And so it was that Bernie and I played together and began to grow up together. Bernie could be very mischievious and often, after some prank or other, would climb up into a big tree we had in the garden until everyone had calmed down.
In 1951 my little brother Mike was born, and for a little while, whilst Mike was a baby, we would romp and play. He used to love teasing me.
One Christmas my parents bought me a brand new pram as a present. It wasn't long before little Bernie would take my doll out, and put some old clothes in, and wheel the pram around shouting "any old rags and bones", like a regular rag and bone man.
When I first a started school, he looked after me like a little Knight in shining armour warning everyone to keep away from me or there would be trouble!
I remember the day Bernie's litle brother Chris was born. We were sitting on the stairs that separated our sections of the house. He said "I've got a brother now as well." He was so pleased. We were both very excited as well and talked about how one day we would tell his little brother how we remembered the day he was born. We were obviously MUCH older in a child's eyes and feeling very benevolent towards this newborn child, little Christopher Brooks - whom he later nicknamed 'Toffee Apple'.
We also liked to go to the cinema. There were two on the Broadway where we lived, and we would go to the Saturday morning pictures for sixpence (old money) and watch Batman and Robin and Laurel and Hardy.
We also spent a lot of time in Germany. Our grandad had a bit of a smallholding and we got to help look after the chickens and animals.
Thern time moved on and my parents and my brother Mike and I moved to Harlow in Essex.
Bernie now started playing the guitar (just as our Grandad used to) and began to become very good.
