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Time passed .Lesley was doing great Mike and I sort of got along, there had been no rows he had given up the job at the Dairy, that helped. Can you believe it the next job he got was at Watney’s Brewery at Stamford Bridge just by Chelsea football ground. The job he had was cleaning out the beer vats or whatever you call them, they were great big containers the beer was brewed in and guess what ,they were given a quota of beer per day to be drunk on the premises. At least he didn’t drink after work.

Lesley was 4months old I had just taken her to have her whooping cough and tetanus last jab. She was not happy she screamed her head off. I then went to see my friend the girl I had met in hospital when Lesley was born, she lived just round the corner from the clinic. Her little baby Paul was one of those babies that never slept and seemed to be permanantly miserable. She was worn out about 2 hours sleep a night thats all they were getting .The flat they lived in was pretty awful and she was really depressed with little choice of improving the living conditions.

A couple of weeks later Lesley woke me up during the night with a really bad cough she coughed so much she was almost choking, it scared me to death. The next morning she was really ill Mikes mum said she thought it sounded like whooping cough because after the cough she did seem to make a whooping noise but it was only a couple of weeks ago she had had the jab. I took her to the Doctors and she had a coughing fit whilst we were there the Doctor said it was most definitely whooping cough and that it was possible in a very few cases for the child to get it from the vaccination.

The doctor said she would get much worse and showed me how to stop the choking this was due to mucous gathering in her lungs, I had to almost thump her in the middle of her back, I really didn’t like doing this but if I couldn’t manage it to her satisfaction Lesley would have to be admitted to hospital. The next couple of weeks were horrendous I really thought she was going to die then as suddenly as it started it finished. The Doctor said I had to go to the hospital for Lesley to have a tb test as this was normal practice after Whooping Cough. Thank goodness it was all clear. It is a really terrible disease and very contagious. We didn’t go out side the door for 3 weeks I was going stir crazy. Mikes only comment was at least I might get some sleep now.


Guess what she cut her first tooth shortly afterwards…..what a milestone….I was thrilled. She was also trying to sit up ,she was lifting her head off the pillow so I started to prop her up she loved it .

Mike had been very good no more violence, I don’t know whether it was because I vetted just about everything I said or if maybe he had thought about his unacceptable behaviour. Time passed Mike left the Brewery he wanted a driving job now he had passed his test albeit on a Milk Float.
At the back f our house there was a fruit and veg yard called Martins they collected fruit and veg from Covent garden wholesale market and delivered it to the local markets and fruit and veg shops . They were really big rigid lorries. Mike had gone out to look for a job he had only been out about 20 minutes and came in and said he had a job at Martins, I asked what kind of job and he said driving the lorries. I couldn’t believe it, all he had driven so far was an electric milk float. He said he had to go back in 10mins to go out with the owner for a test drive, he was very worried as I was because where he would have to reverse the lorry into there yard was exactly opposite our house. I said I was going to take Lesley for a walk I didn’t want to witness the carnage…..he said me of little faith….too right
When I got back Mike was in ,he was beaming he had got the job and had driven perfectly although he said he was shaking like a leaf. It was good money too and he got fruit and veg to bring home at weekends and any leftovers during the week. He was due to start the next day, good job he knew his way around, he should do, he was born and bred in the house we lived in now, just off the North end Road, Fulham