Rigby Taylor

So, You think Robert should have let the Headmaster destroy Bart's career, and his own hopes of education? Consider the stress he was under... several attempts on his life and that of Bart. Locked in a burning shed, and the murder of Murray. If murder is never the answer, why do soldiers go to kill people in other countries? Why don't they sit down and discuss their differences rationally? Why do some countries have the 'Death Penalty'? If you were attacked and the only way to save your own life was to kill the other person, would you allow yourself to be killed? Robert was defending his and Bart's right to share their lives together. Lance and the Headmaster were bent on destroying them - mentally if not physically. Surely it could be argued it was self defence? Thanks so much for sharing your reactions, It's very interesting. Rigby.

You are a writer's dream - someone who reads attentively and thinks about what he is reading. Thanks for taking the trouble to comment, I certainly agree with you regarding the dangers of acting foolhardily.

The headmaster is a victim of his religious mother's suffocating demands, and his belief in Old Testament laws. You're right about the Osbairnes!

If the straying was just a one-off that meant nothing - a young man's exploration into his sown sexuality, then why mention it? As long as it was safe sex, it isn't really that different to having a game of tennis with someone. But if it becomes a habit! Then that's very serious and demands a long, serious chat and decisions. Robert is really too young to settle to one person, so he will have lots of curiosity, if that is denied him his imagination will work overtime, he'll start to imagine he's missing out on something wonderful. So if he strays once or twice and discovers it wash't worth it - that he's much better off with Bart, then it is a good thing. Yeah - relationships are complicated, we all have to work on our own as we are the only ones who know what's best for ourselves. One thing is certain, jealousy is the greatest enemy of a relationship.

That's a relief - thanks.

Indeed, the problem is finding an available chipper and mopping up all that blood. Apparently even freezing didn't prevent a dreadful mess. Thanks for your encouraging words - they inspire me to continue.

Nah, they were all screwing him - ten at a trot a few weeks previously - according to Shiv when he met Frankie at the ablutions trough, to get his opinion on his painfully swollen ring.

Interesting enough to make you want to join a monastery, Wesley?

Thanks for the compliment, but I think my invented nastinesses pale beside the vile atrocities perpetrated daily by humans against others of their species. Appropriate attention??? From a man who rapes daily another man while pretending he's a woman? Ah yes, the next step - Will our hero ever escape the trials and tribulations and forces of evil ranged against him? Will he find true love? Will he even survive?

I thought it was a wonderful compliment - and thanks for the permission to remain the same, although I doubt if I could change even if I wanted to.

Frankie was so tired that a straw pellet on the stone floor beside twenty-two other sleeping men seemed like luxury. In a coarse cotton nightshirt and wrapped in a sweet-smelling blanket, he slept deeply, only to be woken what seemed minutes later by the sound of a loud bell. He leaped out of bed imagining an emergency. Everyone was calmly getting up. A single candle gave just enough light to see the woollen monkish habits they were putting on over their nightshirts. Frankie found his hanging on

Thank you [I think] Hellsheild. I apologise for the transgressions, I shall try to do better next time.

Your faith in Frankie is wonderful. But revenge? We are told that we should forgive everyone, otherwise we become like those who do bad things. Doesn't revenge only make a quarrel continue until it becomes a generational vendetta? It's a difficult question. Revenge is sweet, but forgiveness is divine? I think as long as there's no possibility of the bad person doing the same thing again, then it's best to just forget about it, but if there's a likelihood of them repeating the evil, then they should be destroyed completely.

Very witty! I don't think Wiley intends to 'look after' Frankie... As for the 'Master' Mmmm.... Tough love do you think?

Damnation indeed! It's a hell of a place.

Spiritually, if not physically refreshed, satchel under his seat, Frankie marvelled at the amount of forest remaining in such an overpopulated country. The smoothly sealed road soon left the valley and wound up rocky slopes with not a tree or shrub to inhibit the view of distant mountains. Then down and along stony canyons beside pale grey glacial water that roared over huge boulders and rapids. Then more green valleys. The most interesting of the stops was at a waterfall tumbling a hundred metr

That's very sweet of you. And you are correct - I usually tend to be less than subtle , so it isn't surprising when my efforts at subtlety miss the mark. And you are also right when suggesting that Frankie wouldn't waste his time on a bigoted idiot. Your command of English is remarkable, as it is your second language. My partner, for whom English is also a second language, also has a tendency to take everything literally. It makes things complicated at times.

Ah - a fellow Saki admirer. I've been secretly in love with Clovis Sangrail all my life.

Thank you for reading beyond the simple plot. I really like Sushant, and it was tempting to have him 'break out'. But I know from good Indian friends in that situation, that Indian society is so closely intertwined with relatives and work that it is not possible to escape the social structure in which you are born without leaving the country, or at least that state. An unmarried man will not find good/professional employment, or even a place to rent. Without supportive relatives life is very difficult. With antagonistic relatives life is impossible. Yes, it is one of my few genuinely 'nice' chapters - I'm thrilled you like it.

Yes indeed. As the French say, every parting is a small death.

It's interesting that you read Sushant as silly and bigoted; my intention was to create a character of understated intelligence and sensitivity. His first discussion with Frankie was very tongue-in-cheek. After enumerating all the 'reasons' homosexuality is bad, and stating that all unnatural things should be banned, his reaction to Frankie's observation about flying in a tin box, is to say with a smile, "I am a tolerant man". This is so absurd it means he is either demented or has a delightfully subtle sense of humour. He is one of millions of men trapped in a similar situation, trapped by tradition and family expectations. After thinking about it, he comes up with a way of satisfying his true nature in the most charming manner. And his final decision not to remain in contact, is that of a wise man who understands that nothing is perfect, and although happiness is not always possible, we can achieve a satisfactory state of mind by accepting the cards we are dealt. Frankie didn't re-educate Sushant , he freed him from self imposed bonds by being so frank, honest and relaxed.

It was an exhilarating and beautiful drive up to Gangtok; cool mountain valleys aglow with late summer flowering shrubbery, numerous knife-edge bends winding ever up, dotted with cautionary signs telling the driver to slow down if he wanted to see heaven. The drivers of oncoming vehicles either couldn’t read or had lost the will to live judging from their speed and apparent insouciance on blind corners. All around was dense greenery, pine forests, mountain meadows and wildly flowering shrubbery

Gosh, you sweet-talking' son of a gun! Ah yes. The telephone time line. From what subconscious sludge in my mind did I dredge that up. [Thinks and scratches head] Ah yes... they don't make a dinging sound on aeroplanes - they just say it. You are fortunate indeed to have sons to admire. I hope they admire their intelligent, smart, handsome, witty and pleasant papa. As for your awe and wonder, it is reciprocated - for your endurance in reading all my scratchings. XXR.

Commiserations, Wesley - I too suffer. It is a problem for those of us with super-charged brains, we think too much and our heads overheat. Take fifteen deep breaths, waggle your fingers and toes, then have a long wank walk. That usually cures symptoms of philosophical and intellectual overload.

Jaded? I hoped the absence of censorious dogma on sex and sexuality in Hindu and Buddhist beliefs would be heartwarming. However, I feel stupid not understanding why this it a line from history Is it the use of - six thirty am? I agree, about travel, but in my experience it only broadens minds that are ready to be broadened.