11
The Pub With No Beer – Slim Dusty
The afternoon moved on towards evening, and warmed up even more, I tried to stay cool, calm and collected. Which amazed me, as I knew all of this was not going to end well.
About four, the landline rang. It was my daughter, Judith. ‘Dad, it’s me,’ she said.
‘Hello, love.’
‘Dad, what have you done? You’re in the paper. Mum wouldn’t let me see, but I looked it up on the web.’
The blessed web, I thought. What would we do without it? ‘It’s nothing, love,’ I said. ‘I’ve done nothing.’
‘That’s what you always say.’
Which was true, but I didn’t need to hear it from someone her age. Laura had been right, she was growing up fast. ‘This time it’s true, I swear. Someone has put my neck in a frame, and they’re tightening the screws.’
‘Who?’
‘Long story. I
