Rigby Taylor

Shock horror! Hellshield, this sounds just the teensiest bit sexist... heaven forbid! Has no one told you women are perfect? I'm pleased Jarek's absence of anal retentivity inspires you with satisfactory mental imagery...

Thanks, Canuk. Erotic, I agree, but I'm not sure what you mean by fantasy... And surely you don't expect all the good guys to get off scott free?

Thanks for that information Timothy. Our ticks at this time of the year are so tiny you often can't see them without a magnifying glass, so it is not possible to use any sort of tweezer. And for the larger ones when they appear, I tried tweezers and only managed to squeeze the juice into me. Whereas I've had only success with kerosene. They just shrivel,and die and fall off. Sometimes there's an itchy small swelling for a day, but we are lucky, it seems we do not have Lyme Disease here. And you are correct about nudists. We seldom wear clothes in our place and so we notice ticks unconsciously and brush them off. It is always only a while after I put on trousers or a shirt that I feel the tick, and then it's too late. I've read there's a chemical that 'freezes' them. I'll try that in case my next tick vomits with kerosene.

The way things are going, with one country demanding the right to control all the others, and the sole means of averting trouble - diplomats - being withdrawn, we're heading for nuclear war. It doesn't matter, except to each sentient living thing. The planet is just a ball of semi molten rock. It's possible some life will survive and start over - but... Meanwhile we could be in the extraordinary position of watching the absurdity that is humans - magnificently clever, profoundly stupid - racing on to their inevitable and predictable demise. All we mere onlookers can do is enjoy the ride.

At one minute to three Jarek parked the minibus outside the school. Most of the returning boys were greeted by parents and whisked away with the barest nod of thanks. Leon winked and said, ‘See ya,’ before dashing off. The others waved sadly and lugged their bags home, leaving Jarek with a euphoric Principal who had been kept abreast of everything Jarek thought he should know with nightly phone calls. When all ten students had been accounted for they went to Stephen’s office to discuss whether t

Thanks for enjoying my notions of paradise. I agree that Timbertop was excellent - until they civilized it - these sorts of 'experiments' seldom outlast their instigators - people with 'vision' and the energy to push their ideas through, are few and far between, and now that girls go to it, all is different. Co-education is a disaster for males. [And possibly for females too] Oh yes... a storm is definitely brewing.... will it sink our brave little band of freethinkers?

Thanks for enjoying Jarek. As for what happens when they get back to school - I decided it would be too depressing to reveal that. Extreme bias against women.... Why is it bias to describe, in general terms of course, as everyone is different, how women behave? They are very different from men and these differences are essential, neither bad nor good. It is interesting that men often say they have no idea what makes women tick, what they really want, how to treat them - women are a mystery. Yet women suffer no such reservations, they are quick to tell anyone who will listen exactly what is wrong with men - and usually it boils down to the fact that they are not like women - We are not a mystery to them simply recalcitrant boys in need of a woman a to push us into doing what they think is best. Perhaps Australia has so many more dangerous species simply because it is very large and sparsely populated and humans haven't had time yet to annihilate every species they can't make money out of. Believe me we're trying very hard. A third of the planet's bird species in danger of extinction are here, half the marsupials that were here when Europeans arrived are extinct thanks to cats and dogs and environmental degradation - Koalas are on the way out. Wallabies, dragon lizards, echidnas, bandicoots, that used to roam on my property have gone. Rest assured, give us another hundred years and we'll be as barren as the rest of the planet.

Let's hope the boys are clever enough to avoid probing questions.

So did they - just goes to show that nice guys are useless at being bad guys - they don;t think like them. But they'd better be quick...

‘Our last full day. Any requests?’ ‘Explore more places.’ ‘There’s an abandoned quarry and a magnificent stand of trees I’d like you to see.’ ‘Will there be people at the quarry?’ ‘Never in the dozen times I’ve been there. The road’s closed, it isn’t spectacular, and few people bother to go where there are no well-made tracks.’ ‘If it’s not spectacular, why are we going?’ ‘To see how, in only twelve years, nature has reclaimed what was a stinking, polluted, barren hole bl

Ah yes, ticks. After a day weeding and gardening yesterday my bottom lip began to swell. I felt giddy. A paralysis tick as tiny as a pinprick. After months tick free, it is that season again. I swabbed it with a little kerosene [the English call it paraffin] and it died within a minute. The swelling took 24 hours to die though.

You won't believe what a relief it is to read your kind words. I've been worried that I'm boring everyone. As for a sensible woman - I suppose we should first define sensible. From the male standpoint sensible means like us - [I won't define us] . From a female position it means 'find the best possible mate to breed with - someone who will protect and provide until the child is independent. In the long term this has been one of the main reasons humans have survived - so it is very sensible. We have not evolved in any major way over the last 10,000 years. Heterosexual men still need to make friends with men; women with women, and both need a suitable mate to breed with. The current notion that males and females are basically the same and can be the same sort of friends as single sex friendships, is confusing and unhelpful because it creates false expectations. Honesty about our evolutionary origins and natural behaviours is lacking from discussions, mainly because organised religions tell us we are not just animals, but something else - special. I like that you use 'whom', it denotes an educated man. I also like it that you had a good geography teacher. Such situations are far more common than anyone will admit. Commiserations about the cold. I get shivery when the temperature drops below 20C Thanks again for commenting.

Yes Chris - people usually only see what they've been taught/told to see... that's how most gays have been able to exist more or less comfortably and peacefully until recently. It bothers me that in places such as Swaziland, Uganda et al....... where it is a dangerous crime to be gay, they want to hold gay pride marches and "come out".

Indeed - rest assured, the women are not going to lie down and take defeat...

‘They woke to sounds of laughter from the bunk rooms; doors slamming and voices outside. Zeno stretched out on top of the bed, rolled over and protested, ‘Hell, what’s the time? The sun’s barely risen.’ ‘Come on handsome, get your fat arse outside and help me bathe and feed the hordes.’ ‘Morning men,’ Jarek’s deep voice made the ten self-consciously naked youths fooling around on the verandah jump and grin. Faces alert and ready for adventure, they were obviously relieved to se

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. [despite that word imperfect] .If what I read is correct, it seems that in many places so-called religious fundamentalism is on the increase along with the ever widening gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots'. Unhappiness breeds resentment and a desire for a powerful overlord who will put everything to rights. But as no human is ever going to fill that role, they're stuck with inventing an invisible superman in the sky. Apparently it helps them cope. Too bad about queers and other collateral damage.

‘A nerve-wracking day.’ ‘But fun.’ ‘If someone had told me you could turn the worst behaved class in school into a functioning unit who already respect each other, think the sun shines out of your arsehole, and can see nothing wrong in you and me spending the day starkers, I’d never have believed them! And who’d have thought that Arthur and his doughy band of fundie Christians would publicly tell you they were easy about you running around naked? Not to mention gangly four-eyes Anton, wh

I hope you realise that Jarek is a self-portrait . In the past shaving hair off probably had a lot to do with hygiene and body odour that became a problem as soon as humans decided to live in permanent settlements so body lice became epidemic, soap was seldom used, warm water too, and perfumes were primitive in the extreme. You're probably correct about a coincidence, although I have heard many women say they are not keen on hairy men, and strippers in straight clubs have to be smooth... I guess vanity has a lot to do with it too - smooth looks younger.

You're right about modern women, what an unpleasant experience. A pretty young female cashier in a shop recently smiled and asked how I was. I said 'fine thanks, and you?' 'I'm good.' So I asked whether she'd prefer to be good than pretty. She looked at me as if I was about to rape her so I hastily exited. Lord of the Flies was a tacit acceptance of human nature asserting itself - reality is just so depressing. But they didn't have Jarek with them for a guide... so rest easy.... for a while.

That's the trouble with democracy - it only lasts until the first would-be leader opens his/her mouth, and then it becomes a demagoguery. Humans are so easily swayed. It's probably the main reason for our survival, this readiness to follow a leader - any leader. Were we all rabid individualists we'd have been picked off one by one by predators.

By the time everyone had swum and dived and Melvin and Sasha had proved themselves the equal of Jarek and Zeno by easily hauling themselves up the rope; it was time for lunch. When, after walking fifty metres they realised how close they were to the cabin and how they’d been fooled, the larger boys laughingly hurled themselves on their two leaders and wrestled them to the ground, forcing a return to the swimming hole to wash off the debris. Lunch was cold savoury rice that Zeno had cooked th

I'm pleased you're developing your ire. It's good for your heart, apparently - but not for too long.

In tracksuit and trainers, Zeno nervously welcomed Jarek and the minibus with its cargo of ten sceptical fourteen year-olds, and led them with their holdalls to the covered eating area. Jarek, also in tracksuit and trainers, brought up the rear with Stephen. ‘Welcome to the jungle, guys,’ Jarek grinned. ‘Most of you will have seen Zeno around the school; he’s an excellent woodsman and will be helping me keep you busy for the next five days. What do you want to do first? Check out the rainfor

Are you reading my mind?

Cador wandered into a shaft of sunlight beside a small pool, then stood and gazed dreamily around, eyes unfocussed, a slight frown the only indication of unease. Zeno watched, captivated. Unable to find fault with this slim youth whose face, framed by straight black hair, looked simultaneously vulnerable and dangerous. Lips slightly apart revealing sharp teeth. Eagle’s beak nose. Determined jaw. Straight, uncompromising eyebrows. Would Cador be a risky person to cross? Zeno wondered. He decided