They arrived in the cover of darkness just before the Bank Holiday, near to that spot in Walmer where Julius Caesar landed fifty five years before Christ.
They came with their dogs and children, a truck load of scrap-metal and plastic patio chairs that they laid out on the grass in a mark of territorial defiance. Their feral animals and offspring roamed freely, scaring cyclists and dog-walkers alike, as well as old ladies and fun runners who feared for their for welfare and safety.
I listened to it all with a weary shrug as the pub began to desert in haste. Drinkers rushing home to lock their garages and garden gates, off to warn their neighbours that pikey was in town.
Privately I laughed at their small mindedness, their sweet little shop-keeper's ways, stereotypical views of pickled old men, as white as caravans parked up on crazy-pavement drives and flush red with rage like St George Cross flags.
'I know you from somewhere, don't I?' The attractive barmaid asked.
'I was on the set of a new film' I whispered to her, waiting to steal the scene.
They came with their dogs and children, a truck load of scrap-metal and plastic patio chairs that they laid out on the grass in a mark of territorial defiance. Their feral animals and offspring roamed freely, scaring cyclists and dog-walkers alike, as well as old ladies and fun runners who feared for their for welfare and safety.
I listened to it all with a weary shrug as the pub began to desert in haste. Drinkers rushing home to lock their garages and garden gates, off to warn their neighbours that pikey was in town.
Privately I laughed at their small mindedness, their sweet little shop-keeper's ways, stereotypical views of pickled old men, as white as caravans parked up on crazy-pavement drives and flush red with rage like St George Cross flags.
'I know you from somewhere, don't I?' The attractive barmaid asked.
'I was on the set of a new film' I whispered to her, waiting to steal the scene.
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