127. Marginalised

Annie’s watery eyes followed as the girl with the embroidered jacket finished her egg and lettuce sandwich, and tossed the remainder in the bin. Annie levered herself from the bench, and using her stick, hobbled over to retrieve the leftovers.

Annie spent her mornings here in the park. Her Centre-Link was just down the block in Pitt Street, and the TAB across the road from that. With her Pension Card she managed an endless-cup of coffee at Maccas beside the Paragon Hotel, and that, together with an apple pie and a fag, was breakfast dun’n’dusted.

This park was good to Annie. The buildings were just far enough back to enable the winter sun to stream in from nigh ten in the morning until mid afternoon, when Annie adjourned to the Paragon for an amber ale. Annie didn’t realise that this was her version of living between Lark Rise and Candleford.