Tuesday 26 May 2015

The Green Coat

48 degrees C outside, but many of them cannot afford to stop work and shelter. They have no AC, let alone Punkawallah.

There's a scene in one film where the rich man calls for the boy to waft the fan in the heat, but leaves his room to find that all of his domestic staff have gone.

The unanswered shouting down the echoing corridor is the absolute symbol of the demise of the ruling classes. The house I was brought up in had the equivalent of green beize doors, but 'paying guests' lived in the servant's quarters.

The Green Coat - the coat that was bought sometime shortly after my birth and never replaced for lack of funds - was the literal explanation of the whole event, had I been old enough to understand.

I knew there was something brewing as she washed-up at the sink designed for servants, making more noise than usual, and not responding to any of my 8 year-old comments. Just me and her in the house, but she put her coat on without any other explanation other than that she was leaving the house for good, and it was all my fault.

Of course, she didn't leave. I thought at the time that it was my begging her to stay which changed her mind.

Later, she would always become angry if I brought the scene up again, asking why it was that I always remembered the bad things, never mentioning the good.

I used to leave my unpacked bag close to the door of girlfriends who I had moved in with, to make sure I could get away quick, before they decided to leave themselves.

15 comments:

  1. Fucked up at eight. No bag by the door now.

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  2. It's been a long time since such an introspective post. Don't sell yourself short.
    My nephew once wondered how to leave a girlfriend's place. I advised him, one possession at a time. Last, the suitcase.

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    1. In those days, I made a point of owning nothing which wouldn't fit into a small bag.

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  3. I've been watching Twin Peaks - 20 years too late - and I love it!

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    1. Why is it that all film-critics lose their sense of humour when they appoint themselves to be arbiters of taste? Were they all trained to promote the tosh that nobody wants to watch just because it is tosh?

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  4. Loved Twin Peaks too. Also, Northern Exposure.

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    1. I'll probably leave it 20 years before I watch Breaking Bad as well.

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  5. My name is Laura Palmer and you are going to have some fucking bad dream tonight Stephenson.

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    Replies
    1. Actually, I had the best night's sleep I've had for ages.

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    2. You must have done, you're up bloody early.

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  6. I think I must have got out of bed on the wrong side.

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