CHRONICLES
OF HALDEN, II
The
Banner
|
a
dramatic
tetralogy
by
Robin
Gordon |
Part
4: The
Battle
-
Auksford, 2011
-
Characters
in order of appearance
Little Willie, Leader of the Dragons
King,
Leader of King’s gang
Terry
Ronno,
King’s second in command
Mad
Dog Leader
Pete,
a Dragon
Andy,
a Dragon
Thelma,
a Swarrel girl, friend of Willie’s, Norah’s cousin
Ken,
member of King’s gang, Swarrell
Stan,
member of King’s gang, Swarrell
Sid
Thatcher, King’s gang, Swarrell
Tommo,
leader of the Wild Bulls, Halden
Scouse,
a Wild Bull, Halden
Nelly,
a Wild Bull, Halden
Claggy,
a Wild Bull, Halden
Wank,
a Wild BullHalden,
Hutch,
a Wild Bull, Halden
Ada
Biggs, from Norah’s gang
Hotrod,
leader of the Furies, Halden
Jake
Thatcher, Sid’s father, Swarrell
Rita
Storey, Norah’s gang
Wilma,
Norah’s gang
A
Fury
Johnny
Cowan, Halden
Effie,
the peacemaker, Swarrell
Jane,
a Swarrell girl
Dolly,
a Halden lad sent to spy
Non
speaking groups
The
Black Dragons, Swarrell
King’s
gang, Swarrell
The
Mad Dogs, Swarrell
The
Wild Bulls, Halden
The
Furies, Halden
The
Cowan Gang, Halden
Other
Halden & Swarrell lads
Other
Halden & Swarrell girls
Characters
classified in groups
BOYS
Swarrell Lads
King’s
Gang
King,
Leader of King’s gang
Ronno,
King’s second in command
Ken
Stan
Sid
Thatcher
Jake
Thatcher, Sid’s father
Other
members of King’s gang
The
Black Dragons
Little
Willie, Leader of the Dragons
Steve
Pete
Andy
Black
Dragons
The
Mad Dogs
Mad
Dog Leader
The
Mad Dogs
Others
Terry
Members
of other Swarrell gangs
Halden
Lads
The
Wild Bulls
Tommo,
leader
Scouse,
his closest friend
Nelly,
Claggy
Wank
Hutch
Others
Hotrod,
leader of the Furies
A
Fury
Johnny
Cowan
Dolly
A
Halden lad
The
Furies
The
Cowan Gang
Other
Halden lads
GIRLS
Swarrell
Girls
Thelma,
a friend of Willie’s, Norah’s cousin,
Effie,
the peacemaker
Jane
Other
Swarrell girls
Halden
Girls
Norah
Blackburn
Ada
Biggs, Norah’s gang
Rita
Storey, Norah’s gang
Wilma,
Norah’s gang
Other
Halden girls
***
Battles
between great armies might be fought
at
the particular desire of several ladies of quality,
who
[…] might be actual spectators of the conflict.
[…]Might
not a battle be as well decided
by
the greater number of broken heads,
bloody
noses and black eyes.
-- Henry
Fielding:
The History of Tom Jones
***
ACT I, SCENE 1
The
goods yard. The area near the engine sheds
is crowded with youths from all over Swarrell. King, Ronno,
Ken,
Stan, Sid, La’al Willie, Steve, Pete, Andy and other members
of
King’s gang and the Black Dragons push through the
crowd.
Willie is holding Jim Gormley’s trousers.
Willie:
There’s gonna be a
battle! Raaay!
Dragons: Raaay!
Willie:
We’re gonna annihilate
’em! We’re
gonna smash their heads in, we’re gonna kick ’em in
the
balls, we’re gonna give’ em Chinese torture,
we’re
gonna pull their finger nails out, take their pants off and chuck
’em in the nettles! Raaay! Buckets
o’ blood,
buckets o’ blood. We’ll exterminate
’em!
[Chants]:
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
Dragons:
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
Raaaay!
This
entry attracts general attention. King and Ronno climb onto a
pile of rubble.
King: SWA-A-A-RELL!
All:
Raaay! Swa-rell!
Swa-rell! Swa-rell!
Willie: Halden
wankers!
All:
Raaay! Halden wankers!
Halden wankers!
King:
Invasion! We’ll
destroy Halden!
All:
Raaay! Invasion!
Invasion! Raaay!
Terry:
Where’s the prisoners?
King:
We’ll exterminate ’em!
Willie:
Exterminate! Ex-ter-min-ate!
Dragons:
Ex-ter-min-ate!
Ex-ter-min-ate!
Terry: Bring out
the prisoners!
Others: Yeah, what
about the Count? We
want the Count!
King:
We’ll put all Halden to the
Count – and when we
get that bitch back we’ll have the biggest gang-bang
there’s ever been.
Cheers
from King’s gang, the Dragons and others.
Terry: Where are
the prisoners?
Others: Yeah, where
are they.
Let’s see ’em!
King:
They’ve gone.
Terry and his supporters:
What? Where?
King: Back to
Halden. We’re
gonna invade. Get ’em back – and her!
Ronno:
We’ll destroy Halden!
They’ll never dare come here again!
King:
They’re not expecting
us. We’ll invade now!
Ronno:
We’ll take them by surprise!
Willie:
We’ll have the pants off
them! Raaay!
Buckets o’ blood! Buckets o’ blood!
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
Dragons:
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
We’re going
to take
their trousers
off!
Mad Dog Leader:
What’s ’e on
about?
Mad Dogs: Yeah.
Mad Dog Leader: Is
this a battle, or innit?
King:
It’s a battle!
We’ll sweep down on ’em before they know
we’re coming …
Willie:
… and take their knickers
off! Raaay!
Mad Dog Leader:
Sounds to me more like a fucking
public school dormitory raid.
Mad Dogs: Yeah!
Mad Dog Leader:
We’re fighters,
we
are! We’re
the Mad
Dogs!
We’re savage!
We terrorise the
streets! We’re killers,
we are! We’re
not
playing kids’
games!
Mad Dogs: No!
King: What
d’ya mean kids’
games?
This is war!
M[ad] D[og] L[eader]:
Oh yeah? Ripping
each other’s
pants off like little twelve-year-olds? Like them poovy
students
at Oxford? [Puts
on posh voice]:
“Oh I say, you
chaps, let’s debag him, what?”
Willie:
Yeah! Debag!
Debag! Debag! Debag!
Dragons:
Debag! Debag! Debag!
King: SHU-RRUP!
Ronno
cuffs Willie.
Willie [muttering
at Ronno]:
We’ll have your kegs off
an’all.
MDL: See what I
mean? We’re
gan.
King: Wait!
Willie: Scared of
losing his own pants.
Ronno
squashes Willie.
King:
There’ll be no
debagging! This is war!
We’re gonna smash Halden. They’ve stolen
our
Banner. We’ve gotta get it back – and
Effie.
We’re gonna smash Halden. We’re gonna be
top
town. We’ll be invincible – worse than
Manchester
United.
MDL [indicating
the Dragons]:
Yeah? What about them?
King:
They’ll do what I
say.
It’s all
Willie’s fault that they got away with the Banner.
Stupid
little berk! If he’d been paying attention
we’d have
got them – but what was he doing? - [He takes hold of Willie
who is still in Ronno’s grip].
He was
stripping Jim
Gormley. Gimme them! - [He
snatches Jim’s trousers from
Willie and holds them up].
That’s a
Swarrell lad he’s
dekegged.
Mad Dogs and others:
Eh?
King:
Yeah! A Swarrell lad! - [He
shakes Willie]. -
Listen, you! If there’s any more of it
we’ll have
your
pants
off! - [He
thrusts Willie away]. - This
is
war!
No time for kid’s stuff: WAR!
All: Raaaay!
ACT I, SCENE 2
The
goods yard. In the background the Swarrell
gang is preparing to invade Halden. Willie, Steve, Pete and
Andy
mooch away accompanied by most of the Black Dragons. Some
Dragons
have stayed with the Swarrell army.
Willie:
You know what it is, don’t you? They’re
scared of losing their trousers. If we went for the Halden
lads’ pants we’d annihilate
’em. They’d
never dare face us again. But that lot are scared.
Dragons: Yeah.
Willie: Get the
Dragons together.
We’re not playing their
game.
Pete: What we gonna
do?
Willie:
We’ll wait.
We’ll have our chance. You’ll see.
Steve,
Andy and other Dragons go off. Thelma comes down from the
viaduct and wanders over to Willie.
Thelma:
’Lo, Willie.
What’s going on?
Pete: Gonna be a
battle –
’gainst Halden.
Thelma:
Oooh! You gonna get some good
trophies, Willie?
Willie
doesn’t answer.
Pete:
We’re not in it.
Willie: King and
them! Scared
o’ losing their
knickers! We could’a had the pants off every lad in
Halden
– but they’re scared o’ looking daft.
Thelma: What
d’ya mean?
Pete: ’S gonna be
an ordinary battle.
Thelma: No pants
off?
Willie: Naw.
Thelma:
Aw. Me cousin
Norah’ll be disappointed.
I was telling her about you. She got really excited.
Willie [thoughtfully]:
Course, if the Halden lads started dekegging …
Thelma: Me cousin
lives in Halden.
Willie:
Hey! You lassies like to see
lads getting their pants taken off, don’t you?
Thelma: Ooh,
Willie! Don’t
be so crude!
Willie: You do,
don’t you?
Thelma: Well
… it’s only
natural …
Willie: You could
mebbe fix it. Hey,
go and see your cousin
and tell her. You’ll have plenty of time.
They’re
still yakking about strategy.
Thelma
nods and leaves quickly.
Willie:
Strategy! All you need do is
sweep down and tek
’em by surprise. I could have had the pants off
half of
Halden by now.
ACT I, SCENE 3
The
goods
yard. The gangs are still milling round.
King: Right
then. It’s
agreed. Let’s go!
MDL: Just once
more. You lot go over
the stream and round
the back of the factory. We go over the bridge, and the Dock
Street gang go round by the other road and come in from
behind.
Right?
King: Right.
MDL:
It’ll take hours.
King: Eh?
MDL:
It’ll tek hours before they get
round that way.
King: They should
be half way there.
MDL: They
haven’t gone yet.
King: Well, even if
they’re a bit
late, there’s enough of us …
MDL: They should
come with us.
King: Orright.
MDL: Good.
King:
Let’s go.
MDL: One thing more.
King: What?
MDL: It’s
a battle, right?
King: Right.
MDL: Fists and
boots and chains and knives and
bottles, right?
King: Yeah, right.
MDL: Prisoners get
stripped of their colours?
King: Yeah.
MDL: Scarves and
leather jackets and things?
King: Yeah.
MDL: But not
trousers. We’re
not playing la’al kids games.
King:
I’ve told you. Look,
the Dragons aren’t
even coming. We’re better off without silly kids
like them.
MDL:
Right. Let’s go!
Enter
Ken and Stan.
Ken:
They’re coming!
Stan:
Halden! Over the beck!
Ken:
They’re invading us!
King:
Orright! Let’s go and
get ’em!
Terry:
We’ve wasted too much
time. I wish we’d never got involved.
King:
What’s up with him?
Terry: We should
have made a quick raid and got
away. This is different.
King: Thump him,
somebody
Sid,
who has been hovering anxiously, now springs forward.
Sid: Shurrup!
He
grabs Terry.
Sid [to
King]:
I’ll look after him.
King: Yeah, make
sure he’s in the
thick of it.
Sid: I’ll
keep him right beside me.
King:
Let’s go!
They
all pour towards the beck.
Sid [to
Terry]: Pity
I’ve got to look after
you. I won’t be able to do any fighting.
But
Sid and Terry are swept along with the others and separated.
ACT I, SCENE 4
The Swarrell gangs surge towards the Alebeck.
Ken: Hey, look at
all them lassies on the bridge.
Ronno: Come to see
the battle.
Stan: Just as well
it’s not a
keggin’ battle.
Ronno & Ken:
Yeah.
ACT I, SCENE 5
The
Alebeck marshes. The Halden youths.
Among them are Tommo, Scouse, Nelly, Claggy, Wank and Hutch, and also
Ada Biggs.
Ada: Yeah,
we’re all up there cheering
you on.
Tommo:
Great! Wild Bulls are top
gang! Halden rules!
All:
Raaay! Halden rules!
Ada: Yeah,
we’re right behind
you. You’re really going to flatten that Swarrell
lot, aren’t you?
All:
Yeah! Yeah!
Ada: Bring back
lots o’ trophies!
Tommo:
Yeah! We’ll have
their scarves an’ things, won’t we lads?
All: Yeah!
Nelly:
We’ll have their colours!
Scouse:
They’re coming!
Ada: I’ll
get back to
Norah. [She leaves]
ACT I, SCENE 6
The
Halden army is drawn up on open ground between
the Aleback and the goods yard, near some sidings. The
Swarrell
youths pour out from behind the engine sheds. They stand
facing
each other. The girls are looking down from the road bridge.
There is an ominous silence.
Tommo steps forward and flourishes the
Banner. The Halden youths cheer.
Swarrell: Halden
wankers! Halden
wankers!
Halden: We got the
BAN-ner! We got the
BAN-ner!
Swarrell [singing]:
Nails Palmer was the leader of
the
yellow Halden gang,
Nails Palmer
was the leader of the yellow Halden gang,
Nails Palmer
was the leader of the yellow Halden gang,
but we took his trousers off!
The
half-hearted Swarrell singing is drowned by the triumphant chanting of
Halden.
Halden: We got the
BAN-ner! We got the
BAN-ner!
Tommo
waves the Banner exultantly.
Swarrell:
Halden wankers! Halden wankers!
Halden: We got the
BAN-ner!
WE GOT THE BAN-NER!
Hotrod,
leader of the Furies, in denim jacket with
the legend “Furies” on the back, jeans and a bright
orange
crash-helmet with his name on it, begins posturing up and
down.
Other, similarly clad Furies join him.
Hotrod: Swarrell
wankers!
They’re all useless!
I could take on six of ’em with one arm tied behind me back
– and blindfold. They’re all useless
wankers!
Furies:
Raaaay! Fu-ries!
Fu-ries! Fu-ries!
Swarrell: Halden
wankers! Halden
wankers!
Halden: We got the
BAN-ner!
WE GOT THE BAN-NER!
Hotrod:
I’ll fight anybody!
Anybody that’s willing! Who’ll take me on?
While
Hotrod is prancing and challenging the chanting falls silent.
Hotrod fails to notice.
Hotrod: You heard
me! Load
o’ wankers! I’ll fight any of you!
Ronno
steps forward.
Ronno:
I’ll fight him.
Hotrod
looks at Ronno in horror, then dives back
into the Halden throng. Swarrell laugh and cheer
derisively. Tommo and the Wild Bulls grab Hotrod and haul him
back.
Hotrod: Gerroff!
Tommo: You
challenged him. Now get out
there and fight!
Tommo
and the Wild Bulls hurl Hotrod towards Ronno,
who grabs for him. Hotrod twists away and flees back to the
Halden lines. The lads close up and refuse to let him
in.
He scampers along the line, looking for an entry, but is pushed out
again to meet Ronno.
Tommo: Fight him,
ya yellow punk!
Hotrod [evading
Ronno’s clutches]:
Gerroff!
Help!
Hotrod
flees again. The Wild Bulls grab him and turn him round.
Tommo: Trouble with
you, Hotrod, is
you’ve got no
balls. Get out and fight – or we’ll have
your
trousers off!
Hotrod
is again propelled out towards Ronno.
He dances round Ronno, avoiding the bigger lad’s
lunges.
Ronno succeeds in grabbing him, and they fall on the ground in a
sprawling dogfight, while the two sides cheer. Hotrod
succeeds in
landing one of his wild blows. While Ronno’s
concentration
is momentarily weakened, he pulls away and heads for the Halden lines.
He is pushed back. Ronno
lumbers towards
him. Hotrod skips away, then takes off like a rocket for a
flight
of stairs leading up to the road. Ronno hurtles after
him.
Just before Hotrod gets to the steps Ronno grabs his crash-helmet,
which is dangling on his back. Hotrod’s flight is
checked.
Half-strangled, he grabs at the
fastening and pulls
it loose. Then he escapes up the steps leaving the helmet in
Ronno’s hands.
ACT I, SCENE 7
The
viaduct that crosses the railway. Hotrod
comes running up the steps from below. The girls swarm around
him
with mock sympathy, derisively patting him and tousling his hair.
Girls:
Oooh! Look at the great hero!
Did the nasty boys frighten him then?
Were they going to hurt him?
Diddums, diddums.
Aw.
ACT I, SCENE 8
The
battlefield. Ronno shrugs and returns to
the Swarrell lines. Everyone, both Swarrell and Halden, is
laughing.
Jake: Ronno won his
colours!
Swarrell:
Yeah! Yeah! Ronno
won his colours! Hand ’em over!
Halden:
Whassat? What’re
they saying?
Ken: We
want his colours!
Swarrell: We
want his colours!
We
want his colours!
Tommo:
Yeah! Ronno won ’em
fair and square.
Nelly:
Yeah! Hand ’em over,
Hotrod!
Tommo: Where is he?
Scouse: Up there
– with the girls.
Tommo: Get him!
Nelly,
Claggy, Wank, Hutch and some others head for the steps. The
Furies obstruct them.
Fury:
You’re not giving away our
colours!
Tommo: Ronno won
’em fair and square!
King:
Tommo! Hey, Tommo!
Tommo: You can have
his colours!
Furies:
No! No!
No you can’t!
Tommo:
We’ll take a vote on it!
ACT I, SCENE 9
On
the bridge. The girls are still mocking Hotrod.
Norah [looking
down at the boys]:
This is no good.
They’re just standing round talking. Hey, you
lot!
Fling him down the steps! Let them strip him, then we can get
on
to the real fun.
Ada,
Rita and Wilma hasten to obey. Hotrod evades them.
Hotrod:
No-o-o! They can have me
colours!
He
strips off his Furies-jacket, hurls it over the
parape, then flees along the road to Haldent. There is a
cheer
from below.
Norah: Rita, go
down and stir ’em up
before they forget they’re supposed to be fighting.
ACT I, SCENE 10
The
battlefield. Tommo picks up Hotrod’s
jacket. He displays it to the Halden gang then to the
Swarrell
gang, then he walks over to Ronno and hands it to him.
Tommo: You won
Hotrod’s colours fair
and square.
Wild Bulls: Raaaay!
Both
sides take up the cheering, except the Furies,
who drift sullenly away towards the steps. Rita is coming
down.
Rita:
It’s a disgrace –
giving away a Halden
lad’s colours like that! Why don’t you do
something?
Fury: Like what?
Rita: I
dunno, do I? I’m only a girl. I
can’t fight. Why don’t you throw summat
at that Ronno?
Furies: Yeah!
Rita:
Yeah! Throw a brick at
him! Get things
started. Then you can look out for him in the
battle.
I’d take more
than his colours, I would!
Fury: Right!
He
picks up a broken brick.
Rita: Not from
here! Don’t
let them see you!
Fury: Eh?
Rita: Go round
behind!
Fury: Oh.
The
Furies move off and merge into the Halden lines
and Rita goes back up the steps. Ronno has been displaying
Hotrod’s jacket to the two sides while Tommo walks back to
the
Halden lines. Ronno turns and begins to move towards the
Swarrell
lines when a shower of bricks and stones is hurled from among the
Halden youths. One missile catches Ronno. He drops
the
jacket and reels. King, Ken and Stan rush forward to help
him. More stones rattle around them. With a roar of
rage
the Swarrell gangs hurl themselves on the Halden youths, who break in
disarray and retreat back towards the Alebeck, then through the arches
of the road bridge and off towards the caravan site, factories and
streets of south Swarrell.
ACT I, SCENE 11
Most
of the Halden youths flee from the Swarrell
mob, heading under the bridge for the mean streets of south
Swarrell. Only the Furies are not taken by
surprise. They
rush forward to capture Ronno, but are met by Ken, Stan and
other. Stan is running berserk. He hurls himself at
one of
the Furies with a howl of rage and sends him crashing to the
ground. The other Furies quail and retreat. Stan
rips off
his captive’s studded jacket and the Fury flees.
King and
Ronno are also brandishing scarves taken in the skirmish.
Stan
waves his trophy in triumph, then hurls himself at another Fury
hovering nearby. The Fury flees, howling for mercy, with Stan
hot
on his heels. They pass close by the Wild Bulls.
Tommo [to
the fleeing Fury]:
Fight back! Yellow
coward! - [To
the Wild Bulls] -
Get him!
Wank
hurls a rock at Stan and hits him. Stan falls.
Wank: Get him!
Wank
grabs a passing Fury and urges him towards
Stan. Nearby Furies cheer and converge on Stan, only to be
repulsed by a Swarrell charge led by Ken. Ken helps Stan up.
Ken: Orrigh?
Stan:
Grrrrrghh! Lemme gettattem!
The
Furies have regrouped. Stan hurtles out of
the Swarrell, gang straight into their midst. They scatter,
but he
grabs one. Ken and others come to his aid. The
youth is
knocked about and stripped of his jacket. Wank begins hurling
stones at Ken’s group.
Wank: Throw stones,
ya berks!
The
Furies give up and flee. Stan picks up a
huge chunk of rubble and advances on Wank, holding it over his
head. Wank backs away in horror, then suddenly turns and
flees. Stan hurls the rock and it hits the ground just behind
Wank. Wank flees for the steps and up to the girls.
ACT I, SCENE 12
Wank
comes up onto the viaduct. He finds Tommo among the girls.
Wank: What are you
doing up here?
Tommo: What are you?
Wank: Well
…
Tommo: Well
… We may as
well go home. All our lads have scarpered.
Norah
comes over.
Norah:
Wassamarrer? Yella?
Tommo:
’S’all over.
Norah:
What?! You could still win.
Tommo: All our lads
have run away.
Norah: Yella.
Norah
turns away in disgust and crosses the street followed by her
girls. They look over the parapet.
Rita:
They’re not chasing
’em.
Norah: Go and
encourage ’em!
Rita
goes down the steps. Norah turns away. Johnny Cowan
and his gang come along the street.
Norah: Are you
running away an’all?
Johnny:
Naw. We’re gonna tek
’em from the rear.
Norah: Raaay!
The
Cowan gang clatter down the steps.
Norah [to
Tommo]: What
’bout you?
Tommo
shrugs.
Norah:
Yella! He’s still at
school!
Wank: Come on!
Wank
and Tommo follow the Cowan gang. Norah
rushes to the south side of the road and watches them emerge from under
the bridge. At the sound of their cheers and war-cries
Stan’s gang turn and hurl stones and broken bricks.
The
Halden lads retreat under the bridge again, then reappear at the top of
the steps.
Norah: Come
on! All
of you!
She
leads both the boys and the girls along the road
into Swarrell. The Cowan gang follow eagerly. Norah
grabs
one of Tommo’s arms and Johnny the other. Tommo is
forced
to go with them and Wank is swept along too.
ACT I, SCENE 13
The
main viaduct road into Swarrell.
Norah:
We’ll go round through the
caravans and meet ’em again!
As
they go they pick up straggling Halden youths on
their way home. As their numbers grow their progress becomes
a
triumphal march and Tommo finds he is its leader. More youths
join them and they begin to chant, and the chanting gets louder.
All:
Hal-den! Hal-den!
Swarrell wankers! Swarrell
wankers!
Along
the street doors and windows are closed and
curtains are drawn. Effie appears. She sees Tommo
and runs
towards him.
Effie:
Tommo! What’s going
on?
Norah:
We’re gonna knock the shit out
of Swarrell.
Tommo: Yeah!
Effie: But, Tommo,
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Norah: Piss off!
Effie
is thrust aside and the procession continues.
Norah: When we meet
’em you should
challenge any of
’em to single combat. They won’t dare
take you on
– not with this lot behind you. You’re
gonna be King
of the two towns, Tommo!
Tommo: Yeah! King o’ the two towns!
ACT I, SCENE 14
The
triumphant Halden procession meets the
straggling Swarrell lads, who thought the Halden lads had all
gone. The Halden lads spread out across the road, singing and
chanting.
Halden:
Halden! Halden!
Halden!
The
Swarrell lads come up quickly and form an
opposing line, glaring sullenly a few yards away while reinforcements
arrive and fill in behind.
Norah [to
Tommo]: King
o’ the two towns.
Norah
pushes Tommo forward. While he prances the girls fade quietly
away to the sidelines.
Tommo: WILD
BULLS! I’m the
greatest! I’ll
fight anybody! There’s none of you can stand up to
me! You’re a load of useless wankers!
King [to
Ronno]: They all
like that in Halden?
Ronno:
I’ll fight him!
I’ll have his colours, just like the other one.
King: No.
You’re
wounded. Ignore him.
Jake: Ignore
him?! If only I was a
young man! If only
my Sid was here! If any of the Japs or the Jerries had said
that
to us I’d have been out there like a shot. I wanted
nothing
better than to have a crack at Rommel, just him and me on the burning
desert sand.
Tommo: Come on
then, Grandad!
I’ll have your long-johns for a banner!
Halden: Raaay!
Jake
ducks back. Several Swarrell youths thrust forward.
King indicates Ken.
Ken: I’ll
take you on!
Tommo: Eh?
Ken
and Tommo advance and circle each other. Suddenly police
sirens are heard.
King: Scatter!!
They
scatter.