He had Ten Thousand Men

The Duke may have had that many men, but the pub where I worked, of the same name, would only fit a few dozen of them in the front bar, if they were friendly. There was a lot more room over the three floors and the beer garden. We catered to a very wide range of drinkers, from social groups, office after-hours groups, shoppers from along Oxford Street, and tourists drawn in by its eighteenth-century ambience.

Firing Blank

My name is Donald James Blank. I know, it’s a hoot, but a hoot I’ve had to live with all my life. In primary school, the teachers would often say, “Come up and write the answer on the slate, Blank’. I was given the nickname, Slate, which stuck with me through higher education and into my first employment, seeing that two of my fellow recruits to the financial company had been with me through the accountancy degree.

Chapter 9

For the Christmas and New Year shows, we had to be in a studio at Broadcast House, in London. We were put up at a very nice hotel across the road, and our partners were allowed to join us. It was an interesting experience, going live over the whole network.

For New Year, we did the show up to eleven, when one of the bigger names took over. The four of us welcomed 2024 and watched the fireworks from a higher floor window. We could see the lightshow and hear midnight strike on Big Ben, followed by something that sounded like a war zone.

Chapter 7

We had just walked in, and I was admiring the wonderful stained-glass windows. Randall was looking around.

“I used to come here with my parents as a youngster, before we moved to Bury. It hasn’t changed a bit.”

We jumped when there was a voice behind us.

“It hasn’t changed much since the thirteenth century, young Randall Chivers. Long time since you’ve been in here.”

Randall turned and shook the mans’ hand.

Chapter 5

When we went off for lunch, we both needed to buy a frame, Chris having seen a picture of herself at the desk when I was away. We had lunch at the café and then into The Rusty Trunk antique store, where Chris went to some boxes at the back. We each found a nice frame that didn’t cost a lot.

Chapter 3

When we arrived at the main gate, I had to show my station lanyard with my picture on. I was signed in and given another lanyard with ‘visitor’ on it in big red letters. From there, we did the tour. The first stop, after passing a big hotel, was the Exchange.

Anything Goes

‘In Olden days a glimpse of stocking,
Was looked on as something shocking,
Now heaven knows,
Anything goes.’

I faded out the song and introduced the show.

“Good evening, good people. This is Karol Nowak with the hour of show power. Lay back in those comfy hospital beds and sing along, but not too loudly, you may upset the nurses.”

This is something that came to me when I was reading about the new rules for F1 in 2026.

Lightning in Lilac

When I was born, my parents called me Ryan Samuel Hurst. My father, Samuel Llewellen Hurst, was the founder and CEO of Hurst Industries, an engineering company employing over a hundred tradesmen and office workers. My mother had been Rylie Sanderson, a successful model and kept her beauty as I got older and gained two sisters.

Chapter 10

When we arrived home, I let the dogs in and then got Margaret out of the car and into the house. She was aware enough to get herself undressed, ready for bed, and cleansed. I pulled her bedclothes back so that she could get in. There was snoring before I put the light out. It could have been Boobs, though.

Chapter 8

On Tuesday morning, we weren’t going out anywhere, so we stayed in our gowns and made sure the house was clean before showering and dressing. I moved the Defender, turning it around, now easy with no chicken coop, and then backed it up to make space for visitors.

Chapter 6

I must have been exhausted from the day, as I slept well until I woke needing a pee. It took me a while to get out of bed, as the nightie had become twisted around my legs, but I managed to get into the bathroom without exploding. I sat on the seat in an automatic movement, even though I wasn’t wearing the special pants. Margaret came in from the other door as I was finishing.

Chapter 4

That night, it took a long while for me to go to sleep. The morning would be two weeks since I had discovered his body, and Tom had filled the days since with his spirit. As I laid in the dark, idly scratching a dogs head, I thought about the clues that had been left. A small boy bullied and called a queer, who had grown up gay and finding love with a larger man. It all fitted a profile.

Chapter 2

She sat on the swing with me and the dogs and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

“That’s very sad. I’ve known Tom a long time, Albert as well, since Tom brought him here. I went to school with Tom and saw how he was bullied. There are a few other girls from that time who still live around the area. I have a key to this house, in case it was needed, which I’ll give you. He had a key to mine.”

“I was just given his keys. Is it on the ring?”

I handed it over and she took a key off it.

“What are you doing, now, Tony?”

A Fickle Fortune

I had always been a good planner. Whenever we went on holiday, it was my job to organise a route, taking in as many sights as possible. I spent some years planning my own escape. It was forced on me by conversations I had with my parents, when we saw sexy girls and drag queens on the TV. I knew that me thinking that I should have been born female wouldn’t go down well.

Stoned

“Miss Harrigan, because of your age, I hereby sentence you to six months in the Secure Training Centre. Your vandalism was of the most heinous kind and will cost many pounds to repair. Take her away.”

I heard the words, trying not to cry. It was not what I had hoped, although my lawyer had told me that it was likely. Here I was, fifteen and now with a convict record. I knew that the STC I would be going to was almost worse than proper prison, as I had met several on the streets, who had been there and bore the scars.

Chapter 6

When we went back to the pool, Bertie was snuffling, a sure sign that he was starting to wake up. Jenny grinned.

“He’s a world class snorer. How do you put up with it?”

“He’s much better than he was when I first met him. He wondered why no girl would stay the night, so I told him to see a doctor to fix his deviated septum. I think that he appreciated my telling him the truth. Good earplugs help as well.”

I went to Bertie and gave him a kiss on his forehead. His eyes opened.

Chapter 4

The Cortina wasn’t a true copy of Tina, my original one, which ended her life bullet-ridden and on the roof of a Lowestoft car yard. Tina Too was tweaked by my pal Grayson, with better suspension, brakes, and some work on the Lotus engine, as well as a competition gearbox and high-ratio differential. She was placid around the city, but very hard to beat on the open road.

Chapter 2

I looked at him. He was sitting there, as nonchalant as if he’d told us that it had rained yesterday. Lena chuckled.

“I guess that we’re now drawn into the web of intrigue now. I’ve met a few spooks when I was in the SAS, but none of them were as spooky as you, my friend. I say, ‘my friend’ as I would hate to be on the wrong side.”

He stood up and put his hand out to me. We shook hands and then he held it out to Lena.

Chapter 18

At the Saturday dinner with the charity, Willow and Marian gave them a list of the artists, along with the songs that they would perform. It was timed, based on the original tracks, with the ENO and Ginas’ parts estimated. All told, it would run for three hours.

Chapter 16

The next morning, it was a slow start for most of the residents of the apartments. It was Angie wanting her breakfast that roused Marian and Ken, with the added complication that they needed to shower and dress before going downstairs. They did find something in the kitchen to keep Angie satisfied.

When they got to the restaurant, they found Willow sitting alone.

“Good morning, Willow. Where’s Garry?”

Chapter 14

Maude stayed sitting at her desk, and the other two took seats, with Willow on the chesterfield. The door opened and Kelly ushered a young woman in. Willow rose and gave her a welcoming hug, feeling the girl trembling as she did so.

“Come and sit down next to me. The lady behind the desk is Dame Mordaunt Modelle, the other is Janice, her PA. You’ve already met Kelly, or our receptionist and Jill of all things. I’m Willow Randall, so relax, sit down and tell us how you came to be here with us.”

Chapter 12

Two very important things happened in that January. The first was the sale of the shopping centre being finalised, with Willows’ payment going into her personal account, and the shares issued in her name. The new owner was originally based in Australia, and this was one of their expansion projects into the UK. The share price was around seven pounds each. Most of the others put theirs on the market to add to their cash payment, but Willow held on to hers, as a million shares in a huge company wasn’t something she could pass up.

Chapter 10

When they arrived back in London, Willow told the couple to take a couple of days to absorb what had happened and to be back in the office on Monday morning for Edward to catch up with Olives’ new knowledge about the organising side of things.

The following week, Garry took Bryan and Eleanor to Los Angeles to introduce them to the existing office and leave them there for a couple of weeks to sort out how the locals were going to work with the office having a head office specialist on their side.

Chapter 8

On Monday, they gave Sue the three contracts to add to the client list, with all the contact details filled in. Willow gave things some thought, and rang Helen, their secretary.

“Helen, I’ve been thinking. How would you like to share an office with me in Enfield. I have enough room to add a desk, and the house computers are extremely good. There are seventeen other girls here and are a great bunch.”

“That would be good, Willow. Is there room for my motor bike?”