Moi
Name’s Jenno
‘Allo ev’rybody…! Moi name’s Jenno;
leastways, that’s wot most o’ moi friends call me, so Oi reckon as ‘ow yew can call
me that an’ all.
Actually, moi name is Jean Bryce. Moi mum
calls me Jeanie, ‘cept when she calls me “Jean”. But cripes, when she does
that, Oi gotta look out, ‘cos it means she’s real cross wiv me.
Oi live in a village in England Pepper Mill Lane
Each gang ‘as got a territ’ry, an’ nobody
‘ad better go alone inter the territ’ry of anovver gang, ‘cos that’s jus’ plain
askin’ fer trouble. Oi’m talkin’ about the kids, o’corse, ‘cos the grown-ups
‘ave got ovver sorts o’ gangs, wot ‘ave ter do wiv political parties, or sport,
or religion an’ such stuff, wot ain’t really moi cup o’ tea. They argue a lot
about all that, but they don’t much notice the kids’ gangs unless there’s a bit
of a barney goin’ on, an’ even then they don’t properly unnerstan’ wot it’s all
about. Grown-ups often ferget real quick wot it’s loike ter be a kid.
A lot o’ the barneys us kids ‘ave, start
because of our soapbox carts. The fing is, most of the kids, includin’ the
girls, loike ter race’ their carts down the Mountain Glide, wot is an old
gravel pit. There we sometoimes ‘ave races between the gangs, wot don’t always
go real amicably (cripes, there’s a super word fer yew!). Moi cart is real
fast. She’s called “Emmeline P” because
of Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst the famous suffragette, wot got votes fer women. Fact
is, Oi don’t reckon as ‘ow there ain’t nobody more famous than wot she is, ‘cos
she didn’t never give up, not even when fings looked real bad against ‘er.
Any’ow, there’s lots o’ problems between the
kids o’ the village a-cause o’ cart racin’, an’ ovver fings as well. If’n yew’d
loike ter know more about ‘em, p’raps it’d be best ter take a dekko at Peter St
John’s “Gang” books, wot ‘ave got quite a lot about me in ‘em an’ all.
Speakin’ o’ super words, there’s real scads
of ‘em in the diction’ry, and Oi like ter trot one out now an’ again, jus’ fer
fun. The fact is, (only please don’t let on ter nobody) Oi c’n write real posh
if’n Oi set moi mind ter it, loike at school. Oi don’t do it wiv moi friends,
‘cos if’n Oi did, they’d reckon as ‘ow Oi were a-showin’ off – an’
then Oi’d get dropped faster’n yew c’n say “elegant elocution”. Besides, Oi’d
loike ter count yew as bein’ among moi friends. See wot Oi mean?
Well, Oi reckon as ‘ow that’s probably enough
from me fer the toime bein’. If’n yew’d loike ter learn more, yew could always
go ter http://www.peterstjohn.net/
an’ do some clickin’ around, but only if’n yew really want to, ‘cos P St J
writes posh, not proper English loike wot Oi do.
So cheerio fer now. P’raps Oi’ll see yew
again later on. Meanwhile, ‘Ave yerselves some ‘appy readin’…
