In the last blog I was talking about guns, my brief ownership of a water pistol and cap gun. Another form of a firearm we had as kids was the pea shooter and I had one just like everyone else. It was just a simple piece of pipe about 6 inches long which I’m sure we bought in Peggy Watterson’s toy shop for about a shilling or so. With a bag of hard peas nicked from someone’s mum, we would sit happily picking off shoppers as they made their way home from Castletown. Of course being hit by a hard pea never did anyone any harm, and little notice was ever really taken of the peashooter. Until that is, one day the mother of all peashooters came to town.

Gordon Cooil was a lovable sort of man. He was full of hell and always up to devilment. He was a kids dream. A plumber by trade and will be remembered as one of Castletown’s real characters. He had a deep booming voice which was usually laughing. I would often be heading up Malew Street and on hearing Gordon’s voice coming from way down Arbory Street, I would head for the voice, as I knew as a kid I was going to be in for some fun. One day word reached us that Gordon had rigged up the mother of all peashooters on Arbory Street. The peashooter turned out to be a piece of drain pipe attached to a compressor. The pea was a ball of putty which was then fired from the drain pipe out over the square landing wherever. I remember standing by the telephone box on the square one day as one of Gordon’s balls of putty smashed into the telephone box like a wonky skud missile. I’m not sure if anyone actually got hit by one of Gordon’s super peas. If they did I’m sure no-one ever got hurt. It was probably Constable Cleater or Crebbon that eventually put an end to the mighty peashooter with no more than a bit of a talking too. Well what the heck would Constable Plod do anyway in Castletown back in the early 60’s on a sunny afternoon, if it wasn’t for the likes of Gordon experimenting with his latest weapon or gimmick? When people write about Castletown’s heritage and its great characters of the past, most of them will recall such high flyers as the poet T.E.Brown, and Lord Nelson’s right-hand man, John Quilliam. However, whenever I recall great folk of the past, I bring to mind folks such as Gordon Cooil. His wonderful deep and rich booming voice gave him a unique identity. For me, he was the very voice of Castletown itself. When I was a child, he entertained me with his antics. When I was a young man his presence in the Union and other pubs around the town brought much laughter in to my life. Sure they won’t erect any statues or plaques around the town in Gordon’s memory, but then they don’t need to because I for one will never forget him.