Donna my next door neighbour, short, didnt reach 5ft, ginger and powerful. I remember we had a shoe fight on the green across the road one day… no idea why but that little cow came with a pair of hidden clogs! I had a pair of sandals… pretty sure I lost that fight… later in life Donna rescued me from a guy that was beating me up.. more if that later
I almost forgot David Ball! He lived in ine if the houses on the edge green where i had the fight with Donna. I have a vague memory or being in David’s garden and us looking at each other’s rude parts. I must have been about 7!!!
In our maisonette in Hacjney there was a large entrance hall which we shared with our neighbour. It was usually empty but occasionally I would have my Wendy house set up there and would play with my dolls in there. One day while I was playing a guy came in to the Wendy house and joined me playing with my dolls… then he put his hand in my underwear and started touching me – anything after tgat is blank… I remember he knew my sister and im pretty sure they went on a date once. He went to her school if I remember correctly and he lived a few doors from keeky. Years later I hears his mum had fallen in hard times and had become a prostitue. I don’t know why that means anything but I thought I’d tell you. Anyway as children do… I completely blocked tgat experience out and it resurfaced when I was with a physiotherapist tears later.
Tgat wasn’t the only abuse I experienced… one if my female relatives abused me too. The family were round fir the evening I was in my room with my older cousin. We was sitting in my bed abd She whipped her tit’s out and told me to kick them. I did as I was told. I didnt kniw what else to do… I was probably about 6 or 7tears old she would have been around 12. I cant remember what happened after tgat. I just kniw I’d loved to punch her in the face. I’ve managed to avoid her my whole life apart from ince when she was at a family BBQ, thankfully I knew she was going ti be there and was able to mentally prepare myself and no I didnt punch her… well not physically… maybe energetically but not physically.
Moving on… age 8 I woke in the night a man was staring at me really closely our noses almost touching. He turned an left… when I woke in the morning my mum came and got me, told me not to touch the handrail on my way downstairs. It turned oyt we had been burgled during the night. My dad heard someone in the house and chased him.iff with a glass fish. I dint kniw if it was my dad checking u was ok or the burglar srarung at me tgat night. Either way… scary huh!
Aftervwe were burgled my parents decided ti move. They saved like crazy and managed to pull a deposit together fir a house in Dagenham – the countryside as it felt after living in Hackney. A new start away from the trouble in Hackney. I had mixed feelings about moving, I didnt want ti leave my friends but I had been shaking with fear when I went ti bed each night and wanted to feel safe again.
Dagenham 1984
Move day
