I remember the very special England of my youth …..mostly English people lived there then and were permitted to believe there was nothing wrong with that. There were donkey rides to be had at the seaside and big portions of fish and chips served in news paper and the hawkers on the London streets provided not just things we wanted….they provided street colour and a taste of British culture.
“ Ave yer Nippers pitcher took wiv a monkey Luv ?“ was what the old fashioned Cockney organ grinder called out to my Mum. I’m sure there are few who can remember actually seeing these guys on the streets cranking out tinny tunes while the monkey passed the tin around for donations and that’s a shame. I remember them ….
“ Please Mummy…I want to hold the monkey …..please .” was my plead and what mother could resist a picture of her “nipper” holding something so adorable ? And so the deal was done and I found myself standing on that crowded London pavement excitedly holding that exotic and rare animal while the camera man readied and the organ grinder ground when……
The little bastard bit me on the left friggin ear causing me to excite not only the monkey, but my Mother with my loud wailing . Mum can quickly turn aggressive and the poor organ grinder very nearly became my first memory of street violence as the crowd stopped to enjoy the ensuing argument.
Many years later on a hike through the jungle on the Malay Peninsula a band of chattering monkeys followed after me in the tree tops and the memory of a five year old child came rushing back to remind me that …….
I’m still very afraid of monkeys
