IT'S BEM'S LIFE 1973.

Bem is walking down Mourne road one Afternoon
when he gets near his house ,Mrs Cahill
from next Door opens her Front door and
she calls Bem over while waving the evening
paper ( the press).
"Bem, your name is in the paper , you've won",
she exclaims.
Bem thinks to himself,
" Have i got a walkover ?".
Bem was due to fight that Friday in the final
of the Dublin Boxing Leagues.
Mrs Cahill says," Here look yourself ,you're
going to Manchester".
Bem takes a look at the paper and on page 3,
there is his name as a winner of a Quiz he had
entered and the prize was a trip for 2 to
Old Trafford to see Man United play.
" I forgot i entered that competition ,Mrs Cahill",
he says to Mrs C.
"Actually ,your name is in the Paper twice", says
Mrs Cahill.
Sure enough Bem's name is on the Sports page.
There is a list of the Boxers fighting in the Finals in the
National Stadium that Friday.



FIGHT NIGHT.
"Ding, Ding",the bell rings.
Bem and his opponent size each other up
in the first round, probably too much as the ref,
Charlie Higgins, goes to each corner and tells
Bem and his opponent , " Lads ,less shadow boxing
and more action".
Second round is a little better but more dancing
 than boxing.
Third round and finally they had a go at each other.
It's going to be a close decision.
Sure enough its a Majority Decision.
The Ref is holding Bem and his opponent's arm.
" The winner ,in the red corner is.........".
Bem is in the Blue Corner.





THE TRIP.
" Bem comes into 177 after playing his daily
game of football up at the Kiosk.
"Bem ,this came for you earlier", says the Ma
as she hands him over a thick envelope.
Bem was excited as he didn't really get
any post .
"What can this be?", he thought.
All the kids gathered around with excitement.
Bem ripped it open and out fell
tickets for the Trip to Manchester.
Boat tickets,
Train Tickets
and Match Tickets.
" Whoopee", yelled Bem.
He had already asked Del to come as the prize
was for 2.
Bem was just gone 15 and Del was 16.
Off they head that Friday night on the Ferry
to Liverpool.
It's an overnight Ferry and they arrive in
Liverpool at 7 am.
They then get a Train to Manchester.
They have a good few hours in Manchester
before kick off at 3 o clock.
They arrive at Old Trafford  and go up in to
the Stand with great seats.
United were playing Newcastle United.
The Atmosphere was electric.
United won 2/1 with 2 goals from Mick Martin
and a consolation goal from Irving Natrass.
Del was delighted as he was a big United fan.
Bem was an Arsenal fan.
They arrived back in Dublin on the Sunday morning,
Exhausted but so Happy.
What a great experience they had.
Del would go back again on numerous
occasions but for Bem it was a one off.




SCHOOLDAYS OVER.
Free at last.
Bem finished his Inter Cert aged 15.
Apprenticeships were a big thing back then.
You only went on to do your Leaving Cert.
if you could afford to go to College.
Most people couldn't so after your
Inter it was out the Door.
Bem got a job as a Pantry Boy on the Trains.
He started in Heuston Station.
The Day he started his crew had already
left for Galway on the Early Train.
Bem was put on the next Train and when he arrived
in Galway after 3 and a half hours ,
he was told to stay on Train and return with his
crew back to Dublin.
By the Time the Train got back to Dublin,
Bem was shattered and was in bits from
Travel sickness.
"Hump this", thought Bem and the next
morning he asked for a transfer to the Cafe
in Heuston Station.
Bem was delighted working there.
A few months Later ,Bem was on a break in
the small Canteen when Mrs Rabbit ( who was in charge
of Canteen) called Bem out to say he was wanted at the
goods delivery door.
There was the Da, " Bem i got you a job
as an apprentice, I,ll give details when you get home".
Bem was hoping it was as an Electrician ,
a difficult Apprenticeship to get .
It was all about who you knew back then.
Turns out it was for an Upholsterer.
" A What ", says Bem to his Da.
"Doing up new furniture ", says the Da.
Bem started a couple of weeks later
and had to do a 5 year apprenticeship.
The money wasn,t great but because
it was an Apprenticeship he stuck with it.