The Nipper: The heartbreaking true story of a little boy and his violent childhood in working-class Dundee
Charlie's earliest memory at two and a half was listening to his dad batter his latest girlfriend in their Scottish tenement flat. Beaten and tortured by a violent alcoholic father in 70s' poverty-stricken Dundee, Charlie's early life was one of poverty and misery, but at least he had his best friend Bonnie a German shepherd puppy to turn to.Charlie lives with Jock, his violent, disturbed, alcoholic father in a Dundee tenement. Money is scarce, and Jock's love of vodka means that Charlie bears the brunt of his abuse. Often too bruised to go to school, Charlie lives in constant fear of Jock's next outburst. Subjected to hours of physical and mental torture, Charlie can only think of killing his dad. The only thing Charlie can rely on is Bonnie, a German Shepherd puppy, brought home to keep Charlie company while Jock goes out on his drinking sessions. But even Bonnie doesn't escape Jock's brutality.Please Don’t Hurt Me, Dad is an evocative portrait of seventies and eighties working-class Dundee, where everyone is on the dole, alcoholism is rife and most people have illegal jobs on the side.Somehow Charlie escaped from the everyday struggle for survival. Bonnie wasn't so lucky. Charlie's way out came in the form of a beautiful young woman who became the love of his life and his saviour.
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CHARLIE MITCHELL
The Nipper
The heartbreaking true story of a little boy and his
violent childhood in working-class Dundee
In loving memory of Shane, the nicest and funniest person I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I’ll see you again one day. Your big cuz, Milky Mitchell
Contents
Chapter One - First Day, No Way
Chapter Two - A Fairy Tale of Dundee
Chapter Four - The Woman in the Bath
Chapter Five - The Monday Book
Chapter Six - The Three Amigos
Chapter Seven - The Laughter that Hurts
Chapter Eight - Twenty Pound Note
Chapter Nine - A Boy’s Best Friend
Chapter Eleven - Inside an Igloo with a Drunk Bear
Chapter Twelve - The Swag Factory
Chapter Thirteen - The Best Blanket in Dundee
Chapter Fifteen - Bonnie and Me under the Stars
Chapter Sixteen - Home Sweet Home
Chapter Seventeen - Big Geoff and Wee Geoff
Chapter Eighteen - The Boy, the Dog and the Four Foot Woman
Chapter Nineteen - Scared to Laugh
Chapter Twenty-One - Four Minutes Past Four
Chapter Twenty-Two - The Rogues
Chapter Twenty-Three - The Puppies
Chapter Twenty-Four - Red Light on the Stereo
Chapter Twenty-Five - Off the Leash
Chapter Twenty-Six - Heartache Following Me
Chapter Twenty-Seven - A Voice in the Wilderness, a Face in the Crowd
I am an optimist and believe that everyone deserves a second chance in life. But I also believe that some people, such as my father, are evil to the point of insanity and beyond help. I am sure when you read what happened to me as a child you will understand what I mean.
For years I have tried to work out the reason for his behaviour towards me and have never come up with an answer. I’ve put it down to a chemical imbalance in his brain. Like being born without that cut-off switch that tells you right from wrong. These kinds of people know what they are doing is wrong but don’t care. And they use alcohol or drugs as an excuse to hide the fact that they actually enjoy it.
If you drink or take drugs, you do turn into a different person. But it’s not an excuse. You make your own life choices. And if you turn into a monster when you fill your body with these things, then it’s your responsibility to stop taking them. Life is really hard sometimes and every choice you make determines your future, and everyone is capable of making the wrong choices at some point in their life. The main thing is that you learn from your mistakes. Because one day your freedom may be taken away, or even worse, your life.
This book will show you the devastating effects child torture can have on a kid. It will make you sad and make you laugh and sometimes will make you dislike me. I’m in no way proud of any of the stories in this book, and I just hope that people can understand why I was like the way I was. My main aim is to show young people who are thinking of choosing the life I did what the consequences are. And to show people that no matter how close you are to death and giving up, there is always a chance that you can turn your life around.
In life, every decision you make has an outcome, some good and some bad, and there are always two roads you can take. I always chose the wrong road, as my anger or need for attention would make the choice easy. But over the years I have realised that I was using my childhood as an excuse for everything I did. A large part was my father’s fault, but a lot of it was down to the roads I chose.
Drugs and drink were my choice, and the violence that followed was caused by my decision to take them, as they would trigger memories of my childhood. I just pray that after you read this book, you will forget about being a victim, and start thinking about what is good in your life – what you can achieve and how you are going to make the most of what you have.
My advice to people who read this book is to think seriously before you live the life that I did. Who cares if all your friends are on drugs, or fighting every night? They can’t help you when you stand in front of a judge, or are struggling to pay the bills when you’re older.
And no matter what you go through in life, don’t use it as an excuse to self-destruct. Ask someone for help. Because the longer you let things happen, the more you’ll accept it as normal life.
Life is never over till the fat lady sings. Unless, she falls out of a window and lands on you.
Life is never easy, but if you think about famine, war and all the other terrible things that are happening in the world, it puts it into perspective. Having to pay bills, or arguing over EastEnders or your team losing a football match is not the end of the world.
Treat people the way you want them to treat you. The better the person you become, the easier your life becomes. Well, that’s all I have to say at the moment, except…welcome to Dundee.
Through a small gap in the curtains I can see the snow floating gently past the street lamp. Trying to focus my eyes, I yawn. It’s the middle of the night and I’ve been woken up by the sound of shouting and swearing from the living room. A few moments later the bedroom door opens
