by Joan Jonker
‘It’ll be interesting, queen, and a good laugh if nothing else.’
And as the ladies were to find out, Flo had never spoken a truer word.
Chapter Thirteen
‘Oh, my Gawd!’ Dot’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the crowds around Mary Ann’s stalls. At least Flo had said there were stalls there but they couldn’t be seen for the people around them, pushing and shoving, were about ten deep. The noise was deafening as each one tried to make themself heard above the others, and it had to be said that all the people weren’t full of Christmas cheer or goodwill. In fact there were several arguments going on between women who each swore they were the first to pick up the pink blouse or the black knitted cardigan. ‘We’ll never get through that lot, we’d be trampled underfoot if we tried.’
Lizzie was equally amazed. ‘Sure, it’s meself that’s been to this market a hundred times, but never in me life have I seen anything like this.’
Above the babble around them, Flo shouted, ‘That’s because we never come to this end. I only heard about it from some woman I got talking to in the shops. Apparently this Mary Ann is well known all over Liverpool and does a roaring trade. Everything is second-hand and it’s all just thrown on the stalls, yer have to sort through it yerself. But she sells good stuff and doesn’t try to fiddle yer, like some do. It was crowded when me and Beth were here the other day, but not quite as bad as this. Beth got what she was after, though, and we weren’t that long getting served.’
‘Is it worth staying?’ Dot asked, looking very doubtful. ‘We could stand here for an hour and end up with nothing.’
‘That’s up to you, sunshine, but I’m going to see if there’s any dresses going cheap, even if I do have to wait an hour,’ Beth said. ‘Remember I got our Joey’s coat here and what a bargain that was! You and Lizzie don’t have to stay if yer don’t want to, but don’t start moaning if me and Flo come home with some real bargains.’
Lizzie was beginning to enjoy the atmosphere. She couldn’t see who was serving, but whoever it was, she was causing a lot of laughter. ‘We’re not in that much of a hurry.’
‘Let’s go down to where that rack was, queen. There were clothes hanging on it the other day, but we didn’t bother looking when yer got the coat.’ Flo was thinking she could do with a decent dress herself for Christmas. ‘And it might not be so crowded down there.’
It was just as busy, but the people seemed to be moving quicker, and it wasn’t long before the women could see the stalls and the clothes piled up on them. It was a case of spotting a colour or a piece of material that caught your eye, and hoping for the best when you pulled the garment out of the stack. Often two or three women would spot something at the same time, and there’d be ructions, with the garment being pulled in different directions. And that was when Mary Ann would get involved and the four friends began to enjoy themselves as they listened to her.
‘That’ll be eightpence each, ladies, please,’ said Mary Ann to three women who were fighting over a dress.
‘I saw it first, Mary Ann, and I had me bleedin’ hand on it when these cheeky cows tried to take it off me,’ said one customer.
Mary Ann stood in front of them behind the stall. ‘As I said, that’ll be eightpence each, ladies, so let’s be having it.’
‘I’ll give yer the eightpence, Mary Ann, if these two will take their thieving hands off the thing.’
‘Oh, no, Tilly, yer’ve misunderstood. The price of the whole dress is two shillings. But if ye’re having a third each, then that works out at eightpence.’
The second irate customer joined in now. ‘Tell her to take her bleedin’ hands off it and I’ll give yer the money. But I’m not parting with a penny while these two have got their paws on it.’
The stallholder held out her hand. ‘Give me the bleedin’ dress here and none of yer can have it. Come on, hand it over.’
‘Ah, that’s not fair, Mary Ann, I saw it first,’ protested Tilly.
Mary Ann was sorry for Tilly, who was a good customer, but now wasn’t the time to show favouritism. ‘Tilly, Maggie and Nellie, hand me the dress over before yer tear it, then I’ll be forced to tear the three of yer limb from limb. And believe me, ladies, I’m in the right mood for it.’
The three customers knew better than to argue with the stallholder so they took their hands off the dress and used them as fists to belt each other. They were only light blows, not really in earnest, but Mary Ann knew how to put a stop to it before it developed into full-scale warfare. She held the dress above her head and shouted, ‘Anyone want to buy this lovely blue dress for two bob? It’s a bleedin’ gift at that price. Going to the first one who shouts.’
‘I’ll have it!’ Beth surprised herself by shouting at the top of her voice. But the dress looked very pretty, appeared to be near enough her size, and if three women were prepared to come to blows over it, it couldn’t be bad. ‘Over here, Mary Ann.’ She had the silver coin ready in her hand to pass over.
Mary Ann narrowed her eyes as she took the money and dropped it into the deep pocket of her apron. ‘Ye’re not one of me regulars, but I seem to know yer face from somewhere.’
‘I was here with me mate last week, I bought a coat for me son.’
The stallholder snapped her fingers. ‘That’s it, I never forget a face even if I can’t remember where I saw it. Sadie served yer, didn’t she?’
‘Yeah, and me son was made up with it. He walks up and down the street, swanking like no one’s business. That’s why all me mates came with me today, to see if we could get anything for ourselves and our daughters.’
Mary Ann turned to where the three customers were still pulling and pushing each other. ‘They’re going to end up knocking spots off each other. And if they intend to draw blood, they’ll not do it on my merchandise. I’ll have to sort them out, but you stay where yer are and I’ll ask Sadie to come and attend to yer when she can. We haven’t had time to breathe today, we’ve been rushed off our bleedin’ feet. And on top of that, yer get stupid buggers like those three women. Just look at the size of that dress, and the size of them. The ruddy dress wouldn’t go near them. But you try telling them that. They all think they’ve got figures like Jean Harlow.’
As she was walking away, Flo called, ‘Yer haven’t gone all this time without a cuppa, have yer?’
‘Can’t afford the time to go for one, sweetheart! I’ve got to make the money while I can, ’cos after Christmas trade will fall right off and me and the family will be living on bread and drippin’.’
Beth was holding the dress up for her mates to see. ‘I can’t believe me luck! Two bob for a dress which will look nice when it’s been washed and ironed.’
‘If you fell down the bleedin’ lavvy, queen, yer’d come up with a gold watch,’ Flo said. ‘I told yer, yer face would get yer the parish.’
‘If another one like that comes up, I’ll grab it,’ Dot said, thinking how near she’d come to missing out. It would have been the price of her for being so impatient. ‘In fact, if I can get a bit nearer this stall, I wouldn’t mind having a root through the things.’
‘Go on then,’ Beth said, wanting to share her good luck with her friends. ‘Yer’ll be better on yer own, rather than us all trying to keep together. I’ll hang on till Sadie comes over.’ She pointed to where the pretty blonde girl was serving half-a-dozen people at once and smiling as she did so. ‘Come back if yer see her talking to us, she might tell us where it’s best to look.’
Lizzie opted to go with Dot, leaving Flo with Beth. ‘It’s terrible if they haven’t had a cup of tea all day.’ The little woman’s face showed concern. ‘I’d do me nut if I had to go without me cuppa. It’s the one thing that keeps me going, so I know how they must be feeling. I’d even go to the cafe for them, but the tea would be cold before I got it back here.’
Beth tried to keep the grin off her face as she imagined Flo walking down the street with a cup of tea in each hand, shouting for everyone to
get out of the way so she wouldn’t spill any. Her intentions were good, but not very practical. ‘The people in the cafe wouldn’t let yer bring their cups out anyway, sunshine,’ she said. ‘They don’t know yer from Adam, so yer couldn’t blame them for thinking they’d never see their cups again.’
‘They wouldn’t think that, queen!’ Flo’s eyes twinkled. ‘Just one look at me open, honest face, and they’d willingly oblige. I bet they’d even carry the bleedin’ cups for me.’
It was at that point Sadie appeared before them, her smile welcoming. ‘Hi-ya! I didn’t expect to see yer back so soon. How was the coat?’
‘It went down a treat, sunshine, yer made one young lad very happy. So me and me mates thought we’d like a bit of the same treatment. I’ve just bought this dress off Mary Ann, and I’d like another if yer’ve got one. And yer know Flo, she was with me the other day, she’d like something for herself and her two daughters.’ Beth was pushed forward when Dot and Lizzie turned up, having seen the arrival of Sadie. ‘Blimey, I hate to say it, but these two ruffians are also me mates and they’re looking for some bargains.’
‘Most of the good stuff has gone now ’cos we’ve been open since eight o’clock and have been mad busy. But Mary Ann’s husband is bringing another load in about half-an-hour, so if yer take my advice, yer’ll hang on.’ Sadie glanced at Flo. ‘How old are yer daughters?’
‘They’re thirteen and twelve, queen, and just about the right size for their age. And Lizzie here, she’s got two daughters the same age.’
‘Try and push in a bit further along and I’ll empty a bag in front of yer. But yer’ll have to be quick ’cos there’ll be a stampede. Most of our regulars are smashing and we do try to give them preference. We’ve given them the wire about more stuff coming in, and told them where to stand so they’ll have first chance to go through the clothes. Anyway, push yerselves in further up and wait.’ With that Sadie turned away to answer some of the urgent calls. But Flo’s voice called her back.
‘Listen, queen, I’d go and get yer something to drink, ’cos yer must be dying for a cuppa. But I’ve nothing to put it in, and me mate said the cafe wouldn’t let me bring cups out.’
Sadie smiled. ‘We’ve got a billycan, but I don’t think yer’d like to walk along the street with it, it’s a disgrace. Half of the enamel has been chipped off.’
Flo straightened her back, thrust out her bosom to its full extent and gave a sharp jerk of her head. ‘I’m not too proud to walk down the street with anything, queen, I’m not a bleedin’ snob. Go and get it and I’ll take it to get filled.’
‘Hang on.’ The girl ran across the square made by the stalls, and grabbed hold of Mary Ann’s arm. The women could see her mouth moving, then the red-headed stallholder turned to them and gave them the thumbs up sign. Sadie delved into one of the boxes under a stall near the clothes rack and brought out the enamel billycan. ‘Mary Ann said she’d pay yer when yer get back. And she said to thank yer and tell yer she’ll be yer friend for life.’
‘I’ll come to the cafe with yer, sunshine,’ Beth said. ‘Save yer going on yer own.’
The billycan turned out to be no stranger to the owner of the cafe. He took one look at it and grinned. ‘Will yer tell Mary Ann that I said to buy a new one? That thing standing on me counter is lowering the tone of me cafe.’ He picked up the offending billycan and handed it to his wife to fill. Then he let out a loud guffaw. ‘When yer tell Mary Ann what I said, make sure ye’re standing well clear of her. She’s only small and thin, and yer wouldn’t think butter would melt in her mouth. But she didn’t get that red hair for nothing, and when she lets fly, she packs a hefty wallop. She’s the salt of the earth, though, and as straight as they come.’
When the full billycan was placed on the counter, it was Beth who asked, ‘How much is that, please?’
‘Fourpence, seeing as it’s for Mary Ann. And yer can tell her it’s got the right amount of milk and sugar in, and comes with the compliments of Joe.’
Flo was beginning to feel left out, and she couldn’t have that. After all, she did have a tongue in her mouth. ‘Well, Joe, would yer butter two scones for us, please? One each for Mary Ann and Sadie, which will be given with the compliments of Flo and Beth.’
On the walk back to the market, Beth said, ‘I’ll pay for the scones, ’cos I’m a bit better off for money than I thought I’d be. I’d put ten bob aside for a dress for meself, and I’ve got one for two bob! And, if me luck holds, I’ll get another one.’
‘And I’ll pay for the tea, in the hope that some of your luck will rub off on me.’
Beth put her arm across her mate’s shoulders and squeezed. ‘I bet yer any money, sunshine, that yer get a dress that’ll put us all in the shade. A real bobby dazzler that will make Dennis fall for yer all over again.’
And Beth’s words turned out to be true. The tea and scones were so welcomed and enjoyed by Mary Ann, she put on a show for her customers. With her skirt lifted, she did an Irish jig in the middle of the square, while customers clapped, whistled and sang. And while she was dancing, the stallholder kept shouting to customers she knew. ‘Keep yer hands off that jumper, Sarah, it wouldn’t fit yer and the colour would make yer look like death warmed up.’ Another twirl, and, ‘Fanny, I’m watching yer! Just because I’m singing doesn’t mean I’m in such a good temper I’ll forget the tuppence yer owe me from last week.’ It was happy interlude that cheered everyone and put smiles on their faces.
Flo and Beth were amply rewarded for their thoughtfulness when the stallholder’s husband delivered a dozen more bags on a small handcart. And because Sadie had helped sort the clothes out into the very good, the good and the not really worth having, she knew the bag she put in front of Beth and her mates contained ladies’ and girls’ clothes. The four women had a rare old time going through the assortment while being pushed and shoved by hordes of women wanting to get right by the table. The language from some of them was enough to bring blushes to most faces. Men down on the docks swearing was one thing, but coming from women it sounded dreadful.
There were two women behind the friends whose language was that of the gutter. While Dot was no angel, she drew the line at filth and blasphemy, and she knew she wasn’t the only one offended because she could tell by the expressions on the faces near her, particularly Lizzie to whom blasphemy was a sin.
Clutching to her chest the items she intended to purchase, Dot turned her head. ‘I’m not used to language like that, so would yer mind keeping yer mouth shut?’
‘Oh, aye, listen to Miss Hoity-Toity talking. Thinks she’s too good for us.’ There followed a string of blasphemy which brought protests from everyone around. ‘Are you going to make me keep me mouth shut, yer stuck up cow?’
Flo wasn’t going to have a mate of hers spoken to like that, so she excused herself and squashed past a few customers to reach the woman who was standing with a sneer on her face, defying anyone to take her on. And it was that sneer that really brought up Flo’s dander. ‘My friend is too much of a lady to fight with the likes of you, she wouldn’t dirty her hands on yer. She’s not used to people what are as common as muck, yer see. But she’s not the only one insulted by yer language. Everyone that can hear yer is insulted, me included, and I’m quite capable of making yer shut yer mouth. So any time ye’re ready, I’m willing to oblige.’
‘Don’t stoop to her level, sunshine,’ Beth said, having visions of it turning into a free for all, with people getting trampled underfoot. Not that she didn’t agree with Flo, ’cos she did. It was only days to Christmas, and the woman with a voice like a fish-wife was taking God’s name in vain. ‘She obviously doesn’t know any better, so she’s more to be pitied than anything.’
While these words brought forth nods and murmurs of agreement from all those within hearing distance of what was going on, they also brought forth a roar of rage from the woman concerned. And with the rage came enough bad language to turn the air blue. But it also sent her friend scurr
ying away, fearful of getting involved. Not to mention being fearful of her husband finding out that the woman he’d warned her to keep away from, had been the cause of her getting caught up in a fight.
The cursing woman, named Fanny Mason, put her basket on the ground between her legs and began to roll up her sleeves. ‘Okay, who wants to be first? The little fat one with the big mouth, let’s start with you, eh? Yer won’t last two minutes.’
Those words just happened to be the woman’s undoing. She didn’t have time to think about it, though, because the blow Flo aimed at her tummy had her doubled up and gasping for air. There wasn’t a person near by who felt any pity for her. She’d been asking for it, and now she’d got her comeuppance.
Beth had taken the clothes Flo had chosen from her, and put them over her arm with her own. ‘Dot, have yer finished buying?’
‘Yes, girl, I’ve finished. And delighted into the bargain ’cos I’ve got some really good stuff.’
‘What about you, Lizzie? I notice yer’ve got a few things for the girls as well as yerself.’
‘I’ve done well, me darlin’. Today’s been an eye opener, so it has.’ Lizzie glanced over to where the big-mouthed woman was beginning to get her breath back and was giving Flo daggers. ‘Sure, it was only spoilt by that heathen of a woman who doesn’t know why we celebrate Christmas.’
‘That’s her loss, Lizzie, she’s not worth bothering with. So let’s get our clothes sorted out and I’ll call Sadie over. I’m hoping to get the dresses in the tub tonight before Ginny has the chance to see the ones I’ve got for her. By the time I’ve washed and pressed them, she won’t be able to tell they’re not new.’ Beth put a hand on Flo’s shoulder. ‘Come on, sunshine, we’re ready to go. Take these dresses off me and pay for them yerself, otherwise we’ll get all mixed up.’
The woman with the foul mouth and equally foul temper was eyeing Flo up and down in a manner designed to cause more aggravation. ‘Come on, d’yer want to try yer chances now, yer bleedin’ fat cow? I’m ready for yer when I wasn’t before.’
