Translation

I was born and brought up in Birstall, a small mill village halfway between Leeds and Huddersfield.

I lived in a two up two down terraced house. It had stone floors and an outside toilet.

One day my cousin Jack turned up. Jack was a big lad for his age. He was 13. I was 5.

“What shall we play at?” he asked.

I shrugged my little shoulders.

“What do you like playing with?” he asked.

I told him I liked playing with my teddy.

He said “Go and get teddy.”

I did.

He immediately pushed teddy headfirst down a drain.

“What shall we do now?” he asked.

I shrugged my little shoulders.

I know what he said.

“You stand over there against that wall and I’ll throw bricks at you.”

So that’s what we did. I was pretty nippy on my little feet and managed to avoid all the bricks. Once he’d run out of bricks to throw he went home.

As he left, I looked back down the yard. I could clearly see teddy’s little legs sticking out from the drain.