’ said Betsy. ‘I just ’ad me supper and a cup of tea.’
    â€˜Let’s clear up,’ said Dad in hearty fashion.
    They cleared up, washed up and tidied up, then Jimmy went out for a walk. No-one asked where he was going. They knew he was going to walk around and talk to himself. He’d been doing that a bit in the evenings since he’d lost his job.
    This is a fine time for Mum to go off her chump, he said to himself as he began his walk. Dad’s handling her fairly well, but Betsy can’t think what’s happening, and Patsy’s going to lose patience quick. And I’ve got to get . . .
    â€˜â€™Ello, Jimmy, fancy seem’ you,’ said neighbour Mrs Shaw from her open door.
    â€˜Yes, I only just got back from the North Pole,’ said Jimmy.
    â€˜Beg yer pardon?’ said Mrs Shaw.
    â€˜Just a joke, Mrs Shaw.’
    â€˜I saw yer mum a bit ago,’ said Mrs Shaw. ‘She went in the public baths. Is she all right? Only I ’eard she’s been goin’ out a lot, every day I ’eard. ’As she got a job doin’ daily cleanin’ or something now you lost yer own job? Me old man says that’s terrible ’ard luck on a young bloke like you, ’specially now yer old enough to start takin’ girls out. Not that we’ve ’eard if you’ve got a girl or not, only Mrs Carey was only sayin’ to me last week she expects a ’and some boy like you is bound to ’ave a girl somewhere. You’re not sayin’ much, I notice.’
    â€˜Well, you’re doin’ fine by yourself, Mrs Shaw,’ said Jimmy. ‘I don’t feel you need a lot from me. You carry on.’
    â€˜Well, I do ’ope you get another job soon, Jimmy, and that yer mum’s all right,’ said Mrs Shaw, deaf to little digs from anybody. ‘Only I said ’ello to ’er the other day when she was on ’er way somewhere, and she just walked by me as if I wasn’t there, like, and today I saw ’er goin’ up to the Walworth Road with a banner. Mind, it was folded and under ’er arm, so I couldn’t see what was on it – ’ere, where’s ’e gone?’ She addressed the startled question to empty air. Jimmy had resumed his walk. ‘Well, what a funny fam’ly they’re gettin’ to be.’
    Poor old Ma Shaw, said Jimmy to himself. When they get like that they finish up talking to lampposts. I reckon lampposts have a lot to put up with, what with dogs weeing over them and kids shinning up them. What does she mean, do I have a girl? Fat lot of use I’d be to any girl while I don’t have a job. I know what I have got, a gorblimey headache on account of no work. I don’t like being unemployed, I’ll have to buy some daily papers that advertise situations vacant. I think I fancy a well-paid job with a firm that won’t go bust. Suppose I got fixed up with a decent boss whose daughter fell for me? Crikey, I like the sound of that, no good being too proud. Watcher, lamppost, fancy being on the wrong end of a chat? I’ll send Ma Shaw along, you’re bound to get to know her sometime. He walked around in this fashion for a while, it helped to ease his frustrations. He didn’t like the thought of Dad being the sole provider for the family again, especially now Mum was being a barmy worry.
    He was back home a few minutes before Mother returned wearing a fresh blouse and skirt and carrying her discarded costume. She said nothing about doling out bread and water, she said she’d met a nice religious woman while they were both waiting for baths to become available. The woman had a husband who was a shocking sinner, he went in for drink something chronic. So Mother said she and her friend Mother