Getting the Pickles children washed and dressed for school was quite an undertaking, but, once they were scrubbed cleaner than they had ever been in their lives, and after they had polished off a huge breakfast, the children were accompanied by their mother, holding Ronnie by one hand and Sally by the other, as well as Sister Theresa to Kents Bank Station.

Standing on the platform, Rosie waved cheerily as the train pulled away. ‘Be good, I’m proud of you.’

Sitting in between the children and watching pale-faced Rosie, Sister Theresa realized what an effort the short walk from the Home to the station had been for her.

‘At least she’s doing her bit to support them,’ Theresa thought to herself. ‘Let’s hope Ronnie does his bit to support his poor mother.’

As soon as they disembarked from the carriage, Sister Theresa led the wildly overexcited pair through the narrow, grey-stone streets to the primary school, where Ronnie’s expression immediately darkened. Determined to ignore his scowling face, Theresa chatted cheerfully to Sally, who, unlike her rebellious brother, seemed curious as to what might happen once they reached the little Church of England school.

‘You’ll do some writing and some sums, and you’ll be able to play with your new friends after you’ve had your dinner. At the end of the day I’ll pick you up and take you home to Mum,’ Theresa explained.

When it came to the handover, Theresa was relieved to find the children’s class teacher was a lively young woman with a warm, welcoming smile. After showing Ronnie and Sally to the cloakroom, where they hung up their coats, she gave a discreet nod in the direction of the door, which was Theresa’s cue to leave.

Back at Mary Vale the residents were grateful for the peace and quiet that descended on the place without Ronnie and Sally charging around.

‘Thank God,’ Sybil said when she heard they had gone to school. ‘If only they had been packed off to boarding school like I was.’ She gave a wistful sigh. ‘We wouldn’t see them again for months.’

‘Yeah,’ one of the girls muttered under her breath to her friend, ‘then they’d turn out as weird and snobbish as you are, dearie!’

Sister Theresa assured the children’s mother that everything had gone better than she had expected.

‘I hope Ronnie didn’t start swearing,’ Rosie asked anxiously.

‘Well, he did start, but I told him it would get him into trouble,’ Theresa answered truthfully. ‘I’ll collect them later, then you’ll be able to hear all their news yourself.’

‘Oh, dear,’ Rosie fretted guiltily. ‘It’s a lot of work for you, Sister, going back and forth like this every day.’

‘Hopefully, once they’re confident about getting the train, I’ll be able to leave them to it,’ Theresa replied.