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Brick Lane Books * Novels * Oral History * Ribald Rhymes
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www.clivemurphy.org
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Four
Acres and a Donkey
by
S.A.B. Rogers
Philosophising
to the end and dreaming of retirement to Ireland,
Mr. Rogers takes us from his early days in India
& Manchester through various vicissitudes
in America & the Home Counties to his final
days working in London's principal public loos.
He may well become a folk hero of our time.
The book leaves a sharp, happy flavour of human
resourcefulness.
Times Literary Supplement
Some of the things
I've found in the toilets you wouldn't believe
- suitcases full of clothes, holdalls, briefcases,
empty money bags from banks, smashed up collection
boxes for the blind and crippled children and
the RSPCA. I've found
old shoes, old underpants, in the water cisterns.
I found two revolvers in a water cistern. There
were Italian Berettas that belonged to some
crook and I've an idea who they belonged to.
All this had to be handed into the police, though
they don't want screwdrivers. I've got a finer
set of screwdrivers today than any man in London,
screwdrivers used for breaking into cars and
flats. One screwdriver I have is sixteen inches
long. Brand new it must have cost well over
two pound.
One night at PIccadilly the stalls and toilets
were overflowing with dirty, stinking water,
so I rung as usual for the sewer men. I said
to the man on the switchboard, 'Mr Rogers speaking.
I want the sewer men down to Piccadilly as soon
as you can. There's four toilets blocked up.
It's coming over the top of the seats and the
stalls are blocked up as well.' He said, 'Yes,
brother, I'll send them'. I said, 'My name is
Mr Rogers. Don't bloody well call me 'brother'.
I'm not a communist. I'm not your brother and
I'm not your aunt neither!' He said he was very
very sorry and put the receiver down. Whenever
he picked up the phone again he never mentioned
the word 'brother'.
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