The One That Got Away by Caroline Roberts

Author:Caroline Roberts [Caroline Roberts and Stephen Richards]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781857829907
Publisher: John Blake
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

16

AMONGST THE MADDING CROWD

1992

ON NEW YEAR’S DAY 1992, I took three-year-old Shani-Jade and Kelly, who was just turning twelve, and moved back to Cinderford. To start with, we stayed at my brother Rob’s as he was on his own after his wife had run off with her boss. After three months, Rob got himself fixed up with a girlfriend, so I needed somewhere else to live.

Our next home was a run-down terraced cottage that a friend rented out to us as a stop-gap. The place was in a dilapidated condition and was a dangerous environment for the children. And for me: one night I fell down the steep narrow staircase. I was left with bruising that ran all down one side of my head and body.

The fall cost me time off work, which wasn’t a problem as it meant I could look after the children. A regular babysitter was proving hard to find. Most of the time, the girls had to stay at my mum’s and sleep the night there – either that or be dragged out at midnight back home with me. I asked the Department of Health & Social Security for some help, but I earned £5 a week too much to claim any money, so I couldn’t afford a babysitter. In the end, I gave up and decided to use what savings I had as a deposit on renting a nicer, safer house.

In the June, we moved into 2 Albion Place, a two-bedroom house at the bottom of Cinderford High Street. I gave up my job at Rank Xerox to look after the children and went on to state benefits. I was happy living on my own and had no intentions of settling down again.

Every weekend, Dylan had Shani-Jade and Kelly went to stay with my mum. I took advantage of this free time by going out to the local pubs and, as a consequence, I got back into singing, though this time only for karaoke, not as part of a band.

Nicky Bower, a friend of mine from my days at Hilldene, ran the disco karaoke and encouraged me to get up and sing. At first I was petrified but, once I got a positive response from the crowd, I really enjoyed myself. My sister Sue and I would do a duet, a suggestive version of the Audrey Hepburn song ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’; the crowd loved it.

Some nights, it was more like the Caroline and Sue Show, as we tended to hog the stage. They were good times; we had a good crowd of friends who knew how to enjoy themselves. I was enjoying my freedom; I had made up my mind that I was happier without a man to worry about or run around after. I liked to see a man when I felt like it – nothing heavy, no ties, just fun.

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