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

sure that no one looked at their sisters in the wrong way – and that their sisters weren’t eyeing up the boys either! Such behaviour was
definitely a no-no.
    The boys were also busy earning a living taking photographs, having bought two Aptus cameras, one of the first instant cameras. Set on tripods, they took sepia photographs which developed in
only two to three minutes. Alger and Nathan kept themselves busy doing this and charged a shilling a picture.
    I’m sure that being attractive young men definitely helped when it came to persuading the women to have their photographs taken. Nathan, the eldest, was tall and debonair, with a slightly
quizzical grin, and was often likened to the actor Rudolph Valentino. Alger looked similar to Nathan and many would say not dissimilar to Ronald Coleman, although not quite as tall. Twinkling eyes
gave the impression to those he met that he was keeping some sort of a secret. He was as opinionated as his sister Adeline, but they never had an argument. Disagreements and banter, yes, but no big
fall-outs. Now that he was older, he often joined his father in the public house and had already earned himself the nickname ‘the Fish’ because he could drink so much and could actually
hold it. This was not something his mother was proud of, however.
    Walter, who was by now about fifteen, was a quiet lad who had inherited a more respectable nickname: Lavengro, which means scholar. He was noted for his good use of herbs and, along with his
father, was always in demand by local farmers to tend to their sick horses. An animal will often know which herb or plant to eat to make itself better if it has bellyache and Walter also seemed to
know what would work, even when the best vet in town had given up.
    The atmosphere in the park was frenetic and it was an incredibly noisy place, with the carousel blasting out ‘Blaze Away’ and popular tunes of the day, which were all fast-paced in
order to add to the excitement. The barkers on the stalls would yell out, ‘Win a lovely coconut! Throw a double top to win a tanner!’ The excited screams from children and the people on
the roller coaster and the waltzer, together with the smell of hot dogs and candy floss, added to the unforgettable atmosphere. My family would always talk about the pure exhilaration they felt
simply walking from stall to stall. It was an incredibly exciting place to be.
    The shops of Skegness also held great joy for the girls, who now had money in their pockets. They could pick out and buy their own clothes and would often buy material to make copies of dresses
and suits they had seen on their frequent trips to the movies. They would use Vaseline on their eyelids, mixed with a tiny bit of soot from the fire in the vardo. This resulted in a glossy shadow
which made their eyes look enormous. A little lipstick, topped with Vaseline, made their lips glossy and would also be used as rouge for their cheeks. This was all done out of the sight of the boys
or their father, who would never have approved.
    Throughout that first summer, the girls, all of whom were undeniably beautiful, were attracting many admirers. Alice had instructed them not to encourage the attentions of the gorger boys.
‘Do not make eye contact. If someone is looking at you, look the other way!’ she said. ‘If you give a man any encouragement, you’ll never get rid of him.’
    The brothers had made friends with some of the boys who worked in the amusement park and other traders, and they were full of news about the dance hall and the live band music played there. Much
as they and their sisters longed to go, they were wary of approaching their parents about it, fearing that they would never approve. They weren’t supposed to talk to the gorgers, let alone
dance with them! Adeline and Nathan plotted together over how best to persuade their parents, deciding to say they didn’t need to dance with the gorgers as they had each other.
    Much to their