Picture Book Moss Side

...The plane crashed into Greenheys School bursting everything into flames. Houses collapsed, babies screamed, mothers wailed and old men prayed, until all that was left was the old prefab at the corner of Great Western Street. To round things off, Mr Meskie's ice-cream van sped round the corner playing 'Stardust' by Nat King Cole. It stopped right in front of James's house.

'Mum!?!'

'Me purse is over the fireplace,' said Mum, sewing bras and girdles for Mr Mackenzie. It took a whole week to earn five pounds. Every week-day up at seven-thirty, before the kids got up to make their own breakfast. A stop for a cup of tea at ten-thirty, a habit she picked up from when she worked piece work at Smiths in Brookes Bar. Then it was head down and no stopping until two o'clock then prepare the dinner for tonight. Mondays and Tuesdays, chop the chicken and leave the rice and peas to soak. Wednesday, put the potatoes yams carrots dumplings sweet potatoes and green bananas to boil with mutton for soup. Thursdays, fry the fish and make up the dough for janny cakes, making an extra big one for Raymond because he liked his janny cakes extra big. Fridays, half a crown for five lots of fish and chips after doing the shopping at the supermarket which was usually no problem because Fridays was when Mr Mackenzie would come round in his little grey van with more work and an envelope with five pounds, or less if she'd made any mistakes. It was a good job Raymond paid the gas and electricity and other things like that  or else there wouldn't be enough money for anything, not even fish and chips.

Still, yesterday's letter from the estate agents had cheered her up. Just think, by the end of the summer, no more cockroaches in the kitchen, no donkey-stoning the doorstep and no more kerb-crawlers. 'Look straight ahead and keep walking. If they ask you how much, tell them you'll scream and call for the police,' said Aunty Mary, a next-door neighbour who had lived on Cadogen Street forever and ever amen. But James had more important things to do.

'A double ninety-nine with strawberry chocolate two wafers nuts hundreds and thousands, please!'

(Forever and ever amen, pages 5 to 6)