Chapter 8 – decoration
Danny set about turning the flat into a home. Although he was on the dole now he didn’t have much money to throw about. Fortunately he did not need much. Mr Rose even let him off a couple of weeks rent. He painted the walls white. It took three coats. He painted the doors white and then painted the middle panels in orange and red. Then he painted the chairs. He had two wooden chairs. They looked so good red and orange that he did the wooden arms of the armchairs and the panels of the cupboards. He painted some flowers, a snail and bees on the white tiles of the old fireplace. Pete and Diane came to help. Pete was brilliant on the flowers and added a scene from jabberwocky. Diane was good at doing the edged straight. She had the patience.
When the painting was done Danny set about sorting shelves. As it was in the attic the ceilings sloped but at least there was height enough to build some shelves. He could not be without his whole collection of albums for long. Danny needed music to keep him alive. He needed his books around him. They were all at Cheryl’s. He wanted them back. But there was no money left for shelves.
The building site provided the answer. There were plenty of bricks. Danny and Pete made a lot of visits and liberated many bricks. There was wood to scrounge too if you knew where to look. Pete was good at sawing it to size. Soon the whole wall was shelving.
Diane was brilliant. She sorted these little gingham curtains of red and white squares and donated two of her Indian bedspreads. One was a throw over the sofa and one went on the bed as a bedspread.
Pete came up with three orange boxes that he’d aptly painted orange. They stacked on the cupboard next to the stove to store the cans and tins. Then he came up with this big old wooden reel that had been used for some sort of cabling on the building site. It was huge and heavy. As they struggled up the stairs with it they met Mr McDoud for the first time. He, wearing his shabby raincoat, stumbled out of his door. Confronted with two young maniacs manhandling this huge wooden reel up the narrow stairwell he froze. It did not seem real. It was possible that Mr McDoud believed he was seeing things. It wasn’t quite a pink elephant but it was close. Finally working out that it was real he pulled himself together.
‘Allriet,’ he mumbled in his best Glaswegian.
Danny and Pete nodded. ‘Grand,’ Pete replied, working out that Mr McDoud had inquired about their health.
Mr McDoud made no move to help with the unwieldy wooden structure. He simply shuffled off to the side to allow them to struggle past.
Somehow Danny and Pete got the reel up the four flights of stairs and ensconced in the sitting room. By the time Pete had varnished it the room was adorned with a glorious coffee table.
Next Pete turned his attention to the need for a table. As none was to hand, he decided that a large reinforced cardboard box would do. Diane transformed it with a table-cloth made from the same red and white squared gingham that she’d made the curtains from. They had somewhere to sit and eat even if there was nowhere to fit your legs and you had to sit sideways. It served its purpose.
The finishing touch was the carpet. Well it wasn’t really a carpet. It was Danny’s birthday and his Mum asked him what he’d like. He’d seen this circular raffia rug. He could imagine it taking centre stage.
It was while returning with the circular rug, all rolled up into a lengthy, tapering cylinder, that he made the acquaintance of the last inhabitants of number 301.
Other selected books and novels:
Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.
More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second
Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties
The book of Ginny – a novel
In Britain :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent
In America:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin
In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.
You know, I would have given an arm and a leg to be able to furnish and “decorate” my own place the way I wanted to. Have never really had that experience. It’s one of those facts in my life that I’ve never be able to grieve and get over…
Well – do it today!
Just tell hubby to go away for a few days and set to!
I remember asking if I could decorate my bedroom when I was living at home, reluctantly told I could. I did so and it did not go down well. Done my best in this house. Enjoyed the above.
You seem to be enjoying Danny more that Sorting the future.
Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
Another slice of the serial.