Novel 2

 

Chapter 2

School and The Life Boys

There came a time when Finbar was seven. When he got up that morning his father, Patrick, asked him if he felt any older.

He thought for a moment and said, yes. He said that he had a spring in his step, that day, but that might mean because of his birthday.

The junior school was more, or less, the same as the infants apart that he was in the 'A' stream – one, one. There were forty five children in the class, because it was the age of the 'baby boomer' and the schools couldn't afford teaching assistants and of the forty five, Finbar finished the year forty third; not his finest moment.

So for the second year, when he would be eight, during the term, he was dropped down to the 'B' stream to two, 'B' – two two.

No specialist teachers just a regular teacher – a generalist. Mr Hennessey's class. His first name it was Fred; he was five feet three inches tall, a Yorkshire man and a Communist.

The first thing he showed the children, the class of eight year olds, in fact not quite eight was his cane; it was a short cane with a knob on one end; he said “don't worry I won't be hitting you with the knob end; that's for me to hold.”

Then he swished it.

The kids could feel the sting of it as the little fella swung it through the air; he was in his element; he was in charge of some people smaller than he was – although there was one girl, Lavinia Smith who was taller and she pushed him one day and he nearly fell over.

“If I give you the stick” he said “there's no good complaining to your moms and dads and trying to take me to court – it won't work; it's been tried before. The courts always come down on the side of the school master.”

He did give the cane on occasions the eight year olds and it was not pleasant to watch. Some of the kids, even at eight, just sneered at him after the smack.

A shock would come over the whole class room followed by silence; the little man had won again!!

One day in the art class he told everybody to draw a picture; Finbar drew a house – two windows downstairs and two windows up; with a door in the middle.

Walking up the path he drew the postman who was at he garden gate delivering letters to the house and he had a broad smile on his face.

Hennessey hovered close by then picked up Finbar's picture and took it out front; he thought it was because it was good - but no!

“Put your brushes down” he said “look at this!”

He held up the painting for all to see.

“Look at this” he said pointing at the mail bag of the postman “US Mail!”

“US Mail!!! This is not America, young man – it should say Royal Mail – or the GPO – but not US Mail. We're not Americans, you know, and we never will be – you'll see!! You'll see when the Russians come, you'll see then; then we'll see about the US Mail.” And he really articulated the US Mail and because of his Yorkshire accent it sound like a US Meal!!

Then he tore up the painting, took it over to the waste paper basket, which was right by his stick, screwed it up and dumped it. Then he picked up the stick, looked at Finbar, rolled it around his hand then put it back down again.

They looked at that stick and so did he,

They were eight years old and he was five feet three”.

One day Finbar saw a boy wearing some kind of sailor's uniform who told him he was a member of The Life Boys.

The Life Boys, in those days, was the junior version of The Boys Brigade; he was too young to join those, but he didn't like their uniforms in any case.

However, he did like the uniform of The Life Boys.

He noticed the way the sleeve went down to a cuff, neatly fitting close to the hand. It looked so grown up and fashionable, and there was also a sailors' hat and when he got home he told his parents that he would like to join The Life Boys.

The boy had told where he could join and  off he went to where their meetings were held and arranged to meet the boy at the hall of the local Methodist Church, which is where they gathered.

Finbar was a little late getting there, so the boy had already gone in. He heard them inside and knocked the door.

He waited but nobody heard his knock.

He stood outside for a few minutes, then, very gently, tried the door and eased it open. As he did so the noise of the boys, inside, subsided and when the door was wide open, he was greeted by all the boys, and a woman looking at him.

“Hello.” he said.

They all laughed; he liked this.

“Hello” said the woman.

“I've come . . “

“You're Finbar?” said the woman.

“Yes.”

He was welcomed and observed the games they played and they talked about The Boys Brigade and the activites the boys would be doing once they became members.

One or two of the boys were going off to join, and they talked about camping and kayaking - whatever that was - and that The Queen was their patron.

At the end of their session he was given all the details he needed, and the place where he could buy the uniform, which consisted of navy blue jumper, sailors' hat and a 'Sam Brown' belt.

Before leaving they had to pray and, as they were methodists

he had to pray the Protestant way. 

Like the Protestant school, he attended, he had to say 'The Lord's Prayer' with an extended ending.

The Catholic way of ending the prayer is 'and deliver us from evil, amen.'

But the Protestants added 'for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever amen.'

Like school, they would pronounce the 'amen' differently.

They would say 'are men' and he was used to saying 'Ay-men.'

The Protestants would start off 'Our Father, which art in Heaven . . .' and the Catholics would says 'Who art in Heaven.'

He could never understand why the Protestants would call Jesus a thing - which – as opposed to the Catholics personifying him as Who.

All this stuff going around his young mind, disturbed him a little and he kept the fact that he was a Catholic from everybody.

At his first attendance, in uniform, the woman he had met, was standing out in front, calling out the names of the boys to register their attendance.

She was called Miss Gabb, and when she called out the names, they would answer, 'one, Miss Gabb,' or 'two, Miss Gabb' or even 'three Miss Gabb.'

'Finbar' said Miss Gabb, when she came to his name.

'erm – er hello' they all laughed!

He liked making them laugh.

“I'm sorry, Finbar.” said Miss Gabb” you should say “two Miss Gabb.”

“Two Miss Gabb?'

“Yes.”

“okay – Two Miss Gabb.”

“You've already said it.”

“When – er Miss Gabb.”

“Just then.”

“oh!”

“You say one, because you are here, two, if you are wearing your uniform and three if you attended church last Sunday. When attending church, you get one of the wardens to sign your membership card.”

By church, she meant the Methodist Church of which the hall was an annex.

But he went to St Anne's Catholic Church on Sunday mornings.

Finbar already knew about the addendum to the Lord's Prayer and as he was attending a Protestant School, he went to St John's Convent, every Saturday morning.

This when the other boys were out playing would have been good for Finbar, as he was an only child and might have got to know his school pals a bit better, which was, maybe, why he joined the Life Boys in the first place - apart from the uniform.

“Do you go to church, Finbar,” said Miss Gab.

He didn't answer and didn't go to the Life Boys again.

He didn't tell his parents the reason he didn't go any more, but as his mother, who was well trained from her time at Kylemore Abbey School for girls, in Galway, was very handy with the needle and thread, altered the pullover for him to wear to school.

He liked that – he liked the way the sleeve went down to a cuff, neatly fitting close to the hand.

Chapter 3

                                                                Genevieve.