Page 8 - The Spirit of Christmas 1940

Chapter 1

a penny for the latest edition. Just as Jimmy was about to yell out
once again, he was stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth left open
as if his jaw had suddenly frozen. The reason for the shock was
the entrance of the flower barrow being pushed onto the platform
by Rose.

Rose provided such a vital service to the many customers of
Church Street station providing flowers for the reuniting husbands
and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, mothers, daughters fathers,
sons and of course, for the servicemen and women returning
from the war. Christmas, though, was a good opportunity to lift
spirits with holly wreaths, mistletoe and all sorts of decorations
for family Christmas trees, mantelpieces and dinner tables. But
although the station needed her, she also needed the station, and
her stall. Rose was an only child and the only source of income
for her dad who had lost his legs during the First World War. Her
mother had died when she was just a young girl leaving Rose to
grow up faster than she wanted. Still, she made ends meet and for
the most of the time, she and her dad were ok.

Her flower stall was an old wooden cart but beautifully set up
with all sorts of flowers and plants which brought the tired wood
to life. The colours were simply stunning and to add to the magic,
were the seasonal special extras. Just perfect. But despite the
beauty there was still a job to do.

As Rose prepared for the days business, she was still being
stared at by the unwitting Jimmy. He had been besotted by
Rose ever since he had been selling papers at the station. But
although he had a very over-confident attitude, it was just a front.
Underneath the Cockney charm, Jimmy was a bit of an introvert
when it came to talking to the opposite sex. Rosie, as he called
her, was the one he feared the most. Certainly not because there
was anything scary about her but because he had so many feelings
for her. He could never bring himself to go over and tell her,
instead he would ply her with gifts from his dodgy dealings. He
thought to himself that if he could look after her then maybe one
day it would just happen. SHe may see how he felt and make
the first move. Or at leat, that was the theory. The problem was,