Mother Danced In Crepe De Chine

A Memory of Addiscombe.

Mother Danced in Crepe de Chine

They sat me on an ostrich for the man to cut my hair
At Kennard’s store in Croydon,
I used to love it there.
There were parrots doing fancy tricks
And model gnomes and elves,
Who lived inside the window land
In front of half stocked shelves.
They had a moving staircase that took us to the toys,
Meccano sets and Minics,
For dads and older little boys.
I had a one eyed monkey
And a rubber doll called Lou,
And lots of soft grey plasticene,
And a cuddly grandma too.
My dad was in the army,
Just a photo in his cap,
And India was miles away;
A pink piece on the map.
My mother danced in crepe de chine
With the lady from next door
At afternoon tea dances
On the Regal Restaurant floor.
The only men were old ones
Who didn’t dance a lot,
So all the pairs were ladies.
A dried up bun was all I got.

Robin Gray