[AusRace] 'Drakey' - china plate

[Tony Moffat]

'Drakey" enjoyed mowing the lawn, specifically the lawn outside the prison
farm where he was domiciled for a while.

He showed me how to mow golf course fairways although I was restricted to
the first cut of rough whereas he, and others, got to do the fairways, and
the Boss did the greens.

It's okay, he did some months, maybe a year in the can, before somebody said
it wasn't him, it was him, the somebody, and not 'Drakey', not completely
anyway.  It was really a dispute over ownership of property. The property
had been acquired under the auspices of the Pawn Brokers Act 1963 (as
amended) and its ownership was decided before his acquisition of it, a
requirement, it was catalogued and held for the requisite time, it was
advertised for sale with photos and delivered but not paid for. It was this
last bit, non-payment, that led to words back and forth until the property
was returned to him, or his employer actually and somebody (another one)
said it was stolen, and now ownership was legitimized because it had passed
through several pairs of hands, and at each term of ownership a purchase
price had been paid. That doesn't work. So there was a civil trial, then a
criminal trial and 'Drakey' and his Boss got the slot.

So 'Drakey' got released. He was supposed to be picked up outside the gates
but after a day, and a night, he determined the lift wasn't coming so he got
a lift into town with a night shift guard, whom he knew of course. He rang
his home but they had disowned him. His father suggested he change his name.
He had money, and everything he owned was in the duffel bag at his feet, and
the train was not due until 2038. 

So he called Mum, my Mum. Mum got onto me at work and I went to where he was
at about mid-day. He was fat, and funny, and needed to speak with his surety
release officer in the suburbs. I got him there and he got a room for 5 days
out west. By the end of the first week he had a job, in a brick yard, and by
the end of the month he was in a Pawn Brokers shop at the front door
counter, buying, and at weekends he worked with Kevin at the races at home
and at the dogs in the evening during the week. 

He talked in bookmaker odds. If something in  the shop was $42.50 he said it
was 13/4 - he bought it in at $10 and the reciprocal of that is $42.50 if
you reversed the equation. This is the base line he worked from, 13/4,
nothing less. Not worth it he said. Geez he would say 5/4 gawd $22.50 after
a buy of $10, nuffing. That nuffing word was because he could not help
himself launching into cockney slang, guv'ner. Nobody understood him, one,
because of the ridiculous accent and two, who understands the bookmakers
language any rate. He was born in Tumbarumba which is nowhere near east end
London, geezer. 4/1,5/1,7/1 was used a lot. Exorbitant, yes, but starting
from a low dollar buy in it was sustainable.

He sold me a set of golf clubs, and the bag and buggy. Pro-Simmon DRK III,
the full set 1 iron to pitching wedge, 4 woods, all the same serial number.
I got new grips, cost price. I still have them. I can't use a 1 iron, who
can. Odds on ,he said. Maybe.

Cheers

Tony



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