Special Effects: Washing-Lines

"Yes."

"Well I can't help you there. Miss, er..."

I told him my name.

"I was also wondering . . . if you could tell me what that big, blue bag, on your washing-line was for?"

"So it was you" said Mr. Oldgum, "What do you think you're playing at, peering into other people's back yards?"

"I wasn't peering," I said, feeling a bit annoyed.

"Don't go peeking at my washing!" said the man.

"But I could see it from the road! Everyone can see it from the road!"

"Why do you want to look at it it?"

"I'm just interested," I said.

"Interested eh? Well you'll not be finding out from me! What I do with my washing is my business, understand? "

"Er, yes."

"So you keep your nose out of my property."

He hung up. Now I felt terrible. What if he told my Mum? What if my Dad found out? We were supposed to get on with our neighbours, not drive them crazy! I put the phone down and dragged myself around for a few minutes, then I thought "Hang on. It's not a crime to look over a fence! Who did he think he was, talking to me like that? Nobody can stop me looking at a washing-line if it's easy to see from the road! Imagine that! What a terrible world it would be if people were told where they were allowed to look, and where they were not allowed to look! I stomped out of the house and got on my bike.

Mr. Oldgum stayed inside nearly all day that day. The only time I saw him outside was when he went out the back door and into his little glasshouse. On his shoulder was the big, blue bag. It flopped in great folds and curves down his back and dragged along the ground behind him. I pedalled really slowly along the road, so I could see more, and then I did a couple of casual circles in the road, as if I was idling away my day doing nothing in particular like a lot of kids do. He came back a few minutes later with some small, red tomatoes in a plastic bag. I ducked down and watched him from under my eyebrows, but he never looked up. Then I rode on. I didn't want all the other neighbours watching me, while I was busy watching Mr. Oldgum!