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OCR English Language Unseen Fiction Reading Anthology | Life and Relationships Part 1
Part 2
7
This extract is from the short story Blind Bill by Robert Westall
This extract looks at an eventful day for Bill.
Blind Bill’s day started like any other. He was a man who liked routine and on warm summer days he liked to spend his time in his garden. He shifted his position in his garden chair and checked his table top again for his mobile telephone. He would phone his son later, but not yet.
Bill would only bother him in the really lonely times. This morning he hoped there would be some visitors or a neighbour passing his gate who would stop and pass the time of day with him. Sometime later, Bill recognised Mrs Jobson’s heavy footsteps. It was a Wednesday, and Bill knew it was her day for Willbridge supermarket. “Nice drying day for your washing, Mrs Jobson.?
His comment took her by surprise, and he heard her gasp. She would wonder how a blind man could know about her washing. Heavens, silly woman; the flapping, cracking sound it made as gust of wind came down the valley was loud enough. And he knew she always did her washing before going to the supermarket. He enjoyed teasing her. “You’d better…
