My Mother and Other Strangers

The other day I found a note in a box of my mother's letters.

'It was not addressed to me, but to my older sister, Emma.'

Oh, come on!

'To this day, I'm not sure if she ever saw it.

'But reading it started me thinking again

'about a long-vanished time in my life.

'About the summer of 1943...

'in Moybeg on the shores of Lough Neagh.'

Race you to see her land.

- Good afternoon, Mrs. Coyne. - Good afternoon.

Mistress.

Sorry to keep you.

Them Futriss bombers make some racket, eh?

It's not "Futriss", Seamie. It's "Fortress". Fortress bombers.

- Who says? - My mother.

Huh! Your mother talks funny.

And an ounce of tobacco.

I hear your lot are taking a bit of a hammering

over beyond in Italy, Mrs. Coyne.

That depends on whom you listen to, Mr. Hanlon.

And two ounces of lard.

That'll be two and sixpence ha'penny. And the coupons.

Here... What's this?

This is Spam.

What about the good stuff?

Good stuff?

The corned beef.

Corned beef?!

I don't have corned beef, Mr. Hanlon.

Michael does.

Over there.

Well, you can ask Mr. Coyne.

I don't know anything about it.

Ask him, then. Get him in here from the bar. We'll ask him.

Mr. Coyne has gone on an errand.

Cheeky buggers.

Have you ever got corned beef here, Ellen Quinn?

Er... no, Mrs. Coyne. I never did.

She looked affronted, didn't she?

Right... Mrs. Quinn. Your rations.

Thank you. Bye.

- Is that the lot? - For now.

Well, did they not have everything you wanted?

Gosh, no, not even close.

I'm going to have to go to Belfast to get the history stuff I need.

Oh!

Not very hot on the War of the Spanish Succession, Magherafelt Library.

No.

You comin' to the dump?

I'm not allowed. You're not allowed, either.

Nobody's allowed.

Oh, come on, feardy-cat.

Look.

Look what I found.

Neeeeeow, boom!

Here... give me that back.

Dump's full of them.

Oh, come on!

- Where's our Seamie? - Don't know, Kettie.

- Is he at the dump again? - He might be.

Hey. Are you that kid from the bar?

Hop on.

C'mon...

C'mon, we're not going to eat you.

Come here. I'll help you up.

Yeah, there you go.

All right, now hold on tight. OK?

- Here, buddy. - Get you down, all right?

- There you go. - Thank you.

- Want a beer? - Yeah.

- Want a beer? Yeah. - Yeah.

You left school hours ago. Where have you been?

I was up at the 'drome with Seamie.

Did you go to the dump with him?

No.

That boy will swing, I swear.

Butter...

Hi. Um, can we get a beer, landlady?

Of course.

I'm just serving the rations, but Francis will take care of you.

All right.

I need you to go and mind the bar.

Mum!

Just keep count of the beers. And keep them away from the till.

Are you the barman now, huh?

Mr. Barman, can I get three beers, please?

I'd be happy if I had a year at home to just be me.

You're old, Daddy. I'm...

Impatient. And clever as anything.

You'll be 17 when you go up to university.

And you'll still probably be the youngest in the year.

You won't be stuck for a social life in the meantime.

There's another ceilidh in the hall tonight.

Yes. Ned Hanlon step-dancing in his hobnail boots.

I can't wait.

Welcome to the social round in Moybeg, Emma.

CLUCKING

I'll take over now, Francis.

Thanks, Daddy.

- Is Mum doing the rations? - Yes.

You help Emma with her books. OK?

Where did you get these?

The library.

The library? Why did you get so many?

I took everyone's tickets.

- Afternoon. Good. - Hi, how's it going?

We have the potato pickers in tomorrow, Sally.

I'm ready for them, Mr. Coyne.

How long is the holiday?

Two weeks. The usual.

Barney gave me a baby pig today.

Hokies. What's his name?

Piggy. He was sick and I'm rearing him.

Barney's rearing him, really.

Well, I look after him...

don't I, Sally?

Barney feeds him.

Francis, bringing someone up isn't just about feeding them.

It's about minding and caring and feeling...

Feeding has its part to play, all the same.

- Them eels were well cooked, Sally. - Michael!

I'm trying to get the children to speak properly. "Them eels"?

Well, that's how we say it in Moybeg.

The man I met said "those".

Aye, you met him in England, Rose.

It'll be busy tonight.

There's a few evening passes being given out up on the 'drome.

- So they tell me. - Emma could help.

She can. But she may not.

The pub's no place for a young girl.

Emma can help in the grocery.

And she may.

Is that English enough for you, Rose, huh?

Do you like my new dress?

Um... would you like to...?

No, Barney!

I can't do ceilidh dancing.

Neither can I.

Um, but we could give it a go?

Here, Barney Quinn. C'mon!

Brought his dancing shoes!

Come on, Wilson...

Come on. Come on, Wilson. Wilson...

Whoo!

All right, boys, well, this is a dance, but they call it a ceilidh...

Carry on!

Wow! Did not look welcoming.

Hey, y'know... It kinda reminds me of home.

Like, in my part of Kentucky, folks,

they've gotta know you before they accept you.

Are you a hillbilly, Lieutenant?

I do b'lieve I may be. Ha-ha.

Looking for women, is it, Yanks?

Relax, guys.

No, not after your girls. Just headin' back to base.

Back to the land you took off us?

Here, boys, none of yous have a Lucky Strike for me?

It's good.

Night, guys.

Good to see there's no war for you, huh?

Come on, Wilson.

Blirts.

Hi. I hope I'm not intruding on a private place.

It's not private. Anyone can come here.

Anyone would want to.

You live in a beautiful place.

Goodbye!

Hey!

Hey, I saw you last night, right?

Yeah. What's your name?

- Emma Coyne. - Emma Coyne?

Yeah.

Emma Coyne. And the barman.

You want a ride?

Yeah, come on. Come on, here, I'll help you up.

There you go, watch the step.

Is the weather always like this? It is awful!

Stop here, Lieutenant. Here.

This is where we get the eels.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Emma... Emma, wait!

Don't you, uh...

Don't you find it a little humdrum around here?

The endless rain and the wind and the rocks and...

..the water.

I like it here.

I like the lough.

It's home. Oh, hey, I'm...

I'm a country boy myself, but I know that...

that time can hang heavy in the fall.

Uh, do you like to dance?

Jitterbug? You know how to do that?

No?!

Uh, movies! Do you like the movies?

- The pictures? - Yeah, yeah!

- Yeah. I like them. - Huh.

- My brother. - Oh, yeah, yeah. Little brothers, yeah.

Uh, well, listen, Emma...

If you find that this place hangs heavy on you, I'm around.