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Post by malcolm on Aug 13, 2012 15:45:30 GMT -5
Same as always. Microsoft Word. I write it up in Word and then copy and paste. Up until now brackets, quotes etc have copied as written.
Will try brackets, quote and exclamation mark again
( ) “ !
OK they've pasted correctly, so let's see what happens when I post reply.
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Post by malcolm on Aug 13, 2012 15:46:14 GMT -5
They've posted correctly this time. Must have been a passing glitch.
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Post by malcolm on Aug 13, 2012 18:04:05 GMT -5
Billy however was keen to get everything back to normal if that were possible. After a cursory wave to the friends gongozzling down he threw the engine into gear and the London Pride moved slowly out of the lock.
Once safely past the moored Emerald Crystal and Tardis Billy brought his vessel close into the tow path bank to allow Kate and Ron to get ashore by means of a short plank from deck to bank. That done he was on his way again, anxious to hand over their prisoner to the nearest police station and then pick up the group of tourists from the Fish Island jetty.
Though the sound of the engine was muffled to some extent it was loud enough to bring the Bargee nosing out of his cabin once again. He couldn’t help but see the barge glide by and without the help of a single horse.
“Cor Would You Adam and Eve It!” he exploded. “ ‘Ere Rose come and see this.”
Ron was dumbfounded, so much so Kate couldn’t help but notice. “What’s the matter Ron? Haven’t you seen boat people in their traditional clothes?”
“The Pool isn’t isolated from the rest of England,” Ron protested. “Of course I am familiar in the knowledgeable sense with the customs and apparel of the good people whose living was in an earlier century tied to the navigable rivers and manmade channels that formed the main transport routes across the hinterland regions of this island nation. My hesitation is not due to observation of the man and women’s attire. I am staring not out of curiosity but in some degree of surprise for it is not what he is wearing but that he is the living image of Gary’s nineteen-forties officer of the law. Or to put it simply, he looks just like the Reg I met briefly when I was afforded a few hours in that duration.”
“It isn’t that Reg, Ron.” Gary, who along with Ted and Yvonne had just arrived from the top of the lock side, had caught the end of Ron’s latest long-winded spiel.
“This is another Reg, the great granddaddy of the one you are referring to.”
“Oh no, not another time displacement.” Ron was grinning and ready to tease Gary to the limit. “But just a moment. If those two have come through one of your time portals then we might be standing on very shaky ground right here.”
Ron’s demeanour had switched from gaiety to serious concern. More than that for a worrying thought had struck him. If his memory wasn’t deceiving him and he did have Kate’s corroboration that something most abnormal had taken place on board the London Pride, then it was also possible that the terrifying creature they had laid out and restrained might also have wandered through from some other dimension.
“We have to talk,” he began. “Not yet,” said Ted. “We’ve got to get the narrow boat and its crew back to where they came from and quickly before they see things that can’t be explained away.”
“Are you saying that they aren’t just playing the part?” Now Kate was curious.
“Oh that’s just great,” said Yvonne. She was practically laughing when she saw where the brief retorts were going. “Are you asking us to believe that boats are sailing through time now? I’ve just got used to Gary nipping to and fro. OK, so I’ve been there too, but that was all on our own volition.”
“This is serious. You do realise that if this boat and its family don’t get back there’ll be bigger questions back in time about boats that disappear on the Canal.”
“Ah-hum,” Gary snorted. “Who believes in UFO’s today? People swear they’ve seen them by the thousands. It is so easy to pretend nothing happened. But I agree we should get Reg Rose and Isambard back not only for their own peace of mind but also because they have a destiny to fulfil. Remember how I told you who I saw when I found myself in 1888?”
“Now how are you going to conjure that one up, Mr. Time Traveller? Do you have any idea how they got here and from when?”
“It has to be this lock,” Kate offered. This is where we saw them appear as if out of nowhere, and we were in there when we went forward and saw the Olympics Stadium.”
“Don’t you start, girl,” said Yvonne. “Even I know that the Olympics were way over at Wembley and that was 1948.”
“No Yvonne, what we saw has to be some time in the future. From what I can remember we must have been near the end of Duckett’s Passage.”
“Kate, really, there you go again. Duckett’s Passage is in Whitechapel and it’s a narrow alley.”
“And we have since learned that this canal was built by Sir George Duckett.” Kate didn’t have to say more. Yvonne was beginning to get the message.
Ted had heard enough. It was time for action. He strode back to the stern of the narrow boat and told Reginald to come ashore and coax lead his horse back up the tow path beside the upper lock. Then having loosened the tow rope from a mooring stake he held out the end beckoning Ron and Gary to help bow haul the Emerald Crystal into the lock chamber.
“Just one thing,” he panted when that job was done, I would like to be sure that this is going to work. I’ll go on board and see what happens.”
“Supposing you do all get back to the 1850’s,” said Gary, “and then you can’t get back.”
“Ah my friend, do you not have faith in the doctor?” Ted smiled broadly. “Should that happen then Jo will cruise the Tardis to Who knows where. No need to worry. Destiny has to be fulfilled and my work here isn’t yet done. It will throw me back.”
“Now that I can believe.” Ron was all-knowing again and nodding his head in a very wise manner. “Yes,” he muttered, “it surely did.”
(The story teller and his readers may also be assured for we have the advantage of knowing that a tale should take a logical course....or should it? )
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Post by malcolm on Aug 13, 2012 18:06:21 GMT -5
I took the smiley out at the end of my note and it now pastes correctly. So have deleted the corrupted entry.
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Post by malcolm on Aug 16, 2012 2:15:57 GMT -5
Continued...
Ron had hardly secured the tow rope over his shoulder with Gary not far behind when the Liverpudlian began to laugh. “It must be in the blood,” he cried for he had just spotted the curious gait of the Bargee.
“We run them in, we run them in...” Ron sang out. “I’ve done that one,” said Gary.
The only thing was that this time the Bargee heard the words and stopped in his tracks thinking that he was the one being addressed.
“Run who in, young fella me lad?” Then with a stern look at Gary the Bargee asked him, “What you done then? Are you confessin’ to some misdemeanour I should know about? I’ll have to dig out my Peeler’s ‘at and give you an official warning if that’s the case.”
“No Reginald, it was just a little joke to Ron here.”
The Bargee rubbed his chin quite puzzled for a moment. Though he still didn’t catch on to whatever it was Gary had said or meant he decided to pretend that he did,
“Youuuuuu...” he grinned brightly. Then he was off again up the tow path with his horse to the top of the lock.
With Ted now at the tiller of the Emerald Crystal, the lads soon had the narrow boat safely into the chamber. They might have rested on the gate beam had Gary not realised that Reginald was already winding up the upper gate paddles.
“Quickly, Ron. We have to get away from here. Back down the tow path fast as you can.” Ron stood for a moment about to launch into another lengthy and unnecessary question until Gary went back and grabbed his arm with an urgent, “Not now, Ron, it’ll take you back.”
Still not really understanding, but ready to give his friend a piece of his mind as soon as they were away from whatever it was, Ron stumbled along with Gary until they reached Yvonne, Kate and Jo.
Gary began to explain the danger had they stayed in the time zone portal, except that Ron suddenly remembered what it was that was worrying him before his attention had been diverted. “We’ve got a bigger problem on our hands, mate. We might have had time to do something if I hadn’t been press ganged into crewing that old boat into the lock. If I may point out the obvious you have a proclivity Gary for letting historical murdering monsters loose into the streets and byways of the contemporary London that we have grown accustomed to. As you will observe the good old London Pride has disappeared into the farthest reaches of the canal we stand next to and with it may very well be one of the fiercest slayers of fellow human beings that ever prowled the said streets and byways. That is,” Ron paused only to puff himself up and pitch his voice a little higher, “That is I must caution, if the story recounted by Billy on board the vessel he commands is not far deviated from historical records maintained by the police of Victorian days which may or may not have been coloured to some extent by the witnesses of the murderous assaults attributed to the one who has come down to be known as ‘Spring Heeled Jack’.”
“Are you finished, Ron?” Gary was more patient on this occasion due to the need to get his breath back after all the effort of bow hauling and leaving the scene in such a hurry. Kate was getting used to it, but Jo could only question, “Is he always like that?”
Ron wasn’t finished. He was still a bit put out that Gary hadn’t taken more interest when he started to describe the night scene at the London Olympics.
“It’s always you Gary Sparrow that has to be centre stage. Don’t you want to know anything about what Kate and I saw that night whenever it was. The firework display was stupendous, wasn’t it Kate?”
“Ron has a point, Gary. We couldn’t have gone back in time, so it had to be some way into the future, and it did all start when we were in that lock. Maybe we should go after the barge.”
“Don’t encourage them Kate.” As far as Yvonne was concerned, it had always been Ron who had egged Gary on and covered for him. He was still not forgiven for the part he had played in supporting her husband’s straying into the past, even if it was to be united with her other self.
Further discussion was abruptly terminated just then for the gate paddles were open again and water was gushing out into the canal causing small waves and ripples to course by and even lift and lower the moored Tardis.
The gates were opening by means of some unseen unhands and then to everybody’s surprise a very much aged and weathered punt shot out of the lock propelled by the unmistakeable figure of the Doctor wielding a long pole.
“Ah you are still here. I thought as much, though my excursion into the past lasted much longer I warrant you than the hours or minutes perhaps that have elapsed this side of the time lock.”
“Wait a moment.” Now Gary had that odd smile on his face that Yvonne at least recognised as heralding some new venture which would have themselves at loggerheads again.
“Don’t you even think about it.” She had no idea what ‘it’ might be, and was simply not willing to take any chances.
“It is just an idea, Yvonne. I have to think about it more, only it may already have happened. What was it you told me back in 1946 about the photo of us, well that is to say of your Phoebe days and myself standing by a narrow boat? Hmmm...”
Then turning to Ted the Doctor, Gary asked him what he had found beyond the lock. “Are you sure they got back to their own time?”
“No way of really telling for sure. All I can vouch for is that all of those buildings on the opposite bank were gone. The old lock cottage was there, but otherwise just fields and a few trees as far as I could see.
There was one thing. That bargee fellow was standing looking all around and when he saw me alongside his wife it was as if I were a complete stranger yet he must have seen me before he went through the lock. Then his wife shouted out something like, ‘What you doing you old fool. You’ve turned the boat around, though god knows how you did that in the middle of the Cut.’ I think she might have hit me too had I not made it ashore first.
I came back down the towpath right to this spot, I tell you. But you weren’t here, nor was the Tardis and more frightening, it was the same as above the lock, just open fields. I guess the poor fellow had no other option but to carry on back to the Regent’s Canal to find a turning point. I felt quite sorry for him seeing him plodding along with that magnificent animal.
Fortune has a habit of smiling upon me when events get out of hand, and so it was when I decided to find some way of passing through the lock and time without having to swim for it. As you can see this old punt has little time left and the Lock-Keeper was only too glad to part with it in exchange for three lace handkerchiefs.”
“Ah, so that is the going rate for time travel.” Ron’s grin was mischievous and his remark might have been the precursor to more of his word wanderings only Gary butted in.
“I think, Ron might well be on to a good thing here and it won’t be for scraps of linen. We might have lost Duckett’s Passage, but look, we’ve got a perfectly good working time portal here in Duckett’s Cut. What’s more it has been tested out by a Time Lord. Who knows what we can do with it? Why we can even run sightseeing tours into the past, Which should earn good money When we show them the real haunts of Victorian London.”
At the mention of making money Yvonne mellowed and dropped her opposition. “I was getting tired of the cosmetic world anyway. No wait a minute. Wasn’t there a demand for sweet odours in those days?”
“Ahem,” Ron objected, “Might I just remind you that time portals can be very choosey who they let through. Suppose you did take a group through to the days when class distinction was paramount, where any shortage of the ready could land you in Newgate, how are you going to settle travelling expenses on the spot, or should I rephrase that as ‘on the water’.”
Ron wasn’t finished and the more he thought up the wider his grin. “You my friend are going to have to find a printer not only gifted with the same skills as my good self but one who has access to the many varied bank notes that were allowed before the Bank Charter of 1844 and I might add he will need to be a printer who can either copy minute detail or know an artist who is so endowed. Or perhaps you may have overlooked that I am no longer able to assist in that department.”
Gary was edging to get a few words of his own in, but Ron didn’t so much as pause for breath. “Even if you were to surmount the paper money obstacle just how would you use it? The general public never saw such wealth and many were lucky to have a few pennies to their name. Don’t for one moment think you can find the coins you will need from a numismatist that may specialise in the early Victorian era. You would have to make sure that they predated the period you might land up in.”
Whilst Ted the Doctor was keen to follow where Gary’s proposal and Ron’s objections were going, Kate and Jo retired to the Tardis for much needed refreshment and of course some good girl’s talk. As for Yvonne she wasn’t going to let Gary off the leash whenever Ron was around, and of course after all that had happened she was wise to keep a close eye on them considering that time travel was on the cards again.
“You overlook Gary’s ability to trade, Ron Wheatcroft.” She was giving Ron all the authority she could muster. “I happen to know personally how well my nightdress nearly went down during the Blitz.”
Gary quickly corrected any misunderstanding, “I think you mean that it was prized by Phoebe, Yvonne. You know that, but this is Ron and Ron sometimes thinks differently from us.”
“And right you are Gary. This excuse for a Scouse always thinks differently. Just look at his face.”
“Anyway,” said Gary steering the talk back to his newly thought proposition, “I’m sure we can trade carefully and solve the money problem. There must be many artefacts of value here, such as fine quality pottery, that wouldn’t be questioned a hundred and fifty years ago and would fetch sufficient funds to pay a few expenses.”
“Watch out for meat pies.” There was one thing about Ron that always pepped up the simplest of chats. His quick mind could go off at a tangent at any time and spice up a conversation. “If I remember correctly, the Bargee and his family visited us from the mid 1850 era, and that was shortly after a certain Fleet Street Barber furthered his tonsorial income by going into partnership with a neighbouring lady called Lovett whose culinary talent created meat pies with pastry that never came into contact with any beef, lamb, pork, poultry or fish ingredient. Whilst it is claimed that this collaboration was only the result of a legend gone wild, others say that the story came from living people of the same names as those that have come down to us in the legend of Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber.”
“Shut it, Ron.” Had those been Gary’s words Ron would have had more to say, but coming from Yvonne, he knew that a little silence was called for on his part.
“If I may contribute to your proposed scheme,” said Ted, “I have studied different eras in great depth. I know the clothes they wore, the English of the day, and therefore offer my services as a tutor. You will need to prepare any tourists to the past, Gary. One wrong word, one out of place gesture, or even the wrong clothing could give rise to a most awkward situation.”
“Thank you, Ted. Like astronauts they’ll need instruction. I hadn’t thought that far yet. But now you mention it, that could be another little side earner. After all it will be like going into space.”
“I know I can’t stop you Gary. If that picture in the album was real then so was the boat in the lock, the Ruby Crystal.”
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Post by malcolm on Aug 21, 2012 2:58:46 GMT -5
Continued....
SCENE – Duckett’s Cut Towpath below the Upper Old Ford Lock
Still feeling a bit put out at being cut short yet again, Ron felt it was time to get things moving along. Beside his appetite was calling out and reminding him that he was already long past the time when he would normally have been sitting down to a sumptuous mid-day meal.
“We can talk about all of that later on. I propose that we withdraw to my pad and reconvene the discussion on Gary’s brilliant proposition there, having bided a while on the way at the Shangri-La takeaway.”
“May I remind you, Ron,” Gary pointed out, “that we have some very important business to attend to first. Anyway it was you that illustrated the need and urgency to deliver a time gypsy terrorist back to his own slot in East End history.”
“Ah yes,” Ron acknowledged. “I’ll give you that, but we shouldn’t put the ladies at risk. Let me escort them to the comfort and safety of Mayfair, and we’ll have a banquet ready and waiting when the job is done.”
“We’ll need your car.” Gary’s objection was promptly followed by Jo standing up for her fair sex. “There is no risk in today’s London anywhere near as frightful and dangerous as Ted and I have been through.”
Ted said nothing but the rest of them stared at her with penetrating questions in their faces. Gary spoke first. “Aren’t you letting your enthusiasm for the Dr Who stories go a bit too far?” I’m sure that Ted plays the part and looks the part very well, but it is all a story.”
The effect of Gary’s suggestion on Jo was significant. She clamped her lips closed and that only made them all wonder. Ted defused the awkward atmosphere by inviting Yvonne and Kate to accompany Jo back on board the Tardis while the men made haste to catch up with the London Pride.
“It’ll be quicker to the Fish Island Jetty by foot.” Being reasonably familiar with the area Gary knew that Ron’s car was parked as far away from where they stood as was the quay side that the London Pride was headed for. “You go for your car, Ron and drive to the far end of Dace Road. You’ll find a footpath next to the lock there leading along to the jetty. We’ll see you there.”
“I have no idea where that is,” Ron protested.
“Ask a policeman,” Gary shouted back as he and Ted were already fast footing it along Wick Lane. Ten minutes later they were at the lock on the Lee where they both stopped to catch their breath.
“There she is. Keep your fingers crossed, Ted. The nearest police station will be Bow and Billy surely cannot have contacted them yet.”
“I wouldn’t bank on it.” Ted’s fears were soon realised when they finally managed to get on board the barge and were met by the Pearly King.
“My Word,” said Ted, “you have a remarkable resemblance to some pop singer. Can’t think of his name but he had a song bemoaning his lot in life.”
“Poor Me,” said Gary, helpfully.
“Something the matter, Gary?” Ted asked having completely forgotten the title of the song.
“No, Ted. That was the title of Adam faith’s big hit start of the Sixties. Though how he got away with ‘wa a ha a ho’ is something only the teens of that era would know.”
“You must be Billy then?”
“Sright,” Billy acknowledged.
“Have you still got the strange intruder on board? Ron told us all about what happened.”
“Ah no mate, I called the police as soon as we arrived, and Bow had a car only minutes away. He’s gone and should be safely locked away by now. He was more than strange; you should have seen what was left of his face.” Billy visibly shivered at the memory. “Why don’t you come on board and have a cuppa? We’ve got a bit of time before we move off again.”
“Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately we haven’t got much time. It’s hard to explain.” Gary was anxious to catch up with the errant terror from the past, though Ted remained cool and collected. “We need to think this through, Gary. The man is in police custody so won’t be going anywhere soon.”
Gary didn’t agree. “Point taken, Ted, but you have no idea what can happen if an element of history is changed. This Jack has already been away from his time too long and the repercussions could be monumental. You’ve seen what Ron is like. Can you see him for one moment as a man of the cloth?”
Ted and Billy both burst into laughter. “Come on,” said Ted, “that would be a bit far out. Are you saying you’ve actually seen such a transformation?”
“I have indeed and that was all down to his grandfather Albert being locked up when he should have been free to rescue a child from a burning building.”
“Yes you’re right and I of all people should know what can happen when a sequence of events is altered, even slightly. But tell me, how do you propose to extract this miscreant from police custody?” Ted was the Doctor all over and knew only too well that every move had to be assessed and covered from every possible angle.
“When we manage to convince the police that he should be handed over to our care, what then? I presume that you intend a transfer via the same lock that led me to far distant fields? As much as I would like to offer you the facilities of my Tardis it simply will not do. Should her presence be detected in the past her unusual form though understood by today’s generation she could be as foreign to a Victorian as any unidentified object whether flying or earth bound. You will need a traditional working narrow boat of the same calibre as the one we have just despatched back to its own familiar surroundings, and I think there may be the very one lying waiting for you in Duckett’s Cut.”
Gary listened patiently and turning over each facet of the coming operation in his mind. “Yes, hmm. The white coats worked well before. Yes, we could... Ah but he will have been examined by the Station Doctor. No, that’s too risky.” Then still puzzling over the quandary he noticed Ron coming towards them. “Hi Ron, we’re too late...”
“I thought as much. In my total innocence and having been sent by your good self to fetch our mode of transport, without so much as one single direction that would help me locate the said Dace Road, and having strayed far away from what seemed to be right route, or if you like, being lost, I followed your one and only hint and looked for a policeman.” Ron had to pause to take a deep breath. “Dame Fortune then smiled upon this lost creature in the form of a vehicle that carried the unmistakeable signs indicating that it belonged to the Metropolitan Police. Yes you might ask ‘how did they know that I was a lost soul’. I think it had something to do my standing in the middle of the road waving my arms.”
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Post by malcolm on Aug 23, 2012 1:15:18 GMT -5
Continued....
When Billy repeated his invitation that they should all take it easy and have some refreshments there was no holding Ron back. “Pardon me for making so bold, but would this magnificent floating establishment be fully provisioned for the voyage ahead? If that is the case let me play the host and treat all here to some substantial repast that will slake both thirst and appetite.” After a short performance of fumbling from pocket to pocket, Ron turned to Gary hesitantly asking, “You’ve got your wallet with you I trust, old mate?”
“Ron,” Gary complained seriously.
“Nah, never mind about settling accounts with me,” said Billy. “We haven’t been so entertained in a long while. Isn’t that so Ma?” Ma who was sitting comfortably on a swing lounge within earshot nodded her agreement, “Absolutely Irish me Deary. Best fireworks since the Blitz and that there babbling brook going dahn on ‘is bib ‘n brace, topped off wiv the bottle and stoppers. Never seen the like, I tell ya.”
“Being as I am from Mersey side, Ma, I may have a little of the Irish in me, but wholly and completely, No.”
“She means Irish Stew, Ron, and no you aren’t getting any. It is rhyming slang for ‘true’.”
For once Ron was deprived of his Indian Chinese and Italian mixed dishes but he tackled the steak and kidney pudding that Billy’s kitchen served up with equal gusto and explosive gratitude. When all were settled and could concentrate once more on the problems they faced, it was Billy who broke the first barrier.
“I certainly don’t understand what this is all about, but I can help you secure the release of the man the police are holding. Pete hasn’t suffered any serious injuries and I can easily get him to drop the charges. To put it another way, he needs the part he plays for us more than the satisfaction of putting his assailant away behind bars. Just don’t bring that creature back to the London Pride.”
“You’ll still have to convince the old Bill that he’s not going to cause any further trouble. I have some contacts and perhaps I should take care of that side of things?”
“Ah yes,” said Ron. “The real doctor did have a lot of contacts in law and order.”
Ted smiled, “Look at me, Ron. Do I not look real to you? I can assure you that I am more real than he. But first things first, I’ll show you the narrow boat I have in mind for this venture.”
“I’m not so sure that this lock works just like my old time portal to the 1940’s.” Gary sensed that something wasn’t right with their plans. “That was fixed between two set times both moving in parallel with each other.”
“Well I returned without much trouble,” Ted pointed out.
“Yes I know. There was something else that might very well have some bearing with the lock portal. The Emerald Crystal carried a green stone on top of the tow rope stanchion and Rose kept playing with an emerald on her necklace. Supposing the stone has something to do with it, just like the ruby and necklace that catapulted me back from 1946?”
Now Billy was more than surprised he sat with his face agape. “Cor, blimey you ain’t ‘alf short of bombshells are ye me old cock sparra?”
“Funny you should say that,” Ron interjected. “Sparrow by name and a good mate by nature, at least when he remembers who I am.”
Gary just stared at Ron. “As I was saying, the stones might be the real catalyst for transfers via the lock or necklace. Just to be sure, Ron, why don’t you pick up the girls from Ted’s Tardis and take them back to your flat, then come back with the box of Reg’s stones. I don’t think we’ll need the necklace but best be prepared. You’ll find it where I left it on your sideboard. Meantime Ted and I will go see if we can hire a boat. Only when that is sorted can we think about springing our stray from the past.”
Having thanked Billy and Ma for their hospitality the three men left the Barge and made their way back to Dace Road and Ron’s car.
“It’s just a short drive up to the canal where we can cross to the tow path by a footbridge.” Though Gary knew the area fairly well, Ted was better acquainted with the roads closest to his mooring.
Once they were across to the Victoria Park side of the canal Ron turned left to get back to the Tardis while Ted led Gary right towards a line of boats moored bow to stern all the way from the lower lock to the River Lee navigation.
“That looks just the job,” said Gary when Ted pointed out the narrow boat he had in mind. “The owner is a good friend,” Ted explained. “He doesn’t live on the boat but is usually here this time of the day, pottering about.”
“Anyone at home?” Not waiting for an answer Ted stepped up on to the stern and rapped on the open door to the main cabin. A short elderly man resplendent with grey bushy beard and small spectacles squinted through the opening.
“Ah, it is you Doctor. Come on in and bring your friend.”
Once all pleasantries for the day had been exchanged, Ted got right to the point. “How many times do you reckon you’ve been up the Cut, Stan? More times than the days of our lives, I’d wager.”
The old man nodded but waited with curiosity to see what Ted was leading up to.
“Well how would you like to take one more trip bound for the Regent’s but arrive shortly after the Days of Regency England?”
“Wassa matter wiv your Tardis then, won’t it put the clock back for ye anymore?”
“Well it’s like this, Stan my old friend. Tardis gets a bit put out when it’s only a short time shift. She’s got her own personality and always wants to show off with massive jumps not just through time but inter-dimensional passages.”
Gary was beginning to think that the Doctor might just be putting on a front as a Dr Who enthusiast. Listening to Stan and his apparent trust in Ted had him wondering.
“Besides, Tardis doesn’t manage shape shifts very well and will keep persisting on her ‘Police Box’ dress. Your delightful narrow boat is suited admirably for the period we intend to pass by. You have done wonders maintaining the painting, and your roses look like they are alive and growing. As for your castles, why they have all the detail of Tillietudlum, Harlech and Kenilworth bundled into one.”
“You ain’t puttin’ any of that Tardis machinery into this old girl,” Stan objected, “and then ‘ow would she go time cruisin’, eh? Answer me that?”
“Ah, you have a very good point there, old fella. Never mind, there is more to the Ruby Mary than even you yourself could ever have imagined. Will you let me show you? I promise that as far as your boat is concerned it will be just another passage along Duckett’s Cut. We’ll even have you back before opening hours.”
“Since you put it that way, I’ll get the engine warmed up.” Stan was about to pass through to the engine closet when he paused and queried, “Just a mo, what’s in it for me?”
“We’ll see you right,” said Gary, “How about drinks on me when we get back?”
Stan looked dubious so Ted butted in with a big smile, “Stan manages to do well for himself down at The Three Feathers. Once he gets going with stories about the Blitz there’s no stopping the flow of liquid amber ordered up by the other patrons.” Then in a whisper, “He was only a nipper at the time, but he remembers all the old tales his dad used to spin.”
Gary’s eyes immediately brightened up. “I know then. I can still get hold of all kinds of things from the War years and they look spanking brand new. How about some shiny shrapnel with not a hint of rust.”
“Now yer talkin’. Whose to know it wasn’t the bit that took Uncle Bob’s ‘ead right orf when he was checkin’ for cracks of light under front doors. Yeah, could get a few miles art of that. What else ye gort?”
Seeing that they had captured the old man’s interest, Ted interrupted. “You won’t be disappointed Stan, but there’s no great hurry. We have to wait for a couple of passengers. In fact, I had better be on my way to arrange the relea...se. Er, I mean the priest who has to bless our venture. It’s just that one of them is a bit wary of boats even on the canal and likes to have a god given send off.”
“Cooeeee.” The call was loud and close by. The vocalist as Gary suspected was Ron. He was accompanied by the three girls, Kate, Yvonne, and Jo.
“Ah yes, and an admirable vessel it is and one that will not excite any over enthusiastic interest in an era where it had its origins. Well done, Ted and you Gary have you convinced its owner that it will be going no further than half a mile?”
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Post by malcolm on Aug 25, 2012 3:03:29 GMT -5
Continued.....
The ‘Ruby Mary’ was no longer a working narrow boat and had been converted to a cabin cruiser by Stan in his spare time. Now that he was retired he tended to spend much of his time keeping her in top condition and always presenting an attractive face with his many typical canal designs along the hull. The main cabin was roomy and comfy with wide windows through which her passengers could get a good view of the passing fields, and reed grown banks where a large variety of aquatic birds bobbed up and down as they rode the waves from passing boats.
When Gary saw how difficult it would be to wrest the ladies away from their thorough inspection of Stan’s cosy home from home he relented and gave in to their united plea that they should be a part of the imminent venture into what could well be unknown waters.
“You do realise that there is some danger of getting stuck in the past and another thing, you won’t be able to leave the boat wearing jeans and those brightly coloured trainers?”
“You aren’t going to stop us from coming along this time, Gary.” He could see from Yvonne’s face that she was very determined and there wasn’t an excuse in the world he could get away with this time.
“Alright, but you had better tag along with Ron, and after he has picked up the stones and necklace from his apartment, stop by the Theatre Royal in Stratford East. They used to have a good selection of Victorian costumes for ‘East Lynne’ and if you coax the costume manager they might just let you hire something fitting for the day.”
Gary knew well the right words to enlist his wife’s enthusiasm. Just a whisper of a Play or Costume Drama and it would be like a magnet.
“Oooh, now why didn’t I think of that,” she mewed, then with a happy but teasing smirk, “and while we’re at it we’ll see if they have togs to fit Ron.”
“Don’t worry about Ted, he already looks the part. Billy’s age and what he’s wearing will get him by as long as he doesn’t go too far, but you had better sort something out for me.”
The thought of Gary being dressed up again was enough to send Ron into a fit of laughter. “Not the penguin suit, please. See if they’ve got something in the military line with one of them little pill box hats.”
Gary’s intended retort never left his lips for Kate had something to say. “Well at least we don’t have to bother too much about our passenger. That one already looks the part if not a bit too much. He shouldn’t stand out as long as he keeps his face masked.”
It was a good hour or more before everyone was back on board the Ruby Mary.
“I had just about given you up,” Stan complained. “Look at the time. If I don’t get my dinner ready soon, you can all go home.”
“Just sit yourself down, all is taken care of. While the girls were picking out the costumes I was ordering the take-aways.” Ron had indeed collected such a wide variety of dishes there had to be some to suit all tastes.
Even though the Bow Police station was hardly any distance Ron and the girls had made better time to the West End despite the time it had taken to go through the vast wardrobe at the theatre. The formalities required by the law took long enough to complete after the custody officer was satisfied that it was safe to release Jack into Ted’s care. Like all the Metropolitan police they were well accustomed to some of the scariest criminals of their borough. Jack was unlike anything they had come across and as the Sergeant commented, ‘He gives me the Willies, that one.’ Ted didn’t have to drop a single name. The police were only too happy to let Jack go.
As for Jack himself, he had fully recovered from the door slap and once he was out of the nick his weird outlandish moaning and sudden guttural outbursts that sounded more like a hyena than a human simply ceased and to Gary and Ted’s relief, he allowed himself to be led as quietly and obediently as a dog on a leash.
“This is our passenger, Stan. He is shy of nature and needs to lie down for a while. Is it alright if we let him have your forward cabin for the duration of the voyage?” The old man nodded in reply to Ted’s request, then settled himself down in the Saloon in anticipation of the banquet he suspected was soon to be set before him by the ladies who were already sorting out the dishes in the galley.
After a cursory look around the tiny cabin in the bows and satisfied that there was only the one door Jack was left there to his own devices. He had never seen such comfortable beds or the cleanliness of our modern world and was happy enough to check everything out and then lie back while he worked out what to do next. When a tray was handed in to him by Gary not much later, Jack was more inclined to stay with these new strangers and see what might transpire next.
His satisfaction didn’t last long. Eventually the confinement got to him and he tried the door. To his surprise it was unlocked. Slowly he turned the handled and opened it until he could see into the main cabin and the saloon beyond where the rest of his fellow passengers were finishing off their meal. Kate noticed him and nudged Ron who tried a friendly smile. This was all too much for the poor man. Nobody had befriended him like this before. He pulled the door shut again and began another examination of his surroundings. It wasn’t until he lay back on one of the bunks to consider his options that he looked up and noticed the sliding roof hatch.
Meanwhile Kate and Yvonne had cleared the table whereupon Stan retired once more to start the engine and then beckoned Gary to go with him to let loose the mooring lines.
“Well,” said Ted, “you have the stones and necklace, Ron?”
“I have so. Although I am not sure who might have some rightful claim to the ownership of these colourful samples of weathered and fashioned mineral stones. I do acknowledge that in passing the right to occupy the flat over to myself, Gary had no idea that the broom cupboard contained a concealed and previously unknown compartment wherein these sparkling gemstones had lain for many decades. On the other hand it could be said that his son Michael or daughter Melanie have the right to know that they have been removed not only from the cupboard but from the apartment itself.”
These last words of Ron’s brought a squeal of excitement from Yvonne who had for once followed his every word. “Michael, Melanie...where are they? I may have separated from Phoebe in coming back, but now I do recall that Gary and Phoebe have a son and daughter. That kind of memory has stayed with me.”
“Michael will be in New Zealand, and, Melanie it was that started this whole thing off. It was she you may recall that sent a note telling me where to look.”
Ron would have launched into the whole story of Michael coming to Blitz and Pieces by pure chance, only Ted urged him once more to produce the gems. The Doctor removed some five or six of the stones then spread them on the table where he could examine them closely one by one.
“We have no idea whether the stones are necessary to activate the time portal in the upper lock. It may be that the presence of our passenger will be enough to send us all back through the years. As I found with myself, the lock returned me to the very same time I left from and I wasn’t carrying a stone. Or it might take him and leave us alone in the present time. There is only one way to find out, and I propose that we try this green stone, for as far as we can tell it was an emerald that brought the Emerald Crystal boat and her passengers through the time gate and back again.”
Further scrutiny and talk were shelved when Gary popped back to let everyone know that they were under way and heading for the lower lock. Soon afterwards all of the men did their bit to work the narrow boat through the lock and then the middle lock. By the time they were approaching the upper lock itself, everyone was on edge.
Yvonne had picked up the necklace as she had done when alone in Ron’s lounge room and as before she snapped the stone into the necklace collet. “Try it the other way round,” Kate suggested. “We want to go back and it could be it has to have the flatter side to the front.”
The light in the cabin dimmed once they were into the deep upper lock with the bottom gates closing. It was Jo who noticed it first. “I do believe that it is beginning to glow.”
“Not just the stone,” Kate called out. “Look at this,” she said pointing out of the window. The walls of the chamber no longer looked wet and slimy. Each grain of rock in the granite stonework was shining and so turning the darkness into a patchwork of miniature but fiery hot stars.
Then it was Yvonne’s turn to exclaim excitedly, “Wow, it really is coming alive.” The gemstone as small it was gradually grew brighter and brighter. Deep inside tiny specks of light intensified and shone independently until they combined and then the whole emerald emitted rays that were hotter than the light from a magnesium flare.
As they did so the Ruby Mary rose higher and higher in the chamber and yet the light from the submerged walls shone through until the water itself was glowing.
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Post by malcolm on Aug 26, 2012 2:01:56 GMT -5
Continued....
“Better get back on board,” Ted urged as soon as the boat was high enough in the chamber for them all to clamber down. “Time to get changed, and if we are moving through time just pray that we’re heading for the mid 1800’s or we’ll be looking very silly.”
Being a full Seventy Foot long narrow boat, the Ruby Murray had no less than four cabins and with the fold down berths in saloon and lounge could accommodate as many as a dozen people. There was plenty of room for everyone to change into the costumes that the girls had selected. Yvonne had taken Ron’s flippancy on board and hadn’t been able to resist the soldier’s uniform when she discovered it in the wardrobe. It had indeed the silly looking pill box hat and that put together with a short red waistcoat and tight fitting grey pants all went to make Gary the subject of Ron’s jibes and teasing in the men’s cabin.
(Note – There were two soldiers in the 1888 Royal Oak Music Hall Scene of Series 6 Episode 5, both wearing pill box hats, and red waistcoat uniforms, but with black trousers that had a wide red strip running down them.)
Nevertheless the girls made sure that Ron would suffer some taunting too. Yet it was his size and shape that decided what he was to wear. The long black cloak hid most of his dark suit and tails, but it was the Svengali type moustache that put the Liverpudlian in character and the cravat and top hat added a finish which practically branded him as a villain. When the whole company emerged from the cabins and gathered in the Saloon there were howls of laughter all round. They roared again when Kate insisted on powdering his face white and dabbed eye shadow on to make him look even more sinister.
“You are long faced Gary.” Ron had noticed that his friend was not reacting to the mocking banter and was far too serious whereas everyone else was having fun. Gary remained silent, looking quite thunderstruck, just as he had when his eyes and Marie’s locked together in the Royal Oak.
The hilarity in the saloon fizzled away for everyone was now watching the surprising look on the faces of husband and wife. “One would think they had never met before,” Jo whispered to Kate.
“Maybe they haven’t,” Kate replied. “Look carefully this is a different Yvonne I have never seen before, and what’s more, Gary knows it.”
The two approached gazing ever amorously into the other’s eyes and both pairs of hands upturned ready to clasp the other’s. “Oh Gawwd,” she said. “Oh Tilly,” he groaned.
“It’s as if we’ve met before,” Yvonne gasped, “perhaps I’m looking into the future.”
“Or the past,” Gary countered.
“More likely somewhere in between.” Ron was always ready to bring Gary down to earth again. “Perhaps you would like to explain why you just called Yvonne by the name of ‘Tilly’?”
(Note – Marie Lloyd was only her stage name. The Singer’s real name was Matilda Alice Victoria Wood – Tilly to her friends.)
“Well, er yes, that’s it. That was the name she grew up with. Hang on, what am I saying. How do I know that?”
“Perhaps you’re her Dad.” Now Ron couldn’t help being mischievous.
“Ron...” This was Gary’s typical moaning voice.
“Never mind him, come here you big baby, you.” Tilly appeared to be oblivious to everyone else standing so closely by in the small saloon. All of her attention was devoted to the man she kept encountering through one age after another.
“I’ll just check the passenger,” said Ted at last breaking the electrified atmosphere which was charge not only by the concentrated rays flashing between the emerald and the outside granite walls but by the sheer magnetism being manifested by what was going on between Gary and his adoring devotee.
The charged environment or whatever it was that Gary and his Lady had suffused into the cabin came crashing apart. Ted was yelling out from the far end of the long corridor that ran off the saloon, “He’s gone.”
“I don’t believe it. We checked the cabin before we locked him in. Just didn’t expect there to be a way out through the roof. Now it all depends whether he escaped before or after we entered the lock and if afterwards where and when are we now.”
“Come on then,” said Gary who was already headed for the stern exit, closely followed by Ted and then Ron who was floundering in his unaccustomed dress.
Though light was fading fast in the evening shadows the Lock Cottage was only yards away and they were all able to see that the small enclosure between a low brick wall and the cottage itself was full of foliage that hadn’t been there when they arrived at the upper lock.
“If you’re looking for your friend,” a voice called out, “‘E’s ran orf dahn the Old Ford Road.” The helpful Lock Keeper was coming towards Gary and Ted from the top gates which he had just eased open. “If you want to catch up wiv ‘im ye’ll ‘ave te ‘urry.”
Gary didn’t wait for any further instructions. He was across the still closed bottom gates in a flash and in no time running as fast as he could towards the isolated village of Old Ford.
“Must say them sojer boys can cut a merry pace.” Then peering into the dim distance in each direction of the tow path, the lock keeper looked puzzled. “Where’s your ‘osses and ‘ow did ye get here? You must be the Fly Boat for Birmingham and I never seen it come through afore wivaht at least one ‘oss.”
Ted had to think quickly. “One of the crew had to take him to the smithy in the village, seems he lost a shoe.”
“Well why didn’t you say so before?” Your Bargee should know we’ve got change ‘osses ‘ere in the stables. Never mind, I’ll fetch ‘em for ye.” The keeper went off scratching his head and muttering. “Funny do this. I’m sure I never saw that boat coming up the Cut.”
In the saloon Kate and Jo had plenty of questions for Yvonne, or was she Tilly now? But each one only made it worse for Tilly who had no idea what they meant, nor could she recall who they were, only that she was aware that she knew them.”
“I think I must have lost some of my memory.” This was uttered with something of a pout, but then brightening up, “I do know that I’m on at the Royal Oak tonight.”
This came as a big shock for Kate who was now putting one and two together and getting the right answer. Recalling Gary’s story about taking Duckett’s Passage the wrong way and landing up in 1888 she suspected that this could only have been the time and place that had brought Tilly and Gary together previously. There was one question which would establish the date and she had little hesitation in putting it.
“You wouldn’t be the famous Marie Lloyd, would you?” Tilly laughed. “You got my stage name right, but famous I ain’t, not yet anyways.”
Just then Gary reappeared with both Ted and Ron coming back on board.
“I lost him.” Gary was still puffing and panting from the chase.
“Don’t worry,” said Ted. We have come back in time, so he should find his way to whatever home he has.”
“Afraid he won’t.” Kate then told the boys what she had gleaned from Yvonne/Tilly and that they had landed up fifty years later than intended. “It must be the emerald in some way. It might be the number of facets or the size or the cut. Main thing to worry about right now Garry Sparrow is that you have to find a way of getting this lady of yours to the Pub on time.”
Further speculation was cut short by a knock on the stern door. “Got the ‘osses for ye. Better ‘arness ‘em up or ye’ll be running late up the Junction.”
“He means the Grand Union,” said the pro tem ‘Svengali’ with a twist of his waxed ‘tache. “It used to be the Grand Junction the main route to Birmingham where one could take a connecting fly boat on to the Pool. Tempted to go that way, how about it Gary old boy?”
“Forget it Ron. First of all tell the Keeper I’ll be there with the horse in a jiffy. Just don’t let him look through the door or he’ll know that this is no ordinary canal boat.” Then turning to his beloved, “We’ll be on our way to the Regent’s and have you at the Canal end of Duckett’s passage in less than an hour.”
They would have all settled down comfortably and enjoyed the evening cruise hauled by the pair of horses had not ‘Svengali’ Ron told them one very obvious and horrifying fact.
“As much as I would like to wallow with the rest of your good selves in the satisfying belief that all is now well I cannot help but revisit the performance we were entertained with aboard the London Pride by Billy and as we thought then an actor playing the part of Spring Heeled Jack. Only it wasn’t an actor, was it? No not for one moment were we carried away by the story of the 1850’s terror of Old Ford and the memorable machinations of a player everyone had been convinced was just that, an everyday thespian trained in the art of bringing to life events of the past. We were as it now transpires only intended to be scared and terrified by the story and action yet not knowing that the very villain himself was in our midst. Due to an unfortunate oversight with the security of the forward cabin on this very vessel, that terror is now on the loose again, and if I am not very much mistaken is about to unleash a new and more terrifying horror upon the streets of the East End. The year is now 1888 and the month is October. We, my friends in what we could claim to be ignorant innocence have unleashed the one time Spring Heeled Jack as Jack the Ripper.”
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Post by malcolm on Aug 29, 2012 1:34:05 GMT -5
Continued.... There was a hush as the horror of the situation sank in. Only Gary and Yvonne/Tilly remained oblivious to the implications and possible repercussions that might proceed from Jack’s escape into the year of Jack the Ripper. It was as if they were meeting for the first time or at the very least they were seeing each other in a new light.
The silence was broken by Ted, “They may not be one and the same, and our Jack could be a simple creature brought only to his sorry state by whatever it was that disfigured him so. There are also the unfortunate circumstances that yanked him away from familiar surroundings into our world which could be nightmarish for anyone seeing it for the first time.”
“Hrrrmph, that’s enough Gary. Put him down Yvonne or should I now address you as Tilly? We won’t be going anywhere unless you get out and about and entice the nags to follow their nosebags.”
Hearing her name Yvonne/Tilly looked up at Ron, “Should I know you?” Inwardly she knew that he was a good friend and had been for a long time, and yet Tilly also sensed that Ron was not a part of her here and now.
“Know Me!!!” Ron practically exploded and would have regaled the poor girl with a ‘never-ending’ story had not Kate stepped in. “Never mind him, Tilly. I’ll tell you all about Ron here as we go along. Gary needs to see to the horses. It was easier for all of them once the magnetic bond between the couple was broken. “I think you may have forgotten who I am too?”
Tilly as we shall refer to her while in the current time frame looked so confused and lost as she gave a faint little wave of her hand to her departing lover. Should we still call him her husband? That is debatable considering that in one sense they were possibly meeting for the first time.
“Come and sit over here on the long bench.” Kate was mustering all the skills she had acquired from her experience with the spiritual world and blending them with tender counselling to boost Tilly’s confidence. She wasn’t too concerned for she also knew that the moment that the young lass stepped into the Royal Oak and was on familiar ground again she would have all the confidence and flare that came so naturally to Marie Lloyd when she was on stage.
Stan was bemused. “Why do we need ‘osses. Nothing wrong with me Bolinder. She may be an old engine but gets us along as good as any other on the Cut. Anyways there’s a three mile an hour speed limit.”
“No Stan, you must not on any account start up the engine. We might have got away with a steam engine if we are in Tilly’s era, but a diesel might just arouse some unwanted curiosity from other boatmen.” Ted was trying to cover every possible angle. “Do you realise that this voyage may not be necessary at all?”
“How so,” asked Ron. “Tilly needs to get to the Royal Oak for her performance and I for one am looking forward to a bit of the old Victorian crack and cheer.”
“That’s just it,” Ted countered. “We are going not to help the girl out but to satisfy our own inquisitiveness into the life and times of our great grandparents. Were we to turn back at the next turning point and successfully navigate back into our own time, then Tilly would still be making her way to the music hall and Yvonne would split from her earlier personality back into the woman who boarded this boat.”
“Not on your Nelly.” Ron objected boisterously to any proposed change in their plans. “It took me years to get through to the 1940’s and I’m not going to leave it so long to get into the 1880’s.” He was the only one laughing as they all pictured a Ron let loose on the poor people of Victorian London. “Besides if our escaped passenger is on his way to begin his rampage and desecration of five ladies in red, shouldn’t we be doing all we can to stop him?”
Fortunately Tilly was not listening. Her costume was bright red and to all appearances the very same dress and bonnet worn by Marie when Gary last saw her perform in the Royal Oak. It wasn’t that she had wearied of the conversation when Stan offered to help with his narrow boat’s propulsion. She just wanted to see how Gary was getting on with the horses on the tow path, and had made her way to the small open deck on the bows. At much the same time Stan made his way to the stern to take charge of the tiller.
It was Jo, the other Doctor Fan who saw the complications when destiny was interfered with. “As much as I agree with Ron and know that we have to put a stop to the murders the repercussions could be very wide spread. Anyone of the women could have a child who might grow up to become a factor in changing the world in a multitude of possible ways.”
“I very much doubt it, Jo,” said Ted. “Stopping the killer is always the main object. If I’m not very much mistaken then Fate will step in and ensure that the end result remains the same. Let’s see, it is now by my reckoning the early evening on Saturday 26th August, 1888. Jack is scheduled to hit the headlines next Friday. If we can apprehend him tonight, all should be well, and as promised to Stan this will be but a short excursion into the past.”
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Post by malcolm on Sept 1, 2012 2:24:37 GMT -5
Continued..... There was magic in the air that evening. All that could be heard was the clip cloppety clop of the pair of horses and the rippling rush of water rustling the reeds along the banks of the Canal caused by the bow waves from the Ruby Mary. Now and again the slim uniformed figure leading them by ropes attached to the horses’ driving reins clicked his tongue more for encouragement than urging them on. The enchantment of the canals is partly due to their never losing their rural character. They rarely pass close by long lines of buildings though warehouses there are in abundance. One can cruise through England’s largest cities and hardly know that you’ve left the countryside behind. Today Victoria Park fills one side of Duckett’s Cut and then on the Regent’s Canal heading south towards the Thames a long line of parks continues almost all the way to the canal end of Duckett’s Passage. At the end of the 19th century human habitation was all the more indiscernible. Ron couldn’t resist making his way forward to join Tilly in the open bows. Nor could he stop himself from calling out to Gary with all manner of jibes and teasing. “Oh where did you get that hat, where did you get that tile?” Tilly sprang into life supplying the next line, “Isn’t it a nobby one and just the proper style?” She would have gone on but instead became rather serious if not a little annoyed. “’Ere, where did you get that from? Ron didn’t see the irritation in Tilly’s expression and was chuckling away, “He he he, He really has got a nobby one and I don’t mean his hat. The remark went over Tilly’s head for with her transformation into her 1888 persona all memory of her private titillation with Gary was gone. “’Is pill box titfer is not to be made fun of. ‘E’s a ‘ero is my ‘Arry. Anyway Hi hasked you a question. Where did you get that song from?” That only made Ron laugh all the harder. “I wrote it...” ‘Well if Gary can get away with it,’ he thought...” “Oh no you didn’t.” Now Tilly was really upset. “Joe Sullivan did, only months ago and ‘E said I could be the first to use it in London, And in case you don’t know it goes like this...” With that Tilly broke into song. “Now how I came to get this hat, 'tis very strange and funny Grandfather died and left to me his property and money And when the will it was read out, they told me straight and flat If I would have his money, I must always wear his hat "Where did you get that hat? Where did you get that tile? Isn't it a nobby one, and just the proper style? I should like to have one Just the same as that!" Where'er I go, they shout "Hello! Where did you get that hat?" Gary brought the horses to a halt the second he heard his Tilly break into song. Her voice was strong and in the still of the night it carried far. She might have continued with the next verse only everyone else on the boat had come up at the sound of her singing and had broken into a round of strong clapping punctured by Ron’s whistles and the other girls’ shouts of Bravo, Encore. Tilly grinned. This was what she loved so much with her audiences and tossing her pretty head to one side she bent her knees and curtsied. “We’re here,” Gary shouted, at which cry Stan heaved on the tiller to bring his boat in to lie alongside a small quay side. It was only a short walk to the Royal Oak and with every step Tilly tripped along beaming brighter and brighter as she saw the gas lit corner ahead. Gary held the door open for Tilly and an enormous round of applause broke out as soon as she stood in the entrance. Though fairly crowded everyone made way for Tilly and her new found friends to make their way to the bar where she was warmly greeted by Isambard. This was the first time that Ron had seen the grown up version and he couldn’t help saying, “I knew you when you were a little boy and that was only a couple of hours ago.” The slip fetched him a sharp kick on the shins from Gary. “Are you making fun of the force, Sir? If I weren’t about to entertain these good folks I might think about taking you in custody.” “And Now Ladies and Gentlemen and what Honourables we ‘ave ‘ere tonight,” the Master of Ceremonies began, “I give you that inimitable cheeky and most memorable constable, our own genial and amicable functionary of ordained law and order who with great extemporaneous proficiency combined with elegant sophistication will convey to one and all the pitfalls of matrimony undertaken without due contemplated inspection prior to proceeding along the aisle to the altar. So ‘ere ‘E is, Isambard Deadman ‘isself, in person.” Isambard puffed himself up and made his way up to the small stage, nodding on the way with a cheery acknowledgement to one side and then the other. (Note – the reader may appreciate Isambard’s performance all the more by acquainting themselves with the song and act. This youtube only has the music - www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcmilAiCwJQ This Pathe video – you need to click on it and wait for it to start – shows how it was done by Tim Costello in 1934 - www.britishpathe.com/video/at-trinity-church-i-met-my-doom-tom-costello ) The bewhiskered Isambard faced his audience and as the small orchestra played the opening bars he bent his knees in the same manner as had his father Reginald, the Bargee. Just as everyone thought he would begin, he waved his hand and the music stopped. “Now when I say the word, ‘Doom’ I want you all to go Boompity Boompitty Boom Boom Boom and when I say the word ‘Room’ you do the same, got it?” With the first verse he walked from side to side of the stage, twisting his head accordingly and with the chorus he dramatised each phrase in such a manner he had them all laughing heartily. “Twelve months ago with decent chances Prospects of success in life Thru' foolish love of ballroom dances Trouble came..... I met my wife Such a noble, buxom creature She in my eyes then appeared False she was, though fair of feature Like to salmon I was speared Chorus “She told me her age was five and twenty Cash in the bank of course she'd plenty I like a lamb believed it all I was an M - U - G At Trinity church I met my doom Now we live in a top back room Up to my eyes in debt for renty That's what she's done for me”
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Post by malcolm on May 2, 2015 15:19:43 GMT -5
Now that I have my novel The Tutankhamen Code published - available on Amazon Kindle - and with a fantastic book review in New Dawn Magazine out tomorrow, I intend to continue with this sequel with the likelihood of having it published when finished. I wrote to Marks and Gran re copyright on the characters but got no reply. Whilst one can read what I've written on the sequel here in these pages, I can email undivided copy as a Word File if you let me know - calum33 at bigpond dot com.
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Post by Branka on May 3, 2022 14:18:51 GMT -5
Continued..... There was magic in the air that evening. All that could be heard was the clip cloppety clop of the pair of horses and the rippling rush of water rustling the reeds along the banks of the Canal caused by the bow waves from the Ruby Mary. Now and again the slim uniformed figure leading them by ropes attached to the horses’ driving reins clicked his tongue more for encouragement than urging them on. The enchantment of the canals is partly due to their never losing their rural character. They rarely pass close by long lines of buildings though warehouses there are in abundance. One can cruise through England’s largest cities and hardly know that you’ve left the countryside behind. Today Victoria Park fills one side of Duckett’s Cut and then on the Regent’s Canal heading south towards the Thames a long line of parks continues almost all the way to the canal end of Duckett’s Passage. At the end of the 19th century human habitation was all the more indiscernible. Ron couldn’t resist making his way forward to join Tilly in the open bows. Nor could he stop himself from calling out to Gary with all manner of jibes and teasing. “Oh where did you get that hat, where did you get that tile?” Tilly sprang into life supplying the next line, “Isn’t it a nobby one and just the proper style?” She would have gone on but instead became rather serious if not a little annoyed. “’Ere, where did you get that from? Ron didn’t see the irritation in Tilly’s expression and was chuckling away, “He he he, He really has got a nobby one and I don’t mean his hat. The remark went over Tilly’s head for with her transformation into her 1888 persona all memory of her private titillation with Gary was gone. “’Is pill box titfer is not to be made fun of. ‘E’s a ‘ero is my ‘Arry. Anyway Hi hasked you a question. Where did you get that song from?” That only made Ron laugh all the harder. “I wrote it...” ‘Well if Gary can get away with it,’ he thought...” “Oh no you didn’t.” Now Tilly was really upset. “Joe Sullivan did, only months ago and ‘E said I could be the first to use it in London, And in case you don’t know it goes like this...” With that Tilly broke into song. “Now how I came to get this hat, 'tis very strange and funny Grandfather died and left to me his property and money And when the will it was read out, they told me straight and flat If I would have his money, I must always wear his hat "Where did you get that hat? Where did you get that tile? Isn't it a nobby one, and just the proper style? I should like to have one Just the same as that!" Where'er I go, they shout "Hello! Where did you get that hat?" Gary brought the horses to a halt the second he heard his Tilly break into song. Her voice was strong and in the still of the night it carried far. She might have continued with the next verse only everyone else on the boat had come up at the sound of her singing and had broken into a round of strong clapping punctured by Ron’s whistles and the other girls’ shouts of Bravo, Encore. Tilly grinned. This was what she loved so much with her audiences and tossing her pretty head to one side she bent her knees and curtsied. “We’re here,” Gary shouted, at which cry Stan heaved on the tiller to bring his boat in to lie alongside a small quay side. It was only a short walk to the Royal Oak and with every step Tilly tripped along beaming brighter and brighter as she saw the gas lit corner ahead. Gary held the door open for Tilly and an enormous round of applause broke out as soon as she stood in the entrance. Though fairly crowded everyone made way for Tilly and her new found friends to make their way to the bar where she was warmly greeted by Isambard. This was the first time that Ron had seen the grown up version and he couldn’t help saying, “I knew you when you were a little boy and that was only a couple of hours ago.” The slip fetched him a sharp kick on the shins from Gary. “Are you making fun of the force, Sir? If I weren’t about to entertain these good folks I might think about taking you in custody.” “And Now Ladies and Gentlemen and what Honourables we ‘ave ‘ere tonight,” the Master of Ceremonies began, “I give you that inimitable cheeky and most memorable constable, our own genial and amicable functionary of ordained law and order who with great extemporaneous proficiency combined with elegant sophistication will convey to one and all the pitfalls of matrimony undertaken without due contemplated inspection prior to proceeding along the aisle to the altar. So ‘ere ‘E is, Isambard Deadman ‘isself, in person.” Isambard puffed himself up and made his way up to the small stage, nodding on the way with a cheery acknowledgement to one side and then the other. (Note – the reader may appreciate Isambard’s performance all the more by acquainting themselves with the song and act. This youtube only has the music - www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcmilAiCwJQ This Pathe video – you need to click on it and wait for it to start – shows how it was done by Tim Costello in 1934 - www.britishpathe.com/video/at-trinity-church-i-met-my-doom-tom-costello ) The bewhiskered Isambard faced his audience and as the small orchestra played the opening bars he bent his knees in the same manner as had his father Reginald, the Bargee. Just as everyone thought he would begin, he waved his hand and the music stopped. “Now when I say the word, ‘Doom’ I want you all to go Boompity Boompitty Boom Boom Boom and when I say the word ‘Room’ you do the same, got it?” With the first verse he walked from side to side of the stage, twisting his head accordingly and with the chorus he dramatised each phrase in such a manner he had them all laughing heartily. “Twelve months ago with decent chances Prospects of success in life Thru' foolish love of ballroom dances Trouble came..... I met my wife Such a noble, buxom creature She in my eyes then appeared False she was, though fair of feature Like to salmon I was speared Chorus “She told me her age was five and twenty Cash in the bank of course she'd plenty I like a lamb believed it all I was an M - U - G At Trinity church I met my doom Now we live in a top back room Up to my eyes in debt for renty That's what she's done for me”
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