A new home at the Bowling Green.

We were joined by Cockney Mick who had earlier inspected the damage and of course, boasted that the damage was ‘probably terminal’, only he could rescue the situation. “You needs to ‘ave a team of six people, strippin’ it all down, linin’ an’ seelin’ it wive full gear. You gotta’ rope everyone togevver, just in case they get overcome wive de fumes an’ collops into the cak. I can do the job for £350 a day but if it’s near Chrimbo I wants £750”. As soon as Salty, eagerly, joined the wake, oozing false sympathy, the dark clouds began to roll in. “It’s a shame but we can always make the ‘Bowlie’ our local from now on”, he glibly and insensitively suggested, rubbing his hands together in Shylock fashion. This freak accident must be like ‘manner from heaven’ to Salty Philip who has been desperate to drag the flock from the clutches of the Oak. He has constantly chipped away at the inconsistencies of the beer, the untidy often dirty, environment but mainly, the ‘Doc’s’ laissez faire attitude, never failing to score points when the opportunity has arisen. He will be the first to forget the generosity of the ‘landlord’ who, over countless years, has provided endless exotic trade price buffets and bars at the numerous ‘garden parties’, social events, even formal dinners at Salty Towers’.       

I wonder how long it will be before everything that the Oak has meant to us really sinks in. There will now be no more free food, Sunday darts, impromptu music nights, big word contests, silly childish trouser games, animated Lowton outbursts, pertinents and relevants, silly billy bating, irrational bigoted comments, imprudent racist arguments, ill informed politically motivated debates, discussions concerning global fiscal and monetary issues, the fuckin’ greenhouse effect plus did the Americans ever land on the moon; in other words, the meaning of life. Good or bad, it depends which side of the ‘oxo’ cube you are looking at. 

Weds.12.12.07. Richie has sprayed the initial sealant on the dashboard so that the clocks and instruments can be assembled without fear of marking or staining the timber. The door panels have been marked out with suggested patterns for the leather trim which Michael can alter or approve.