Ivor Slipper

An unexpected but very enjoyable surprise for the last day of 2016. It's really good to catch up again with Jay, Mikey and their family and friends.

Thanks, CG. It's very much the point that Tommy was one of the lucky ones in that he still had his parents - and Daisy - when many others lost everything. Back then there wasn't much in the way of material possessions but those could be replaced, people couldn't. Come to that I doubt he'd have got much in his Christmas stocking anyway - perhaps an apple but there were no oranges or bananas for most. Mind you, as his father worked on the docks perhaps a crate of those split open or went missing while being unloaded...........

Great finale. Happy Christmas!

Congratulations on a very impressive 24 days.

Christmas comes in a delivery van it is often said, but it doesn't usually come inside one. A really warming story Gary - thanks.

This was a real fun packed and highly entertaining Christmas story. You definitely had me goggling a couple of times with some of your ideas. And although there was a lot of whimsy there were also plenty of serious counterpoints. I'm with Gary in that I reckon you just might be able to make a living out of writing.......perhaps you should seriously consider it? Ivor

Really enjoyed this great 'feelgood' story.

Thanks AC - glad you enjoyed it. I wish you a Happy Holiday also.

Sorry about the sniffs Geron. Yes, sometimes people were found alive under the rubble. I just didn't want these three to end up 'deaded' :-)

Thank you!!!

Thanks, Gary. Appreciate the comments and glad you enjoyed it.

By December 1940 Britain had been at war with Germany for over a year. Initially there had been a long period of the so called ‘Phoney War’ when despite dire predictions nothing had really happened, but then early in 1940 the German army had swept through France and the Low Countries sweeping aside any opposition. The remnants of the defeated British Army had miraculously been evacuated from Dunkirk and then had followed the ‘Battle of Britain’ when the British and Allied fighter pilots had stem

London in 1940. Young Tommy is looking forward to Christmas, but it proves to be very different to any previous ones.

I've enjoyed the whole story and thought you brought it to a neat conclusion. In the end I was convinced that Dave had earned a second love while Jae lives on in the honey.

Gene 63 - you said it for me!

You gave me the answers I wanted tim so thanks for that. But I'm left with this feeling that Dave is getting off too easy. He spurns Jae which leads to him getting killed and now he's come back home and is falling immediately into another relationship. Maybe he never really loved Jae? I wonder what might have happened had Jae stayed around? Which one would he have chosen then?

I suspect there is quite a bit to be revealed. How did Jim get that wound in his shoulder? How did Jae die? Does it have anything to do with the bodies Dave discovered? So tim, you've got two chapters to give me some answers! And I thought that as an excellent chapter, even if it had such a sad ending.

The English 'Boarding School' was something experienced by only a small % of boys, almost always those from the upper classes. I guess as a consequence of the latter it has received considerable attention in books and films. Just how much cp and gay activities went on in a matter of debate. I suspect more of the former than the latter, although naturally the latter was much less open. Glad you enjoyed the ride, Geron.

I think Jae had every right to run away. Dave failed to appreciate that Jae had been in a 'kill or be killed' situation; didn't appreciate that if Jae hadn't got those tattoos on his cheek then he'd be dead and they'd never have met. He should have been thankful and understanding - especially as he was now about to kill people himself. Hopefully he will find Jae again and have a chance to make things right - but there's an awful lot of wilderness out there......

Really liked this story. Very clever the way in which Duncan slowly came to realize and accept he had misunderstood so much. I think David I going to have some happy years ahead with those two.

Hi CG, 'Slipper' in school terms meant a plimsoll which would have a rubber sole; in domestic terms it more likely meant a leather carpet slipper with a leather sole. In many UK schools the slipper was the equivalent of the paddle although in some the 'weapon' of choice was the cane. More often than not though the cane was reserved for the more serious infractions. Of course detentions and lines were also used. CP has not been allowed in UK schools for many years now and is virtually illegal at home too. As for 'experimentation', put teenage boys together in a bedroom day after day, week after week, and I'm sure things did happen. How openly and how commonly I'm sure varied from school to school and even from year to year. Glad to be able to widen your knowledge of weird old English customs :-) Ivor.

Bath Oliver I nearly fell off my chair at the breakfast table that morning when I started reading the Old Boys magazine. It was now not far short of 40 years since I had left the school but when I did I had joined the Old Boys Association. At the time I think most of us leavers did but I knew that over the years many had dropped out. I wasn’t sure why I was still a member or come to that why I had ever joined in the first place. It wasn’t as if I’d been that good at sport (apart from rugby

I'd forgotten all about Jae's tattoo - great piece of forward planning :-) Great mix of love and tense action. Now let's see what happens when the dynamite goes off........

For John a picture in a magazine brings back memories of his time at an English Boarding School

I've never really imagined the US as being the place to open a 'Recycled Shop' - thought everyone was too busy buying the latest new gizmo and throwing the one they bought last year in the trash. Nice to know that is a misconception. As for the story, I'm glad Steve & Chris got together and pleased that those shorts played a brief part in that :-)