My Brother, My Pimp: A Shocking Coming of Age Story in 1950s Britain My brother, my pimp! My life as a sixteen year old girl in 1950 post war Britain was hardly something to write home about. Most of the girls in my class at Grammar school were always boasting about the boys they had been out with, and the boys they wanted to go out with. I seldom joined in their conversations as I was not a pretty girl, or so I thought at the time. My milk bottom glasses, with a dioptre correction of twenty in each eye ensured that no boy ever came within touching distance of me, never mind kissing me. Yep! I had NEVER been kissed by a boy other than my brother Jack, who was two years my senior. Jack was a bubbly lad who had lots of friends who, unfortunately with his instigation, derided and generally made my life miserable with taunts of ‘ugly four eyes’ or ‘can I have a pint of milk please’ in reference to my thick specs. I can hear you now saying ‘why didn’t I take off my glasses?’. If you have never had bad eyesight you will not comprehend how difficult life can be when your eyes need a twenty dioptre correction in order to see properly. Everything is horribly blurred and it is impossible to recognise anyone unless they are within twelve inches of you. To put it into perspective - if you have a twenty five dioptre correction you can be legally classed as blind! Unfortunately at that time there was no replacement lens operations available as now. If you needed thick lenses you had to manage with them or go under. I was taunted and bullied as an ‘ugly’ girl and so I began to believe that I was indeed ugly. This being so I never attempted to try and alter my hair or wear make-up as I considered it a waste of time. It was Valentine’s day in February 1950 and Jack was boasting about receiving ten Valentine cards, and deriding me for not getting any. I took myself upstairs to mope on my own. After a few minutes lying on the bed I decided to have a bath. My parents were out of the house and so I took the chance without having to get it passed by mum not to use up all the hot water. Having a bath usually cheered me up - but not that day. Valentine’s day always brought home to me how ugly I was and that I would probably never ever get a boy to want, never mind love me. …the next moment changed everything
