Incendiary2008

[first lines]

The Boy:
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go...

The Boy:
Mummy you blinked, I won.

Young Mother:
Yes you did. Now in you get. Tomorrow we're going to the sea-side.

Young Mother:
[narration - boy running on the beach] So, if I'm going to show you my life, better start here. My boy, in Camber Sands. Why this and why now? I'll come back to that.

The Boy:
Mummy!

Young Mother:
[narration] A force of nature was what the midwife called him when he came howling into this world four years ago. And he hasn't stopped since.

The Boy:
Mummy!

Young Mother:
[narration] Me and him spend a lot of time together on account his Dad is a right miserable bugger. To be fair, he wasn't always miserable. Or maybe he was and I just didn't see it. I wouldn't be the first one in my family to have her knickers charmed off her by some fellow in the Army. Any way, for better or worse, I got my boy and he got me.

The Boy:
[dangling a sand worm] Mummy! Mummy!

Young Mother:
[narration] I remember my Mum took me to Camber Sands once. The one day she was sober. It was drizzling then too. "Gets you out of the house, don't it?", she said.

Young Mother:
[narration - on train] And that quiet rain fell all the way home.

Young Mother:
[narration - London street] My gran told me that Adolf Hitler did us a favour when he bombed London. His incendiary bombs made the hole in Barnett Grove that they built our tower blocks in. And London burned with incredible noise and fury. It was on account of Adolf, she said, that we get a nice view with the Georgian Gems on the other side of the street, where the bomb missed.

The Boy:
Mummy. I'm running, I'm running really far. Come on, catch me!

Young Mother:
[calling to him] Careful. If you think I can't see you in there, you're mad.

Young Mother:
[narration] We bought our flat off the Council. Smells of chip fat. But Lenny says it will be a good investment one day, because it's within a stone's throw of the city. Third generation of tower block dwellers, we are. If you're interested just type in Chav, Pikey or Ned, and you'll find us in council estates all over London. Favourite food: Chicken Kiev, favourite TV programme: Top Gear, Religion? Arsenal Football Club.