Page 9 - The Spirit of Christmas 1940

The Spirit of Christmas 1940

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,
Rose was just as shy. Of course she felt the same for Jimmy but
her innocence and natural shyness prevented her from ever telling
him. To everybody that knew them, including a great many of the
regular passengers to Church Street, it was blatently obvious that
these two were an item.

As both, Rose and Jimmy prepared for the day ahead, the station
was slowly filling up with people looking to start their daily
journey’s or arriving to meet passengers coming in from all over
the country. The station cafe and stalls were opening up for the
day and the staff who controlled the daily mayhem were rolling up
ready to greet another day at Church Street Station.