大象传媒

When walking up the Leicester road you were often lucky enough to be accompanied by a convoy where each lorry slowly left you behind to be replaced by the next in line. This way, new faces - same repartee - got any chocolate mister? - got any spare cap badges? and of course from the coarser elements of any convoy there was always the ribald question 鈥渉ave you got a big sister son?鈥� - I had a nice collection of badges once upon a time. My pride of place being the The Royal Artillery cap badge with the revolving gun carriage wheel and the Scots cap badge that seemed to be as big as a bread plate - I also collected a good range of US lapel badges - but that was another time and another place. But this convoy in question was unlike any that I had seen before. It was a show stopper for me. The show started when a 15 cwt creept slowly past and I see looking out of the back of it three black sombre faces. I stared at them with true ignorance. I knew better than to stare at anyone, but three blackmen was a totally unbelievable experience - they only ever appeared in stories carrying boxes or spears. You never saw them in 15 cwt garrys calmly looking at you deadpan. I just looked and looked, (like one of those simple country bumpkins) then one of them grinned a big wide grin, and the other two roared with laughter - and I grinned back - my day was made.

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