Ah, it’s true when they say “Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be!”
The guzunda also brought back the memory of “Roger and The Pole”.
In our village of terrace houses the obvious place to get up to no good on “Mischief Night” (4th November) was near a gennel (a gap in the terrace) where, if caught, you could escape.
Roger wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer; and The Pole was an irascible old man who didn’t understand “Mischief Night” at all. (Not surprising really. Being from Poland he probably hadn’t even heard of Guy Fawkes, never mind the night before.)
On “Mischief Night”, most people in the village either nailed their letterbox shut, maintained a vigil behind the door, or relied on our better nature not to attack them. i.e. they were related to us or they knew our parents!
One 4th November we persuaded Roger to nip across the road and throw a firework through The Pole’s letterbox! This was on the understanding that we would be hiding in the gennel opposite and leap to his defence if he got caught.
Roger accepted the challenge (I did explain he was not the full shilling) crept over to The Pole’s house and started to light the firework.
Simultaneously, the bedroom window immediately above The Pole’s front-door opened and a hand appeared holding a large guzunda; which was promptly emptied over Roger’s head!
WOW! The smell of Roger was enough to put us off, so we stopped messing with The Pole after that, even on “Mischief Night”!
:hat: