Going Home by Melvin Barnes
Loads of kids stay in Canaan Lodge. You should see the rush to get in to breakfast in the morning. Not on Saturday’s of course. Saturday there’s no school. And that’s the funny thing about school. I mean we all get on to the bus in the morning to go to school, which is not too bad. The bus I mean. Not school. I hate school. I hate Canaan Lodge. So anyway the bus takes us to school. When you come back at night you’re not allowed to get off the bus, well not straight away. One of the grown ups comes on with a load of books under their arms. If you get handed a book then you stay on the bus. Then you get taken to Red Hall. Well at least that’s what the other kids say. They never tell you in the morning that you will be staying on the bus.
Breakfast was okay. I like breakfast especially on a Saturday. Saturday is the day we all get sixpence. When it came to my turn I took my sixpence from Nurse Cosgrove. They’re all called Nurses in Canaan Lodge. I expect it’s because they all look like nurses. Anyway I stuck my sixpence into my dungarees and ran outside. I jumped on Topper and went lickety-split for the front gate and out into Canaan Lane. I was going home to my Mum.
Have you ever noticed when you’re not hungry and the sun is really warm that it gives you a really braw feeling. I took a good look for bandits before taking Topper up Morningside road. The road was busy with grown ups and Tram cars. I like Tram Cars they’re a really braw colour. They’re maroon. That’s ‘The Hearts’ colours. The ‘Jam Tarts’ Uncle Bill calls them. I like the shoogly sparky way they go along the road.
Trams are good for finding your way to Uncle Bill’s. You just follow the tram and look for the clock at Tollcross and then the Clock at Haymarket. Tollcross is really busy. Before you get to Haymarket you have to gallop along Prince’s street. The fruit shop in Prince’s street was selling plums. I reached into my pocket but: There was only a hole where my tanner should have been.
I was really hungry and if I grabbed a Plum I could be halfway to Haymarket ‘afore you could say Hopalong Cassidy. Until I remembered that Mum and Uncle Bill said: Stealing wisnae right. Crivvens! Then I saw the policeman out of the corner of my eye, but I’m good at running. A quick skelp across the road a loup onto Toppers back and I was well on my way to Haymarket. I looked back but no one was following.
I stopped at the Caley Picture house to see what picture was showing. It was one about cattle rustling and Glen Ford was in it. I love cowboy pictures. Hopalong Cassidy pictures I like the best. I wonder if Uncle Bill might take me to see it when I tell him I could have stolen a plum but didn’t.
The person who built those houses must be really clever. I’ll tell you why. My Uncle Bill lives at No 14 on the second storey up. You can ring the bell to his house from downstairs so that by the time you get up there My Uncle has come to the door and is standing there saying ‘So it’s you then Melvin’. I think that is really clever do you no. Well I rang the bell and just wheeched up them stairs only this time when I got to the door it wasn’t Uncle Bill standing there. It was the Matron from Canaan Lodge.
My Mum and Aunt Emma were sitting beside the Matron. They were all eating cakes from a wee plate and drinking tea. Grown ups are always drinking tea and eating cakes so that was no surprise. What was a surprise was Mum saying to Matron. Aye he’ll have to go back with you to Canaan Lodge . I couldn’t believe my ears. Uncle Bill sat beside me and looked right at me. ‘It’s not so bad young man,’ He said. Your Mum needs to work. It’ll no be for forever
He stood up and said. Here turn round and we’ll put this coat on you for the journey home. Well I did. When a grown up tells you to do something then you just do it. That’s the way it is.
So with Mum and Uncle Bill standing in the doorway shouting down the stairs I’ll come and see you tomorrow with some comics and me walking down the stair with Matron I didn’t know what to do. I could have run away I suppose but I was far over tired for that. Not to mention still hungry. I wondered if I would get any tea when I got back to Canaan Lodge I hate being a bairn. I can’t wait to be older.
I got a big row for running away and causing a lot of worry. And I didn’t get any tea. When I got into the dormitory all the other kids were asleep. Before climbing into bed I noticed that all of the lockers had a Sunday suit hanging from their rail. Then I remembered that it was Sunday school tomorrow.
I just lay there looking at my Sunday suit my tummy rumbling and rumbling. Then I thought about what God would think when I went to Sunday school in the morning. I wondered if he would have minded if I had stolen one of those plums. Maybe he would smite me down like my Sunday school teacher said. Then I thought no. I’ve seen pictures of God in the Kirk and he looks really kind. I rolled over tried to sleep because I knew it would be morning soon.
