A TASTE OF BUNNY
Rudyard Gregg McVitie was a part time baker from Bakewell, with a quick temper and fists of rock.
He was of mixed race, having a Welsh mother and Scottish father. His ginger hair and pale complexation was a legacy of his fathers side of the family, who were professional "Gingers" from Dundee. His mother was short and stocky, with an earthy swarthy complexion reminiscent of a flatulent Basque wrestler.
Rudyard had had a rough childhood, growing up in tenement on the south bank of the Dighty Water, with just one stinking room for him and his troglodyte parents. After attending school for a couple of months he became bored, and he never returned after finding a job as a shuttle monkey, in the local demonic cotton mill. The few shillings he earned each 72 hour week from this feverish endeavour, enabled Rudyard to experience luxuries that he had never previously experienced at home.
He was soon smoking a pipe, and before long was habitually both inhaling and chewing humongous quantities of rough hewn tobacco.
This invariably led to visits to the local ale house's for liquid refreshment and this also soon became a habit, with copious amounts of stout, mild, heavy and best Bitter consumed on a daily basis.
Indeed, by the time Rudyard was ten, he was spitting phlegm and coughing up black and brown tar on a regular basis, which only increased his need to imbibe.
These unfortunate habits soon became life threatening as he became a threat to the local community, mainly due to his unruly behaviour and penchant for visiting the local brothel and absconding without paying.
This would invariably lead to a scuffle as the brothel keeper chased the rock fisted child up the street, weaving in and out of hand carts, horse drawn traffic and pedestrians, and generally disrupting the ambiance of the locality. Before long the local sheriff apprehended the delinquent youth and the sad faced reprobate was up before the local judge. The proceedings were brief, and the sentence of transportation to Australia swiftly administered by the red faced official.
Removed to a holding cell, Rudyard sat on a three legged stool and whimpered like a suckling pig, as his craving for tobacco, ale and whores, drove him to temporary insanity. It was at this stage in the proceedings that he first encountered big Buff, a baker from the adjacent bakery who had a concession enabling him to sell his wares to those imprisoned in the courts cells.
Buff was of a portly disposition, and had haled from Neasden, a small village in Middlesex that specialised in hay growing and market gardening, for the burgeoning markets located on the outskirts and hinterland of the city of London.
Buff drew the young lad towards him, and whispered a few quite words in his ear. He then withdrew, after placing a small brown loaf in the convicts hands. As the turnkey opened the door, Rudyard charged towards the portal to freedom, and was soon scurrying through the streets, with Buff the Baker in hot pursuit.
Before long they were at the docks, and they both embarked upon a huge wooden hulk that was getting ready to sale to Hamburg with the outgoing tide. Quickly finding a safe haven upon the vessel, Rudyard anxiously waited for Buff to expose his hiding place.
To be continued......
He was of mixed race, having a Welsh mother and Scottish father. His ginger hair and pale complexation was a legacy of his fathers side of the family, who were professional "Gingers" from Dundee. His mother was short and stocky, with an earthy swarthy complexion reminiscent of a flatulent Basque wrestler.
Rudyard had had a rough childhood, growing up in tenement on the south bank of the Dighty Water, with just one stinking room for him and his troglodyte parents. After attending school for a couple of months he became bored, and he never returned after finding a job as a shuttle monkey, in the local demonic cotton mill. The few shillings he earned each 72 hour week from this feverish endeavour, enabled Rudyard to experience luxuries that he had never previously experienced at home.
He was soon smoking a pipe, and before long was habitually both inhaling and chewing humongous quantities of rough hewn tobacco.
This invariably led to visits to the local ale house's for liquid refreshment and this also soon became a habit, with copious amounts of stout, mild, heavy and best Bitter consumed on a daily basis.
Indeed, by the time Rudyard was ten, he was spitting phlegm and coughing up black and brown tar on a regular basis, which only increased his need to imbibe.
These unfortunate habits soon became life threatening as he became a threat to the local community, mainly due to his unruly behaviour and penchant for visiting the local brothel and absconding without paying.
This would invariably lead to a scuffle as the brothel keeper chased the rock fisted child up the street, weaving in and out of hand carts, horse drawn traffic and pedestrians, and generally disrupting the ambiance of the locality. Before long the local sheriff apprehended the delinquent youth and the sad faced reprobate was up before the local judge. The proceedings were brief, and the sentence of transportation to Australia swiftly administered by the red faced official.
Buff was of a portly disposition, and had haled from Neasden, a small village in Middlesex that specialised in hay growing and market gardening, for the burgeoning markets located on the outskirts and hinterland of the city of London.
Buff drew the young lad towards him, and whispered a few quite words in his ear. He then withdrew, after placing a small brown loaf in the convicts hands. As the turnkey opened the door, Rudyard charged towards the portal to freedom, and was soon scurrying through the streets, with Buff the Baker in hot pursuit.
Before long they were at the docks, and they both embarked upon a huge wooden hulk that was getting ready to sale to Hamburg with the outgoing tide. Quickly finding a safe haven upon the vessel, Rudyard anxiously waited for Buff to expose his hiding place.
To be continued......
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