A week later Brian is back in the pub drinking with Alan and John.
“So how’s your week been then?” asked Brian.
“Been alreet, nowt special, like,” Alan replied while John added “Aye, me an’ aal.”
“You had a good week, then?” asked Alan.
“Well yes and no,” Brian replied.
“How do you mean?”
“Whey work’s been alreet, like but at home things haven’t been so great.”
“Oh, aye, how come?” John inquired.
“Whey it’s wor young’un. He’s not having a good time at school. Not at all. We’ve spoken to his class teacher, like, and she seems sympathetic, but she never seems to have time to help him properly.”
“Can you not speak to the Head about it?” asked John.
“Whey, we have and he was referred to a specialist and they said that we should try and get him an Educational Healthcare Plan, like.”
“What’s one of them, when they’re at home?” asked John.
“Whey, it’s a legal thing, where the bairn can get more support in education. They can go on until age 25 if necessary.”
“Well, that sounds good,” said Alan.
“Aye, it would be, if we could get one. We got a letter this week from the council. Been turned down,” Alan said mournfully.
“Really? Why?” asked Alan.
“Not enough evidence, they said. I don’t know how much they need. He’s having huge problems, and they’ve gotten worse since Covid.”
“Is it because he’s, you know, a white kid, like?” asked John.
“No. aa divvent think so,” replied Brian. “It’s just…it’s just…oh, aa divvent know why he’s been turned down. I just know he has. And Angie’s up a height aboot it.”
“Aye, she will be,” commented John. “Is she still hassling you about getting home from the pub early?”
A sour turn of events
“No. Oh you mean last week. I telt youse, I was just checking the time, because I had to do that little job last Saturday morning. Taking the wood to St Cuthbert’s…”
“Aye, aye…” John sighs, with his trademark smirk.
“Suit yersel’” Brian replied, beginning to be a little agitated.
“So did you manage to get up alreet on Saturday morning. Job gan alreet?” asked Alan.
“Aye, it went fine.” Brian replied. “Except it started a bit odd, like.”
“Oh, aye? How do you mean?” asked Alan.
“Whey, I was mistaken for someone else…”
“Oh, not Tom Cruise again, was it?” John joked.
“No”, Brian replied patiently. “The mix-up came because they thought I was someone else called Brian.”
“Really?” asked John.
“Well, they were waiting for someone else called Brian who was a guest at this event they had in the church hall. You see and when I knocked on the door, this woman came. I said I was Brian and she thought I was him, like and took me into this event…”
“What was the event?” asked Alan.
“Whey, it was a drop-in, you know…”
“A drop-in? What d’you mean?” asked John.
“Well, you know, for asylum seekers and refugees, like.”
“Oh. They do that at St Cuthbert’s do they?” replied John.
“Well, clearly, yes, seeing as how I’ve just mentioned it,” Brian retorted.
Alreet, alreet, there’s nee need for that,” John countered. “Take a chill pill, man.”
There was a difficult silence, which Alan thought he should break.
Well, rather you than me, stuck in something like that,” Alan commented. “I assume that you got it all cleared up and got out as quick as you could like.”
“Well, no, I didn’t actually,” replied Brian. “It was interesting, to be honest, I felt as if I was learning something.”
“Interesting? Learning something? How do you mean?” enquired John.
“Well, I met some of the asylum seekers and they were, you know….”
“Parasites?” ventured John.
“Humans,” Brian stated adamantly.
“Humans?” replied John in a sharp voice. “That’s not what I’ve read on the internet.”
“Read on the internet?” Brian replied scornfully.
“Hey, watch, what you’re saying”, warned John, his face beginning to turn a delicate shade of red.
“Well, it’s like Sharon said last week. Have you ever met an asylum seeker? Or a refugee? At least I can now say I have…”
“Good for you,” interjected Alan. And what were they like, these new friends of yours?”
“Like I said before. They were humans. Like us.”
“They are NOT like us,” retorted John.
“No. Perhaps they’re better,” added Brian. “In some ways anyway. If you look at what they’ve been through.”
“What they’ve been through? Coming here to scrounge off us?” John replied.
“It’s not like that,” Brian replied calmly. “I met a woman from Iran, who had to flee because she was threatened with being put in prison…”
“Aye, well, she must have done something wrong,” suggested Alan.
“Oh, aye. She put a video on Youtube of herself dancing and singing, while wearing western clothes.”
“She told you that and you believed her?” asked John.
“She didn’t tell me, Someone from Ukraine showing me around, told me and…”
“Oh, another asylum seeker told you and she had no agenda then?” John spoke loudly, while others in the bar turned round to see what was going on.
“I checked it out afterwards. The video of her was up on Youtube. And I googled her name. It was all true.”
“They’ll say anything, these people,” sighed Alan.
“And then there was this asylum seeker from Africa. He had been a child soldier in West Africa. He had to get out …”
“And how do you know all this…”
“I looked into his eyes. I saw what he had been through. I’ve met them you see…”
“Aye, so you say. And you’ve been taken in. You must be daft, man”, John spat aggressively.
“I don’t need this,” replied Brian adding, “I have enough problems going on as it is,,,” before putting his glass down; his coat on and storming out.
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