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The day finally came when Mollie and family moved out of 1 Coomer Road, Mikes Mum gave it a good clean and got it ready for us to move into, she just loved cleaning it was like a hobby for her. a couple of days later we hired a van and moved our stuff in, we seemed to have so much space. I hoped we were doing the right thing, I hoped that I would get on with his Mum , I would do my utmost to make it work.

The front room was the width of the house approx. 30ft x 15ft the bedroom 15ft x 12ft and a long narrowish kitchen/ diner with an open fire. One drawback that we hadnt thought of was no bathroom and the toilet was outside. There was no hot water just a cold tap but a lovely huge Belfast type sink. It was light and airy and badly in need of a lick of paint. It was an end house, had a small front garden and a back yard that housed the toilet and a postage size garden which had a small pond.

It was 2minutes walk away from where we both worked in North End Road which had an amazing market. We had no need for the bike now, we couldnt afford to keep it just for friday nights going to Southend so Mike sold it, sad really we had had so much fun but the accident put it into perspective. Incidently we had heard from the police re the accident and they had decided not to prosecute us , no reason given but we didnt query it.

One of the girls I worked with Betty, had heard about some jobs going at the Post Office Savings Bank Head Office in Blythe Road, West Kensington, she said the wages were almost twice what we were getting at Sainsburys and only a five day week, in an office. We both rang up and each got interviews. It was about a twenty minute walk from where I lived.

The job was for Accounting Machine operators entering debits and credits in the publics post office books. We were told that accuracy was essential. I got the job but Betty decided to stay at Sainsburys. It was only a stones throw from where I previously lived with my Mum and Dad at Gratton Road.

I absolutely loved the job and was very good at it and soon got a rise and promotion. I was now earning more than Mike which he wasnt very happy about. I couldnt believe how he had changed, he was very short tempered and abusive, my Mum thought maybe it was because he was on his own territory, he had been born there and I was now the outsider, reverse of of how it had been living with my Mum and Dad. Gone were the days of him helping with the washing up etc..... that was now my job, anything to do with the home was now down to me.

He had been trying for ages to pass his driving test(car) but had failed three times and now given up.

Things were ticking along, money was tight as Mike was still a warehouseman at M & S and very poorly paid. I was looking through the local paper and saw a job as a milkman at Express dairy. It said training given and the test on the milkfloat enabled you to drive a car etc... Mike was very interested and the wages were a lot more than he was getting now. He got the job and even surprised himself by enjoying it. He passed the driving test on the milkfloat 1st time. He had to deliver milk in some rough areas and milk was often stolen from his float which came out of his wages. One thing he was hopeless at was keeping his books straight, it usually fell to me to try and sort them out.

My Mum was still at Harrods doing really well, my Dad was now a porter at Harvey Nichols. Dennis was now 13 yrs old and had loads of mates. I didnt see that much of him. He now had a dog called Kim, I have no idea how he persuaded my Mum to let him have it. We got him from Battersea Dogs Home, he was a lovely dog but he was a street dog, he would somehow get out of an enclosed garden which had 5ft brick walls. My Mum would keep getting visits from the police asking Dennis to pick him up from the police staion, no checks were needed they new him instantly.

The funniest thing was we lived just off the Stockwell road, a very busy main road. Kim would cross this road towards Belgrave Childrens hospital but he would sit at the crossing and wait for the cars to stop, then stroll across. So many people in the street had witnessed this. Also my Uncle Ken was living at my Mums and working in Sainsburys, Covent Garden. One day he got on the bus to go to work and was just going upstairs when there was such a commotion the conductor shouting at someone, when suddenly Kim jumped up on the seat next to Ken. He had to get off the bus and take him home.