Hosted by John and Sheila
Sheila's story gained the most votes
Next month at Sues on the 17th
"Steps out"
Tim was quite a joker at school. NOTHING WRONG in that, a lot of pupils thought he was a great laugh. Tim loved making people laugh and even thought about being a comedian in the future, but of course things don’t always turn out the way you think they will. With exams on the horizon life started to get more serious. He studied hard and passed enough to get into college, but after the first year he decided that it was too hard and he couldn’t cope. He had a long discussion with the year leader and decided that he would leave and try for an apprenticeship instead. After looking at many options he decided om a carpentry course. Looking back he realized that he had always liked wood. He remembered that he had even made a couple of simple toys for his little brother and one Christmas had made a tea-pot stand for his mum, who actually had used it for many years.
Over the next few months he learned about the different woods and how certain wood is only suitable for making certain things, and different joints for joining two pieces of wood together, etc. After a while he realized that he was more relaxed and happier than he had been for ages. He loved working with wood and over the years made quite a few items of furniture. All furniture made by the apprentices were put into their shop and they had a percentage of each item that was sold. Good incentive to work well! Tim’s jokey self had also come back and he enjoyed seeing how easy it was for him to make people laugh.
One day he had an idea, and being egged on by his fellow workers, decided to make a Punch and Judy booth. He realized that he would have to join a special organisation that teaches people how to do the unique voice and programme that is a Punch and Judy show. The course took longer than he thought, but at the end of it he felt that he was quite excited and couldn’t wait to get started. He had been making the booth in his spare time and when it was finished he was quite proud of how it looked. His fellow workers were keen to be his quinea-pigs to see his first performance. So, one lunch time he set up his booth, and feeling excited and nervous, he climbed into the booth and away he went with the patter. He had a couple of hiccups, but at the end his friends gave a big clap and whistles. He felt good but realized that he needed lots more practise before going public.
By the start of the next summer he felt he was ready. He applied for his licence to perform in public and once having the permission from the council off he went to the local beach. He had already advertised and a few of his workfriends said they would help set up the booth and stay and support him. That helped boost his confidence knowing that he wasn’t alone. Tim was surprized how many people had turned out to watch and he hoped that he wouldn’t let them down, but it all went well and everyone enjoyed it. Now, every weekend you will see him on the beach with Punch and Judy entertaining to his hearts content and making people laugh.
