A Trip in Time

A Trip in Time 

By Rosemary Clarke

   Andrew excitedly tore open the wrapping paper having waited three days, before opening it, due to Covid, strange, he thought as he pulled out the plastic packet from E-Bay.  Would he have been excited by Liverpool face masks before Covid?  He grinned, he would always be excited by anything Liverpool. which made him recall a disastrous day from his childhood...
    

 The red Ford Mondeo skidded its way along the wet tarmac as yet another ‘London sign’ sped past.  Andrew's calculated in his fourteen-year-old brain, sighing he picked up his black plastic ‘DS Lite’ flicking the on switch at the side for his FIFA football game: London in the rain with Nan, Mum and Dad what a life!  The rustle of paper told him that once again his mother was donning her spectacles, scanning the map for any sign of the elusive M11.  He couldn't help but smile, the way his dad had told them sounded very much like the way to El Dorado or The Lost Sea Scrolls..' Find the M11 and we're on our way!'
     Oh boy, Liverpool v Aston Villa on TV and the family decide to grab junior, stuff him in the car and zoom off to Madame Tussauds well, supposedly the Science Museum but once again Dad lost the way.
     Oh yeah, he loved the prospect of being scrunched in the middle of a shoving crowd through most of the exhibits; he'd spotted Kylie, she was looking a bit worse for wear now, shame, no Aleisha Dixon or Shakira shaking her tush for all she was worth, shimmy shimmy.. now that would be worth seeing!
     "Wait 'til I get someplace to park and I'll look!" Dad was on the warpath again.
     "Are you telling me that I can't read maps?  What makes you think builders can do any better?" Mum said. 

Now, he thought, what to do to shut them up, should he bother?  What would Gerrard do, run for it if he had any sense.  If the stars of football had a family like his maybe that was why they liked playing away, give their ears a rest.
 “Why don't you ask someone, that would be the sensible thing to do!"
Oh yeah Nan, ever the doctor, always sensible things; wouldn't take anyone else's advice though, oh no.  He didn't have a BA or some other letters so why listen to him?  Andrew rubbed his hand flat over his straight dark hair, sneaking a Mars bar out of his denim jacket pocket.
     "I hope you brush your teeth when you get home!"
God, Nan didn't miss a trick, what did she think he was two?  He gave a nod turning back to the window.
     "Haven't you got a tongue in your head, when I was a girl my mother would've given me a smack for being so rude!  Vera, hasn't he found his manners yet?  I don't know what they teach in these schools!"
It was his mother's turn to sigh.
     "Mum, don't keep on at him; he gets enough of that at school,"
Dad erupted.
     "Did you see that sign?  What did it say?  Did anyone see it?"
Nan looked over disdainfully, her short sharp nose directed at the driver's seat.
     "Of course we didn't see anything; you just drive round and round.  I told you about that turning to the City ages ago but would you listen? No! That's why the world's in such a state, no one listens."
Dad flew around, his dark brows knotting nastily, "Look, I'm only the driver!  I just drive the damn thing!  It was your idea to come here.  we would've been watching TV Liverpool are on today, but oh no..' Let's go to the Science Museum give the lad a bit of culture.'
   

"And did we get there?  No!  We walked up and down looking at waxworks!  None of us has had dinner so just find your damn road and get us home!" 

Dad's face resembled a ripened tomato. "What do you think I'm doing!"
Nan stared matter of factly, her most annoying trait. "Well, I would say trying to get us killed, by the hooting of that car."
Andrew suddenly sat up; a lie was needed urgently. "Dad I'm sure that sign said M11, follow that one."
Sooner or later, he thought, they'd get away from London.

Holidays, this time next week?  No school for a whole week, great! 

Andrew smiled happily remembering.  He settled down with his family to watch the match. Now married with kids everything had changed but not Liverpool, and he'd look great in the street wearing the red and white team colours proudly on his mask!  He smiled again.

Copyright Rosemary Clarke