‘I want you to write a letter of apology to Mr Michael Reid and I want it now’ said Peter Simpson the Home manager.
Roger Banning, a Care Worker at the HareDown Residential Home for the elderly stood in front of Peter Simpson’s desk, his eyes fixed firmly on Peter Simpson.
‘I refuse.’ Said sharply Roger Banning.
‘ You what!’ shouted Peter Simpson
‘ I refuse to apologise to that pompous ass’
‘Listen to me ! Roger, Mr Reid is a former Mayor and he is the leader of the Council. Mr Reid is very upset indeed, he said that “You are the rudest man that he has ever met in his life”. Just apologise to him’.
‘Apologise to that pompous ass, on my dead body’
‘You leave me with no choice but to transfer you to Hill End Home
‘You do what!’ shouted Roger Banning, ‘that’s 10 miles away from home’.
‘It’s your choice. Said Peter Simpson firmly.
‘I prefer to resign than apologise to that pompous ass’.
Roger Banning left the building; he soon crossed the grassy field of the HareDown known locally as the Community field. He was in his early fifties, single, tall and slender. After serving in the Army for 22 years, he retired on a full pension as Staff Sergeant. After leaving the Army, he came down to settle in the rural HareDown. He decided to work as a volunteer at the HareDown residential Home for the elderly. Six months later he became a full time worker. The Japanese writer is right when he said that ‘If you are happy in what you are doing everyday, you don’t have to do a day work in your life’ Roger Banning was a man whose life was in order.
Every Thursday afternoon, Roger Banning organised a tea party for the elderly. He wore his uniform, a blue shirt and grey trousers. He served them tea and chocolate cake as a special treat. He placed the tea cup in a saucer and placed the chocolate cake on the side of the saucer. He used to give them the chocolate cake on a separate side plate until he found out that the elderly residents found it rather cumbersome, consequently few of the side plates fell down. The residents were sitting with their visitors; they were chatting happily and enjoying the music from the record player, ‘The white cliffs of Dover’. The vases were full of fresh roses and there was a sweet fragrance around the lounge. Roger Banning sat down with them, he was never bored of listening to the war stories especially the ubiquitous phrase ‘During the war’. When suddenly the door opened, Peter Simpson and Councillor Reid walked in. Michael Reid wore a three piece suit. He is in his early sixties, short, fat and bald.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. It is with my greatest pleasure to introduce his worship former Mayor and Leader of the Councillors for HareDown, Mr Michael Reid’ said Peter Simpson ingratiatingly.
Michael Reid smiles, he marvels at the introduction, he waits for customary applause but the visitors and residents alike are just carrying on eating their cakes and chatting among themselves. Roger Banning remains in his chair and he is listening attentively to the war stories. Michael Reid begins to pull down his left earlobe; his upper lip begins to twitch. .
‘You over there! In the blue shirt; why these people don’t have a side plates’ he shouted.
Roger Banning looked at him.
‘Are you talking to me’ asked Roger Banning calmly.
‘Yes!’ he shouted. Pointing his fat finger to Roger Banning.
Roger Banning remain firmly in his chair, he sat straight, and he starred at him.
‘I am not accountable to you and I don’t like your tone of voice’ he said
‘I don’t care what you like. Just answer my question’
‘Listen to me. You pompous ass, I don’t take orders from the like of you’ shouted Roger Banning.
‘Roger! you can’t talk to Mr Reid like that’ said assertively Peter Simpson.
Michael Reid looks at Peter Simpson, then look at Roger Banning, the residents carry on eating and listening to the new song. ‘Behind the lamp post’. Michael Reid is pulling his right ear lobe furiously and his lower lip is twitching rapidly. He turns round, he walks out from the lounge, on the way out, he knocks a vase of fresh roses, the vase falls down, and all the roses scatter around. Peter Simpson is running after him, he opens the door,
‘Mr Reid, don’t you worry about him, I am going to deal with it severely’
Michael Reid just gets into his car and drives away without saying goodbye.
Roger Banning arrived at his home within ten minutes; his orderly life was in turmoil. He looked at his spare walking boots like a neurotic starring at the psychiatric couch. He began cleaning his boots absentmindedly.
-Everybody is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. Who does he think he is, how do people become so arrogant and pompous? Does he not know that respect has to be earned? Everybody has a weakness, even that pompous ass.-
He stopped cleaning his already shiny boots. He paused, he paced up and down in his lounge, he sat down then he got up again.’ I shall stand against him in the local election as an independent candidate’. He thought triumphantly. Like all experienced soldier, he knew that he needed a plan of action, a battle plan. ‘Information is power’ he thought. Later that evening, he went to his local Pub, HareDown Public House. If anyone would know everything about everybody in HareDown, it must be the landlord Bob Muldoon.
According Bob Muldoon, Michael Reid had never visited the council housing estate of HareDown, for one thing he lived at the other side knows as the ‘posh side’. He had been voted in with the same number of votes in the last twenty years and all his votes came from the posh side. Then again 70% of the voters never bothered to vote. The most important news was that Michael Reid as the leader of the council had made a planning permission to turn part of the HareDown Community Field into two hundred semi detached houses. .
Roger Banning’s battle cry was ‘Save Haredown Community Field’. He began to write to his local newspaper to complain about the council’s planning permission, a week later he wrote another letter to the newspaper complaining about the pot holes, another letter about the poor state of the benches in the parks. People began to ask ‘who is Roger Banning?’ Few months before election he started a weekly newsletter informing the voters of his activities regarding his campaign to ‘Save HareDown Community Field’. His campaign was gathering momentum, in the process he had formed a platoon of volunteers as ‘foot soldiers’.
It was a sunny day, Roger Banning woke up before dawn to distribute his final leaflet ‘Today is Election Day! Save Haredown Community Field’.
At ten o’clock in the evening, he went to the civic hall. Michael Reid was chatting and laughing with the property developers. The council’s staff were expecting to go home as usual in half an hour, when they emptied the voting boxes, the ballots papers were scattered all over the tables. Within half an hour, the property developers looked at Roger Banning’s tray and at Michael Reid, they left quietly. Roger Banning’s tray soon disappeared under a mountain of ballots papers.
One hour later, Roger Banning became the new Councillor for HareDown. As he began his victory speech, he saw Michael Reid walking slowly; he was looking down like a condemned man on the gallows. Roger Banning went back to the residential home to work as a volunteer every Thursday afternoon. Michael Reid was last seen to work as a double glazing salesman.
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