FOUR
Saturday 4th January 1904
The fairground was always erected by travelling fairground people near to the outside market on Howell Croft for almost two weeks, and towards the middle of that period William relented and gave his permission for Florence to go to the fair. By Saturday her anger had dissipated and she and Hettie looked forward to their visit with excitement, planning and discussing during the walks to and from work what they would wear and what rides and amusements they would go on, providing they had enough money.
Shortly after two o’clock on Saturday afternoon both girls strode in the cold grey afternoon light off along Waterloo Street towards to the town centre with arms linked together, ignoring the trams which ran from there to the market place. They had no wish to spend any of their hard earned money needlessly on tram fares when there was so much to excite them at the fair. When they arrived at the fairground they were both immediately overwhelmed by the noise of the rides, the shouting of the stall holders and the smells of sweets and toffee apples. There was so much to see and hear that the cold they had felt on their walk into town did not even figure in their minds, so excited were they. The lights on the stalls dazzled them, and as the afternoon drew on and darkness started to fall the whole place became a riotously noisy, magical place. Bright red toffee coated apples were being sold from a small stall on the outer edge of the fair, providing too much of a temptation, and both girls succumbed. They purchased one each to eat as they strolled on the wet cobbled stone surface of the fairground. A complete circuit of the fair took them thirty minutes, by which time their lips were covered with a sticky smear of hard red toffee.
'Come here Hettie' Florence said, beckoning her to her side. She took a small handkerchief from the pocket of the long dark purple coloured woollen coat she was wearing, the one her mother had bought her for Christmas. Taking the piece of cloth in one hand she spat gently onto it and rubbed the red smear from around her friend’s mouth. 'There, that’s better' she said, 'Now do me will you?' Hettie took the handkerchief and repeated the process on Florence’s face. They glanced at the results, nodding approval.
They were standing near to one corner of the fair where a booth made from a large multi-coloured brightly lit tent announced the display of two headed sheep, a monstrous snake, Siamese twins, the world's strongest man and various similarly contrived freaks of nature. They stood watching with mouths open, reading the garish writing on the sides of the tent, and listening to the descriptions shouted by the fairground man, Florence became aware of three young men walking in front of them across their path. She glanced at the tallest of the three and without looking directly at him nudged Hettie in the side, who at first turned to remonstrate with her. Florence said nothing, but moved her eyes gently in the direction of the group of men. Hettie followed her look and took the three young men in with one glance. She looked back to Florence and grinned, then stepped half a pace forward so that she was standing with her side to the group so they could not see or hear what she was saying to her friend.
'What do you think?' she asked quietly. Florence looked her friend in the eye and replied,
'The tall one’s mine.' She replied. Hettie nodded and said,
'I’ll have the middle one.' The two girls sauntered towards the group, continuing to read the words on the freak show stall, but placing themselves in a position so that the men would become aware of them immediately. When they were sure that they were within the men’s eye line, they stopped and turned to each other talking nonsensical words, which the men were unable to hear, and smiling broad smiles, which the men were well able to see, whilst offering them the best view of themselves, dressed as they were in their long heavy coats and wide brimmed hats.
The tallest of the men nodded to his two companions in the direction of the girls, then stepped forward a few paces until he was standing close to Florence’s shoulder. He stood quietly and patiently whilst the two girls chattered on, pretending to ignore him, yet being completely aware of his presence. Eventually Florence stopped talking and made a half turn towards him.
'Yes?' she asked, her eyes giving nothing away. 'What do you want?' He smiled at her and briefly nodded his head, half turning back to his friends.
'My brothers and I,' he said, half turning to indicate the other two men. 'My brothers and I were wondering if you were going to stand there gossiping all day, or whether you were going to get out the way so we could go in to see the show.' His eyes were bright and cheeky. Florence blushed.
'Well, I don’t know. The nerve of some folk' she huffed. Before she could pull away from his presence he hurriedly added,
'No. What I meant to say, my brothers and I were wondering if you would like to come in with us.' He paused and smiled broadly for a moment before she could answer. 'I’m paying.' He added quickly, smiling directly at her. He rocked back on his heels and held out one hand towards them, 'Come on, what’ve you got to lose?' Florence looked away from him and back to Hettie.
'I suppose we could couldn’t we? We’re not doing nowt special are we?' Hettie grinned back at her nodding her head.
'Better than standing out in the cold isn’t it?'
'I suppose you're right about that. And if they’re paying it means we won’t be wasting our own money will we?'
'No you’re right. It makes sense.' She turned to the young man who had listened to the exchange with a broadening grin on his face.
'Come on ladies, we’ll look after you. Make sure the sheep doesn’t get you.' He took Florence by the elbow and directed her back towards the two other young men who had come to join them. 'Right,' he said to Florence. 'They're my two brothers and my names Tommy.' Florence nodded to the two younger men who had stood silently at the edge of the group nodding shyly in turn at both of the young women.
'I'm Florence, and this is my friend Hettie' she said. 'Are we going in then?'
Tommy nodded and indicated with his glance for one of his brothers to take Hettie’s arm. Hettie allowed herself to be guided gently alongside Tommy and Florence into the freak show tent.
The darkened interior of the tent added to the eerie atmosphere of the attraction, which encouraged Florence not to draw away when Tommy started to gently pull her closer to him. As they walked slowly around the tent, peering at the curiosities, Florence felt Tommy’s presence growing closer and closer, then he would pull away again, as if to demonstrate to her that his intentions were purely protective, and nothing more. Florence for her part played along with him. She drew close when they stopped, and gently pulled away when they started to walk again. Each time they drew closer she felt her heart start to beat faster under her coat, and her hands started to sweat within the thin cotton gloves she wore on her hands. Eventually they had seen all the exhibits at least twice and could find no other excuses to remain inside the tent.
'What do you feel like doing now?' Tommy asked her as they came out of the tent into the cold evening air once more. Florence glanced at her friend for inspiration, but Hettie simply looked back at her with a blank expression on her face.
'Don’t know' she said, when Hettie failed to offer any thoughts. 'What did you have in mind?' she asked. He was taller than her, and broad at the shoulder. His hair was dark brown and cut smartly short above his ears. He wore a brown jacket over a white collared shirt with a tie, and dark brown trousers which were cut smartly over a pair of highly polished lace up boots. She liked what she saw, and allowed him to keep hold of her elbow, edging a little closer to him. Tommy reached into his jacket exposing a waistcoat under it and the chain of a fob watch drawn across from one small pocket to the other. He took the watch from the pocket and glanced down at it before deftly replacing it.
'Half past four' he announced. 'How about going for a drink?' He glanced at Florence for a response who looked anxiously at Hettie.
'I’m not sure, I’ve never been in a pub before.' She said. 'My dad wouldn’t be best pleased if he found out.'
'Well, we’ll just have to make sure we don’t tell him then shan’t we?' His grin was warm and infectious, so it was hard for Florence not to grin back at him. For a few moments they walked on the cobbles of Howell Croft and inspected the various stalls, avoiding as best they could the crowds of young boys who rushed helter skelter from one stall to another, threatening to bowl them over. Florence suddenly stopped and pulled slightly away from the hold which Tommy had on her elbow.
'I’m not going to lie to my Pa. It’s not something I’ve done in the past, and I’m not going to start now, so I don't think we should go for a drink in a pub.' She said firmly. Tommy was taken aback by the statement from the young woman. He looked her in the eyes and, after a moment's thought nodded his head in acceptance of her directive. He liked what he saw, and for a girl as young as she was, he felt she was very different from other girls he had been out with. He smiled warmly at her, his dark brown eyes fixed on hers.
'How old are you Florence?' he asked.
'I’ll be sixteen next month, the twenty sixth' she said, adding with a grin. 'So what you going to buy me for my birthday?'
He grinned back at her. 'Well, how about some black peas' he said.
'Had some. Don’t want any more, might give me the runs. You know what black peas are like.' They both laughed and then his face became serious. He looked her in the eyes once more before asking quietly.
'How about a rail ticket to Plymouth then?' Florence was unable to make any sense from the question, and the puzzlement showed in her face.
'A what?' she said, a bemused look crossing her face.
'I’m going to join the Navy soon' he said quietly, 'Might want someone from home to come and see me at odd times, and a ticket to Plymouth should come in handy.' A blast of cold wind blew across the fairground and caught under the wide brim of her hat, threatening to lift it from her head. Her hand shot up to steady it, pulling the soft felt dark blue brim down onto her head and tugging at the wide ribbon on the crown to fasten it more securely.
The ribbon had been supplied by her father who ran a small business selling ribbons and bows from the mill suppliers, so there was always a good supply at home for her to select from when she needed to trim up an otherwise dull dress or shawl. Florence’s dresses, hats and shawls were noted by her friends for their sense of high decoration, and from time to time she was commissioned by those friends to make them a dress or hat from material she could purchase easily in the town.
The hat was now firmly crushed down onto the thick flowing hair she had crammed under it. She suddenly threaded her hand through Tommy’s arm by his side and gently pulled him to her and started to walk. Tommy smiled to himself and guided her away from the noisy fairground and to the front of Victoria Square and the town hall. They talked as they walked, Florence oblivious of the fact that they had left her friend Hettie in the company of Tommy’s two brothers on the fairground.
'When are you going to join the navy Tommy?' she finally asked.
'Soon.' he replied thoughtfully. She said nothing, realising that his answer was incomplete. 'I’ve got a good job at the moment. I’m a fitter and turner and I've done my apprenticeship at Horwich Loco Works, so I’ve got my papers, and that should be good enough qualifications to join the navy with. I’ve been in the job for over ten years now and qualified for over four, I’m twenty four now,' he added. 'There’s not much else here in Bolton for me to do. There's no promotion unless I wait for somebody to die, and I’ve always fancied seeing the world, and the navy seems to be the best way of doing it.' He stopped talking to allow her to take in the flow of information and waited for her questions. He did not wait for too long.
'So what would you do in the navy then?' she asked.
'Well I went to Blackpool last September for the day and there were a couple of Royal Navy ships going to Fleetwood, so I caught a tram there and had a chat with some of the recruiting people on board one of them. It sounded right interesting. They reckoned that with my qualifications and on- the-job-experience that I could easily qualify as an Artificer after my first lot of training.' Florence looked at him quizzically.
'What’s an Artisi...Artisi...' she stumbled over the word. Tommy grinned and helped her out.
'An Art-if-i-cer' he enunciated slowly, 'It’s somebody what looks after the engines and electrics and guns and stuff on a ship. Bit like what I do now, but more important, ‘cos it’s the artificers who keep the ship going, and keeps the guns and torpedoes in good fettle. No good having a ship what can’t shoot its guns is there?' She nodded her head in silent agreement then after a moments' pause she asked.
'When are you thinking of going then?'
'Well, in a few months' he replied quickly. 'I have a big job on at the moment at work; don’t want to walk out in the middle of that. Need to get it boxed off and out the way before joining. If I walked out in the middle of the job then my employer isn’t going to give me a right good recommendation is he?' Florence shook her head thoughtfully and murmured,
'No, I see. Wouldn’t be the right thing to do would it?'
There was a long break in their conversation as they walked amongst the Saturday afternoon crowds pushing along and across Victoria Square. Occasionally one or other of them would stop to look in a shop by the side of the square, then start walking again. After several minutes of slow walking in the cold winters falling light she stopped and faced towards him.
'Where do you live Tommy?' she asked. He paused for a second then answered,
'I live up the top of Deane Road. In The Pocket.' She glanced up at him, he was three or four inches taller than her.
'Can’t say I know it.' She said. 'I live on Waterloo Street, up near Back O’th Bank.' He nodded his head in acknowledgement and then said what she had been waiting patiently to hear.
'Do you think we can see each other again?' he asked. She smiled at him slyly, her eyes bright and glistening in the cold. The corners of her mouth twitched up then settled down again.
'Don’t see why not' she said, 'If you’ve nothing better to do.'
'Oh I can think of a dozen things I should be doing.' He said grinning mischievously, 'But nothing I can’t put off if it means seeing you again Florence.' A broad smile spread quickly across his face and he was rewarded with a similar expression across Florence’s. She squeezed his arm and they turned to walk towards Knowsley Street and in the general direction of Florence’s home. Both of their minds were filled with thoughts of their conversations and the feelings both had experienced.
The following morning, Sunday, all the Hadfield family walked together up the road to the Iron Church, where they took part in the morning service conducted by the Reverend Collier who had been in the post for just a few months. His sermons were not too long, and most of the congregation seemed to like him. After the service had ended, Florence and the family once more walked back down Blackburn Road. Florence made her way hurriedly home ahead of the others, to change from her church clothes to her best Sunday dress and best boots, to walk out with Tommy who she had surreptitiously arranged to meet outside the Victoria Hall on Knowsley Street. It had taken the connivance and collusion of Hettie to make the rendezvous, but it appeared her parents suspected nothing, and at two o’clock that day she met with Thomas once more beneath the great terracotta tower of the Victoria Hall opposite the Market Hall.
As she hurried down the hill along Knowsley Street from St George’s Road, she felt her heart beating faster than normal and her head was filled with all manner of thoughts about the man she was to meet. Though he was some eight years older than her she felt at ease with him, and more than a little excited at the prospect of what might lie ahead. Harriet, her mother, had recognised that something was different in her daughter the previous evening when she had returned from town from the fairground, but had said nothing to her husband William. Suddenly the girl who had been her daughter had acquired an air about her which she recognised from her own life experience as a woman. In Harriet's mind this change could only be attributed to her daughter having met a man, a man who had stirred in her daughter feelings which she had not fully experienced before, but feelings which was subtly changing her from a girl into a woman. She kept her thoughts and observations to herself for the time being, but silently realised that the change she had seen in her daughter might have far reaching consequences for the young woman and the family as a whole.
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