Chapter Nine
The Hypnotist.
1950-1951
The boss says that he is sacking me because, as he claims, I am not keen enough, even though I stay back late on Tuesday and Thursday nights, at Tec, so that I can improve myself. The Carpenters' Union believe that my sacking is politically motivated and put me on severance pay, and have me helping out in the union office, mostly with the mailing. I do this for several weeks.
At home, my brothers and I are debating changing our last name, because of its complexity. We want a short, familiar name, which is near the beginning of the alphabet, and easy to spell. We can't agree on any one name, but Fox emerges as a name that nobody excludes. I start using Fox as my last name and change the name on my ration book from Ollerenshaw to Fox..
Later, Brian also starts using Fox as his name. Then on the 10th of May 1950, Gordon changes his and our names to Fox by deed poll. His name was James Gordon Ollerenshaw, so he drops the James at the same time. Doug, however, elects to stay with Ollerenshaw.
When Gordon learns that I have been sacked, he starts planning the next phase of my life. I realized that if I'm going to run my own life, I will need to live somewhere else. I find a boarding house in the Penrose area, but the landlady won't let me keep Puggy. I spend hours, going from house to house, trying to find a new home for Puggy. Eventually, an old lady agrees to take Puggy, until I inadvertently say the magic word, her.
“Oh! I can't take a girl dog,” she exclaims.
In desperation, I take Puggy to the S.P.C.A. They say that they will try, for one week, to find her a home, but after that she would have to be put to sleep. I walk out of the shop, trying hard to be brave, but as I walk away, I start to cry.
I move to (H44) 31 Edmonton Ave, Onehunga, to live with Mr and Mrs Whale. Mr Whale gets me a job with a builder friend of his, (J15) as a carpenter. A few weeks later, the boss, who has been friendly up until now, asks me why I have changed my name. I haven't previously told him or Mr Whale about my change of name, and he is not satisfied with the explanat