The curtains opened and the show began. Punch came on with his great hook nose. Standing at the back the Old Codger could not see very well even if he scrunched his eyes up, so he walked round the side of the crowd to get closer to the booth. He was now next to the tent but he could only see the puppets when they poked their heads beyond the stage. So ignoring the children who’s view he blocked he edged round to the front. He now had a very good view. When Punch hit the baby with the stick he cheered and said “That’s the way to do it”. Some of the parents of the children were shouting at the Old Codger to get out of the way. “Hey, you’re blocking the view”, but the Old Codger thought they were joining in with the show.

Inside the booth the puppeteer sensed something was wrong and peeked out through a gap in the curtains to see the Old Codger standing in the way and thought of a way to get rid of him. When Punch started looking for the sausages he turned to the Old Codger instead of the crocodile. “Who’s got the sausages”, said Punch in his squeaky voice, “the baldy old coot has got them”, and Punch started hitting the Old Codger over the head with the stick. Crack, crack, crack.

Everyone laughed at this new twist in the story, the children and parents alike. The Old Codger was not amused, he turned and glared at the audience rubbing his head where Punch had hit him. They carried on laughing and smiling so the Old Codger let out a massive “Hhrrmph”, and stormed off back to his fortress.

He lay down and fell asleep but he forgot to cover his head and when he woke up his bald head was even more sunburnt than before. He took out his old grey handkerchief, tied a knot in each corner and stuck this makeshift hat on his head.

It was well into the afternoon and the Old Codger had had enough of the beach, besides his stomach was calling out for food. He packed his belongings in his bag and looked around for somewhere to eat. In the distance he saw a fun fair and the memory of some pink and fluffy candyfloss came back to him.