Question Author
This unusual occupation required unusual props which resulted in the cupboard in our flat (intended to house coal) actually being transformed into a cage and housing instead a monkey! I remember my mother knitting little garments for it, including an extra hole for his tail, and my father putting nappies on it (also with an extra hole) whenever he took the monkey out. His friends, too, had monkeys, or sometimes parrots, all used to encourage the public to purchase photos. To me, this all seemed normal. As did the long evenings spent on my own whilst my parents disappeared into the kitchen, which, in the evenings, doubled as a dark room
It was through him that I was first introduced to cryptic crosswords, and also to the value of education, though he had had little himself. He was immensely proud when I won a scholarship to Godolphin and Latymer, the local direct grant grammar school.