Pennies Only

The narrow front hall of a terraced house in Rochdale on a winter evening, a single carbon filament lamp on a twisted flex glowing weak orange, beside the front door on a wooden board an upright meter case thirty-six centimetres tall in glossy black lacquer with rounded corners, its front smooth and plain, near the top a round cream dial behind glass with a blank face and plain marks around its rim, below it a deep rectangular recess, a hand in a coarse wool sleeve laying a worn dark copper penny into the recess, beneath on a narrow bench a tin box of pennies, worn red and black quarry tiles.