Ian didn’t move, he just sat there eating.
“Manners,” said Alice, and with a mouth half full of crisps he replied,
“All right mate, got any conkers?”
“Conkers? What’s conkers?”
Ian started to explain and this seemed to break the ice between the two. By the time Alice returned with more coke and crisps, the two boys were happily playing football. Even though his dad knew he was there, he never came out of the pub. The Addington Arms was a typical London pub. Outside it hung a large sign swinging on a gallows bracket which moved slowly in the breeze, the windows were etched hallway up to stop anyone looking in, and the bar was full of smoke, which gave it a hazy look from the outside.
A short while later some other boys came over and joined in the game. It wasn’t long before a fight sta
