Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Thepool-playingdecorator'snamewasJim,andhewasajoiner,ratherthanadecorator.
Although,I'mnotsurehowsomeonewhofitswoodtogethercangetsomuchpaintontheir
clothes.JimTheJoiner-ashisfriendscalledhim-wasinhisfortiesandextremelychatty.
He was obviously 'the man' of the Traveller's Rest, and possibly the whole of Neilston.
Withinminutesoftalkingwithhimhehadorderedthebarmantogetusbothabeeronhim.
'I wish ah coods help ye wi' somewhere tae stay,' he said mid pool shot, 'but our hoose
jist isn't big enaw, aam afraid.'
'Sleep is overrated anyway,' said Ben. 'The beer is better.'
'Yoo've got a spare hoose, haven't ye, Les,' called Jim to one of the other men in the
group.
'Very funny, Jim,' laughed Les. We didn't understand the joke, but laughed along any-
way.
We spent the next hour drinking more free beer, playing pool and eating soup and bread
thatanotherofthemenhadorderedforus.Weweresittinginawarmpuboncomfychairs,
drinking free beer and eating broccoli and stilton soup with crunchy bread. We didn't have
a care in the world. That was, until we remembered that the likelihood was that we would
be spending the night on the streets.
'Oh well,' said Ben, 'our luck was due to run out sometime. At least we are full and
drunk.'
'I still think we'll find somewhere to stay. We could walk down towards Paisley. It's
only a few miles. It's much bigger and there's bound to be plenty of places to stay,' I sug-
gested.
'There's no way I am going any further tonight. I'd rather sleep in the pub car park than
walk any more. I'm knackered.'
Midway through our fifth pint - as we stood watching Jim The Joiner get beaten at pool
yet again - Les approached us holding a bunch of keys. He was a fairly small man in his
forties, with a friendly face and an English accent. He had lived in Neilston for several
years and considered Scotland 'home'.
'I'm going to take a big risk here, lads,' said Les. 'These are the keys to my house. It's
almost empty at the moment as I'm in the process of selling it, but you can both go and
sleep there tonight, if you like.'
'Areyouserious?Soyoureallydohaveasparehouse?'Isaid,unabletowipethesmirk
from my face.
'Well, yes, I guess that technically I do. It still has all of my office equipment there and
computer stuff, which is why I'm taking a bit of a gamble. I like you both, though, and I
think you are genuine. Please don't let me down.'
He gave us directions to the house which was about a quarter of a mile back up through
thevillage.Wesaidourthankstoeveryone,andthenwheeledourbikesdrunkenlytoLes's.
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