Hosiery Old and New - Short Affair - April 3rd

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Prompts - Mushroom/Copper
Word Count - 530

April dancer entered the office she shared with her partner, Mark Slate, and found him darning a sock.

“What on Earth have you got that sock stretched over?” she asked.

Removing it from inside the sock, Mark showed her wooden, mushroom-shaped object.

“It’s a darning mushroom,” he replied. “I got a hole in this one so I’m mending it.”



April took the object from Mark and examined it.

“Socks are quite inexpensive, darling,” she told him. “Why not just buy a new pair?”

Slate smiled. “My Gran would spin in her grave if I didn’t try mending it first.”

He thought back to his childhood in war torn London. Back there was a shortage of everything and everyone had embraced the Make-Do-And-Mend campaign put forward by the Ministry of Information. As his mother worked all day in the munitions factory, Mark spent most of his time with his gran. His mother had refused to allow him to be evacuated, saying that her husband was already away so she was damned if she would send her son away too.

Mrs Slate senior was a dressmaker, and very handing with a sewing needle. To keep her young charge busy she taught him how to do simple and basic tasks. Mark had protested, claiming that sewing was what girls did. His gran had then explained that his father, and all the other men who were away fighting, had been made to learn how to darn their socks and sew their uniforms when they were torn.

Mark had very quickly shown an aptitude for repairing socks and, before long, he started earning himself a little pocket money. His gran’s customers and neighbours had been more than happy to give the boy a ha’penny* for everything he mended. He’d saved every single one of the copper coins, refusing to spend any of them.

“Why didn’t you spend it?” April asked, completely rapt by Mark’s story. “You would have been like a king to your friends.”

“I was saving it to get something for my Mum,” Slate explained. “Gran had contacts on the black market, which was perfectly normal for respectable people at that time, and I was able to buy my Mum a pair of nylons. Of course, when I really think about it now, even with all my ha’pennies, I couldn’t possibly have had enough. Gran obviously made up the rest.”

“Oh darling, how sweet of you. She must have been delighted.”

“She cried,” he replied. “I didn’t understand at first and I thought I’d upset her somehow. I hadn’t realised that people could cry with happiness.”

“While I admire your loyalty to your grandmother, Mark, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you bought new socks when the old ones wear out. You live in a more prosperous time now. You could even try a Napoleon trick and claim them on expenses.”

Mark laughed at the thought. Napoleon probably would try to claim for them. Then again, he was certain that Solo’s socks cost a lot more than his did.

“Tell you what, Luv. Next time I get chance, I’ll buy a new pair,” he told her, taking the mushroom back. “Until then, I’ll fix these”.


*ha’penny – half a penny

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Comments

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

I can picture Mark darning his socks. An interesting time to be a child. Well done.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)
It is more than I can do. I just buy knew ones. They sell them in the £1 shops.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

This was an excellent story! It brought back some memories too! I grew up with parents who believed in mending and fixing too. I guess because their generation lived through the great depression here, and WWII. Their frugality rubbed off on me, as I don't toss things out if they're still usable. Still we never wanted for anything.

LOL! I still have a pair of winter boots from the 1980's! Nothing wrong with them that a pair of lamb's wool inserts didn't solved.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)
I can remember when I was little (in the 80's), my Mam often darned my Dad's work socks. He wore them out quickly, and with 4 kids and 1 income, it was cheaper to mend them. She still has a mushroom but doesn't darn anymore.

Half of my wardrobe is at least 20 years old. It's one of the upsides of not following fashion trends :-)

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

My dad was the sole income for the family. Mom, me and two brothers, so I hear you.

I could say the same about most of my wardrobe until recently. I got rid of a lot of things after asking myself why am I holding onto clothes I'll never wear again. Gave them to good will. I still have some good dresses and dressy clotting that's more than 20 years old. Nothing dated, and basically timeless styles. Those I kept for special occasions and weddings. I just wore dress pants and a top to my cousin's wedding in January, they were at least 15+ years old....

[ssclassof56.livejournal.com]

Enjoyed this glimpse into Mark's childhood. I hadn’t realised that people could cry with happiness. Very sweet.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you very mush :-)

[pfrye.livejournal.com]

Love this.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Great story. I like this flash back to Mark's childhood. He was such a good son!

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)
I sort of based Mark's actions on those of my nephew. When he was young, his late father was a drinker and a bully. Any money in the house was taken by him to supply his drink. My nephew became very solicitous with his money and gave it to his granddad for safe-keeping. He always refused to buy anything for himself, choosing instead to buy things for his Mam.