Pamela Odgers

And Some of Us Much Worse

Trafford Publishing, 2006.

Unless it was raining, Nurse took us out for a walk every day and with us came Teddy, our Scotch terrier on a leash. We lived at 9 Saint James Terrace, which ran along Regent's Park, opposite the zoo. We would cross Prince Albert Road, cross the Union Canal and then be in Regent's Park. One day, while crossing the canal, I looked down and saw something interesting.
"Oh, look, Nurse," I said, "What's that?"
"Well, that's a barge and as you see, it's being towed by a horse that walks along the towpath...A barge is like a van or a lorry on the road. Anything could be in it. Often it is coal"

The author was born in 1927 and enjoyed a privileged childhood, in a house that was 'tall and narrow, with sixty-six stairs from street level to our nursery on the third floor.' There were frequent excursions to the park.

One day there was a very nice barge, freshly painted, with red flowers in green pots on the deck, a little black and white dog running around, and white clothes hanging on the line.
"Now that's a barge that people live on. It's their home. You can see the woman has hung her washing on the line."
"But what about the horse," I asked. "Where does he sleep at night? Where is his stable?"
Nurse thought a bit. "I don't know that. I think horses can sleep anywhere. I think horses can sleep standing up."
I put my legs apart, closed my eyes and said, "I don't think I could sleep standing up"