- Contributed by听
- nickjsmale
- People in story:听
- Leading Signalman Roy Tarrant
- Location of story:听
- London
- Background to story:听
- Royal Navy
- Article ID:听
- A6755718
- Contributed on:听
- 07 November 2005
I (Roy Tarrant) was home on leave from my last trip to Sierra Leone (convoy) waiting for a taxi at Victoria Station (London). I had my little case with my initials painted on it for security and a bunch of bananas (about thirty or forty) slung over my shoulder.
After clambering into the taxi we had only gone a couple of hundred yards when the taxi broke down. The driver said he would call for another one if I would stand and wait on the pavement. In only a couple of minutes a little crowd had gathered to gaze with eager eyes at my bananas. Fortunately, some of them had not ripened and they didn鈥檛 seem anxious for the green ones.
The other taxi arrived and we got to Paddington and I asked 鈥淗ow much?鈥. The driver replied, 鈥淧lease, I only want a banana, I haven鈥檛 seen one in years鈥.
I let him pick his own yellow one and when he had gone I thought I鈥檇 had the journey of my life for only one banana. Cheap at the price eh!
Obviously, bananas were nonexistent then and some onlookers didn鈥檛 even know what they were.
As a matter of fact my little cousin (little girl) took a banana to show to her class and her teacher. You are left to think what happened to the rest.
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