Brickbats and Tutus

8/21/2019 Brickbats and Tutus

1/21

ohn Plimmer

B

RICKBATS

AND

T

UTUS

The story of Julie Felix, Britain’s first black ballerina

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Copyright © John Plimmer (2015)

The right of John Plimmer to be identified as author of this or!

has been asserted by him in a""ordan"e ith se"tion 77 and 7# of

the Copyright$ %esigns and Patents &"t 1'##

&ll rights resered *o part of this publi"ation may be

reprodu"ed$ stored in a retrieal system$ or transmitted in any

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re"ording$ or otherise$ ithout the prior permission of the

publishers

&ny person ho "ommits any unauthori+ed a"t in relation to this

publi"ation may be liable to "riminal prose"ution and "iil "laims

for damages

& C,P "atalogue re"ord for this title is aailable from the -ritish

.ibrary

,/-* '7# 1 7#55 215 2

austinma"auley"om

irst Published (2015)

&ustin a"auley Publishers .td

25 Canada /3uareCanary 4harf

.ondon

1 5.-

Printed and bound in 6reat -ritain

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Contents

Part One: The Early Years 11

Chapter ne8 -orn to %an"e 12

Chapter To8 arly /u""ess 1#

Chapter Three8 &n unusual Christmas Treat 25

Chapter our8 usi"al Theatre 90

Chapter ie8 rom lation to %espair 97

Part Two: The Rambert Years 2

Chapter /i:8 The -allet ;ambert 9

Chapter /een8 utside ,nfluen"es 50

Chapter ight8 Te"hni3ue 5<

Chapter *ine8 Julie=s ;e>e"tion


4/21

Chapter Tenty/i:8 ount /t @elens 172

Chapter Tenty/een8 & %isastrous -lip 1#0

Chapter Tentyight8 eeting the President 1#<

Chapter Tenty*ine8 %an"ing in a 4ar Done 1'2Chapter Thirty8 The ;oyal pera @ouse 1''

Chapter Thirtyne8 Parisian ;a"ism 205

Chapter ThirtyTo8 The /treets of *e Bor! 210

Chapter ThirtyThree8 lympi" 6ames 1'# 217

Part Five: The Final Curtain 221

Chapter Thirtyour8 The Performan"e of @er .ife 222

Chapter Thirtyie8 riends and .oed ones 227

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Part One

The Early Years

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Chapter OneBorn to Dance

%ar! grey lo hanging "louds$ hon!ing horns$ yello "abs$

loud abusie "abbies and pedestrians "hasing from one

subay to the ne:t$ all hidden beneath a !aleidos"ope of

bright "oloured umbrellas to aoid the heay donpour

Those ere the obsta"les hi"h greeted the small "oa"h$ as it

eaed its ay through the deluge$ finally stopping outside

the rear stage door of one of the "ity=s most famous buildings

They ere early$ no than!s to the eather and heay traffi"

/nippets of e:"ited "onersation e"hoed through the

ad>oining "orridors$ as the party of dan"ers made their ay tothe spa"ious dressing rooms$ an:ious and apprehensie$ li!e

e:"ited "hildren on a trip to the pantomime -ut for one elfin

artist$ it as only then that the magi" really began

/he stood alone on one of the biggest stages in the orld$

her ba"! as straight as a rod ith her head held high$ in a

phoeni: li!e posture @er shiny shoulder length bla"! hair

refle"ted the subdued light sprin!ling don from the

oerheads$ resembling moonlight serenading the bla"! Caspian /ea The house lights in the auditorium ere up$ but

the silen"e strangely portrayed a oid hi"h "an only be

e:perien"ed in an empty theatre &t that moment$ her only

"ompanions ere those of tingling nere ends$ apprehension$

hopes and dreams$ most of hi"h had folloed her throughout

her young "areer The young lady=s large glistening bla"! eyes

feasted on the fas"inating grandeur of the huge theatre=s layersof bal"onies$ stret"hing from "eiling to floor$ supporting red

and gold trimmed "ushioned seats The hole s"ene reminded

her of a large multitiered birthday "a!e and she ondered

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hether all of its four thousand seats ould be filled for that

night=s 6ala Performan"e

This as not the /ydney pera @ouse or Piermarini=s

eighteenth "entury .a /"ala in ilan$ or the ;oyal pera

@ouse in Coent 6arden @aing been re>e"ted by her "ountry

of birth$ the .and of the ree had rea"hed out a hand of

opportunity$ a "han"e to display her dan"ing s!ills to the rest

of the orld &nd no$ here she stood$ on the boards of one of

the most famous buildings on the planet$ the etropolitan

pera @ouse in .in"oln /3uare$ *e Bor! /hortly her

dreams ere to be a""omplished$ her frustrations dissoled$

her fantasies turned into reality$ no matter hat the "olour of her s!in

Eirst time at the etFG the 3uiet$ elderly oi"e hispered

from the ings$ in a broad *e Bor! a""ent

Julie turned to fa"e an old stage hand sporting a mop of

grey hair aboe a friendly fa"e

/he nerously nodded$ E,=m one of the lead dan"ers in

tonight=s performan"eG

EThat=s one hell of an a"hieement$ iss eli:$G he

remar!ed$ leaning against some !ind of ooden prop$ EJust

you en>oy the moment &ll the ay from ngland ehFG

E,=m trying to$ and yes$ ,=m from .ondonG

E4hat does your bo= thin!FG

E, haen=t got a boyfriend$ ,=m a married oman$G she

ansered$ ondering hat as "oming ne:t$ E&part from my

husband$ my only loe has alays been for the -allet sin"e ,as a small girlG

The man smiled$ his fatherly e:pression tending to put the

girl at ease

E4ell no that figures$ but as mu"h as , admire your

"ommitment$ that sure is bad nes for the rest of the male

population @ae a onderful night and remember if you

dan"e for yourself$ you ill alays please hateer audien"e

turns up to at"h youG The old man then turned anddisappeared into the dar!ness of the ba"!stage$ beyond here

he=d been standing

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/he did feel more at ease The old timer=s ords had

someho gien her "onfiden"e /he ould dan"e for herself

and let the rest of the orld loo! on in admiration

,t as almost time for the "ompany "lass$ a arm up

routine performed daily before ea"h stage performan"e -ut

there as still time to ta!e in more of the magnifi"en"e of this

aesome theatre and her thoughts began to ander ba"!

toards her on loed ones

Julie "ouldn=t aoid a small tear rolling don her "hee!$

remembering her parents and sister$ liing so far aay in the

"ountry of her birth & "ountry she as determined to return

to and earn the plaudits of a -ritish audien"e$ in parti"ular those ho had told her she ould neer ma!e it as a

professional ballet dan"er

EH,f they are hite sans$ they all hae to be hite

sans and a bla"! one ould >ust mess up the line$G %ame

-eryl 6ray had on"e "ommented$ referring to hat Julie

thought as an opportunity to >oin a -ritish professional ballet

"ompany -ut tonight=s sho in *e Bor!$ in front of all of

those people$ ould be different

&fter the arm up e:er"ises$ the time for mental

rehearsals soon "ame to an end The house lights dimmed and

the or"hestra stru"! up *eres rea"hed a ne "res"endo The

stage ings be"ame busy and the theatre filled ith onderful

musi" inally$ the "urtain as raised and the 6ala

Performan"e began its mesmerising enthralment of the

audien"e$ ith phantoms gliding a"ross the stage$ dressed infleeting and transparent brightly "oloured "ostumes

Julie stood 3uietly in the ings$ feeling the heat from the

oerhead lights$ staring out at the ma>esti" and gra"eful

adentures dominating the stageI aiting impatiently for her

on entran"e ,t as then she felt a large presen"e standing

beside her & slight aft of aftershae rea"hed her nose and

her eyes glan"ed up to meet those of the greatest tenor of our

timeThere he stood$ >ust in"hes aay$ the man she had truly

admired and loed throughout her "hildhood years and still

yearned to hear his magnifi"ent oi"e Cons"iously she

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brushed a bare arm against his >a"!et sleee$ feeling the thrill

@er nose tit"hed and her nere endings ent airborne @e

as so ide$ so big$ so seaty$ but all as ell The girl from

aling$ .ondon$ had a"tually physi"ally tou"hed the great

man The master boed his head and loo!ed don$ gently

smiling at the girl$ shoing the hitest teeth she had eer laid

eyes on

E,=m Julie eli:$G she announ"ed in a 3uiet unassuming

oi"e

EPleased to meet you$ Julie , am .u"iano Paarotti HG

1'5< as the year hen President *asser of gypt

de"lared the /ue+ Canal nationalised by his "ountry$ resultingin minor hostilities ith the ren"h$ -ritish and other

interested parties The /oiet ;ed &rmy inaded @ungary and

brutally suppressed its people The first uroision song

"ontest as held in /it+erland and the A "harts ere

dominated by Johnny ;ay$ ;onnie @ilton and %oris %ay ,t

as also the year Julie eli: as born in the @ammersmith

@ospital$ 4est .ondon &s the sno fell and the temperature

outside hit belo free+ing$ %oreen and Patri"! eli:

"elebrated the birth of their se"ond daughter$ their first$ .u"ia$

had been born eleen months earlier

4ithin a fe ee!s of their younger daughter=s entran"e

into the orld$ the family moed to aling$ 4est .ondon$

here they ere to lie until the mideighties rom her

earliest days$ the frail girl from mi:edra"e parents as

bashful$ distrusting and "oy &s a three year old$ she refusedto smile for a professional family photographer$ summoned to

the home of Patri"! eli: to obtain pi"tures for the family

album

Julie ent to ielding ,nfants and Junior s"hool before

attending the *orthfields /enior s"hool in aling &s a mere

seen year old$ her first introdu"tion to dan"e as en"ouraged

by a young tea"her by the name of iss -ray ho had

re"ognised something spe"ial in the young bla"! girl &sJulie=s natural dan"ing talent be"ame more prominent$ she

as en"ouraged further hen told she had an unusual gift

hi"h meant she "ould go far or the first time in her young

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life$ Jules$ as she as "alled by her father$ felt freedom of

e:pression through her performan"es 4hen s!ipping and

tirling around a spa"ious floor$ her mind filled ith

adenturous pea"eful spa"e$ belieing she as a gra"eful doe

flying high in a "loudless s!yI flying lo a"ross green

meados surrounded only by other *ature oing ith

ease and at one ith all the magi" the rest of the orld "ould

muster @er natural ability da++led those ho at"hed and

itnessed the !ind of gra"e most other !ids didn=t possess &s

young as she as$ Julie ould often be gien dan"e themes by

her tea"her and as!ed to improise and interpret %an"e as

indeed her salation‘There was a star danced, and under that was I born’.

4illiam /ha!espeare

&ay from the lessons$ she ould return to her orld of

shyness and reti"en"e & fearful orld here human intrusion

brought dis"omfort and greater inhibition /he found herself

isolated from other "hildren through no fault of her on$

e:"ept for the "olour of her s!in @er mother supported her

ith only the !ind of loe a mother "an gie$ but her father$ a

man less tolerant ith minor mishaps$ regularly beat her ith

strap or fist Patri"! as an honest$ hardor!ing 4est ,ndian

man from /aint .u"ia$ a foreman maintenan"e engineer at the

@ooer fa"tory$ but he as also a man ith a temper @is

relationship ith his younger daughter asn=t helped mu"h by

the fa"t he made no se"ret of his preferred loe for his first

born$ .u"ia$ named after her father=s birth pla"e /adly$ thatrelationship as to dramati"ally "hange hen both daughters

gre older

&s ith all s"hools$ the playground proided a meeting

pla"e for "hildren=s stories to be shared and friendships to

deelop ther girls ould promise to isit Julie=s home to

play after s"hool$ laughing at the little bla"! girl$ but neer

fulfilling their promise ,t asn=t un"ommon for the e:"ited

"hild to run home and patiently ait$ peering through the"urtains of the front room indo$ for her friends to arrie ,t

as a regular eent for Julie to still be sitting there as dus!

"ame$ sobbing and "onfused as to the reason hy she had

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been so "ruelly snubbed /he asn=t mu"h older than hen

she had been gien her first dan"ing lesson$ hen she realised

the "olour of her s!in as different to other girls in the s"hool

and she prayed ea"h night to be hite li!e the rest of them

/he often tried to straighten her beautiful bla"! hair to ma!e it

loo! li!e the others$ but neer really su""eeded

a"h morning she ould aa!en$ only to find she as

still bla"! and that 6od had not ansered her prayers /he

ould then "ry some more$ until her tears ould turn to

bitterness in realisation that she as no different from those

other girls and perhaps een better than them &fter all$ she

had a 6odgien gift /he had been born to dan"e and that=se:a"tly hat this little girl as so hell bent on doing$ from

that tender age onards

‘To be born to dance is true. It’s a condition. It’s in the

cells; the tissues and in the essence of who you are.

Selfishness then becoes selflessness.’ Julie eli:

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Chapter TwoEarly Success

The long i"y "old spell that dominated the inter and spring

months of 1'aelin thro

toards the seemingly disinterested du"! /tret"hing her arm

ba"! as far as it ould go$ she hurled the largest pie"e of

bread ta!en from the bag$ toards the aiting re"ipient

nfortunately the momentum of her frail body "ontinued iththe missile and her mother loo!ed on as Julie also ent flying

a"ross the i"e$ to land near the stranded allard

There ere s"reams as the girl bro!e through the i"e and

found herself up to her ne"! in free+ing &r"ti" ater The "old

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as immense$ so mu"h so$ she "ouldn=t "ontrol her trembling

fa"e .u"!ily$ the ater asn=t deep enough to "oer her and

she fought ith all her strength to brea! through the i"e until

she made it ba"! to mum=s safe outstret"hed arms$ shiering

and blue

E,f you asn=t so thin and ate all of your dinners$ that

ould neer hae happened$G Julie=s mother franti"ally

shouted at her daughter -ut there asn=t mu"h time to say

anything else$ Julie as 3ui"!ly free+ing to death and had to

be returned home as soon as humanly possible -oth mother

and daughter ra"ed ba"! toards here they lied$ ith "old

ater s3uel"hing in small boots and Julie=s heay inter=s"oat$ mu"h heaier

f "ourse they made it before rs eli:=s daughter

turned into a small i"eberg$ but there ere "onse3uen"es and

the frail youngster be"ame ery ill for ee!s after that

episode @ae no fear$ it as the first and last time she felt

any desire to get more personal ith the lo"al du"!s

The family home as a terra"ed house ith a narro$

lengthy alleyay$ hi"h gae a""ess to the ba"! gardens in

hi"h Julie ould often be seen playing -ut the little girl=s

faourite hideaay pla"e as nearby .amas Par!$ here she

"ould play on sings and roundabouts$ in similar fashion to

any other "hild -ut Julie as different from any other "hild

/inging high toards the s!y had the same effe"t as hen

she as dan"ingI she felt a sensation of freedom and pea"e$ as

her frail body lifted higher and higher ,f only she had ingsto laun"h herself upards into the s!y$ to >oin those birds of

free rein and stay ith them$ loo!ing don at a orld that as

so hostile toards her

@er mother used to orry about her daughter being on the

re"eiing end of some untimely a""ident and often oi"ed

"on"erns about haing to "ross a busy road to rea"h the par!

/he alays insisted Julie returned home before tea time and

before dar!ness fell$ hi"h being the attentie girl she as$alays did so /he loed her mother ery mu"h

The terra"ed house in hi"h they lied as also different

from the others ,t as the most "olourful in the street$ Julie=s

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father de"iding to sho his pride in his residen"e by painting

it all the "olours of the rainbo ,n fa"t$ he "hanged the "olour

of his front door as an annual eent$ ith a burning desire to

ma!e the building stand out from any other in their ro That

as the ast e:tent of his domesti" pride ,t also sent out a

message to eeryone in the neighbourhood that this as his

house and he=d paint his door any "olour he bloody ell

"hose @e "ertainly a"hieed that and one thing as "ertain$

eery passerby !ne the house as lied in by a 4est ,ndian

gentleman

The eli:es lied >ust a ten minute al! from Julie=s

s"hool$ but that asn=t alays plain sailing for the youngestmember ,n those days .ondon fogs ere notorious and hen

su"h a thi"! fall of grey and yello grimefilled smog hit the

neighbourhood$ it as diffi"ult to see more than a yard or to

in front Julie ould often al! to s"hool alone$ unli!e other

girls ho ould hae friends a""ompanying them$ but of

"ourse they ere all hite 4hen the fog "ame don$ she

"ould only find her ay by folloing one building line after

another$ in fear of her life and in the hope that she ould

ma!e the s"hool gates ithout being suddenly sooped off

her feet by some giganti" eagle$ or other bird of prey &ay

from home she often felt alone and unanted and the smell of

sulphur that used to a""ompany the fogs$ plus the fear she felt$

as to remain in her memory for the rest of her life

The future professional ballet dan"er already attended at

/t Pauls Chur"h$ aling$ and it as in that same year$ as thetemperatures persisted to free+e the nation$ Julie >oined Joy"e

-utler=s /"hool of %an"e Classes ere held in the "hur"h hall

and budding pupils ould be taught ballet$ tap and other

forms of entertaining dan"e nfortunately and

disappointingly for Julie$ little tea"hing as done on

spe"ialised sub>e"ts ,t as all a matter of hat ea"h "hild

appeared to be good at$ or rather$ hat Joy"e -utler thought

ea"h "hild as better at The seen year old as still a smalldoe in need of freedom and open s!ies$ hi"h she "ould fill

ith ama+ing rhythm and gra"e @er tutor$ Joy"e -utler$

tended to fo"us more on summer season moements and

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pantomime$ hi"h seemed to be more suitable for the rest of

the young "lass

entually$ Julie as told 3uite "andidly that she ould

neer ma!e it as a ballet dan"er 4hy as thatF 4as it

be"ause she as too small$ hi"h ould hae been strange

"onsidering she as taller than most of the other !ids$ or as

it be"ause she as bla"! and people needed time to get to

!no her better$ perhaps to ease their "ons"ien"e and lose

their immoral bias toards herF n"e again an obsta"le had

suddenly appeared in her young life$ one hi"h had to be

"onfronted and surmounted 4hen she as!ed the reason hy

she ould be a failure$ she as told she as too s!inny Julieas also aare the only other girl in the "lass ho as the

re"ipient of a similar a""usation that ballet ould neer be her

forte$ >ust happened to also be bla"! *eertheless$ Julie

"ontinued attending lessons for the folloing to years

/he be"ame a -ronie at the same "hur"h$ then a 6irl

6uide$ her mother en"ouraging her to mi: more ith other

"hildren$ but aoidan"e from other "hildren "ontinued and the

"olour of her s!in remained a "onstant tal!ing point amongst

others &t night her pillo as still saturated ith her tears

/he had diffi"ulty in re"alling that period of her young life

ith any pleasure and apart from the infantile ra"ism she had

to endure$ there ere other obsta"les that made her e:isten"e

een more problemati" &n eating disorder plagued her

throughout those early years$ only later to be diagnosed as a

food allergy to heat and one or to other of nature=s proisions thron don her throat ,gnorant of that fa"t$

tea"hers$ in parti"ular her /enior /"hool @eadmistress iss

@ubbard$ demanded the frail bla"! girl "onsumed all that as

put on her s"hool dinner plate$ but Julie as defiant and used

to spit out most of her food into a hand!er"hief for later

disposal

The initial enthusiasm Julie had for the dan"ing lessons

began to dindle under the "onstant pressure of being isolated by the other "hildren and some of the tea"hers &lthough she

as neer told the reasons hy she as made to feel so alone$

and ignored hen 3uestioning anything she felt as

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important$ the "olour of her s!in had to be a part of the

e3uation & sad and lonely period of her life folloed and she

began to feel trapped inside herself Karious emotions be"ame

bottled up inside the girl$ a mi:ture of frustration$ "onfusion$

inhibition and many others ere responsible for a sense of

unhappiness and her failure to release those feelings$ added to

their in"reasing influen"e

inally$ she spo!e ith her mother and as!ed to return to

dan"ing

EJulie$ if that=s hat you ant to do$ then do it$G her

mother adised$ E4e ill support you finan"ially and ith my

blessing ,t doesn=t matter a hoot hat other "hildren thin!G/o$ as an eleen year old$ Julie returned to the Joy"e

-utler=s /"hool of %an"e$ but this time ith engean"e in her

heart and a determination to su""eed$ no matter hat others

thought about her shape and si+e The fa"t that her mother as

married to a bla"! man ould no longer torment herI her ears

ould remain "losed to the distasteful puns and >ibes thron

at her by others of her same age /he dan"ed and dan"ed$

or!ing hard on the highly polished$ uneen floorboards

inside the "hur"h hallI neer missing an opportunity to rise

ba"! into those open blue s!ies$ li!e a bird of freedom ,t as

Julie=s ay of releasing those built up emotions fuelled by her

"onstant fear of being re>e"ted be"ause of the "olour of her

s!in$ similar to steam hissing through an open ale$ re

energising those ambitions hi"h had neer a"tually left her

/he too! ballet e:ams and entered "ompetitions runee!ly a"ross the .ondon ;egion$ inning more than she

lost /he sang solo and demonstrated feather li!e moements$

hi"h added elegan"e and "harm to her performan"es @er

mind as heading in a different dire"tion$ as her earlier

frustrations and disappointments ere repla"ed by guile and a

strong determination to su""eed @er su""ess helped to

eaporate any selfdoubts she might hae had about her future

as a professional dan"er and her loe for the stage be"ametotal

/he ould spend hours at"hing her mother dress up for

arious amateur operati" performan"es$ sitting in onderment

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at the grease paint$ large fan"y dresses and glittering "ostume

>eellery that turned her mater into an apparition of beauty

and >oy The e:hilaration of su"h obserations as infe"tious$

so influential on her young mind that nothing said or done

ould eer again diminish the hunger and passion she as

feeling for a life time spent on the boards$ pleasing audien"es

and re"eiing plaudits she so earnestly "raed for

Tring Par! &rts du"ational /"hool be"ame !non to

Julie irst opened in 1'9' the s"hool re"ruited young people

ho "ould sho they had an outstanding talent for the

performing arts and the s"hool boasted amongst its pupils$

%ame Julie &ndres and %ame -eryl -ainbridge &t thesame time$ su""essful appli"ants ould "ontinue to re"eie an

a"ademi" edu"ation /u"h a stepping stone as an irresistible

"hallenge for the bla"! talented young dan"erI a "hallenge

hi"h she a""epted ith relish$ haing no hesitation hen

de"iding to apply

/he spo!e to her dan"e instru"tor Joy"e -utler and

outlined her plans to gain entran"e into Tring Par! &t first$

-utler as e:tremely dis"ouraging$ telling her not to bother$

again begging the 3uestion$ hy as this$ hen the dan"e

tea"her=s prin"iple ob>e"tie as to support and en"ourage her

young pupils @ad the "olour of the girl=s s!in been influential

on"e againF -ut Julie as ell past "omplian"e and her

defian"e resulted in a phone "all re3uesting an appli"ation

form 4hen the ne"essary paperor! arried through the post$

she e:"itedly ansered the re3uired 3uestions before returningthe appli"ation together ith a photograph of herself /he

didn=t hae to ait long for a reply and shortly afterards the

best nes she as hoping for$ "ame ba"!I she had been

inited to audition at the s"hool

The su""ess must hae pri"!ed her dan"e tea"her=s ay of

thin!ing and Julie=s enthusiasm finally persuaded Joy"e -utler

to support her by putting together a dan"e routine for her

young student$ to be a""ompanied by a rendition of Julie&ndres$ Ly aourite Things= /he rehearsed and

rehearsed again and then some

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4hen the great day finally arried$ she traelled to the

former ;oths"hild ansion in @ertfordshire$ a""ompanied by

her mother /urrounded by a "ountryside of beauty and ithin

the alls of an ama+ingly ma>esti" former stately home$ the

little bla"! girl from aling$ .ondon$ mesmerised her

audien"e by singing and dan"ing in the only ay Julie eli:

"ould$ ma!ing %oreen eli: the proudest mother in the

unierse

/he as offered a pla"e at the s"hool$ almost immediately$

but further disappointment as to dog her ambitions The fees

ere e:traagant and nigh on impossible for her family to

meet oer a lengthy period of time &fter many tears and"onfused thoughts$ she finally a""epted that the latest obsta"le

to her lifelong ambition as a mere blip -ut$ by then she

as be"oming stronger$ her selfbelief as heading beyond

selfdoubt /he as be"oming used to being !no"!ed ba"!$ in

similar fashion to a puppy ta!ing a daily beating from its

master @er resole gre and by loo!ing in the mirror she

began to see the !ind of determination possessed only by the

fe$ those ho a"hiee and those ho are first past the

inning post

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Chapter Three An unusual Christmas Treat

The house lights dimmed and the "ondu"tor raised his baton$

bringing the or"hestra into life as the musi" began to play

softly$ and the "urtain lifted This as the real beginning for

the young tele year old girl ho found it all so e:hilarating

and e:perien"ing the thrill of her young life Julie sat in one of

the lu:urious red and gold trimmed seats ith both eyes ide

open and her gaping mouth "at"hing flies The hole

atmosphere inside the auditorium as filled ith so mu"h

anti"ipation she "ould feel it$ lie it$ almost tou"h it &

mi:ture of arm e:"iting odours$ ith afts of e:pensie perfume being the most dominant$ added to the adenture and

then she blin!ed and >umped as the or"hestra suddenly and

ithout arning$ turned up the sound

@er mother sat beside her$ throing "oert glan"es a"ross

at her daughter=s astonished fa"ial e:pression$ seemingly

fro+en in time$ in total "on"entration and beilderment$ as the

theatre filled ith the most onderful and gratifying sound of

Jessye *orman=s operati" oi"e This as undoubtedly the best Christmas present %oreen eli: "ould hae eer gien to

her little girl ith all that hard earned "ash$ a night at the

opera$ a night at one of the orld=s most famous seats of

artisti" "ulture at its ery best$ the ;oyal pera @ouse$ Coent

6arden &ll the glamour$ beauty and deliery intended to

sho Julie the standard re3uired to be a great stage

professional$ here hard or! and the !ind of dedi"ation thatas se"ond to none$ as re3uired to rea"h the top /he had

high hopes for her youngest daughter and felt only sadness

that her oldest daughter$ .u"ia$ didn=t possess or sho any

interest in the arts .u"ia ould ta!e a totally different path$

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hi"h ould end ith unhappiness and disaster$ not that

anyone as aare of that fa"t$ at that parti"ular time

f "ourse her husband$ Patri"!$ ould neer hae agreed

to spending so mu"h money on >ust a pair of ti"!ets to at"h

an opera$ so she hadn=t told him$ this as beteen herself and

Julie f "ourse he ould eentually find out$ probably after

they had returned home and their daughter anted to tell the

hole orld about the onders of that night$ but he ould

>ust moan and groan and thro a "ouple of dissenting remar!s

%oreen=s ay -ut that mattered not to the oman ho had

sered as a 4& during the ar$ driing heay lorries hi"h

transported para"hutes @o that life seemed so far aayno$ remembering ho she and her best friend Jesse$ used to

isit lo"al publi" houses and "hase /"ots 6uardsmen round

the tables to see if any of them ere earing anything beneath

their !ilts

/he smiled to herself as the first performan"e "ame to an

end and the audien"e stood to applaud

Eum$ this is >ust fantasti"$ than! you$G Julie said ith

sin"erity

E, am so glad you are en>oying the performan"e$ no be

"areful$ don=t oer e:"ite yourself$ the night is early yetG

%oreen "ame from ;ainham in sse: and as a member

of the aling &mateur perati" /o"iety /he first met Patri"!

on a ben"h in @yde Par! and they hit it off instantly They

openly "ourted ea"h other$ ignoring the >ibes and nasty

remar!s thron at them about a hite oman going ith a bla"! man &s far as %oreen as "on"erned she=d fallen in

loe ith the most handsome man in the unierse &nd

Patri"! eli: as handsome$ lean and tall$ a man ho loed

all that there as about &meri"an "ulture$ although he neer

a"tually isited the nited /tates$ een during the years Julie

as performing there -eing a big fan of @umphrey -ogart$

he as a smart dresser$ his attire fre3uently resembling the

1'0=s ide bottom trouser suits$ ith spats "oering brightly polished shoes

&lthough a harsh man hen it "ame to dis"iplining his

daughter$ Julie$ he as also a man ho lied by "ertain

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prin"iples and a grafter ho rarely missed a day as foreman at

the @ooer -uilding on 4estern &enue$ Periale$ 4est

.ondon @e as the proider and "entral figure of his family$

rarely interfering ith domesti" situations$ but ma!ing his

thoughts !non 3uite o"iferously hen he thought it

ne"essary @e also !ept the daily problems he had to fa"e from

the ra"ist taunts regularly thron his ay li!e "onfetti from

hite people ho Patri"! "ould only regard as ignorant and

misinformed$ ell outside the family home

,t "ame as 3uite a sho"! hen one late afternoon in 1'

Brickbats and Tutus

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