The sausages and the croc - seaside Punch and Judy; what's it all about.

Just before the Millenium I moved to Bournemouth with my two daughters and was placed by the council in a bed and breakfast hotel for homeless families. The breakfast was very basic, there was a choice of two cereals, toast with pats of butter and a choice of tea, coffee and milk. On our first morning a small glass container of marmalade was offered and put out on the table. I did not use it and it was never put out again.

However the room was adequate and we were in Alum Chine which is one of the nicest parts of Bournemouth and we were very close to the beach.

Money was tight so for entertainment we regularly used to go to Petes Punch and Judy which had only a 50p per person voluntary admission charge. My younger daughter soon got desensitised to the domestic violence of Punch hitting his wife with a big stick and then whacking the baby on the floor of the puppet theatre whenever his wifes back was turned. When we watched the show for the third time she was bawling 'Go on - whack him!' along with the rest of them whenever Judy retaliated and whacked her man back with the big stick. And then along comes the copper and he whacks Punch with his big truncheon and takes him off to prison and so this makes it a safe drama because the bad man gets punished and put away and the rest of us are still there to clap and cheer.

But why the string of sausages and the croc? Whats all that about? Perhaps they are there because they are insane. Perhaps they are there to suggest that domestic violence is madness.

Too bad that my ex did not think the same.