Some are thoughtful, some humorous.
Happy Easter
I don’t celebrate Easter in a religious sense, but I know many of you do. And for you this is a solemn day of reflection.
For the rest of us it is two public holidays, kids off from school, hot cross buns, chocolate Easter eggs, and perhaps a special meal on Sunday.
So I would like to wish everyone a happy and peaceful Easter, however you are celebrating it.
For My American Friends: A Petition
Keith has featured a petition on his post today. Not being American, I cannot sign it, but I wanted to let my friends in the USA know about it.
Please follow the link, and if you agree with the petition, please sign it and spread the word in your country.
A Short Walk: Part Eight
This is the eighth part of a fiction serial, in 736 words.
The woman driving the Saxo showed up quite a while after Graham and Anna had left for the hospital appointment. Joe could tell from the registration plate that it was twenty-three years old, and the badly faded paint confirmed that. She walked into the workshop, her appearance reminding him of his English teacher at secondary school. Her tone was bright and breezy.
“Sally Pardew, I rang yesterday about my car, you should be expecting me. Strange noises when I steer on full lock, I’m hoping you can sort it out today”.
Joe nodded, and accepted the car keys she was holding out.
“Yes, you spoke to my boss, mister Brumby. He isn’t around today, but I will do my best to fix it for you. If I need parts, I might have to keep it until tomorrow though. Leave me a contact phone number and I will call with an estimate. Trouble with such an old car, the repairs might be more than it’s worth, madam”. He gave her a notepad and pen to write the number down on.
As she wrote down the phone number, she said something that surprised him.
“I don’t care if it costs more than the car is worth, it has sentimental value to me. I am waiting for a colleague to pick me up and take me to work, is it okay if I sit here and wait?” She indicated a distresed office chair next to a desk strewn with paperwork, and then sat on it.
Hoping she would not try to engage him in unrelated conversation, Joe drove her car into the workshop and onto the inspection ramps. he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was watching him intently, and was wondering if Sarah had reported him missing and this woman had reconised him.
Fortunately, another car drove in and the woman at the wheel sounded her horn. Sally Pardew stood up and waved at her.
“That’s my lift, so I will wait to hear from you later. Bye”.
Now there were two more people who knew he was there. Lying low wasn’t going to be as easy as he had hoped.
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The police did a quick search of CCTV on the night Joe had gone missing, and latched on to the fact that he had boarded a train to London. Once they established that, they went through the motions. British Transport Police were informed, also the Metropolitan Police who policed greater London.
On the local news in their town, and on the London local news, Joe’s ten year-old photo was shown, along with a grainy image from the railway station camera. There was a short piece in the local newspaper along the lines of ‘has anyone seen this man?’ with a police contact phone number, and they also put the photo on the Facebook page of the local police force.
Checks showed that he had not used any cards, even though they already knew he had left them behind. His phone could not be searched, as despite being in the house, it was missing the battery and SIM card. The service provider was contacted for a call list, and when that came all of the calls appeared to be work-related, or to his wife. Then the file was sent to the Missing Persons Bureau for circulation, and that was that.
A female police detective went to visit Sarah, and told her that there was not much more they could do.
“If he wanted to be missing, and it seems to me that he did, he is likely hiding out somewhere, perhaps using a false identity. To be completely honest, without use of bank or credit cards, and no phone to check on, there is very little chance of us finding him. He may well change his mind and just come home, that often happens. But meanwhile we are leaving the case with Missing Persons for them to deal with”.
Sarah had a feeling he would not just be coming home anytime soon.
Later that evening she used her phone to Google Search how long someone had to be missing in Britain before they could legally be declared dead. The result was seven years, after which time she would have to apply to the High Court for a declaration of death.
That made her mind up. Paula was going to have to get a job, like it or not.
Paul Carrack: A Quick Look
The name of this singer/songwriter may not be familiar to all of you, but I am sure you will recognise some of the most popular songs he is associated with. He was the lead singer with the successful band Ace, and also collaborated with the group Sad Cafe.
Paul went on to become the keyboard player for Squeeze when Jools Holland left, and sang the lead on ‘Tempted’, their only US hit. He later joined Mike and The Mechanics, singing on their biggest hit, ‘Over My Shoulder’.
As well as all of that, his own songs have been recorded by numerous other artists; including Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles, Diana Ross, and Tom Jones. At the age of 74 he continues to tour as a solo performer.
1974.
1981
1995.
Thursday Mix: An Assortment
Just The One For The Cat Lovers
So cat-lovers know where they stand in the world.
Good Insults
I wish I had come up with some of these!
A Short Walk: Part Seven
This is the seventh part of a fiction serial, in 779 words.
A routine was established within a few days. Anna was off out to work quite early, but by then Joe and Graham were already in the workshops getting started. They had a breakfast break at around ten, then skipped lunch to carry on until Anna came home. His employer still had very little to say, and Joe thought it best not to bother him with questions other than some work-related stuff.
There were parts deliveries most days, brought by a youngish guy named Neil. He was obviously interested to see a new face, but Graham lied to him about Joe.
“This is Jimmy, my new mechanic. He’s my sister-in-law’s boy, moved here from down south”. Joe just nodded, and Neil’s curiosity was satisfied.
On his fifth day there two cars drove in together. One was a newish Audi, the other a valuable classic Jaguar. Graham was on the phone at the time, so the men who had driven the cars in walked over to speak to Joe. One had a leather jacket on and seemed to be in charge.
“Who are you then, like? How long you been here?”. Before Joe could answer Graham finished the phone call and walked over, looking flustered. Leather coat man asked him the same questions, while his older companion eyed up Joe suspiciously. Brumby was remarkably calm.
“He’s my sister-in-law’s son, Jimmy. Came here looking for work. No need to concern yourself about him, he knows the score and won’t say a word”.
Leather coat shrugged. “Well you had better hope he doesn’t, ’cause you are speaking up for him, so it’s on you. We need the Jag in two days, no rush for the Audi. Here.” He handed over a padded envelope just as a third car drove in. Then he waved to the driver and they both walked to the car without another word.
Joe looked at Graham, who answered the unasked question.
“The Huttons. The one in the leather coat is Geoge Hutton, the older one is his uncle, they call him Old Johhny ’cause he has a son called Young Johnny. They brought a car to me once, years ago. I fixed it up for them with no idea where it had come from, then saw on the telly news that a similar car had been used as a getaway vehicle in an armed robbery. The next day George came to see me and told me I worked for the Huttons now. I had my wife here then, and Anna was young. So what could I do?”
Graham opened the padded envelope and Joe saw it was full of cash. Pulling out a generous handful of twenty pound notes, he held them out to Joe.
“Take this, you’ve earned it. There will be much more for you next week, seems they have a lot of cars to get sorted. I was on the phone to a woman who needs her old Citroen Saxo looked at. I told her to bring it in tomorrow, but you’ll have to deal with her as I am off to the hospital in the morning. Anna’s got time off to take me for a scan. I should be back by about one, all being well”.
In his room that evening, Joe counted the money. Two hundred and forty. Not bad for cash in hand, and considering Brumby had also allowed for his room and board. Not that he had anyhting to spend it on of course. He was wary of the Huttons though. He didn’t know hardly anything about gangsters, but he was sure of one thing.
They can never be trusted.
——————————————————————————————-
When Paula finally came downstairs to ask why the police had been in her room, Sarah told her that her dad had left home and she had reported him missing. Her daughter didn’t hesitate to say the first thing on her mind.
“So who’s gonna take me to the shops, or to see my friends? Bloody hell, it’s not as if you can drive. I’m gonna need money for taxis, mum”.
Sarah was unsurprised by her daughter’s prorities.
“We are going to be living on what I earn now, so you can forget taxis, shopping in town, and going out with your mates. if you want any of that you are going to have to find yourself a job. And on that, I see McDonalds are looking for staff for that new burger bar they are opening on the ring road. You could walk to that”.
Paula’s derisive snort could probably be heard outside on the street.
“Yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen”.
With that she stormed off back to her room.
Film To Watch: The Story Of The Weeping Camel
In 2003, I read a review of a new film, a documentary drama about a family of nomadic camel-herders in Mongolia. I could not find it showing anywhere around London, so as soon as the DVD became available, I bought a copy.
A rare white baby camel is born, and is immediately rejected by its mother. According to tradition, they seek the help of some religious men to perform an age-old ritual.
Effigies of the mother and baby camel are made, and in a place declared sacred, the cermony begins with the sounding of a horn and bells. When this doesn’t have the desired effect, they go in search of a traditional violinist to play for the mother camel. The plan is to make the camel cry, and once it does it will reunite with the rejected white baby.
Forget that there are subtitles, they are only of secondary importance. This film is simply beautiful. It is uplifting, and touches the heart and soul. A world of tradition that has carried on virtually unchanged for centuries.
If you can find it showing anywhere, please watch it. Or buy the DVD.
Here is the original trailer.
I found the full film free to watch on You Tube, but the print is poor.
beetleypete 