smart at school he passed enough O-Levels and A-Levels (and probably every other level as well) to get through all the hurdles and qualify as a solicitor. Heâs got his own firm now, and you couldnât do better than that if you think of where he started. It must have been Adelaideâs brains and Paulâs example of hard work that got him there.â Paul encouraged and rewarded his talented son every stage of the way, at the same time getting what help he could from the system. He wasnât dim at all, only put on by a wife who thought she was too good for him. It must be a sign of the times that with brains you can get wherever you like, but the joke is that the solicitor son is now invited to all Adelaideâs dinner parties, after Avril told her about his success when she saw her getting out of a big flash Volvo in Slab Square. Though Adelaide shows him off to her friends, sheâll never include Paul in her list of guests. When I asked him what he thought about it, after we started talking to each other again, he said: âWhy should I mind? Itâs got nothing to do with me. I donât want to know my ex-wifeâs friends. If I did go there, and met the one she ran off with, Iâd murder him on the spot. Iâm happy that my solicitor-son comes to see me now and again. We get on very well together.â
Arthur considered Paul to be one of the best, even though you rarely knew what was in his mind. No reason why you should, it was always best to keep your trap shut, only let people know what you wanted them to know, which was how he thought it should be for himself and everyone, if there was to be any peace in the world.
All the same, it would be hard to believe Paul didnât think any further than what he said or what he did, because everybody had something going through their heads. With most people you donât care one way or the other what it might be, since it canât be very interesting, and has nothing to do with you if it is, and if everybody told you what was in their minds you wouldnât be able to make up your own idea of what it was, which was half the fun of being alive.
Paul obviously thought more than most people, youâd be daft not to realize it, because heâd worked harder and done so much good in his life. If a wicked remark came into Paulâs mind he would think long and good before letting it go, by which time heâd decide it wasnât worth saying, and would hold it in. But he was bound to have such thoughts, there being times when you can see the mechanism working. I couldnât have done half the good heâs done, though certain it is that the more you talk the more you circle back to the start line, so itâs best to say no more than youâve got to, and keep any thoughts to yourself.
As for Basford Crossing, you can stuff the place, because the only thing that matters is that Avrilâs got cancer.
FOUR
When Brian parked his car some time ago he noticed that one of the streets he had grown up in had been wiped off the face of the earth. Served him right. That was the way it was. What else did you expect? When God said let there be light he painted it in, and then he painted it out. The same with the surface of cities. They needed clearing off and doing up every few decades.
A glimpse of old places set him reviewing the course of his life, though he didnât like doing so, there being so much to anger and shame him. Such recollections should have been pushed out of harmâs way by now but werenât. However long he lived it would be the same, otherwise he wouldnât have left the place of his birth.
Arthur told him never to leave his car in such an area, either in daylight or in the dark, so he hoped it wouldnât get robbed (not much to nick), vandalized for devilment, or set on fire out of malice. âNothing is safe anymore,â Arthur said, when they were settled in a snug pub on Prospect
Arthur considered Paul to be one of the best, even though you rarely knew what was in his mind. No reason why you should, it was always best to keep your trap shut, only let people know what you wanted them to know, which was how he thought it should be for himself and everyone, if there was to be any peace in the world.
All the same, it would be hard to believe Paul didnât think any further than what he said or what he did, because everybody had something going through their heads. With most people you donât care one way or the other what it might be, since it canât be very interesting, and has nothing to do with you if it is, and if everybody told you what was in their minds you wouldnât be able to make up your own idea of what it was, which was half the fun of being alive.
Paul obviously thought more than most people, youâd be daft not to realize it, because heâd worked harder and done so much good in his life. If a wicked remark came into Paulâs mind he would think long and good before letting it go, by which time heâd decide it wasnât worth saying, and would hold it in. But he was bound to have such thoughts, there being times when you can see the mechanism working. I couldnât have done half the good heâs done, though certain it is that the more you talk the more you circle back to the start line, so itâs best to say no more than youâve got to, and keep any thoughts to yourself.
As for Basford Crossing, you can stuff the place, because the only thing that matters is that Avrilâs got cancer.
FOUR
When Brian parked his car some time ago he noticed that one of the streets he had grown up in had been wiped off the face of the earth. Served him right. That was the way it was. What else did you expect? When God said let there be light he painted it in, and then he painted it out. The same with the surface of cities. They needed clearing off and doing up every few decades.
A glimpse of old places set him reviewing the course of his life, though he didnât like doing so, there being so much to anger and shame him. Such recollections should have been pushed out of harmâs way by now but werenât. However long he lived it would be the same, otherwise he wouldnât have left the place of his birth.
Arthur told him never to leave his car in such an area, either in daylight or in the dark, so he hoped it wouldnât get robbed (not much to nick), vandalized for devilment, or set on fire out of malice. âNothing is safe anymore,â Arthur said, when they were settled in a snug pub on Prospect
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