Hey, she was a bit tasty that interviewer, eh? Old Nev should've steamed in there!
Aye, they've got some canny boilers, the Germans, like, I'll give 'em that.
But nothin' else, though.
. Well, the beer's passable. [His comments start attracting the attention of a few German workers]
No, no, no. To be fair, I've only been here three weeks, I mean.
Doesn't make any difference, does it? You could be here three years, and all you'd see was bierhalles, massage parlours...
So yer gettin' at me again? [Bomber nods]
Look, you could use workin' here as an education, yer kna. You could learn from it.
Look, man, look. I lay bricks, that's what I do. I get up in the morning and for eight hours a day, five days a week, I lay bricks, alreet? It doesn't make no difference to me if it's Dusseldorf or Darlington. I just lay bricks man. [The German workers shake their heads and prepare to confront Oz.]
It depends how you use your time off, don't it, eh? I mean Nev's got the right idea, he's integrating himself, I mean.
Yeah, that's what Kevin Keegan did. When Kevin Keegan went to Hamburg, he made a real effort to adapt...
[To Dennis, who's gone to the bar] Get us a bottle, will ya?
And Mrs. Keegan! They learn the language, and they made a wide variety of friends amongst the German community.
Oh, aye? So how come he transferred to Southampton, then? I mean Germany must be pretty desperate if he preferred Southampton!
[Returning to the table with some more beers] Have yer been there, like, have ya? [Three of the German workers stands behind Dennis.]
GWGerman worker
I have a question for you.
Oh aye? Wanna see me papers, do ye?
GWGerman worker
If Germany is such no good place, why don't you piss off back to England? [Dennis winces as Oz breaks a bottle and grabs the German worker]
[To the barman] Six pils, and six rounds of ham and cheese. [Oz enters the bar, the lads say nothing.] What'll it be, Oz?
[To the barman] Another pils.
Oh don't be daft, he only wants a swift half.
[Gets up and approaches the bar] All right.
That don't count! Come on, man. Give him a beer. [The barman reluctantly puts a seventh beer on the table. Oz goes over to the others.]
Did you get the boot then?
Aye, yeah. [He sits at the table, with the others, followed by Barry and Dennis, who puts a beer in front of Oz.]
I'm really sorry, Oz. I didn't mean...
Oh nae, it's not your fault, Neville, it's them bastards!
Come off it. You've only got yourself to blame, you brought this on yourself.
Because you're always soundin' off at the Germans! They're just a canny bunch of lads, same as the rest of us!
Well, alright, he's a hardnose. But it's his job, man.
Well Ulrich can put his job right in the shit, couldn't he, if you'd've back us up!
Oh, right, like a confrontation with the management over his unfair dismissal.
What good d'ya think that's gonna do?
Well it's ganna leave 'em short, isnit? Then what's he ganna dae?
He's gonna ring the agent and order another six Brits! He's got plenty to choose from, there's three million unemployed back home!
Well, it shouldn't be allowed. It's shouldn't! I mean, we've got wor rights, haven't we?
We haven't got any rights, Oz! We're on the lump, man, we're black. Look, if you want worker's rights, then register with the Germans. Pay them income tax, welfare, insurance. Can't have it both ways.
[Quietly] Right. So... [Louder] So... What yer sayin' is you won't back us up! One of yar own mates! Is that it?
Look, Oz, I'm sorry you got the boot, right? We all are. But I can do sod all about it.
Well you're the one that talked Grunwald into letting Neville stay, aren't ya?
There were two other factors that helped Neville: A - the bomb, and B - your big mouth.
Look, I've seen blokes like you come and go all the times I've worked in Germany. Never been out the UK before. Never eaten foreign food, never drank foreign beer. Fish out of water without the wife or the mother to lend a guiding hand. After a week they've lost their passports, they've got pissed, lost most of their money, and become ridiculously nationalistic for the country that can't even bloody employ them in the first place. man! [Oz gets up and walks towards the exit]
Me? No, no, I know when I'm not wanted? [Exits the bar.]
[Dennis is called into the site office. Herr Grunwald looks over the site plans with Dagmar.]
You said you wanted to see me?
Ja, as you seem to be the lead person.
No matter. The point is... you can get Osbourne back. He can stay.
Really? Oh, thanks a lot. That'll be a relief to him.
Ja... I hope he change for the better! [Exits the office]
He is very angry to give back the job.
[Pouring herself a coffee] Oh, because of the Germans. [She holds up her cup to ask if Dennis also wants a coffee]
They say it doesn't make them look good if an Englishman gets fired because of an argument with a German.
Mmm. So they said to him if he isn't coming back, we are not going to work.
[After the German workers convince Herr Grunwald to reinstate Oz, the lads decide to invite them to the hut for some beers and a game of darts. Bomber and Moxey put a light above the dartboard]
[Plugs the light in] That's it. Perfect. [The light is a bit dim.]
Could've done with a stronger bulb, though.
[Takes a beer from a crate] D'you reckon we've got enough in, Den?
Well if there's not, it's easy enough to get some more, innit?
Aye, ey, they drink a bit, them Jerries! Maybe as much as us!
Listen, Oz, Listen, everybody, it's because of those Jerries that Oz is still here. Don't want anybody forgetting that, right? [Murmurs of agreement] When those German scaffolders turn up tonight, let's all make sure that we have a good night. Agreed? You especially, Oz.
And this darts match, right, it's not the World Cup, or a replay of World War II. It's just meant to cement the harmony and the goodwill amongst the British and the Erics. Agreed? [Murmurs of agreement] Good.
Mind you, it might only be a darts match, but us British have still got to try and hammer these Germans.
'Cos they're the bastards that bombed me granny!
It's ten to six, yer kna.
Yes. Yes, it is, yes, Oz.
Yeah, but he was supposed to be here at two o'clock!
Well, maybe his car broke down.
Well I can think of better things to do than hang around here on a Friday night freezin' me nuts off.
[Dagmar and Ulrich exit the office, their working day done.]
Wiedersehen, Dagmar. Oh, schönes Wochenende. (Goodbye, Dagmar. Have a nice weekend.) [Some of the workers wolf whistle and make suggestive noises at Dagmar as she walks past. Ulrich approaches Oz] What's this? Some kind of British protest meeting?
We want wor wages, don't wa?
It is not my responsibility, it's the agent who pays you.
We know that, we know that, we just don't know where he is, man.
This is your business, it is not mine.
Oh well that's alright, but if we don't get paid, we just don't come to work next week, alreet?
Well, then I send for more out-of-work Engländers. [He gets in his car.]
We'll get no joy out of him, y'know. [Ulrich drives away, but not before Magowan furiously slams his hand on the roof of the car.]
[Entering the hut] Hey, yer seen them lunatics standin' out there, eh? As if that's ganna make him turn up any faster, y'know what I mean, eh!
Mind, Mr. Pfister's never usually this late, Dennis. I like to get to the post office on a Friday night, that way Brenda gets her money first thing Monday morning. [Moxey pulls the towel all the way over his head and over the bowl.]
Ey, there's no panic, man. I mean, yer kna, Don't forget... [Lights his cigarette] This bloke, he must cover, what, fifteen sites in a day, y'know. He could've got held up, had a puncture, yer kna, anything.#
[Lifts up his towel] It's like what Bomber told us the other day... [sniffs] ...there were thirty other Brits, y'know, when he was workin' in Essen a year ago waiting for their money. The agent never turned up at all.
[Pulls the towel back over the bowl and coughs before pulling the towel back] Well, it turns out... he'd legged it to Hamburg. Left his wife, took all their money and some young Fräulein, y'know, from the a-architect's office. [Coughs and covers his head again.]
Well, I've had enough of this. I mean, there's no point in standin' here like spare pricks at a wedding, is there? I mean, he knows where we live, doesn'he? [Turns and heads back to the hut]
You're right. Might as well get back and put the kettle on, eh? [Also turns and leaves]
Ah well, can't keep a nice young Fräulein waiting, I'd better wash me barnet, eh? [Turns and leaves. Barry follows suit.]
[Brandishing a hosepipe connected to a gravel suction pump] Well I'm gonna wait it out. Y'know what I'm gonna do when he does turn up?
I'm gonna connect 'im to this hosepipe there and I'm gonna blow gravel right up his jacksie.
Ah, yes, that is one approach, Magowan, yeah. On the other hand, you could always take a hard line though(!) [Magowan throws down the hosepipe and glares menacingly at Barry, who promptly backs away and heads with the others to the hut.]
Alright, lads? Pass 'em along. [He puts the beers in front of Dennis to pass down the table.] Hey, it's put wor behind, hasn'it with Pfister being late.
Still salvaged our Friday night though. [Raises his glass to Barry.] Cheers, kid.
We've plenty of time to do a bit of carnage though, Bomb, eh?
Hey, I thought you were putting it aside for your future!
Oh aye, I am, Dennis. Yeah, but I still think, considering under which squallid circumstances we all live, I think it's very important that we, every now and again, you know, just sort of let it all hang out, you know.
That's the main reason yer here, y'see. That's the main reason nearly everybody's here. It's not for the money you send back. You're trying to recapture your adolescence, which you lads missed by gettin' married too young in the first place.
No, not me, Dennis. No. Not married me, no. I like to stay free, you know.
Well, you're the exception, you know what I mean, Barry?
I reckon Den's right. We all took the plunge too soon.
Nineteen, I was. Bloody madness, man.
Yeah, and your marriage is down the toilet now, isn'it?
Well, face facts, Dennis. I mean, yer gettin' divorced, aren't ya? I mean, that's why yer shouldn't keep on to me gettin' on my back about my marriage!
Oz, your marriage is a mockery!
You admitted yerself you don't even send your Marjorie nothin'!
We're still together, aren't we?
Oh aye? Gateshead's most stable couple(!)
Yeah? There's not that much competition up there these days.
Look, we all got hitched for better off or worse! Come the end of the day, I reckons we all knows where our responsibility lies.
[Noticing a group of ladies walking past their table] Oh, look at that!
I likes it! I wish I were their age!
Well I'm is their age! [Takes his drink and heads for the ladies.]
Wait for me! [And so does he, leaving Dennis and Barry at the table.]
[Adjusts his tie, blushing] They're... very attractive.
What's got into you, Brenda? ...What do you mean "loonin' around"? ...Of course I'm in the bar, man! That's where the telephone is, isn'it? ...No, there's naebody here but Wayne and Barry playin' cards. ...Eh? Oh, hang on, pet... [puts another coin in the slot] Hang on, man!
[Wayne and Barry are indeed at the bar playing cards.]
[To the barman] Two pils, please. [To Wayne] What about Neville?
[Looks at Neville] He ain't started his first yet. Too busy getting stick from the wife. I dunno, comes in here faithful every Monday, fistful of change, five minutes after the cheap rate starts, rings the missus, good as gold. Gets a verbal bollocking off her. I don't understand married men meself!
I think I know the reason for this.
Yeah, you have a deep-rooted dislike of women. [Wayne is somewhat taken aback by this] Which explains why you have no desire to form a permanent relationship. You're obviously the product of a broken home, right, where you're brought up by parents who fought all the time. [Wayne looks at Barry] I can see you as a child, lyin' awake until the early hours, listenin' to your parents fighting in the living room below. I think a thing like that scars a child for life.
Well I suppose it would, yeah.
Bound to, innit? I thought I'd hit the nail on the 'ead!
So, erm... How comes my folks have just had their silver wedding, then? [Turns over a winning hand with his cards. Barry looks confused.] Don't be so put out, they're over the moon about it!
No, no, you know, I'm chuffed for 'em. Really, yeah. Chuffed.
[Oz enters the bar, having fixed the broken radio he bought earlier]
Listen to this. [Turns it on, it plays loud music.]
[Turns round, still on the phone] Turn that down will yer?
[Back on the phone to Brenda] No, pet! I'm not in a discotheque!
Well, one good thing about a draw, eh? You lot won't take out your triumph or defeat on the innocent bystanders of Belgium, eh?
EErnie
We're not like that, man! We just came on a trip, have a good time.
BBrian
Aye, no bother. Mind you, there's always the lunatic fringe. I mean that lot over there. [Looks over at the group of fans Oz is sat with]
How did you lads get here, then?
EErnie
Plane. We ran three charters from Newcastle. 42 quid an' all. Not bad!
You lads not workin', like?
EErnie
Well, me and Brian are. Just. I was in the shipyards. Riveter. Now I'm driving a furniture van.
BBrian
It's desperate up our way, man.
Why do ya think I'm here?
EErnie
Do ya like it, do ya?
Have no choice! I had me own business, yer kna, jobbing builder. [The group Oz is with start singing loudly] I worked me bollocks off for five years. Made no difference in the end, yer kna, went under. Still owe the Government VAT.
BBrian
I thought I'd work in the oil rigs for a while, meself. That's good money if you don't mind spending your time up in Aberdeen.
Aye, I spend mine up just the same. Dusseldorf, yer kna, Monday nights.
EErnie
Aye, are ya alright up there?
Well, it's worth it, yer kna, despite the drawbacks. [Oz gets up to leave with the rowdy mob.]
Ere! Dennis! Me and these lads is gan up for some action. Fancy it?
Ah, I've only got one night, man! There's nae point in stoppin' in one place!
Look, you be at the station eleven o'clock, right? [Oz leaves] Look, the train won't wait for ye, and neither will I! [Turns back to the bar.]
He's one of the drawbacks!
Morning, campers! Rise and shine!
Well, it's not the Duke of Edinburgh, is it?
[Waking up] I was fast asleep...
Howay, Dennis, man! G'mornin'! Work to be done!
[Throws his bed covers off] Why din' ya pack it in, man!
Thought you'd gone for good.
Nah, yer can't get rid of me that easy, mate.
[Waking up] Oh, I'm dreamin' and havin' a nightmare, Oz has come back!
Where'd you spring from, then?
Been back home, havven' I? Cadged a lift back home with the lads after the match. Well, why not, you know? Go back home, have a couple of pints with the lads in The Crow, see the wife...
Certainly. While I was back, I might as well sort her out.
Aye, I heard you'd been back home.
I was talkin' to Brenda, she told us.
Ah well look, from now on, we'll just keep the wives' mafia out of our affairs, shall wa? 'Cos one of the good things is Marjorie doesn't know I'm in Dusseldorf. In fact, as far as she's concerned, it's the last place she'll think of lookin' for us! I'm not here, me, I'm the Invisible Man! [Checks his belongings]
Well I can't think of anyone less invisible than you, Oz!
...Hey, where's me stereo?
No, it's.. it's mine now.
Yeah, I sort of bought it.
Er, I think an explanation is in order. Err, Dennis...
Well, Oz, it's, er... like this. Us lads, like, we thought we'd seen the last of you, yer kna. Thought you'd gone for good. So we said to worselves, "What shall we do with his stuff?"
So what did you do with it?
Well, we went through your locker, you know, thinkin' you'd need the money. [Oz checks his locker] And the only things we found of any value were your donkey jacket, your digital clock and your stereo.
And they're gone an' all! Where are they?
Well, eh, we had an auction, Oz.
It was a democratic decision. I've got the digital clock.
And, er, I got the stereo.
[Looks round] What a bloody nerve!
No, wait a minute! Look, we weren't selling you short. I mean, we raised 230 quid! That plus yer three days wages came to nearly £400!
[Flabbergasted] Oh that's not so bad, 'cos I can borrow a bit to get back! [To Wayne, pointing at the stereo] I'm buyin' that straight back, mate! [To the others] Where's me money?
Er... Well, the thing is, Oz, thinking you'd need the money, like, yer kna, we, er... sent it home.
Home?! But I'm here, man! What's ganna happen to it?
[Smirking] Well, I think your wife'll find a use for it!
[Torrential rain has brought all work on the site to a halt. In the hut, Barry writes a letter, while Wayne, Neville, Bomber and Oz play pontoon with a pack of lewd playing cards. Moxey is in bed with the flu.]
[Looks outside] It's like a bleedin' quagmire out there, innit? [To Moxey] Reckon we'll be laid off?
[All stuffed up] Suits me. I'm not well. [Sneezes into a hankie.]
Still ploatin' doon, isn'it?
"Ploatin' doon"? An' what's that supposed to mean, then?
Yer kna... hoyin' it doon, man. Cats and dogs. It's pissin' down, isn'it?
At least that's English. It's easier to learn German than understand Geordie.
Look, are we playing cards or what?
It comes from the French - "pleut". [Wayne rolls his eyes.] So, to "pleut" means "to rain" in French. At least, I think it does.
Yeah, well you're an educated man you are, Nev. O-Level in woodwork. Can't argue with that, can we(?) [Neville gives Wayne the two-fingered salute.] Do you wanna twist or buy?
Nah, I'll stick with these, thanks.
[One of the Turks enters the hut to bring fuel for the stove. He leaves the door open.]
I'll stick. [Gets up to shut the door.]
Brought up in a t-tent you were, Ayatollah!
Oh, leave the lad alone, we needs the warmth. [Shuts the door.]
Right, er, twist us a seven. [Wayne deals a card] Nine. Perfect(!) [He's bust, he throws his cards to the table.]
[Turns over his cards] Eighteen, pay nineteens.
[As he and Bomber throw their cards down] Can you believe his luck?
[Noticing the Turk standing by the stove with the wood in a bucket] Just leave it down there, Ayatollah. We'll manage it. Just get out. [The Turk sets the bucket down and starts observing the game.]
If I'd known I was going to be put in with you lot, I'd have taken a bloody language course! I'd have gone to that place in Oxford Street, you know? The Berlitz School, and taken elementary Geordie for beginners! :[The Turk takes a keen interest in Neville's cards.]
Hey, Ayatollah! That's all right. Sling yer hook. Get out! [The Turk finally takes the hint and leaves.]
Look at these cards. I must have killed a Chinaman.
A lot of Geordie derives from Denmark. Scandinavia. 'Cos of the Vikings, see? They came over our way first.
Well, they still do, don't they? They shop at Marks & Sparks!
[Meanwhile, Dennis is in the site office. Herr Ulrich enters.]
Er, just checking, Herr Ulrich, the lads were wondering what the possibility is of resuming work.
[Taking off his raincoat] Very small. The forecast is continual bad.
Well, we don't mind working the weekend, yer kna, to make up for it.
No, it's not popular with the German workers.
Well, can I just clarify one thing? I mean, we still get paid, don't we? I mean, the weather, that's not down to us, is it?
Well, the weather's very English, I think.
Yeah, but we'd still get paid in England.
Ja, but in Germany, you're self-employed. No work, no pay.
Well when I read the contract, it didn't read like that to me.
No? Please, read the small print.
Hey, I nearly drowned out there, man!
What's mein Führer say, then?
'Fraid not, bonny lad. Some chippies have got some indoor work, but us lot can forget it.
I was really hoping to put in some overtime this week.
Oz What, to compensate for your pontoon deficits?
Well, a little break won't do us any harm, eh?
Yeah, but Brenda wants to retile the bathroom.
Aye well, you shouldn't play cards, should yer?
I wouldn't be playing if it wasn't raining!
You really reckon Monday, Dennis?
It's Friday now, Barry, and the forecast...
[Checking the change in his hand] I'd better phone her I suppose.
Nae bother, man. Just reverse the charges. It's only England.
I was really counting on that extra.
It's bound to happen, man. It happens at home, doesn't it, the weather?
[Getting up] If that's the word then, I know a young Fräulein who won't be too upset. I'd better press me old whistle, haven't I, eh?
It's one of them things, Neville, man, yer kna. We might as well make the most of it.
...I dunno. Somethin'. Pictures, eh? Hey, we could hire a car, couldn't we? Drive off overnight, like. [Sits at the table where Oz is still fiddling with the deck of cards]
Berlin, man. Can we gan to Berlin, Den? I've always wanted to gan to Berlin.
Well, I divvn't kna, man. I mean it's, er... It's historic, isn'it? I mean it's interesting. After all, it is Berlin, isn'it?
It's probably raining there an' all.
No, no, man. But think of it. Berlin, man! Yer kna, spies, the war, Hitler's bunker...
Ahh, do us a favour, man, Bomber.
Hey, you could gan to East Berlin, Oz.
What? Behind the Iron Curtain?
Let's all spend the weekend in East Berlin.
Apparently, it's the most miserable, depressing place you've ever seen in yer life.
[Wayne goes on a date. He gets in his date's car]
[Adjusting his hair in the rear-view mirror] It's worse than England!
The weather. It makes me feel quite nostalgic. [They drive off.]
IIngrid
What would you now be doing if you were now in London?
As it's Friday, I'd probably be working. Or on the dole.
It's the unemployment. We're big on that in England. It's one of our few spectacular successes(!) Right, we've managed to put more people out of work than any of our European counterparts.
And then I've got mates my age who ain't worked since they left school. Mind you, some of them it suits down to the ground.
IIngrid
So, what do they do?
Well... they sort of put their energies into other things. Hence the violence at West Ham.
IIngrid
Oh! And you go to football?
Nah, I'm well out of that.
IIngrid
I work in England.
Yeah right, you said. Where was it?
IIngrid
Maidstone. It was not far from London.
Maidstone, eh? No shortage of action there then, eh?
IIngrid
They were very nice, the family I work with. He was an airline pilot, and she too was working. She was teaching young children.
And, er... that's where you learnt to speak such good English, eh?
IIngrid
Huh. I don't speak too good, I think.
Yeah, well... You don't have to, do you?
IIngrid
[Stops the car] What do you mean?
Where I come from, you're what's known as a very tasty bird.
IIngrid
That is what the airline pilot tells me!
[Oz and Dennis ruminate on the thefts in the bar.]
Bad for morale this, Den.
Why man, the morale of our hut.
[Incredulous] The morale of our hut?! We're not prisoners of war, man, keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity. Ey, you live in a dream world, you do, Oz.
Well, what I'm sayin' is we're all mates, I mean, there's a certain sort of character to our group. That's it, we've got character.
You live with a hut full of overgrown adolescents who are either boozing or moaning. But if you think that's character... [To barman] Zwei Bier, bitte.
Yeah, but we trust each other, I'll admit it. That's the point. That trust's in danger of... evaporating with a thing like this.
Hey, I didn't kna you put such store in trust, Oz.
I do that. I mean without it, where are we? In the jungle.
So you're convinced nobody in our hut's a thief?
Well, I kna. When yous were all havin' a shower, I went through everybody's locker.
Hey, what about this trust you're on about?
Well, It proves me point, doesn'it?
Hey, you're a queer one, you, lad.
Well, not so much of the queer, mate. Anyway, cheers.
Cheers. ...You found nothin' then?
I tell yer, the sum total of all our possessions wouldn't fetch a fart at a bring-and-buy sale. We're a pretty threadbare bunch, Dennis.
D'yer think we should bring furniture with wor, eh? Cushion covers, d'yer think that'll be good for the morale of our hut?
You're a big daft thing, you, lad.
Hey, I'm shrewder than what you think. I was readin' this spy book, where this agent coats these secret documents with that special stuff, right? It's unseen to the human eye, but it comes up on your hand the next day. So, he knas which one of the passengers has taken the documents.
Aye, they're on this boat, y'see, bound for Tangiers.
We're in a hut, man, we're bound for bloody nowhere!
Look, it's just a simple lotion what oxidises. You can buy it in any chemist's or security store. Now, we could coat some cash, leave it lyin' around...
None of us have got any money.
You won't take me seriously, will yer? I wanna nick this thief. He took my watch in case you forgot!
It wasn't a very special watch, was it?
It worked underwater, Dennis!
[To Neville] Look, I'm not accusing you of anything.
Yeah y'are, you all are! I come in here, it's like the Spanish inquisition! It's none of your business!
I think it is, bonny lad.
But if I pinched Oz's watch, how much would that've fetched at the pawn shop?
Ay, it was a canny watch, that, man!
Oh, and I've just pretended to have me money pinched to cover up? Ohh, howay.
Look, just hear me out, will yer? Look, you are the last person in the world to steal anything, right...
But yer have got money troubles.
[To Oz] Shut up! [To Neville] So, if you're desperate enough to get into hock, I'd like to know about it, 'cos I'd like to help.
Well, personally I don't think he's got anything of any personal value...
Oh, he still thinks I took his bloody watch!
Oz, don't be a prick all your bloody life! Take an hour off, will yer?
Look, it's nobody's business but me own! [Frustrated, he sits on his bed.]
Listen, Nev, what Dennis says goes for all of us. I mean, if you're strapped or in a jam or something, we'd like to help you out. I mean, that's the word, innit, lads?
Absolutely. [The lads murmur.] Look, we're all in your corner, kid. [Sits on the bed next to Neville]
Look, you don't have to tell...
Naw, let 'im get it off 'is chest, man!
I met this lass, y'see. Nothin' special, but I didn't want to know 'cos I knew what you'd all think.
Nobody you'd know. Anyway... I met her, right. And when I seen her yesterday, she gave us this present, er... a bit of jewellery, a keepsake, like. Then this mornin' I gets a letter from Brenda and... it just brought home how short wor are, or... how short she is, and then... so... I pawned the lass's present.
I know it wasn't a very nice thing to do, but like you say I was strapped. I got twenty-five quid for it, and that's nearly what I had pinched. It's one way of lookin' at it, isn'it?
[Happy with Neville's explanation] Right. That's all that sorted out! Let's all go over to the greasy spoon, eh, and drink to this satisfactory conclusion. [To Oz, sarcastically] Eh, good the the morale of our hut? Eh? [The lads make their way out, except Wayne and Neville]
Here, Nev. You gotta get that thing out of hock. Sentimental reasons, innit? Look, I'll loan you the readies, and you pay me back.
No, you're all right. How about tomorrow lunch? You on?
Well, I do feel a bit bad about it. But... I couldn't give it to Brenda! Where would she think I got the money from?
Later. I mean a birthday or something. Coming, then?
All right! Coming down the pub?
[Getting up] You would've liked her, Wayne.
