Stories of the Street - Forty six

Chris kisses his wife Mary and sets off down the stairs, his trusty camera swinging on its strap. He is anxious to get the pictures early so he can get to school and send them off. He is a Geography teacher but has made a great discovery – a medieval wooded structure behind the video shop on the high street.

He nods to a couple of parents and exchanges comments with some of the school kids passing down the street. Many are on their way to the school he teaches in. He thinks that it is a mixed blessing being relatively local to your school.

As he turns down the alleyway he begins to notice a strong smell of smoke. Someone is burning wood in their garden. He thinks how unsociable that is and wonders at the waste and pollution. Shaking his head he turns the corner and sees the plume of smoke rising from one of the enclosed yards behind the shops.

Picking up his pace he trots along the alleyway to the fence behind the video shop. The gate is open and a couple of builders – one very young and the other near to retirement – are poking a great pile of chopped up logs as they burn and smoke. The older builder looks around and tosses his cigarette butt into the flames. Chris just stands dumbfounded looking at the wood burning and across at the cleared ground where the medieval structure had once stood.

“You’ve destroyed it?” is all he can say and he feels tears flooding into his eyes.

“Bit smoky, the fire.” Says the old man. “I said they should have chopped it up smaller and sold the lot as firewood but the boss just wanted to get rid of it fast, like!”

The younger man looks up and recognises Chris.

“Morning sir!” He says, “Are you alright. You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!”

Chris takes a deep breath, chokes of the smoke and splutters, “Hello John. Have you left school already?”

The young man nods and says, “This summer. You sure you’re alright?”

“No.” Chris replies, “I’m not. I suppose I have just seen a ghost. Is this the last of the wood?”

John nods and the old man says, “Yeh. This fire’s been going for almost 24 hours now. They wanted it clear by today so they paid me and the lad extra to stay behind overnight to finish it off! Not bad, eh? By nine I’ll be on my way home for a good wash and a spot of kip.” They are both nodding as Christ walks away. His feet feel like heavy weights and he wishes he could just call in sick but that’s simply out of the question. He should be hurrying but all he can think is, “Idiots! Stupid Idiots! What a stupid, stupid waste!” He does not realise he is saying this out loud and doesn’t notice the older man getting read to go after him. Young John intervenes saying, “He’s not talking about us. Its this wood we’re burning. He’s into the environment and the like.”

The old man shakes John off and looks at his watch. Only another ten minutes before the morning crew are due to arrive. The breeze shifts direction and he can now smell the bacon from the café just up the road. His mind begins to focus on other things as he fishes out yet another cigarette.