Ernest 'the paintbrush' Goldfinger is the estate's leading interior designer. He claims to be related to the famous Hungarian architect Erno Goldfinger (who was cruelly maligned in one of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels). Ernest 'the paintbrush' said the decor of our own prefab shows "a deft touch."
The sitting-room (socially aspiring types call it the living-room) is jam-packed with all kinds of
objets d'art. These include an elegant lampstand which reminds my mum of her lost past. A carved wooden statue of an African tribesman holding a spear. A stool that could once have been in van Gogh's room in Arles. An Escalado horse-race set, a box of Meccano, a wine jug from the Albergo Ristorante 'Continental' in Bassano Grappo. A plastic Airfix model of a Japanese Zero fighter plane,. A small silver bell bought in a souvenir shop in Brussels. A gyroscope, a music box, and a polished table with four matching chairs.
Strewth! Jagged football pitch markings have been scratched on to the polished table's smooth surface! Most kids would have been hit right, left and centre for doing something like that, and all I got was a gentle reproach. (Mind you, a gentle reproach in our place is enough to make you feel guilty for weeks on end).
Chiselling away at the secrets of Prefab Land (circa. 1954 / Somerset) is a daunting task. At least it is a big advance on ruining the surface of our polished table. James Joyce (circa. 1904 / Dublin) spent years chiselling away at his past. The landlord of Twiverton's Martello Tower Tavern says it is best to leave the past alone. "It can drive you to drink" he says.