Portobello
Road; W10
by
Chris Sullivan ©2017
It
was nineteen-ninety – a new millennium, we called it, although the
millennium proper with all its problems and terror was ten years
away.
I
was standing on the corner of Portobello Road and Cambridge Gardens,
looking for my pal, my old buddie Barry. It was seven-thirty in the
morning and I should have met him at six. I knew he'd still be
around, somewhere, as we had come to search for bargains. We were
going to be high end antique dealers and millionaires. Barry had
been watching The
Antiques Road Show
on television, he had a Miller's
Collectibles book
and
I was a subscriber to The
Antiques Trade Gazette
and Exchange
& Mart;
so we were ready to go.
Portobello
Road was and is quite an atmospheric location to hang out on Friday
mornings, so I didn't mind too much as there was plenty to see: up
the street I could see the junk dealers and gypsies loading their
stalls; someone had brought their merchandise and rubbish on a horse
and cart and as the cart was being unloaded the horse stood there
depositing garden fertilizer on to the road surface, which used to be
called the horse road in years gone by.
One
solitary horse in a street; a street which was part of a city which,
a hundred years before, would have housed, or stabled, two hundred
and fifty thousand of them. Each week, hundreds or so dead horses
would be taken from London to be disposed of, together with many
millions of tons of horse manure for agriculture.
In
some parts of the world, and not too long ago in London, people would
run out from their dwellings and collect the dung with a spade and
fill buckets as the manure was great for their gardens. This time it
just lay there, steaming.
It
is supposed to be good for agriculture because horses don't fully
digest their food if it isn't grass; bits of undigested oats in their
excrement feed the sparrows too but these days there are very few
horses about and consequently very few sparrows.
Somewhere
in the melee of dealers and boxes was Barry and as I looked for him
at the junk end of the street I knew that behind me, under the
canopies and stalls with covers, was the posh end.
Jim
had told me that on the posh side many many thousands of pounds would
change hands before dawn every Friday; Friday was the trade
day
and Saturday was for the tourists and public.
Jim
was a gypsy from Ireland; he cleaned out jumble sales and car boot
sales and brought everything to Portobello Market, and whatever was
left at the end of the day he would donate to the local tip where
other dealers would buy the stuff from the people in charge.
He
seemed to do okay spending most of his holidays touring the continent
in his tiny caravan with his wife and large family. As I looked
around for Barry I could see Jim standing on the other side of the
street, behind his stall, smoking a cigarette and sitting on a pile
of cardboard boxes.
'Hi
Jim' I said as I walked to his stall.
'Did
you do any good?'
'I've
just arrived' I said 'have you seen Barry?'
'I
told you to get here for six if you want to stand a chance' he said
sarcastically, puffing on his fag.
'I
overslept' I said.
It
seemed a bit of a strange thing to say, at that time of the morning,
- I had been up since dawn! How can that be oversleeping?
I
had dashed out of the house, driven like a maniac down the A40,
luckily found a parking spot in Ladbroke Grove and walked along
Cambridge Gardens to the spot I said where I would meet Barry all
before seven thirty; very unusual for me!
'Have
you seen him?' I asked again.
'I
just arrived myself' he said, as he took out another fag and lit it
on his old one: 'I'll unpack as soon as I've had my smoke.'
'Think
it'll be a good day, today?' I said.
'These
days people don't want to spend any money.' he said.
I
left him complaining and moaning and going on about back
in the day
and how things used to be when you could buy a twopenny cigarette and
a cup of tea for less than a quid.
We
came here at Jim's suggestion – we?
- where was Barry? But it doesn't matter where you go nothing is the
same – and why would it be?
In
my day people had rickets!!
The
pair of us, me and Barry, and even Barry and me, were novice antique
dealers. He knew a lot more than I did and I was learning as we went
along. I had a few bob in my pocket, from being made redundant, and I
wanted to make money with it as opposed to pissing it up the wall or
losing it at the bookies; if we saw something cheap, that we could
sell at a profit, we'd buy it.
We
went to antique fairs, car boot sales and auctions: learning all the
time, buying a bit here and a bit there. Antique Fairs were funny;
little old ladies hiding behind a great pile of porcelain doing their
knitting; they didn't seem to be in business at all. It was as if
they'd taken the contents from their front room to display at the
local church hall or hotel. If anybody asked how much something was,
the stall holder would come out from her knitting, stand in front of
the table, and give a full history of whatever was for sale.
All
the customer wanted to know was the price!
I
think the only good thing about those kind of fairs with the
ridiculously high prices was that some of the prices are sometimes
ridiculously low!
Barry
bought a piece of Clarice
Cliff
one day from a 'know all' dealer for ten pounds and sold it to
another for a hundred.
There
was a little bit of an alley way near Jim's stall which led to
another road where there is sometimes a parking space where Barry
would park if it was available. All I had to do was to look for the
blue Volvo with a load of smoke coming from it and I would inevitably
find Barry. It didn't take long; there was no smoke, as he wasn't
smoking, but I saw the silly roof rack first.
Barry
had gone in to debt for the car and it looked quite smart – apart
from the roof rack which was about twenty years older than the car
and made it look quite scruffy – a nice blue Volvo and a scruffy
roof rack!
He
was sitting in the front seat, reading a newspaper and scoffing a bag
of chips. That was the nice thing about the neighbourhood
on market days; you could buy chips from dawn.
I
knocked on the window and he pressed the button and it opened 'where
you been?' he asked.
'Overslept!'
'Silly
bugger.'
I
thought he was going to continue reading his newspaper when I saw him
turn away but he was reaching for something under the seat.
'What's
that?' he said, holding up a candlestick.
'A
candlestick?'
'I
reckon that's Sheffield
Plate'
he said, stuffing it back under the seat.
I
knew that Sheffield Plate was a fusion of copper and silver plate –
something like that – as I'd looked it up in Barry's book but I'd
never seen it before.
He
told me that he'd spent all his money and hoped for about three
hundred profit – if he could sell it all.
He
got out and we walked off 'I'm going for a cuppa – do you want
one?' he said.
I
nodded and told him I was going to give it a try no matter how late I
was and left him.
As
I walked back to Portobello I saw an attractive young red headed girl
talking to Jim as he was putting his goods out on the stall.
As
I approached, Jim said 'watch this fella - he'll bite your hand off
for a bargain.'
'Take
no notice of Jumble Jim, love' I said 'when he's not here he's at his
villa in Spain.'
'I
wouldn't mine being in a villa anywhere today' she said as she rubbed
her hands together.
Jim
took some kind of scroll out from one of his boxes; I picked it up
and opened it slightly and I could see Hebrew writing – The Dead
Sea Scrolls? I thought.
'How
much?' I asked.
'Fifty'
said Jim.
I
put it down.
'How
much did you say?' said the girl.
'Fifty'
said Jim 'fifty pence.'
'You're
on' said the girl giving him a fifty pence coin and walking off with
the scroll.
I
stood there with my mouth open. Fifty bloody pence and I thought he
meant fifty pounds.
'See
you Jim' I said and walked after her.
She
went behind one of the stalls at the posh end then Barry stopped me
and bunged a cup of tea in to my hand.
'Who's
that girl?' I said
'What
girl?'
'That
red head there. Going behind the stall' I said between gritted teeth.
'Don't
know – must be casual' he said, adding 'why do you fancy her?'
'She's
just bought a Jewish scroll from Jim. Go and find out how much it is'
I said as I took Barry's tea from him before walking over the street
and ducking behind a car.
I
watched Barry talking to her; I didn't really want her to know I was
still interested. They chatted and he came back.
'How
much?'
'Hundred
and fifty pounds' he said.
'How
much?' I repeated.
'One
hundred and fifty pounds.'
'You're
joking.'
'I'm
not' he said 'it's cheap; must be worth about six hundred.'
'Are
you sure?'
'Maybe
more' he said 'and I'm skint.'
'If
you're sure we'll buy it between us – fifty fifty.'
I
gave my cup of tea to Barry and walked towards . . . towards the
scroll.
'Hello
again' I said to her 'guess what I'm after?'
She
lit up a cigarette and shrugged.
'I'll
give you a profit on the scroll.'
'Sounds
fair' she said and she kind of batted her eye lids at me as she took
a huge pull from her fag.
'How
does a fiver sound?' I said.
'Sounds
terrible' was her reply - 'I told your pal the price when you were
hiding behind that car.'
'You
saw me?'
'I
saw you.'
I
took three fifty pound notes from my back pocket.
'Is
that your best?' I said as I picked up the scroll and handed over the
money.
'You
want me to knock something off?'
I
nodded.
'How
does a fiver sound?' she said.
'Terrible.'
I said and I took the fiver.
Just
along Cambridge Gardens is a tiny park; Portobello Green. It seemed
to attract drunks and the down and outs from the neighbourhood; I
thought the best thing to do was to go in there, sit on a bench and
look at it.
'Where
you going?' said Barry as I swept past him.
'To
look at it.'
'What
about your tea?' he said as he trotted up to me.
'Come
on' I said and we went into the park.
The
place was full of drunks, as usual, with the signs of drug taking and
condoms by the only vacant bench. Barry came running up behind me
intent on making me drink the dreaded tea.
'Don't
run, Nick' he said 'they'll think we pinched it.'
I
wasn't running just walking fast; I couldn't wait to have a look. I
approached a man who had either fallen or taken a severe beating. The
right hand side of his face was covered in cuts and his forehead had
a large newly formed abrasion; he muttered something as he staggered
past.
'You
okay, mate?' I said.
'Do
you have fifty pee?'
I
gave him a pound coin and sat on the bench. Barry sat beside me and
put the tea into my hand as I handed the scroll to him.
He
looked at the outside, turned it around to see if it was straight or
not then, very carefully, unrolled it and looked at the Hebrew
writing. His face was filled with wonder and appreciation.
'It's
worth a lot more than I thought' he said, looking at me; I could see
a tear in the corner of his eyes, 'it's worth millions and millions;
as much as you can imagine.'
'That
much?' I said.
'That's
what it's worth' he said 'but you want the price.'
I
nodded.
'Bring
this to me at Covent Garden on Monday and I reckon Invernezzi will
give me a couple of grand for it; maybe more.'
'Take
it with you.' I said.
'No
no – it's yours – I haven't parted with any money yet.'
'I
said fifty-fifty; I wouldn't have known how much it was worth; I
never saw one before.'
He
looked at me with that look he always gave when I've said something
silly 'I've told you before' he said 'anything Jewish is always worth
buying.'
He
handed the scroll back to me very carefully, as if it was thousands
of years old; it might have been, for all I knew.
A
man came into the park; he was walking very slowly and it was obvious
that he was coming towards us. He wore a white trench coat and a
black trilby hat and as he walked he was rubbing his jaw as if it
helped him ruminate. His body movement together with his appearance
reminded me of a Jewish Humphrey Bogart. I looked at him and a half
smile lit up his face.
'Who's
this?' I whispered to Barry.
'Good
morning' the man said in a crisp and clear New York Brooklyn accent
'I'm interested in what you got there.'
We
looked at him.
'Do
you mind if I take a look?'
'Take
a look?' said Barry.
I
looked at the man; was the scroll hot? Was he the police?
'I
saw you purchase it at the market there – I missed it by a
whisker.'
'Sit
down' I said.
He
did; between us. I gave him the scroll. He took it and, looked at it
very closely. 'No cover?' he said, looking at me.
I
looked at Barry 'cover?' I shrugged.
Barry
looked at the man 'no' he said.
'Naked
as a baby' said the man, almost to himself.
He
seemed to know a lot about it and understood the Hebrew, smiling
slightly as he read it.
'Is
this for sale?' he said.
'It
will be' I said.
Barry
didn't look too pleased.
The
man continued to look at it then looked at Barry and said 'how much?'
Barry
looked at me 'Nick?'
'A
thousand' I said.
Without
missing a beat the man said 'dollars or pounds?'
I
gulped 'pounds!'
He
smiled to himself 'I guessed as much.'
He
looked back at the scroll; Barry looked at me and I winked; I knew
this fella was interested.
'How
does a thousand dollars sound?' he said.
'How
much is that in pounds?' said Barry.
'About
six hundred' said the man.
Sounded
fair enough to me; I put my hand out to shake on the deal but he put
the scroll into it 'what about a thousand dollars and fifty pounds
cash?'
He
really wants it, I thought, as I nursed the scroll in my lap. In the
distance I could see the man, to whom I had given the pound coin,
settling down for a rest behind one of the benches.
I'll
hold out for more money, I thought; I turned to look at Barry whose
face was a picture; I remembered he said he would get a couple of
grand from Invernezzi at Covent Garden.
'Sorry
I can't do it' I said, I was really playing the big dealer now; Barry
looked a bit shocked, 'I'll get two grand at the garden.'
'The
garden?' he said suddenly, obviously thinking of Madison
Square Garden
in New York.
'Covent
Garden' said Barry.
'On
Monday' I said.
He
took his hat off, revealing his bald head, and started fanning
himself with it; then he put it back on.
'Gentlemen'
he said 'I really didn't come out to spend that kind of money.'
He
looked at us; we didn't respond but the three of us looked ahead. The
man who had settled down for a sleep was getting up and started
walking towards the park gate.
'My
name is Green' our man said 'Martin Green; if I can meet you tomorrow
I'll give you . . .' he paused for a moment; as he did he looked at
us, his bright brown eyes darting from one of us to the other; he
took a deep breath 'two thousand dollars and three hundred English
pounds.'
'That's
about nine hundred pounds' said Barry.
'No
it's not' I said 'It's . . .about . .'
'Fifteen
hundred' said Martin Green 'Pounds.'
'It'll
still give you some profit' I said.
He
looked straight into my eyes. 'This is not for profit; this belongs
in the place of prayer.'
Barry
laughed: 'we thought you were a dealer.'
'Gentlemen'
said Martin Green 'I'm flying home tomorrow night and I'd like to
take this with me; can we do a deal?'
I
said 'If you'll excuse us for a moment I'll let you know.'
'Excuse
me' he said.
'We
need to discuss it.'
'Oh
oh' he said, and jumped up from the bench.
'Sure
sure' he said and walked off around the park.
When
he was out of ear shot I said to Barry 'what do you think?'
As
usual he threw the ball back into my court 'It's not up to me it's
yours.'
'Fifty-fifty'
I said.
'In
that case it sounds okay. I would have been happy with his first
offer.'
Martin
Green was still walking and the way he was heading would bring him
back around to us; so I waited for him to get closer.
'Okay'
I said 'it's a deal.'
It
seemed to release a big weight from his mind and his face lit up into
a big smile.
'Great'
he said 'I'll meet you here tomorrow – same time?'
I
looked at my watch; eight-o-clock.
'Do
you have a card?' he said 'in case I need to reach you?'
A
card? I didn't even have a piece of paper. I threw the remnants of my
tea away and tore a small piece of polystyrene from the cup and wrote
my number on it.
'Here'
I said 'that's my home number but I won't be there till later this
afternoon.'
'But
we'll be in the Latimer Arms between eleven and twelve' chipped in
Barry.
Martin
Green wrote Latimer
Arms
on the piece of polystyrene I'd given him. He smiled and put it into
his pocket. I gave him my hand to shake 'Nick Murphy' I said 'good
doing business with you.'
'Likewise'
he said and walked off out through the park and into Cambridge
Gardens. We watched him walk away.
If
this was Portobello Road we would certainly come again.
It
was four-o-clock in the morning in New York City and Frank was fast
asleep in his apartment. The phone rang, next to his bed and he woke
up with a jolt. He could see his clock illuminating the time at him;
four-o-clock in the morning was not a good time for Frank. It was
four-o-clock in the morning three years earlier when he got the call
to go to the hospital. His beloved wife Rachel had died but the
hospital didn't tell him that. They spared him the shock and just
told him to come in as she had taken a turn for the worse. When he
got there they told him. Frank picked up the phone; it was Martin –
Martin Green.
'Hi
Frank' he said 'did I wake you?'
'No
Marty' said Frank 'I just got out of the shower.'
He
swung his legs to the side of the bed; it felt good doing that as he
could do little else so sprightly at his time of life; he reached for
his spectacles to await the bad news then he realised:
Martin was in London.
'Good'
said Martin 'I'm badly in need of some rabbinical advice.'
There
was a glass of water, Frank always kept, on what he called the
nightstand, which he reached for to let Martin give him the news
about Portobello Market. He let the water freshen his mouth as he
listened, intently.
'You
want us to give it a home, right?' he said to Martin.
'Right'
said Martin.
'You
betcha.'
Frank
would give various talks about amusing aspects and histories of
Jewish Law, and one time spoke about a huge stockpile of scrolls
found in Czechoslovakia after the war. The Nazis final
solution
to exterminate the Jews also included the establishment of a Jewish
museum to celebrate
the extinction
of the Jews;
the scrolls were going to be a part of that. It was said that they
were sent to Britain, and were then sent to various synagogues,
throughout the British Isles, who were charged the princely sum of
£100 each. Martin had remembered that Frank referred to the museum
as a weird
Nazi Museum.
'I'm
glad you have it' said Frank 'I wouldn't like to see a Sefer-Torah
going
to some screwball collector to hang on his wall.'
'Well'
said Martin 'I offered the guy my last two thousand bucks, which I
will give him tomorrow when we . .'
Frank
interrupted 'You mean you don't have it yet?'
'No
I gotta meet him tomorrow – he might even try for more money . .'
'I'd
be surprised if he doesn't.'
'Why?
How much is it worth?'
'Work
it out for yourself' said Frank 'hand written on parchment, a year of
someone's life: and how old
it is.'
Martin
gulped audibly down the phone.
'If
we were to go out today, Marty, to buy a Sefer-Torah
we would have to pay at least ten thousand dollars.'
'Ten.
. .' Martin stammered 'you're kidding.'
'Get
on to the guy right away, Marty, right away, before someone else
comes in with a better offer. Pay him the full price and I'll wire
you the difference.'
I
looked at the scroll, which I had cradled in my arm, as Barry was at
the bar getting my Guinness. What cover did Mister Green mean? I
supposed it would be some kind of velvet thing; Barry had said he saw
a picture of a scroll when he attended night school for antiques. I
hadn't bothered to go but Barry said he enjoyed it and got a lot out
of it. He came back with the drinks.
'Not
a bad day's work today' he said.
'Here's
to plenty more' I said, clinking the glasses.
'I
thought you blew it back there for a minute' he said.
'When?'
'When
you said you couldn't do it.
'I
knew he wanted it' I said 'cover or no cover.'
The
barman shouted over 'Is there a Nick Murphy here?'
'Yes'
I said.
'Phone
call' the barman said and put the phone on the counter.
There
was only one person who knew where I was and that was Martin Green.
'Mister
Murphy – Nick' came the unmistakable Brooklyn accent down the line.
'Yes.'
'Martin
Green; remember me?'
'Of
course I do.'
'I
really want that . . that item I saw today.'
'I
know you do' I said, looking at the scroll in my hand.
'I've
just been on to New York and I am authorized to offer you eight
thousand dollars.'
Eight
thousand dollars! What was the matter with the man? We had already
made a deal. What could I say?
'How
much is that in pounds?'
'About
five grand, I guess' he said.
'Sounds
great' I said and it did. I couldn't believe it.
'Do
we have a deal?' he said.
'We
do.'
We
did indeed.
'It's
gonna take me a little time to get the cash together with transfers
and so forth and I'd like to meet tonight?'
A
thought, a profound thought had entered my head, so I told him we
should keep to the time in the morning as I was busy that night.
Barry
was standing next to me; he couldn't hear any of the conversation but
he knew it was good news and I could see by his eyes he was excited.
'Don't
tell me' he said 'he doesn't want it?'
Barry
is as dry as they come but he looked at me eagerly for the price.
'You'll
never guess how much he's offered' I said.
He
looked at me in anticipation.
'Five
grand' I said 'straight in, no haggling, five thousand pounds.'
Without
a smile, a twinkle in the eye or anything else Barry said 'it must be
worth more than I thought.'
Damn
right it was; that was the thought I had when I was talking to Mister
Green on the phone; how much more?
'Call
Invernezzi now' I said 'see how much he'll pay.'
'What
about Mister Green?' he said.
'If
Invernezzi pays more forget Mister Green.'
'Play
one off against the other' said Barry. I nodded 'I like it' he said,
with the same straight face.
The
telephone was still on the bar and I could see Barry asking
permission, then taking out his address book and dialling.
I sat back and took a sip from my pint as he returned.
'No
answer – he must be out buying' he said.
'Okay'
I said 'call him when you get home and tell me about it tonight.'
'Tonight?
What's happening tonight?'
'We'll
take the girls out to celebrate' I said 'I'll pay.'
'I
like it even more' he said as we clinked the glasses together again.
Getting
up at dawn and ending with a quick pint in the pub always affected me
the same way; I wanted a nap. So that was what I planned the minute I
walked through our front door.
I
opened the door and there was silence; nobody in. I was glad in a way
as it meant I could go straight to bed without having a chat with
Helen. I dropped the scroll onto a suit-case in the hall and called
upstairs in case she was in; no reply. On the table, in the kitchen,
was Helen's cassette recorder with a card on top which read
Play me!
I pressed 'play' and sat back in anticipation:
'Hello
my darling' she said 'I've gone to Judy's for the afternoon and I'll
be back at about five; byeee.'
Then
she made herself laugh and switched off.
I
had to have a go as well so I turned the card over, wrote play
it
again Sam
on it, recorded my message and went to bed.
I
slept like a log and didn't hear Helen come in; she saw my note and
played my message telling her that I had had a great day and to wake
me at about seven as we were meeting Barry and Sue for dinner.
Whilst
she was listening to my message there was a ring on the door bell;
she broke off to see who it was and standing on the doorstep was a
little boy 'jumble?' he said.
'This
lot here' said Helen and went back to the recorder.
The
little boy, a boy scout, picked up the suitcase, with the scroll on
the top of it, and went out; 'bye' he shouted and that was that.
When
I came down the stairs the first thing I noticed was the vacant space
by the last step where the suitcase had been – together with the
scroll.
'Helen'
I called.
She
came out of the sitting room 'where's the case that was here – with
a scroll on top of it?'
'The
boy scouts have it for their jumble sale; just some old . . .'
I
ran to the front door, wearing only my towel robe 'where is he?'
'He
was here a couple of hours ago – the sale is tonight.'
'Come
on let's go' I said, and I picked up the car keys from the hook and
ran to the car.
I
didn't know where the sale was supposed to be and neither did Helen.
There were a few places we could try, which we did, but by the time
we got to the last sale it was around eight-o-clock and that one had
finished.
Helen
looked at me 'sorry' she said but it wasn't her fault and I told her.
She wept a bit when I told I had spent a hundred and forty five
pounds and when I told her the full story she was really sorry but
instead of bursting into tears she started laughing. I was wearing
nothing but a towel robe and we both had a laughing fit for some
time; it was my fault for being greedy.
The
worst part of the whole affair is that there was a man called Martin
Green who really wanted the scroll and now he wasn't going to get it.
The
next day I met Barry at Portobello Road as planned; he hadn't 'laid
out' any money but he called me a few choice words. We went along
Cambridge Gardens to where we could see in to the park and the spot
where I was to meet Martin Green. He was there, already, sitting on
the same bench, wearing the same black trilby and the Humphrey
Bogart
trench coat. He sat there; occasionally looking about with a look of
half knowing that I wasn't going to show, one minute, and a look of
anticipation the next.
It
took me a long time to make up my mind that I wouldn't make an
appearance. It might sound like cowardice, and maybe it was, but as
soon as he would see me coming his expectations would lift and he
would expect me to have the goods.
Barry
went off to the greasy spoon café
just around the corner to order our breakfasts and I said I would
meet him in there.
After
a few minutes, and maybe twenty minutes after I had arranged to meet
him, Martin Green got up from the bench and started to walk towards
the gate; he would be mulling over what to say to his pal in New
York. Frank would probably meet him at the airport and tell him he
had found a place on the wall just outside the portal of the shul
to show a sefer-torah which had been stolen by the Nazis and rescued
by Martin.
I
walked along Cambridge Gardens as I didn't want him to see me and hid
amongst the second hand clothes on one of the stalls. He stopped on
the corner of Portobello Road, the place where I had waited for Barry
twenty four hours earlier; was it really only twenty four hours?
He
stood there for a few minutes, not too far from the greasy spoon café
where
Barry was; I prayed that he wouldn't come out. But Martin was looking
for me. Opposite Martin I could see Jim – Jumble Jim, setting out
his stall and puffing away at a cigarette. He wasn't greedy – not
like me – he would buy stuff for very little and sell it for a bit
more and that's how he managed to travel each year.
Martin
took off his hat and fanned it in front of his face and I moved along
the second hand clothes rack to where I could see both Martin with
Jim in the background.
Martin
put his hat back on and wandered over the street to Jim. They chatted
for a while and as they talked I could see Jim take the scroll out of
a cardboard box the way he had done the day before– at least I was
sure it was the scroll. Martin looked at it; he didn't move; didn't
say a word. Again he took his hat off; he didn't fan himself but
stood there motionless with the hat in his right hand.
'How
much?' he said.
'Fifty'
said Jim.
Martin
picked up the scroll and cradled it gently in his arms as I had -
like a baby. He had five thousand pounds in his pocket for me and no
loose change. Should he give this man five thousand pounds? Would
that be the moral thing to do? He looked at Jim: a gypsy, he thought,
the Nazis took these scrolls from us, exterminated both my people and
his and now God is getting it back to me through a gypsy.
That's
what Martin was thinking as he reached into the top pocket of his
jacket, underneath the trench coat, where he kept some fifty pound
notes. He took one out and handed it to Jim.
'Fifty'
he said.
Jim
said 'I have no change. . .'
But
Martin held his hand up to quieten Jim who put the fifty pound note
into his pocket.
'Thank
you, sir' he said 'thanks very much.'
I
wasn't
sure at this stage what Martin had bought; it looked like the scroll
but I still wasn't sure, then I realised
that Jim cleared Jumble sales; Jumble
Jim.
Of course. Nobody had bought it, it had remained on the counter for
the whole sale and when they were clearing up Jim came, made them a
job
offer
and took everything off their hands.
Martin
Green turned around, crossed back over Portobello Road and walked
towards me. It was too late for me to hide so I carried on walking.
Martin wasn't looking at me, he was in a world of his own; everything
had fallen into place after his day of trying to get the money wired
over from New York and then finding a bank where he could transfer it
into cash, and I was happy for him; I really was. To hell with the
money.
As
he got closer he caught my eye and as he passed he lifted his hat. I
could see the end of the scroll under his trench coat and when we
crossed he winked at me; 'I got it' he said and he was gone.
THE
END.
I wrote a screenplay for my film The Scroll around 1989 or so and not long before I went to America in 1994 I adapted this short story from the script. I found it the other day and wrote this draft; let me know what you think.
