BEATING THE BULLY

My first recollection of the term ‘bully’ was from the pages of The Dandy, my must-read childhood comic. “Bully Beef and Chips,” created by Jimmy Hughes, first appeared in 1967 and reflected the story of two boys in seemingly constant conflict – the aggressor, a pudding basin haired brute called Bully Beef, and the victim, a wilier, and to me, more appealing character, Chips.

- Ian Kirke

I can still remember the name of our primary school class bully from all those years ago, albeit it would serve no purpose to blow the whistle on him now since I understand he has gone on to live a fulfilling life. Evidence perhaps that bullies can find redemption, and that for some, such behavior may only be a passing phase. To be fair, I can’t recall him ever harassing me. Rather, he had a reputation and menace about him. I do recall kicking him hard in the butt in the playground once when his intimidation had, no doubt, encouraged me to react. He was much chubbier than me, and as I was wearing sandals at the time. I knew that I could run the fuck away should I need to with the reasonable assertion that fat boy couldn’t get me in the short-term. I was certainly more aligned to “Chips” and although the thought of being punched was always a real and present danger, I just assumed that our version of “Bully Beef” was thick. This notion was also backed up by his dire performance in any school activity bar lifting heavyweights.