March 2012
Frank Lewis was down to his last fiver when his friend, Charlie Smithers, spotted an ad for street cleaners in his local rag and suggested that, as nothing else seemed to be available at present, Frank should go down to the Council for an interview.
So it was that Frank went along to the Council Offices and his interview seemed to be going fine, as he managed to convince the Council chap that he wasn't afraid of hard work. However, when it was revealed that Frank couldn't read or write, sadly his application had to be turned down. It seemed that form filling was necessary even for the humble vocation of street cleaner.
Later that afternoon in their local, Charlie treated a dejected Frank to a pint and suggested that, as nothing else seemed to be on the horizon for him, Frank ought to spend a pound on a lottery ticket.
Which Frank did – and won – not a fortune, just a thousand pounds for four numbers.
Having a thousand pounds capital in his pocket, so to speak, Frank Lewis invested it – in a barrow and some fruit – and then more fruit and so on until eventually he had his own fruit and veg shop and £50,000 to his credit, but not in a bank.
Charlie suggested that Frank see his local bank manager with a view to investing the cash, rather than leave it in his own safe. So next week, after an in-depth meeting with his bank manager, the latter asked Frank to sign some forms so that the planned investments could go ahead. It was then, of course, that Frank had to confess that he couldn't sign his name as he was illiterate.
'Well, Mr Lewis,' said the manager, 'that's fantastic! Just imagine what you could have become if you'd learnt to read and write.'
'Well, I can answer that one for you, Mr Forbes,' replied Frank, 'I'd have become a street cleaner!'