Both Dickon and she were in Miss Booth’s class. Florentina knocked on her office door just before school began. ‘Note from Simone.’ She was a child of few words like her brother. Kate waited until Florentina had left and then she opened the note. It was scribbled on the back of a leaflet advertis...
every Monday afternoon. They were expecting to begin work on a tapestry for a church in Culworth. To those outside the group it might have sounded small beer compared to the mural they’d just had hung in a cathedral in Hampshire; but the church was newly built in a stark minimalist style and was ...
Craddock Fitch Owner of Turnham House Jimmy Glover Taxi driver Mrs Jones A village gossip Vince Jones Her husband Barry Jones Her son and estate carpenter Pat Jones Barry’s wife Dean and Michelle Barry and Pat’s children Revd Peter Harris MA (Oxon) Rector of the parish Dr Caroline Harris His wife...
She was sitting in her chair, head down, crying. ‘What’s up?’ Mrs Jones endeavoured to make herself look as though crying was the last thing on her agenda but she wasn’t successful. ‘What yer crying for?’ ‘Yer dad’s just rung. He’s lost his job. Finishes end of the week.’ She sniffed loudly and w...
She’d worn the same one for four years now. It was made from an old brown coat of her mother’s. Every time Mrs Hipkin had worn it she’d said, ‘This coat will see me out.’ It didn’t. She’d bought another one, but refused to throw the old one away. ‘It’ll come in for something one day,’ she’d maint...
At the time, it hadn’t registered because there was so much to do on his return and it had been such a shock when he found the takings were down so much. So there was a lot to catch up on, but one day when he was adding up the takings, an idea crept quietly into his mind and wouldn’t go away. Wha...
Now that Tom ran the Store it was unusual to find Jimbo serving his customers. He raised his boater in greeting and gave Liz a smacking kiss on her cheek. ‘Good morning, my dear Liz. How’s things?’ ‘Fine, thanks. And you? What are you doing serving me? I thought you’d given all that up.’ Jimbo...
Andy had been released by the police because there was insufficient evidence to convict him of having murdered Jenny and he was plausible about the visit to the Abbey Coffee Shop. But he had been dismissed from the Social Services with decisions about his future still pending and was now living o...
He gave a slight hint of a whimper as Peter closed the door behind them and Bryn came right into the hall, and stopped within feet of where he stood. Bryn was still very distressed. He appeared to be of two minds, he didn’t know whether to have another go at eliminating Dicky or whether to weep a...
They’d discussed what had happened during the day and had now got round to the subject of the theft. Greenwood put down his fork, took a swig of his beer and commented, ‘Well, Pat, from where I’m sitting things aren’t looking too good. As I see it, Mr Fitch is bound to back old Jeremy’s decision,...
‘You see, rector, we’ve all known for years his idea about getting published was a load of rubbish, just a nonsense to make sure he didn’t have to work. They were obviously his belongings being thrown out of the house because a pair of men’s trousers fell out from one of ’em. We couldn’t believe ...
The children are travelling every Sunday evening to the International School and returning home Friday evening. There are children there from European countries as well as America, South America and Russia to name but a few, so Alex and Beth are enjoying meeting them all. Most of their parents ar...
As she read it her face creased with disappointment, for it told her that Mrs Bliss and her little Blisses were pleased for the offer of free uniforms but regrettably were unable to accept charity. The children had discussed it with her and agreed that accepting her offer was quite out of the que...
She was slimmer, she was livelier, she was kinder and more sympathetic, and above all she didn’t look down on everyone as she used to when she first came back to Turnham Malpas. The change in her had been sudden and nothing short of miraculous. Malcolm the milkman even swore he’d seen her out run...
He was finding the hot weather almost unbearable and some days she felt real concern on his behalf. They walked slowly, in deference to his age, along Jacks Lane and down towards Shepherd’s Hill. Pericles’ nose began twitching and so did Muriel’s. She was certain she could smell cooking, surely t...