White van man pulls up, knocks loud upon my door
I'm annoyed he's late, that's the knock I've been waiting all morning for.
Big and tall, curly hair flashing teeth, big bright eyes
Booming voice says "HELLO DERRICK" to my surprise.
Do I know him? not got a clue, does he know me?
Don't know him from Adam, maybe it's just his way, very friendly.
He chats and he smiles, while up the stairs carrying the bed
"Put it in the room at the front", as I puzzle and search the face in my head.
I don't recognize the man but I know the face, I have herd this voice
Digging and sifting through my mind, of many faces I have a choice.
Then he looks at me, says you don't know me you can't remember who I am
Now the picture becomes much clearer, focused where as before the colours ran.
A face from my childhood, a face from long ago way, way back in the past
Little boy now a mountain of a man, grown up features but of the same cast.
We brought back happy memories of old friendship playing together on the pit rows.
My parting words to him as he left, maybe we will see each other again in 30 years or so.
Derrick David Henderson
19. February 2006
A readers note…Pit rows refer to coal miners (pit men) houses built in long rows two bedrooms up and two rooms down all had outside toilets, no bathroom and only cold running water. They were tied houses belonging to the coal company they came as part of the pay and the job.
The memories this meeting brought back to me were of the Drift (nickname) East Chevington its proper name. Before I moved there we lived in a three bed roomed semi detached house with bathroom, upstairs and downstairs toilets and hot running water, I did not want to leave friends and my old school to go to this pit village feeling like I was stepping back in time with it's outside toilet and old tin bath hanging on the outside wall but my Father had made up his mind why pay rent on a house when he could have one rent free. Hating it at first, but as time passed I grew to love it with the people and friends that lived there. When we eventually moved away from the area I did not want to leave the Drift, a place full of character and characters. It's funny how we can hate something then really learn to love it.
While reading back a thought makes me smile (their is a moral in this) never judge a book by its covers!!!
