Paul never knew whether his father would be home or not and even though it upset his mum, he always hoped he was out somewhere on one of his benders. Paul preferred a sad house to a violent one. Eventually, Paul had moved out and rented a dingy studio on a council estate called Fairfield. There was nothing fair about it – it was every man for himself and it was the one time he was grateful to his father for giving him the experience in being able to dodge a fist. He would later go on to secure another flat from the council, but he never forgot Fairfield Estate. It was grim but after years of living with his parents, Fairfield was a haven of freedom and anonymity.

His various neighbours were mainly petty thieves, druggies, and, from the noises he’d heard through the walls, fighters. He’d seen a kid, who couldn’t have been more than eight years old, pull out a knife on an elderly man as he’d come home with his shopping. And for what? Some bread, milk, and eggs. But it was how things got done around there and Paul knew, amongst all the violence and crime, no one would give a toss about his own past.

The estate also provided him with a more regular customer base for dealing. Paul had been in his early twenties then and his father had been on at him for a while to get out. Paul didn’t disagree with him. Paul was big enough to take on his father, or at least stand between him and his mother when Bill got so enraged he wanted to take his frustration out on his wife. Paul had tried to get Maureen to move in with him, but she’d refused and he was bewildered by her response. He’d always assumed that she never left Bill because she had nowhere else to go, yet here she was turning down the opportunity to escape.

It was then that his belief in his mother as a coward solidified. There was nothing more he could do for her and there was nothing more she could do for him. As he packed his bags, his mother had begged him not to leave, her pleading tone so irritating, Paul was tempted to wallop her one himself, but he’d been dragged down by a female before and he was damned if he was going to let that happen again.