"Burglar Bill" and other old tales of Radford

I should think you have developed cauliflower ears by now Rkid , and that poor innocent little budgie. I dread to think what we will be reading next. I can imagine you running in blind panic wondering what to do next. The only thing I did wrong in the house was I once left the tap running in the bathroom sink (left the plug in) to answer the phone, and oh my, what a mess. Mum and dad were out came home and found me mopping up. I have often been reminded of it since and nobody saw anything funny about it. I had visions of water running through the floorboards down into the kitchen below but it was not too bad. Edited by TonyS, 28th Aug 2012 7:10 pm (Formatting adjusted)

It's very reassuring to know that I am not the only one on here to have had slight Misapps Lol. It's a strange thing, no physical damage as in, facial looks, but I now have tinnitus ( a condition within the ears ) because I suffered many clouts around the ears as a kid. My Dad was not to know. Have to say though sometimes I just could not win, if I was called for dinner by my Dad I could expect a smack, ( it worked like this, Mum calls me three times and if I did not respond my Dad would call me.) I remember one day he called me, as I got to the door ( the danger zone) he said "get in, your dinner is on the table" and out of habit I ducked in case I got a slap but the slap did not come? Dad said " why did you duck? I replied "thought you were going to slap me. He then slapped round the head and said " you ducked because you thought I knew that you have been up to something, well that slap was just in case you have. See I just could not win. Colin. Edited by TonyS, 28th Aug 2012 9:37 pm

I have been holding back on this story afraid of the reaction but it's part of growing up in the fifties. As most kids of my erra I loved the Cowboy films (hop along Cassidy, Cisco kid, and Tom Hicks to name just a few) also loved the war films . We re-enacted all scenarios to the full, always asked for a gun at Christmas and Christmas morning you would see me running around the streets wearing my Cowboy outfit and shooting up anyone in sight, well until the caps ran out it has to be said I was the fastest gun around. On occasions I would be the Red Idian Chief sitting Bull, (without Bow and Arrow). Now Jimmy my older brother was great at making Bows, not the Cane varity though but made out of a branch taken of a tree . The arrows also were made from straight peaces of wood, the flights were made from Fag packets and the tips were rolled tin, made into a point (very dangerous ) It was during the summer I had been sent home from School escorted by two class mates,I had taken ill. They saw me to my House then they returned to School. I was very ill and took to my bed. later about 5 o' clock I could hear my Mum and Dad shouting me for tea, not knowing I was in bed, I could not make them hear me as I was delirious. It transpired that after calling me with no response Dad walked the streets looking for me to no avail. Mum stopped a Policeman and asked him what she should do , it was about 9 pm and she was very worried. The police man said "have you checked his bedroom" they checked and found my very poorly. Doctor found I had Yellow jaundice . After several weeks I recovered (Mum staying home to look after me) I pestered Mum to allow me to go out and play, I got my way and first thing I did was recover my Bow and Quiver full of arrows, and of I went on the War path looking for anything that moved, I then spotted a chicken, (a free roaming chicken belonging to Burgular Bill) that will do I said to myself, dinner. I pulled back the Bow, and released the arrow , and to my disbelief I shot it through the neck, I could not believe I did that, the poor Chicken ran off back towards Bill's Yard. Oh now what have I done I thought, I am in for it now that's for sure. I hid the bow and began to slap my backside and run as if I was on Horse back. shouting "Walla walla . It was all quiet for a while when I could hear Bill shout at me as he approached. "you shot my Chicken you little bxxxxx", just then I could hear my Mum shouting from the bedroom window,"you leave him alone, he didn't have anything to do with it, he has been poorly for the last few weeks so go away" he did go away but the Chicken did not, I looked round and there she was running around as normal (without the arrow of course) it seemed she had no ill effects at all? ) now the funny bit. The Chicken seemed to have taken to me for some unknown reason? The Chicken made its way into our Chicken pen / run. She loved it there, we feed it and at Christmas we had her for Christmas dinner. Bet you all cringe now, but that is the way it was, not all bad, not only did that Chicken get into our Run but many more, we feed them up and sold them back to Bill for his Christmas Dinner. (Bill's Chickens were always very scrawny ) Don't be too critical on my behaviour as a child I was taught to dispatch chickens and Rabbits, gut them and skin, although we don't need to do it now in a way it gave me a lot more respect for animals, ask me now to do same, unless I need to for survival reasons I could not do it. Lets face it Rabbits were our main diet then. Colin.

Oh my cousin Peter was cowboy mad, he had a wigwam, we were about 6 I guess, he was a right bully and I remember always being the one that had to be 'staked out at noon' and retrieve the arrows I can't believe the chicken lived and then liked you We live in the country now and are used to dressing pheasant and pigeons and we even picked up a deer that had just been killed on the road and butchered it at home. Seeing as it died in an accident , I didn't want to waste it's life, so we are eating lovely, organic venison. I don't like to think of the commercial growing conditions and in the old days, where I live, everyone kept at least two pigs, one for eating and one for selling and beasts weren't made to travel miles to be slaughtered,which is distressing.

Glad to see you were not too shocked Foxcote. So many things we did I cannot mention on this Forum even in the past it was thought on as cruel, and who wants to be reminded of such behaviour let's face it things my parents had to do to stay alive let's just hope we never see the likes of again, no such things as Vets then. ( i refer to the cost which put the Vet out of reach for Mum and Dad). Never tried a game bird. This may or may not be true , I am sure someone will confirm. My Dad told me that one day when he approached the Chicken run he saw two Rats stealing an Egg from the nest, knowing my Dad as I did I would have expected him to have wacked the Rats with a spade but no, he stood and watched in amazement as the Rats removed the Egg. He said because they could not carry the Egg without breaking it one of he Rats laid on its back holding the Egg while the other Rat pulled him along by his tail, take it with a pinch of salt . I wonder if their was any truth in it? If the story was true, he later informed me that he let the Rats go stating that if they can go to that sort of trouble then they deserve to have it. He set a trap and killed them a few days later. Colin.

Oh there's always a struggle with the fox and rats ,even now, I know you have to protect your own poultry but I do understand that the foxes have to survive and I am in awe at their tenacity to survive. No MacDonald's for them, I saw a family of them about 7.30am the other morning in a corner of a field, hard life to survive, Talking of Game etc, in the early 80's we used to go to Eddie Flavell's on the Stoney Stanton Road for our Geese and Game, it was a Grocer's as well and looked just like the old established Edwardian poultry sellers with the game hanging outside. I do know that he had died of cancer, he had a funny sort of laugh, bit of a character. You have to get a bit realistic and lots of people don't relate to ' meat' in polystyrene trays as having been animals.

Just been chatting to the wife about the Game shop on the Stoney Stanton Rd, if it's the shop just opposite the Police Station? We were lead to believe that he committed suicide? but we may have been misinformed I know one thing we miss the display of Game hanging from the canopy. What a shame it was not carried on. Colin.

Got to tell you this little story , although not fully related to Radford I was still living in Radford at the time. I worked at Woolworths store in Coventry as a trainee Maintenance engineer under the watchful eye of Mr Cook, a real good all round engineer. Anyway I had been working there for some time and for some unknown reason my mother started work in the public cafeteria. After she had worked there for some time she told me she had been chatting to certain young lady who in her words (fancied me) (should have gone to spec savers )well I was real chuffed, she told me her name was Jackie. Now un-be known to me another girl that worked with Jackie also had designs on me. Could only happen to me, I started to make eyes at the wrong girl which vexed Jackie as the other girl would say to Jackie " he spoke to me today " I did not have a clue, in a dream world of my own,it went on for weeks . Now Woolies used to organise an annual Dinner Dance , this year had the theme of an Hawaiian Dance, the Dance was held at the Police Ballroom in Little Park Street. So I asked Mum if she could find out if Jackie was going to the Dance? Mum came back with the answer "yes" and she would see me at the Dance, I was thrilled to bits. So came the day of the Dance I was at walking across the flate roof of Woolies and I slipped on ice banging my knee very badly . After being looked at by the medical staff I was deemed fit but I was to take it easy and after telling them I was on a date they bandaged my knee to try and ease the pian and reduce the swelling. I shot off home to get ready for the Dance, after a bit of dinner I arrived at the Ballroom to enjoy the evening. I got myself a drink of pop of some kind and started to look for Jackie ,after a while I was approached by (what I thought was Jackie's friend) she said "hello" I replied "hello, have you seen your friend here tonight (Jackie)?" she said " I am Jackie" with a gulp I replied, "yes I know that I was only kidding" wow you are gorgeous (did I get away with it ,I thought?) well yes , it would have appeared that I was making eyes at the wrong girl for last few weeks , I was getting feed back from my Mum but it was from the wrong girl. As the night wore on we became closer and closer we danced a little and then, well it had to happen. The bandage around my knee became un-done and began to stream across the floor while we were dancing a soft smooch. The bandage still being attached to my person was now trailing a cross people's feet and causing a slight problem as they were stumbling over and in doing so pulled my leg from under me and we fell in a pile on the floor . (can't see her going out with me after this lot) but she did and about two weeks later sitting on a bench outside Herbert's Art Gallery I asked her to become my Wife and I am glad to say she said Yes. We have been together many Years now. Hope you enjoyed that. Colin

All together now - AAaarr ! Oh, what a lovely grin, no wonder she fell for you, bet she thought you were a dentist !!

"That's the Wonder of Woolworths" !

LOL, Love the dentist bit Dreamtime. It is because of the size of that grin , i now recognise Colin from the A.T.C.

Lovely story Colin.

Brilliant !!

Thanks everyone for your nice response . Colin

Hi Colin, Hi all I am loving this so much. All the feelings are there.