THE STATIONMASTER'S DAUGHTER

Chapter 6

Soon half term was over and it was back to the dreaded school. The weather had taken a turn for the worst, it poured with rain every morning on our walk to school. We would wear Wellington boots and carry our shoes, but our mackintoshes were always soaked right through by the time we reached school and out feet squelched in our boots, where the rainwater had dripped down. Umbrellas were no good it was usually too windy. If there was room, we would drape our wet macs round the stove and put our wellies as near as we could, then sit in damp clothes all morning until we dried out, but the teachers didn't seem to care as they both arrived in their cars all nice and dry!
 
On our first Friday back, with the rain pelting down, the postman turned up in his van just as I was leaving the house. He got out of his van, ran round to the back and opened one of the doors. He told me to hop in and he would drop me at school. I told him I had other friends down the road and he said he would pick them up too. Soon we were all in the back of the post van sitting amongst the parcels. We were told to keep our heads down if we passed another vehicle and definitely keep out of sight when we stopped at the post office in the village. Why? We asked and was told that he could get the sack if anyone saw us in the van. That shut us up. We all crouched a bit lower in the back of the van until he stopped just outside the school gates. He said that anytime he was around when it was raining he would pick us up. What a kind man he was and after that we didn't mind a wet morning when the postie was about.
 
All our class at school knew that Kathleen's mum was having another baby. It was due any day. Kathleen had talked of nothing else for weeks. Phyllis and Mary were not so keen on yet another sister, (so far the babies had all been girls, and they assumed this next one would be as well) They both felt embarrassed that their parents were having yet another child as they knew how it was conceived, but for the rest of us, it wasn't a big topic of conversation. The big day finally came; Kathleen told us as soon as we reached the farm gate that she had a baby sister (yes, they were right, another girl), born early that morning at home, and would we like to see the baby on our way home that afternoon. Of course we all said yes, as much as to see inside her house as to see the baby.
 
That afternoon we all trouped into the house and the first thing that struck us was how dark, dingy and smelly it was. We entered a large low ceilinged room with tiny windows. There was a huge inglenook fireplace opposite the windows. Kathleen beckoned us to follow her. The room seemed to go on forever, but in fact, the other half of the room was her parent's bedroom. It had two steps up into this part and we could just make out some dark old-fashioned furniture and a double bed with a figure sitting up in it. A cheery voice greeted us; it was Kathleen's mum nursing the baby. We were told to come and have a look. We all sidled up to the bed and peered at this little creature bundled up in a blanket and informed that this was Elizabeth. Not knowing what else to do, we all muttered how nice she looked and then made a quick exit.
 
The walk home was filled with conversations about the baby, the house and the smell.
 
Talking of smells, have I mentioned the toilets at school? No, I didn't think so! The toilets were housed in a brick built building at the end of the playground. It had one entrance, then divided into girls on one side, boys on the other. I had never smelt anything so disgusting in all my life, even though I was used to outside toilets, especially in the summer. The cubicles had wooden planks with a hole cut in the centre and no cisterns, so they were never flushed. All the waste collected underneath and every so often, the school caretaker would have to empty the toilets from the back of the building. We could always tell when he was performing this revolting job, because the smell got even worse and pervaded the whole school. That poor man, I felt so sorry for him. The farmyard we walked through to school smelt sweet in comparison.