Novel 3.

 

Chapter Three.

Genevieve.

Two films were released in Birmingham around this time – in other cities too – they were 'Genevieve' and 'The Dam Busters.' Genevieve, in particular, heavily influenced Finbar.

It was about two couples who, between them, drove their classic motor car, Genevieve, in the London to Brighton Classic Car Run.

Not a race, more a course to see if those beauties could make it through the Surrey and Sussex countryside, finishing on the Brighton sea front; sixty miles all together.

The cars had to be manufactured before 1905, so how many of the starters, would be expected to finish is anybody's guess.

The speed limit was 20 miles per hour, starting at Hyde Park Corner, and if they made it to the beach before 4.30pm, they got a medal.

The big thing about the movie, for Finbar, was the music. It was played on a harmonica by the renowned American harmonica player, musician and composer, Larry Adler.

Larry Adler added to the movie's publicity, and appeared on television programmes for children, where he demonstrated various techniques, on how to play the harmonica, which he called a mouth organ.

The Dam Busters film came later, but Finbar was enamoured with Genevieve. He just loved that music.

On Christmas day that year, Finbar found a harmonica in his Christmas stocking. It was a chromatic, with a button to pitch the notes a semi tone higher. He loved it and practised more than the piano and, eventually, learned to play the theme from Genevieve.

In the Larry Adler Programmes on TV the great man had to apologise to some children who would get some kind of irritation or sore on their lip.

Finbar could never figure this out and could only deduce that they must have been trying to swallow the thing.

Chapter 4

Piano Lessons II.