The water is ice cold on my face. The street outside is silent. A rhythmic snore from the terraced house next door is hardly dampened by the paper thin walls between us. I am awake. I rub my arms with my hands to work my circulation in to action. I pull my vest over my head and put my shirt on as I head down the stairs. Boots on I open the front door quietly and shut it softly behind me.
A dense fog clings to me on my way to the dairy but does nothing to stop the smile inside me. At the stables Nelly waits. She is always pleased to see me. I stroke her main and put my face against her muzzle. She gives a contented little snort. I harness her up, rub her up and down her flanks for the feeling it gives me in my fingers and to let her know it is me that is there. The bottles of milk clink as the crates are loaded on to the cart and we are ready to go.
I love this time of the morning. There is a moment when it is hard to get out of the snuggle warmth of my bed but once the water splashes on my face I am ready to go. Nelly is my companion and we head off to deliver milk to Nottingham before anyone is awake. I can't think of anything I would rather do than this job. I left school at 14 to get work and Dad would not let me go down the mines or do factory work. I couldn't believe my luck when this job came up.
We head off to Mapperley where the posh folk live in their big houses up the hill. In the early days Nelly tested me out and refused some of the hills until I discovered a carrot slightly in front of her nose got her moving. My mates want me to do mischief to these people who have all the things we do not. But I like my customers and find most of them to be lovely human beings. I give them a smile and a hearty good morning if they are up and about. Very few are. They always give me a happy nod back and always tip me well to help Christmas go well.
More often I meet the nannies and the staff who are preparing everything before the house wakes up. There are a variety of foreigners working in these houses who come from far off places I know nothing about. She doesn't speak much English yet but there is a real beauty of a nanny who comes from Austria.
At the weekend we argue round Sunday lunch. Dad takes a position against the government or the owners of the mines or the weakness of the unions. Norman, Cyril and me take an opposite position to Dad or each other and we can have a thoroughly good argument. Nobody wins except it is accepted Dad is right and after a rousing shout we settle down to let the roast settle. Dad sleeps in his favourite chair and I go in search of my mates in the street. We are friends and good energy has been spent in the battle.
Dad's life is tough. The mines have blackened his skin and attached a deep rasping cough to his lungs. Mum makes little go far for food, clothes and warmth. Most of all mum and dad make us feel safe, secure and loved. Against the weight of injustice Dad sees in the system we are part of, we are happy together, and determined to make the best we can out of the deal we have been given in life. The fight for life feels hard but somehow optimism stays with me.
Vera is her name. You vant me pay you bill she says. A lovely smile that sparks something inside me. She tells me her sister wants to know how to get to the swimming pool saying her sister Elsa wants to go. I offer to take them at the weekend. A flame rises within me. I slap Nelly on the rump, walk taller and can't wait for the weekend to come.
There was a fight at the pit yesterday. Dad was in a foul mood, frustrated by what happened to his friend and the inability to do anything to help. We will all whip round to help him out until he gets another job but we know he won't.
