The Girl in the Painted Caravan by Eva Petulengro Read Free Book Online

vardo to try to find a bit of peace and quiet. He didn’t think much about the incident and
didn’t have a chance to go back to the pub until three months later, when the family returned from more travels.
    He decided to give the public house another try and, to his annoyance, the same man came up to him again, only this time he looked slightly different.
    ‘Do you mind if I join you?’ he said. ‘I just wanted to thank you. My wife, especially.’
    On closer inspection, Naughty realised that this man actually had a new growth of hair on the top of his head. ‘Er, you’re welcome,’ Naughty said. He laughed all the way back
to the vardo, whereupon he told Alice the story.
    Alice was in stitches. ‘Well, manure does make things grow, doesn’t it, Naughty? All sorts of things by the sound of it!’ Granny told me that they were still laughing about it
days later.

FIVE
Life is a Roller coaster
    It was early 1927 and the family were on their way from Sleaford to Woodhall Spa, a village between Lincoln and Skegness near to the home of Sir Archibald and Lady Weigall,
when they had an encounter that would change their lives.
    A car came towards them from the other direction and pulled up at the side of the lane, about a hundred yards in front of them. A young man jumped out of the car and waved, having recognised the
wagons. The family pulled the vardos into a handy field entrance.
    ‘Naughty,’ the man said. ‘Good to see you again. I’ve been hoping I’d run into you.’ The two men clasped each other’s hands with a firm shake and patted
each other on the back.
    ‘Get some tea on, girls,’ Naughty shouted. They sat down together on the verge while Nathan and Alger set about making up a fire.
    ‘It must be fate that I’ve run into you, Naughty,’ the man said. ‘I’m building an amusement park in these parts, which would be perfect for Alice and the girls to
set up business at.’
    ‘What, settle down in one place?’ asked Naughty.
    ‘It’s only for six months of the year, and I have a feeling my new venture is really going to take off,’ retorted the young man.
    ‘Where is this place anyway?’ asked Naughty.
    ‘It’s in Skegness, and I’m hoping you’ll predict it will be a great success,’ he replied with a smile. ‘I’m off to London now to tie up a few loose
ends, but I’ll be back in Skeggy in a day or so. Come and have a look and see what you think.’ Without waiting for his tea, he jumped back in his car and drove off.
    ‘It can’t do any harm, I suppose, just to have a look,’ Alice said, with curiosity in her voice. ‘He’s always been ambitious and a hard worker. I’m sure
it’ll be an adventure to see the amusement park, if nothing else.’ Despite her words, at that moment in time, Alice had a gut feeling that it would be more than a little interesting to
her and her family.
    The young man’s name was Billy Butlin.
    Billy was the son of Bertha Hill, who was from a very well-known and respected fairground travelling family. The Hills, Butlins and Petulengros had known each other for years and were good
friends.
    Although not well educated, young Billy had a sharp business instinct. Having worked for a couple of years at the Hills Travelling Fair, he saw that there was money to be made in setting up his
own amusement park in Skegness. Ordinary people were getting annual holidays now and choosing to go to the seaside, only to be kicked out of their bed and breakfast accommodation every morning. He
knew that if he could keep them entertained in his park, they would spend their money with him, rather than with the other traders. He’d leased some land from the Earl of Scarborough and, as
well as the usual attractions like the roller coaster, was looking for novelties and thought Alice’s palm-reading would offer something different. In any event, the family had some beautiful
daughters and Billy was a sucker for a pretty face, as are most men. When Billy