Visit to old home ensures more misery for Vinny

For 50 years Fitzpatricks had lived in this house. First the father and wife, then the kids, lastly Vinny on his own until he met Angie and had rented it out. What a landlord he turned out to be. There was that incident with the kept women where he’d been duped by a Scouse scally, Spud Murphy, and got thrown in the clink.

As his eyes welled up, he felt a tsunami of depression wash over him. “What a walking disaster I am,” he thought. He couldn’t take care of his health, his house, or even his job where he had been almost permanently marked ‘as lathair’ – which was outrageous for someone who’d won ‘Driver of the Year’ in the bus garage a record five times,.

Vinny knew he drank too much, ate rubbish, hardly ever exercised and gambled more of his spare cash than he should. He codded himself that he wagered little – a tenner here, a score there – but his ledger account showed he was down a hefty four-figure sum on the year.

All the time, he made things difficult for his loving wife, his stepdaughter and the twins, who were nearly three yet hardly saw their Pop from the moment they were dropped off at the crèche until they were put to bed.

It was time for a new beginning. The first thing he would do when he got back to Mount Prospect Avenue would be put number 3, Causeway Avenue, up for sale. It held more happy memories than sad, but it was time to let go. He wouldn’t get much for it, he knew, but with the insurance, there’d be enough to take Angie away on a holiday – she loved Las Vegas. As he thought of The Strip, the shows, the roll of the dice, something was nagging him. What was it? Oh, yes, the insurance.

The insurance!

Angie reminded him a few weeks back that the insurance in Causeway Avenue was up in mid-September and he’d better renew it.

He had snapped back that he would get around to it only he hadn’t. He had allowed the cover run out. ‘Oh japers, no,’ he groaned aloud. As he sat at the foot of the stairs, his potato-shaped head in his bandaged hands, shaking with anguish, Vinny had never felt so alone and useless.

“He couldn’t take care of his health, his house, or even his job where he had been almost permanently marked ‘as láthair’ – which was outrageous for someone who’d won ‘Driver of the Year’ in the bus garage five times

Bets of the Week

3pts Mick McCarthy to be next Bolton Wanderers manager (6/5, Paddy Power)

1pt each-way Thorbjorn Olesen in Portugal Masters (22/1, Stan James)

Vinny's Bismarck

1pt Lay Germany to lead half-time and full-time against Ireland (7/2, Coral, liability 3.5pts)