Everyone agreed he was a big bloke – when he walked in the open double door of the bar, he’d brought half the door-frame with him. He bought a bottle of whisky, sat down at a corner table and started drinking. He did look horribly miserable, so Chesney had a bright idea and put a record on the juke box.

“Smile, though your heart is aching” sang Nat King Cole. “Smile even though it’s breaking When …” the record stopped with the screech of needle across grooves and a crash of breaking glass as the juke box exited via the bar’s big shop window.

“You could have used the reset button” said Frank, the bar owner, plaintively.

There was a yelp as he followed the machine through the glassless window.

Chesney went outside to complain to Frank, sitting up now by the pile of bent chrome-plated steel and plastic.

“My record didn’t get played. Can I have my nickel back?”

Frank was still staring at him blankly when the big guy appeared behind Chesney, gripped his hair and banged his thick head repeatedly on the side of the Wurlitzer until the cash box fell off. He then picked up a coin, inserted it into Ches’ open mouth, slapped the idiot’s back and returned to his whisky bottle.

When he’d finished swallowing, said idiot turned to Frank and demanded, “What are you going to do about all this?” Whereupon Frank swung that famous left hook and punched out his lights ….