{"id":4060,"date":"2023-10-20T11:35:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T10:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/?p=4060"},"modified":"2023-10-20T11:35:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T10:35:05","slug":"bangers-and-fireworks-some-things-dont-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/?p=4060","title":{"rendered":"Bangers and fireworks — some things don’t change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extract from the novel The Avenue
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Freddy is playing with his own ball again. He is playing football with a group of boys on the green near the pylon. Freddy is quite skilful with a ball; he tackles well, he has fast feet despite the flapping boot; the other boys find it difficult to win the ball from him. \u2018Pass it, pass it,\u2019 and \u2018over here,\u2019 some of them shout through the dusk, but Freddy is singleminded, determined as he progresses up the green on a solo run, outfoxes the defence and scores a goal. A cry goes up from his team, and John Paul shouts, \u2018A fuckin\u2019 massive kick.\u2019
\nHard to see now as darkness falls, but the kids, with eyes like cats, play on undeterred by the world\u2019s transformations.
\nI sit on the garden wall under the light of a street lamp as the game fizzles out, darkness the ultimate victor.
\n\u2018Hiya, Franky,\u2019 says Freddy, coming to sit on the wall beside me. His voice is subdued, lacking its usual chirpiness. John Paul and Tomo join us. A gust blows up.
\n\u2018It\u2019s raining leaves, Franky,\u2019 says John Paul.
\nFreddy has a big bruise over his left eye.
\n\u2018Where did you get the shiner?\u2019 I say.
\n\u2018Ah, it\u2019s nothin\u2019.\u2019
\nFreddy says no more, making it clear that he doesn\u2019t want to explain anything.
\n\u2018Fancy a mint?\u2019 I say. I\u2019ve been devouring mints ever since I gave up smoking a few years ago.
\n\u2018Are they the ones with the hole?\u2019
\n\u2018No,\u2019 I say, \u2018they\u2019re bad value.\u2019
\n\u2018Thanks, Franky.\u2019
\n\u2018Thanks, Franky.\u2019
\nMore kids approach and I\u2019m soon cleaned out of sweets.
\n\u2018It\u2019s a nice evenin\u2019, Franky.\u2019
\nI\u2019m getting used to adult-speak, with kids that is. John Paul is right. The evening is nice, nice and dry, no wind (except for that odd gust), no frost, mild enough to sit outside on a garden wall.
\n\u2018Your dog,\u2019 I say, \u2018I don\u2019t hear him bark anymore.\u2019
\nThere is an immediate lull. The kids look at Freddy. Freddy lowers his head.
\n\u2018You don\u2019t know the story?\u2019
\n\u2018No.\u2019
\n\u2018Tell him, Freddy.\u2019
\n\u2018Yeah,\u2019 shouts a chorus.
\nFreddy takes a butt of a cigarette and a match out of his trouser pocket He checks behind that no one is at his window, then strikes the match off the wall and, like an experienced smoker, cups his hand around the flame until he is puffing smoke.
\n\u2018Do you not think you\u2019re a bit\u2026?\u2019
\n\u2018It calms me down.\u2019
\nCalms him down. Sounds like a grown-up neurotic.
\nFreddy wets the tip of his finger and applies it to the side of the butt which is not burning evenly.
\nI suck on my mint.
\n\u2018Why are you always eating mints, Franky?\u2019 asks John Paul.
\n\u2018It keeps me off those things,\u2019 I say, pointing to Freddy\u2019s stabber.
\n\u2018I feck them from me oul fella, from his breast pocket,\u2019 Freddy says. \u2018He never misses them. He comes in so pissed he doesn\u2019t notice anythin\u2019.\u2019
\n\u2018Tell him what else you found,\u2019 says John Paul.
\nFreddy hesitates.
\n\u2018Go on.\u2019
\n\u2018You won\u2019t squeal?\u2019
\n\u2018No,\u2019 I say.
\nI don\u2019t know why they\u2019re taking me into their confidence. Maybe they don\u2019t see me in the typical authoritarian light of an adult world. Maybe they can trace a lost childhood somewhere in my face.
\n\u2018He found a used johnny with the stabbers. Didn\u2019t you, Freddy?\u2019
\n\u2018Yeah.\u2019
\n\u2018Where is your da now?\u2019 I say.
\n\u2018He\u2019s fucked off on us.\u2019
\n\u2018Will he be back?\u2019
\n\u2018Who knows? Who cares?\u2019
\n\u2018You were going to tell me about your dog.\u2019
\n\u2018Maybe another time.\u2019
\n\u2018Tell him,\u2019says John Paul.
\n\u2018Go on,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u2018That dog was almost a purebred, what do they call it?\u2019
\n\u2018He had pedigree,\u2019 I say.
\n\u2018Yeah,\u2019 says Freddy, \u2018a cocker spaniel, but when I said that me oul fella said, \u201cCocker spaniel me arse; he\u2019s half a cocker and half a conger eel\u201d. He was a bit lame but he could still play with me.\u2019
\n\u2018And me too,\u2019 says John Paul
\n\u2018He played with all of us,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u2018Me ma says he was lame because he was probably thrun out of a car after Christmas.\u2019
\nHe looks around, inhales deeply. \u2018Anyways we\u2019re goin\u2019 down to the field by the canal. Melancholy\u2019s sniffin\u2019 about.\u2019
\n\u2018How did he get the name?\u2019 I say.
\n\u2018Me oul fella christened him. \u201cFuckin\u2019 melancholy,\u201d that\u2019s what he said when he saw him. You know the way their eyes are, on cocker spaniels I mean, like they\u2019re always cryin\u2019?\u2019 Anyways,\u2019 he continues, \u2018we\u2019re down by the canal, Melancholy and me hidin\u2019 behind a bush lookin\u2019 at the ciderdrinkers standin\u2019 around a fire when it happens.\u2019
\n\u2018What happens?\u2019 I say
\n\u2018Wait for it,\u2019 says John Paul.
\n\u2018Give us another mint, Franky.\u2019
\n\u2018He\u2019s none left.\u2019
\n\u2018A hand,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u2018Let Freddy tell it,\u2019 says John Paul.
\n\u2018I feel this hand tight on me mouth and I\u2019m wheeled around to face a punk with purple hair. The punk blows smoke into me face. And he lifts up me hand.\u2019
\n\u2018His left hand,\u2019 says John Paul
\n\u2018He lifts up me left hand and presses his cigarette into it.\u2019
\n\u2018The lit cigarette.\u2019
\n\u2018Like it was an ashtray,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u201c\u2018Squeal scumbag,\u201d he says, \u2018but I don\u2019t make a sound.\u2019
\n\u2018Show him,\u2019 says John Paul. \u2018Show him the mark on your hand.\u2019
\nFreddy shows me the burn in the centre of his left palm.
\n\u2018\u201cSomethin\u2019 stronger,\u201d says the punk when I make no sound, and he takes out a blade real shiny.\u2019
\n\u2018Ooooh,\u2019 say the audience.
\n\u2018Melancholy jumps up on him and tears a piece out of his hand. The punk runs off down to the canal, cursin\u2019 and screamin\u2019. \u201c I\u2019ll get you, Freddy Browne,\u201d he shouts. \u201cI\u2019ll get you and your fuckin\u2019 dog. Wait and see.\u2019\u201d
\n\u2018That was Spikey,\u2019 says Tomo. \u2018Spikey always produces the blade.\u2019
\n\u2018Tomo knows about the ciderdrinkers,\u2019 says Freddy. \u2018His brother\u2019s one of them.\u2019
\n\u2018Not any more,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u2018No, not anymore,\u2019 says Freddy
\n\u2018No fuckin\u2019 way.\u2019
\n\u2018They\u2019re going to get him,\u2019 says John Paul.
\n\u2018No, they\u2019re not,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u2018Yes, they are. They\u2019re goin\u2019 to get him for rattin\u2019.\u2019
\nFreddy glances behind him.
\n\u2018You\u2019re ma\u2019s not lookin\u2019.\u2019
\n\u2018His ma thinks he\u2019s a delinquent.\u2019
\n\u2018Why does she think that?\u2019
\n\u2018Because he goes off sometimes,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u2018Is that true?\u2019 I say.
\n\u2018He sells things as well.\u2019
\n\u2018Sell things?\u2019
\n\u2018Yeah, from shops.\u2019
\n\u2018He sells batteries at half price if you ever want them,\u2019 says John Paul.
\n\u2018For Walkmans,\u2019 says Tomo.
\n\u2018Not just them. Other stuff as well,\u2019 says Freddy.
\n\u2018Get on with the story,\u2019 says Tomo. \u2018I\u2019ll be called in soon.\u2019
\n\u2018We hear bangers explodin\u2019. Melancholy doesn\u2019t like the bangers; they frighten him, see, and he sort of makes a little cry every time one explodes. So I takes him home.\u2019
\n\u2018Your ma gave us some stuff, \u2018says John Paul.
\n\u2018Yeah, and then we all scarper down to the canal to watch the bonfires. We\u2019re lookin\u2019 at these for a while when Melancholy sidles up to me out of the blue. I point towards the house. I\u2019m cross with him for getting out and he knows it; he puts his head down, whines a bit and limps away.\u2019
\n\u2018They were gettin\u2019 high on jungle juice,\u2019 says John Paul.
\n\u2018They\u2019re bleedin\u2019 fireworks were rapeh,\u2019 says Tomo, \u2018so we leg it down to get a better look.\u2019
\n\u2018We smell the rubber of the car tyres burnin\u2019.\u2019
\n\u2018Then we notice it.\u2019
\n\u2018Notice what?\u2019 I say.
\n\u2018They take a dog out of a sack,\u2019 says Tomo. \u2018His mouth all taped up.\u2019
\nI look at Freddy. He has gone silent. He is breathing heavily. Tears are welling.
\n\u2018Flames are jumpin\u2019, hands are wavin\u2019 like in a dance.\u2019
\n\u2018Tell him what you feel, Freddy.\u2019
\n\u2018I feel the heat of the fire burnin\u2019 into me and I can taste the vomit risin\u2019.\u2019
\n\u2018The dog\u2019s legs are tied,\u2019 says John Paul.
\nFreddy takes an inhaler out of his pocket. Sucks frantically. \u2018Kick out, Melancholy,\u2019 he cries. \u2018Kick out. Jesus will come.\u2019<\/p>\n

from The Avenue \u2018a work of passion and truth\u2019 Declan Kiberd.
\n\u2018This book is very good.\u2019 Jennifer Johnston.
\n\u20185.0 out of 5 stars Exeptionally wonderful\u2019
\n\u2018Priceless!\u2019
\n\u2018A book for a lifetime. Couldn\u2019t have asked for more!\u2019
\nThe Avenue is available in paperback, ebook and audio
\nThe Avenue .com https:\/\/amzn.to\/2Wbyykk
\nThe Avenue uk https:\/\/amzn.to\/2Fllq5l
\nAlso in Spanish, Italian, French, German and Portuguese.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Extract from the novel The Avenue Freddy is playing with his own ball again. He is playing football with a group of boys on the green near the pylon. Freddy is quite skilful with a ball; he tackles well, he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4060"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4062,"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4060\/revisions\/4062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameslawless.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}