Chapter 21

Winter. 1967.

Both Tom and Danny tried to act normal as they went about their normal daily routine in the months leading up to Easter, but most of the time their minds were on what lay ahead. Friends seemed to notice that they were acting differently. Some commented that they seemed far away, and were they both on some drug or other?

As the boys one night lay in bed talking about what they intended to do after the robbery, if they were not in some prison that is, Danny told Tom that he intended to move down to Devon to live near his Mum and Dad, after which he would buy his own place then maybe start to sell used cars, just one old banger at a time to start with because he knew his Mum could always tell if he was up to something.

Tom surprised his cousin by revealing that he intended to move away to Spain where he had a friend who had told him you could make a lot of money in the holiday trade that was developing fast out there. They both knew that their world, whatever would happen after this, would never be the same again. Both now felt excited, but also a little sad at the thought of this as they had over the last few years shared some great times together.

During March the motorcycle gang they hung around with, asked if the two of them would as usual be coming away camping at Easter time. Tom came up with the excuse that their Granddad who was over eighty years old and living in Devon with Danny’s Mum and Dad was not in the best of health, so they would be visiting him, but that they would try but could not promise to get to Rhyl before the Easter break was over.

This seemed to satisfy their friends. All that is, except Jammy, who on hearing this commented in his broad Black Country accent, “Yo ay never bothered about him before, so why now?”

Both gave their friend a look that, if looks could kill, he would have dropped dead on the spot.

Snow had fallen in early March leaving the dirty streets of the Black country covered once more in a white blanket of virgin snow. They were surprised when on a cold snowy Saturday Mazza asked his three friends if they would like that night to come with him to a dance.

The dance was to be held at a Working men’s club called the ‘Victoria’ in a small town a few miles away called ‘Norton Canes.’ The night as Mazza and Sean pulled up outside their house Danny, Tom piled into the white Jaguar and off they went.

On the way and in the mood for some fun they decided that when the old man on the door of the club, who took one shilling for entry and asked for their names to sign in, they would as a joke give him the longest or the oddest names that they could think of.

On arriving at the club, the old guy on the door who looked to be wearing a 1920s gangster style pin stripe suit, looked the four of them over, as if he was about to hesitate in letting them enter. When he asked Tom his name, his false teeth that looked not to have been made to fit his mouth almost slipped out. Thankfully he deftly pushed them back in place before repeating, “Name. What’s yer name son? I have not got all night.’

“Ebenezer Scrott,” Tom answered.

“How the fucking hell do you spell that?” the old guy asked.

Next it was Sean’s turn. “Udecimas Cadwallander.”

The old guy now had a strange look on his face, as he asked, “Are you four taking the piss?”

All four now looked suitably affronted at this, as Danny losing his nerve somewhat, called out, “Silas Mong.”

After much shaking of his head the old guy let them in. They all laughed as they could now hear him saying to his friend about a weird lot of blokes with strange names, that he had just let in.

The local group on stage were quite good playing all the latest hits from the charts, while at the same time trying to look as much like the Beatles as they could. The four friends were chatting to some girls when suddenly a big guy came over and pointing directly at Mazza to their surprise he warned them with, “If you lot know what is good for you, you will leave our wenches alone. Okay, shorty?”

Danny looked at his two friends, knowing that they were thinking the same as him, in that this guy had just talked himself into a lot of trouble. But it seemed as if Mazza was in no mood for a confrontation and took no notice of what the guy had said, as the four of them carried on laughing and joking while drinking their beer. Glancing across the dance floor in the direction of the same big guy, they could see that he had at least ten friends with him who at this point we’re all looking their way with broad grins on their faces.

Danny, ever being the one to try to avoid trouble, especially if they were outnumbered, commented in Mazza’s ear, “They are all just twats, Maz, let it go.”

Mazza patted his little friend’s arm. “Do not worry Danny there is only one of them that I would like a word with.”

This did nothing to reassure Danny, who as he looked at Tom saw he had raised his eyes.

Almost an hour had now gone by, during which time Mazza had danced with one of the girls in question. He then followed this up by kissing her as the dance finished. He did this, Danny was sure, as they say, to just rub salt in the wound.

Walking back to his seat Mazza winked at the big guy who had first confronted them.

Danny noticed the big guy together with one of his friends get up, then head towards the toilets. Immediately on seeing this Mazza whispered something in Sean’s ear, after this the two of them also headed in the same direction.

Sean on entering the gents, stood blocking the doorway, so that no one else could enter or leave. Inside the big guy and his friend were both talking and laughing while standing at the urinal taking a piss. Mazza now quick as lightning hit both men behind their knees. This caused them both to drop into the urinal’s trough. He followed this up by grabbing both men by the back of the neck then smashing their faces into the porcelain urinal.

Blood now splashed everywhere as the scene now took on the look of a butcher’s shop. A kick between their legs in the happy sack, finished off any thoughts of retaliation that may have lingered, however fleetingly, in their minds.

Mazza now called Sean over and as he proceeded to urinate over both men as they lay sprawled across the floor, he added, “I thought you wanted a pee, son?”

Danny and Tom sat watching the toilet door wondering who would be the first to emerge, when suddenly the door opened and their two friends came out laughing.

Mazza walked over to where the big guy’s other friends sat, before calling out to them.

“I should go to help your friends, old son; they seem to have slipped over in the toilet so I think they may need your help.”

A puzzled look crossed the men’s faces as two of them now quickly made their way across to the gents.

A little while later just as they emerged helping both their friends to walk, a white mark 2 Jaguar pulled out from the club’s car park and headed out of the village towards the A5.

As Easter Monday came ever nearer, sleep was not easy for Danny. He only seemed to be able to sleep in short fits, after which he would wake up with the sheets corrugated beneath him, leaving him either hot and sweating, or freezing cold.

Just one week before the race meeting Tom and Danny were finishing their turn at digging the pit beneath the workshop floor, when the locked doors of the workshop were suddenly shaken and a voice called out, “Come on open up, I know you are in there, I can see you through the gap in the doors.”

Tom looked to his cousin mouthing the words, “Who the fuck is that?”

Danny now as he peeped through the same crack, saw an eyeball looking back at him and recognized it as belonging to their friend, Flash. They opened the door to let him in, out of the cold wind that was rattling the workshop’s tin roof. After entering, Flash peered down into the large hole asking, “What the fuck are you two doing? Trying to reach Australia?”

Knowing he was not privy to any knowledge about the robbery, they did not at first know how to answer. By now though thankfully Flash was more concerned with warming his hands by the glowing wood stove, so taking advantage of this temporary halt in his interest about the hole Danny answered by saying, “A fucking water pipe burst, that is what, it has taken us all morning to mend the bastard. So, having dug out the hole, we thought it a good idea to use the space to store some knocked off parts, out of sight, if you get what I mean.”

Flash seemed to swallow this explanation as he now went on to tell them how the baby had kept him awake last night. This was followed by more details about changing nappies and the like.

Just then a motorcycle pulled up outside, the engine of which sounded very rough. The evidence of this, was the smoke that was billowing out of its exhaust. Tom looked out to see who it was. At first as the guy had a scarf covering his face Tom could not recognize him, then as he removed his helmet Tom turned and called out, “It’s Sid.”

Danny was less than pleased that he of all people should now turn up.

Sid entered greeting them all, including Danny, as if they were his oldest friends.

“Hello boys, how are we? Well, I hope.”

Danny looking up from inside the hole, asked, “What do you want Sid? As you can see, we are busy.”

And with that Danny carried on digging. “Yes, I can see that you are, but what is the hole for?” Sid asked while staring into the hole as if some treasure may be concealed within its depths.

“Water pipe problems,” Tom answered.

This seemed to satisfy him as he turned towards Danny. “I was hoping you could have a look at my new bike, Danny, it seems to be misfiring.”

Danny somewhat reluctantly stepped outside, thinking this was the quickest way to get rid of him. Looking at the old B.S.A. C11g, he could not help but smile. He swung the kickstart, after which he was rewarded with a backfire then a cloud of smoke as it fired up. Stepping back into the relative warmth of the workshop he answered Sid’s question, “Well Sid, old son, to use the word ‘new’ to describe that C11g is stretching it a bit and yes, it is misfiring. But I think you will find there is no easy fix, because your rings have gone.”

Sid looked shocked as he asked, “Gone? Gone where?”

Danny shook his head at Sid’s obvious lack of knowledge. “Worn out or knackered for want of a better word. Who did you buy it off? Because whoever they were, take it from me that they knew for sure what state this engine was in. They would have most likely filled the barrel with piston seal just to stop it smoking, until, that is, you had tried it out and paid for it.”

By this time Sid was replacing his helmet and threatening what he was about to do to some guy in Walsall. Then just as he was leaving, he shocked them all by asking, “Any how what is this new venture that I hear you lot are about to start?”

Both Danny and Tom were startled to hear him ask this, so were somewhat at a loss as to how to answer.

Flash now unknowingly came to their rescue. “You are a nosey bastard Sid. Our kid did not want it known that he is starting up a new firm placing bouncers on some club doors in Birmingham, so who was the big mouth that told you?”

Sid having been on the wrong side of Mazza once already, mumbled that he had just heard something about a new venture that was going to happen.

Later when both Flash and Sid had left, Danny asked what Tom thought about Sid’s remark about some venture.

Tom just laughed this off, saying it was as Flash had said, it would be that he had just heard about something from one of the bouncers that they were going to use.

Danny though in his mind was not totally convinced, causing him to worry about all sorts of things, like who the guy was who was giving Mazza his inside information. When he expressed this concern to Tom, his cousin just laughed once more, telling him not to be such an old woman. Danny did worry though, and sometimes felt he was a coward, as unlike him his friends did not seem to let the thought of what they were about to do concern them at all, but Danny’s pride would not let him back out from being part of the venture.