In the Lap of the Gods 8

Having never been introduced to water other than for the purposes of washing Stephen had never learned to swim and while at the Duke of York’s he managed to avoid the lessons from day one.

The smell of corrosive chlorine permeated the whole indoor swimming complex. All the cadets were excited, so it seemed, except Stephen who was terrified someone would throw him in. Being a shorty he knew he couldn’t touch the bottom in any part of the pool; not even the shallow end. He envied those swimmers who had had fathers to nurse them through their first steps. That first terrifying stroke that would either let you glide on the surface or plunge you to the bottom to drown.

As the others were called upon to get changed ready for their swim, Stephen backed up across the tiles heart pounding. Hot flushes caused him to shiver with anxiety. People who could swim would never have experienced the terror of growing up in fear of taking that first stroke. The older you got, the worse it became. His hands touched a wall behind him and in their search found a doorknob. So as not to draw attention to himself and without looking around he twisted the knob and fell backwards into the gymnasium where Captain Morley was instructing another junior class in gymnastics.  He quickly stood to attention. 

“You’re late. Get lost did we?”

“Yes Captain!” came the reply as Stephen saluted.

“Well hurry up then, get changed. We’re ready to start!”

“Yes Captain!” followed by a further salute.

Being short in stature and slight in build was about to pay dividends for Stephen for the very first time in his life.

“Forward and backward rolls today lads. That’s what we’ll be doing, so hop to it! Look sharpish!” The boys were grouped into four teams and given a corner each set up with mats. “You’ve got five minutes practice in your groups and then I’ll test each group and give them marks. The lowest marked team will stay behind and put away all the equipment!”

Stephen’s group were not all that good but thanks to his expertise and guidance they came third so there was no punishment at the end of the lesson.

            Captain Morley caught Stephen’s eye and said, “You catch on quick soldier. Have you done this before?”

            “No Captain,” Stephen said standing as straight as he could.

            “Well I think you’ve got what it takes from what I’ve seen so far.”

Just then the ‘secret’ door between the swimming complex and gymnasium opened and a head preceded a wet body.

            “I’m missing a body! We’ve checked the pool but can’t find Morgan.” The swimming coach looked expectantly.

            “You must be Morgan then?” said Captain Morley raising his eyebrows at Stephen.

            “Yes Captain,” came a dejected reply and his shoulders slumped. The jig was up. Stephen knew that his fate was in the hands of these two men. Would they combine to administer the dreaded caning he had heard about? Would he be sent to the Head of House? Would he be sent home in disgrace? Captain Morley looked at a crestfallen Stephen, head down, white as a sheet. And then the unexpected.

            “Ah… he’s in with me for special gymnastics actually. Shows a lot of promise. Part of the team old boy.”

            “Someone should have told me. Caused quite a commotion young man I can tell you,” the swimming coach flustered as he closed the door on a spreading puddle.

            “Don’t like swimming Morgan?”

            “Can’t swim Captain.”

            “Well let’s see if we can make a gymnast out of you then. Off you go and get changed.” Stephen sprinted out of the gym in high spirits just in time to join up with his classmates before the afternoon session with the dragon lady.

And so it continued for the rest of that year. Stephen became a gymnast who could handspring over the vaulting horse at its highest level and do back flips with ease. He learned to do press-ups while doing a handstand and was always chosen to climb the backs of the senior team when they constructed pyramids for military displays and perch proudly on top. Life, except for spelling couldn’t have been better.

But another balance was about to be restored once again.

Dampness is an invidious enemy, a silent creeping cancer. It ate away at Lily’s very substance and, like rust, permeated her very core where it rested until called upon at the very worst moment. Lily was feeling low and put it down to the miserable winter and lack of sunlight. She found her malaise hard to shrug off and eventually succumbed to jaundice which was later complicated by pleurisy. She shrank to a whisper of her former self but refused any help. The rheumatic fever she had suffered as a child was coming back to haunt her. Time to pay the piper.

After a year of harsh military discipline at the duke of York's Stephen had matured even further beyond his tender years and after the term holidays was shocked by his Mother’s condition. He decided, as a nine-year-old, to stay home and run the bagwash while his Mother recuperated upstairs. Whenever the bagwash supervisor came around Lily would struggle up out of bed, show her face and then return exhausted to continue the charade.

Lily’s condition deteriorated over the next six weeks to such an extent that her doctor recommended convalescence in the country. “What will I do about my son?” was her only concern. How would Stephen cope? As it turned out Rose came to the rescue and offered to look after Stephen while she was away. So it was back to Roegreen School.

Because of the progress he had made at the Duke of York’s Stephen was ahead of the London children in his class and he enjoyed the time he had there. However Lily’s convalescence in the country only enabled her to recover sufficiently enough to resume work at the bagwash.  This proved to be an unfortunate choice because the weakened Lily was only making herself vulnerable to sickness once again by returning to the same damp environment. Another upheaval to attend the local Charles Lamb School in Islington where Stephen easily topped the class.

“Stephen would you be a love and look after the shop until six. I need to put my feet up for a bit?”

“Of course Mum. I’ll manage. You go up to bed.” This arrangement carried on with Stephen mostly out of school for another six weeks until the doctor gave Lily an ultimatum.

“Mrs Morgan if you don’t give up that heavy lifting and lugging of bags in that damp environment you’ll drive yourself to any early grave I’m afraid,” said the doctor shaking his head. “Your heart is weak enough as it is without putting extra strain on it every day!”

“But I have to work doctor. I’m the only breadwinner! I can’t see any other solution.”

“Mrs Morgan, you’ve been a widow for nine years now; no man on the horizon?”

“Certainly not doctor! That’s the last thing I want!” she was about to go on about nobody being able to take Fred’s place but decided not to even bother. People could think what they liked.

“All I can suggest then Mrs Morgan is that you take a long sea voyage and take advantage of better weather somewhere other than England. The London smog isn’t helping any.” Lily thought long and hard about her predicament and after talking with her younger brother Ted, who was a chef on a cruise liner, decided that she would kill two birds with one stone and immigrate with Stephen to New Zealand.

The Gods had spoken. It was shoulder to the boulder once more.

More to come if you want?