Burt Mulgrew, was a stone deaf, average height fellow with a random tick. Like many of the Irish community, he lived in terraced housing tied to one of the largest local employers, R & J Evans ship builders. From his front door one could see the structure of the vessel taking form. Such was the enormous stature of these ships, sunset over the city of Liverpool was often premature.
Vibrations resonated through the thin, neighbouring wall of number 87, as Mrs Pregae’s invalid mongrel, Dylan, knocked into furniture. It was ten months hence the poor animal came to grief beneath the wheels of a laden cart while in pursuit of a seagull. Paralysed in its hind-quarters, the local youth scavenged two rusty pram wheels and other detritus to fashion a wearable carriage, thus liberating the beast. The outcome was a veritable oddity, but other than the need for an occasional smear of lard to be applied to the axle, the dog’s independence was regained in full.
Burt was hoping his invited guests’ hunger would distract their senses from the four-inch rip which now occupied his trousers and his thoughts. He was enveloped by feelings of guilt as the suit was inherited from his father. Made by the best tailor in Cork from fine foreign cloth, it was his most treasured possession. A small oak dowel had been at fault. It had eased from its place on the pew, projecting itself into the path of a meek soul. The painfully coincidental nature of this small dowel was not lost on Burt. Exactly one year previously, in a moment of inattentiveness while fulfilling his duties as ‘holder-up’ (the member of the riveting gang who placed a molten rivet in the hole of two plates to be joined), he suffered a severed index finger at the first joint. The rivet and the dowel had become complicit bedfellows in Burt’s lament. The wonderous smell of Mrs Pregae’s hotpot placed at the heart of the table roused him from his contemplation. His guests were a rowdy bunch, the room was soon frenetic with song and mirth.
Outside, beyond the ripped trouser, beyond the hotpot, beyond the steamed up window, hanging from a sprig of ivy, a small gay bird tweeted.
WOOD: Oak
FRAME: Powder coated steel
TOP: Silestone® ( www.silestone.com )
FINISH: Hardwax oil
A variety of colours are available for the frame and Silestone® top.
DIMENSIONS:
Height 770 mm
Length 1700 mm
Width 902 mm
POA
