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Putting on my roller skates and overall and carrying the wings and tail I skated my way up Elms road to the brow of the hill where Pamela lived at the Paddocks. At this point the white gates opened to the drive on the left leading up into the Paddocks, while to the right was a smooth new road which ran down a steep hill. into a new housing estate. This new road also lead to an old house which had been divided into White gate school, and two houses occupied by an Italian family and a builder.
     I now hooked and clipped on my wings and tail I set off down this steep hill with my arms and wings fully extended my legs fully apart. Somehow I managed to keep a straight path down the centre of the road, not easy with legs so far apart.. About half way down I could feel the rush of air filling my wings and tail when suddenly my legs were blown out from under me and I found myself travelling horizontally forward at ever-increasing speed.
     I have never been so excited, I was actually flying though falling downwards fast. Though I realised I was about to hit the ground nothing would deter me from keeping my arms and legs outstretched, so I struck the road at pretty high speed, My brow and nose first then the rest of me! Torn flesh and overalls rubbing the hard road brought my first flight to a halt. I picked myself up and somehow managed to skate up the steep hill to the top. After which I coasted down Elms Road, this part was easy, even though my face and hands hurt quite a bit, I suppose they were stinging but that was not important I must get home and tell my parents their son had actually flown! I opened the kitchen door and Mum rushed to me grabbing a towel which she threw over my head. Dad was just coming into the kitchen from the hall but fainted on the spot when he saw me, so Mum had to leave me to hold the towel while she propped up my father!! Only then did I realise that the towel was to cover the blood! My blood! My face was bleeding all over specially my forehead and nose, I must have looked a shocking sight!
     The grazes were superficial and soon dried up and my face showed through once the blood had been wiped away. But when my parents first saw me I must have been just covered in blood Dad told me never to try flying again but I did!. His son was a rebel.
     Yes I think he was right my father, a nervous man would worry about everything, my brother’s were more obedient than me, Bobby the baby of the family! Dad believed nobody should go into water until they could swim! Some months before I had asked permission to go to the local swimming pool, it was a very hot summers day, Dad would not hear of it. Apart from the dangers of drowning he was worried I would catch something nasty from the other swimmers. The same applied with Fish and Chips from the local Chippy To Dad there was a real risk of catching TB which he thought could be caught from the newprint on the news paper in which the fish was rapped! No doubt his fear of TB had been effected when he lost his first wife Doris and loosing his uncle Kenneth who both died from this decease. So I suppose his reasoning was understandable.
     Needless to say I did go to the swimming pool and taught myself to swim even jumping from the top board though this was by no means a dive I just ran and jumped in holding my nose and keeping my eyes closed tight. My brothers did learn how to swim till much later in life! I also enjoyed my chips even though they were wrapped in news paper.

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