I was beginning to take Edna over to Tynesbank for weekends quite often. Usually we would drive over to Blackpool or Southport with Mother and Dad for an afternoon out. She always enjoyed those trips as she had hardly ever been to the seaside. On one visit to Blackpool I can remember we met Frank Coucill and his girlfriend Ruth who lived there. One afternoon on a trip to Southport we had a real fright. For the one and only time in our lives we went on the Big Dipper. The ride was virtually empty when we got on, we sat in a car with a big iron bar that we pulled up to lock ourselves in. There was no proper seat harness you simply had to hang on to the iron bar across your tummy. Talk about scary. The cars slowly clanked their way up the steep incline ready for the fast descent. As it reached the top the sea was visible way down below as it began to accelerate. Suddenly the metal bar we were hanging onto fell forward, we were lifted up and came within a whisker of toppling out head over heels and it was terrifying. When we got off I really should have complained how dangerous it was but we staggered away. Never again did we ever try anything like that.
In early July Edna visited the school in Worksop for the first time. She was delighted with what she found. All staff had to take one maths lesson per day, which made me smile and she was to specialize in English. She was to take the first two years and the good news also there were to be five newly qualified young teachers starting at the same time. Term began on September the 9th. The last week at College was a happy time lots of socialising, dinners and parties. They all had a formal dinner in the main hall Edna and her friends were sitting with Mr Mellor a member of staff. He started to talk about marriage and said the teachers on average take at least seven years to start a family due to the tension and stress of the job. Edna wrote to tell me this tale and said she would definitely drop that average. They had riotous nights out in the local pub getting drunk on lemonade. A few days later she was beginning to pack her bags and finally leave Retford. She wrote to say that she was just off to say her good-byes to dear Miss Warren who apparently said, “ You will still be close to us living in Worksop Miss Barrett do call in and let me know how you are getting on.” No chance of that happening.
I had forgotten that my Mother used to regularly send cards and good wishes to Edna. She was always so pleased to receive them. There was one waiting for her at Northfields farm when she returned home, a musical one that they all laughed at. She had a holiday job working at Marks and Spencer in Leamington. She had to cycle every day to Southam to get the bus. She claimed that the sixteen miles per day she was cycling was doing her no good at all. It was a long day she left home at 7am and did not return until 7-15pm.
In the summer of 1958 I desperately wanted a scooter, at that time they were everywhere. In letters around late spring there were many references to me looking around for one. I was looking ahead to the time a few months hence when Edna started her new job teaching in Worksop. The late night train and walking home if I missed the last bus didn’t appeal. There were two types available, Vespa or Lambretta. They were developed in Italy in the 1940’s and became an essential part of daily life. By the mid 50’s they were very fashionable here and films of the period always seemed to show the stars whizzing around on one. The key to the success of the scooter was it brought transport available to those who couldn’t afford a motorcar. Like yours truly! One day I was idly staring at the notice board in the Student Union building, when I saw an advert for a Vespa. “Good condition, £85.”In those days that was a considerable sum of money, hang it I thought let’s go for it. I cashed in some savings certificates I had which went some way towards it, possibly Lizzie lent me the rest, she always was very generous to me and a deal was struck. One good by product I gave up smoking for a time to save some money. I couldn’t have the scooter for three weeks so there was time to sort a few things out. I had a cycle and offered it to Edna writing, “I went down into the cellar yesterday to have a look at it. It’s a bit rusty but I will clean it up and get it back in running order. If you want it love, it’s all yours. When you’ve done with it we can save it for our first little boy.” Emma won’t think much of that sentence! I was unhappy over the high cost of insuring the scooter, £7-10 shillings for a year but delighted to get a bargain on a crash helmet, half price at £1.
On the 7th July I handed over a £10 deposit to the owner of the scooter and a week later I was standing outside the flat in Highnam Crescent waiting for it to be delivered, clutching my L-plates and £75 in cash. In the first few weeks there were lots of minor problems that caused a bit of grief. I made my first long trip down to Priors Marston on August 3rd. I was worried stiff I would break down and the day before I set off the speedometer cable broke just to cheer me up. The first driving test I took was in mid September in Bolton, it was a near disaster. I knew the brakes were not absolutely in top condition but I had practised an emergency stop and was confident they would be good enough. What I had overlooked was that the test would be carried out in pouring rain and the examiner would jump out in front of me half way down a cobbled steep hill. “STOP” he screamed with his arm raised. I banged the brakes on, nothing happened, I slewed the bike; just missing him as I fell off, the bike went clattering down the hill with me groaning on the floor. Guess what, I failed, but at least the examiner was still alive! After that I was careful to have it regularly maintained and duly passed at the second attempt. I had it for about four years and we must have done thousand of miles on it. Trips with Edna and I from Sheffield or Worksop to Priors Marston or Little Hulton; became a regular part of our lives. Looking at the letters a trip from Priors Marston to Sheffield took just under four hours. It could occasionally be a bit temperamental and I would resort to a well-placed kick, which sometimes got it going again. The letters over the next eighteen months constantly refer to problems with it. I once made a journey from Priors Marston to Sheffield without a clutch, I bet that was fun. Nice to see that scooters appear to be making a comeback, Hmm, I wonder what a Vespa costs today, I’d love another ride?
On the 8th August she received the letter formally confirming that she had passed all the exams. She would have a probation year to do in Worksop and could then call herself a qualified teacher. On the day in question she had set off to work in Leamington before the post arrived, her Dad opened the letter when it came and read the good news. When she arrived home late at night her Mother never said anything and Dad was still down the fields. Edna asked had there been any post and was given the letter. Dad then came in and said nothing, she was very upset and no wonder. I always said they were a strange couple. I was delighted for her at least. She always seemed to have an uneasy relationship with her mother and always felt she favoured the boys, Reg and Eric. One day she said to Edna, “I hope when you have children you’ll help the boys get on more than the girls won’t you, after all it’s the boy’s career?” She would clearly have approved of the Good Housekeeping article from 1955.
