Chapter 1 A happy childhood

As I have now reached the grand age of 60, and I am beginning to ease back from the hustle and bustle of work and family responsibilities, I have more and more time to look back at all the thingsI have enjoyed and experienced in my varied life.
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I am Gino Morgagni, named after my father, Luigi, who stayed over in Britain in 1945, after the war. Whilst a prisoner-of-war at a camp in Cornwall, where he was in a working party helping on one of the local farms, he had met, fallen in love with, and married a local girl, my mother Jean. They settled in her family farm near Perranporth, a small town on the west coast of Cornwall, near Newquay, that was beginning to sell itself as a holiday resort. This was in the days when package holidays to the Mediterranean had not really started and most people holidayed at the beach resorts at home. After the hardships and austerity of the war more and more people were enjoying the delights of the beautiful Cornish coast and countryside and the mild climate.

True to the caricature stereotype, Papà started an ice cream business, initially selling from a converted van down by the beach in Perranporth, but building up to a couple of cafes, and a fish and chip restaurant in the bigger, busier, nearby resort of Newquay. In the early 50s the area was becoming more popular, as a growing network of train and bus routes opened the area up to holidaymakers from the industrial towns and cities of the Midlands and North, and for people escaping the hustle and bustle of life in London. This led onto Papà e Mamma - as we called Dad and Mum - converting some of our fields to camping and caravan sites and then opening some bed-and-breakfast Guest-Houses in Perranporth, Newquay and St. Agnes. They were not rich, but made a comfortable living.

By the time my twin sister Gina and I came into the world in 1958, the tourist industry was reaching its peak, package holidays were starting, and the hardships of the war years forgotten and there was a general feel-good factor. When we were toddlers, life was wonderful, we lived well, always had plenty, we lived in a beautiful house on the outskirts of Perranporth that had originally been Mamma’s family’s farm but was now just a pretty large family house in its own extensive grounds, but unfortunately the good times took a big setback when Papà was killed in a road accident when we were only four years old. This had a big effect on our lives, Mamma had us to look after and a home to run, so had to employ a manager to help run the businesses, which obviously ate into our income. We had to economise a bit, so moved out to a smaller house in Goonhavern, a small village a couple of miles out of town.

When we were young there were not too many children our own age in the village, and all the boys were a lot older than me, I was a lot smaller than them and was just not up to their strength or ability in kicking a football around or keeping up with them running around or climbing trees. I therefore spent most of my time with Gina and her friends Alice and Jane. Most of the time we just got up to what most kids do, walking, playing ball games, swimming down at the beach in Perranporth and so forth. The girls were all a bit tomboyish, so climbing trees, fishing for tiddlers in the stream were all part of our life, but this was balanced by playing house and dress-up with the girls when the weather was too bad to go out to play, we were all kids just having a good time, at that age boys and girls are not that much different in their interests. As we went through the village primary school, life did not change much, it was all mainly girls in my age group and the few boys all lived out on farms a few miles away, so between my Mamma, my sister and friends, and my classmates, my formative years were heavily influenced by femininity. A lot of my mannerisms, conversations, interests and approach to life became more girlish rather than boyish.

Gina’s friend Alice was the first to have a sleepover party, and as I would otherwise be on my own I was invited too. It was all pretty normal at first, watching Disney’s Cinderella with Gina, Alice, Katie and Emma, eating popcorn and chocolate, chatting and giggling and having fun, until it was bedtime. The girls went into the bathroom one at a time to change into the nighties, but I had forgotten to bring my pyjamas with me and didn’t know what do do.

“You can’t sleep in your clothes, and Mum would go mad if she came in and found you in just your underwear,” Alice said, “ I’ll see if I have something that will fit you.” She came back with a cotton nightie that was a bit like her own, with flowery patterns and a bit of ribbon around the hem and collar. “I’m sorry but this is the best I can do, all my pyjamas are in the wash. Don’t worry, there are only us girls here and nobody else will know.”

A few minutes later, having changed into the nightie, which felt really soft, loose, and very comfortable, we having all having a last chat before going to bed. “You know what Gino,” said Alice “ wearing that nightie you look a lot like Gina. I know that boys and girls can’t be identical twins, but you two are not far off, if your hair was a bit longer and Gina’s a bit shorter you could pass for each other.” This caused a bit of embarrassment for Gina and me, but the others had a really good giggle at it.

The next day, we got dressed, thanked Alice and her Mum, and all went home, Mum was out seeing her business manager and it was raining heavily outside so Gina and I just mooched around the house . A bit later she came and sat next to me, “Do you feel like a chat? This may sound strange and I know that Alice was half-joking, but she had a point, we do look very similar. While Mum is out why not come up to my room and try on some of my clothes to see how you would look fully dressed, it should be good for a laugh, besides it’s raining so there is not much we can do.

We went upstairs and I stripped down to my underpants. “ Ok Sis, you’re in charge, what next.”

“First thing, if we are going to do this properly, we’ll go out from the skin, change your underpants for these panties. I’m just starting to develop so, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve started wearing a bra, and it is padded to give me a bit of a figure, so you better have one too.” This was all topped of with a gypsy blouse with what Gina said was a bit of Broderie Anglaise and embroidered little roses around the collar, and a pleated denim just-above-the-knee skirt.

In the sixties it became common for boys to have slightly longer hair styles, like the Beatles and Rolling Stones, not shoulder length but well over the collar and ears. Gina messed about a bit, brushing it differently and added a couple of clips and a long clip-on fall hairpiece.

“Come and stand in front of the mirror next to me, and let’s see how close we look.” We were astonished as although not totally identical we were very alike most people would not be able to tell the difference.

“Hi Gina, I’m back.“ Mum said as she came up the stairs, “Who have you got in there with you. Oh my god, is that you Gino, which is which, let me have a good look, I hadn’t realised how alike you both are. What are you up to anyway, why is Gino dressed like that?

We told mum about the sleepover, the nightie , and Alices’s comment, and that we thought we’d just try and see how alike we were, she didn’t say anything, just stood there thinking. The phone rang and Gina went to answer it and came back all excited. “That was Alice, she and her mum are going into Truro for some shopping and asked if I wanted to go too, is that ok Mum.

”That’s fine but why don’t you ask if your sister can go too, while she is dressed she may as well have a girly day too. But we can’t have you both called Gina, it will be too confusing. If your Dad and I had had another girl we were going to call her Maria, unless you have got a better suggestion lets go with that.” Mum called up Alice’s mum, and when they had finished having a good giggle about it, it was all agreed.

I was about to spend a special afternoon with my sister, her friend Alice, Mum, and Alice’s Mum.

To be continued.