Summerabbacat

As I somewhat facetiously stated @Paladin, just like a gastric bug.

She was "easy" @Cane23 and Martin was desperately horny. She may have even lied to Martin and tricked him into marriage. "You knocked me up Martin, so we will have to get married or my father will kill you". She has proven that lying comes to her as easy as fucking profanity (which I cannot criticise her for, as much as I would like to), so a fake pregnancy would not surprise.

What an evening. I have been so spoilt, first a new chapter of Traditions from the pen of the pony, @Mark Ponyboy Peters, and now a new chapter of Turmoil from the pen of the @Paladin. And if that wasn't a sufficient enough dose of Aussie-ness, Martin and the boys ate Tim Tams and Rick brought prawns from the fish markets for dinner. All we need is a visit to the five "boys" from Kylie Minogue or Kath and Kim, to finish the evening on a perfect high. I have to hand it to you @Paladin, you outdid yourself. Scragtasha is an even bigger bitch than I could have imagined. We learned that: her adultery (a word which usually rankles me greatly, but in this instance it did not) is at least one of the reasons which led to the acrimonious divorce she is homophobic and quoted the usual biblical text contained in Leviticus to justify her opposition to Ben's relationship with Justin she has misappropriated funds, which under the terms of the divorce settlement, were allowances for the children she has lied to Benjamin, at least, about receiving Child Support payments from Martin she is all bluster and is not very bright she is a head teacher at a Christian school, and yet did not "get" Martin's reference to the Ten Commandments Speaking of her employment, I would be very interested to know @Paladin if the Christian school at which Scragtasha teaches is aware of at least one of the reasons which led to her divorce. If the school is one which follows literal interpretation of biblical text, she may very well find her employment contract severed for being an adulteress, something which I would normally find repugnant, but which in her case I would not be troubled, which probably makes me as big a hypocrite as her, but she is a c u next Tuesday and I am not. If Scragtasha's performance on this occasion is indicative of what we can expect from her, I don't believe she poses any real threat. Her accusations are baseless and she is quite stupid. She is like a 24 hour gastric bug, she will cause explosive diarrhoea until you fight off the "infection", and then will be given no further thought, unless she is like gastroenteritis.

I have to confess @chris191070, I share Kieran and @Mark Ponyboy Peters' opinion of this song. Whilst I don't hate the song, I find it very irritating and somewhat unnerving. It was #1 for 4 weeks in 1989 in Australia and I do remember it was played to death. I am not sure why, but the voices of The Proclaimers, whom I think were brothers, always made me think of garden gnomes, which I have always felt were a little "creepy". I lived in Erskineville, not far from the Imperial Hotel in 1995/1996, then in Newtown in 1996/1997 and in Camperdown from 1997 to 2013. Your descriptions of this area were very vivid and spot on @Mark Ponyboy Peters The smell of old carpet and Chinese takeaway was very amusing and brought back many memories, moreso the former than the latter. The cousins' and Charlie's meeting with Trinity/Patrick was very poignant @Mark Ponyboy Peters. I sensed vivid images from his childhood, many of them probably unpleasant, and many images of his life when he first moved to Sydney and likely struggled to find and support himself, flashed through Patrick's mind, like a film noir movie. My hay fever started playing up again, so evocative was your writing. It took me much longer to get to read this chapter than I anticipated because the "other Frida" has commandeered my laptop and also expressed her displeasure with the dinner with which she was served this evening. She has been playing prima donna all day today since we first got up at about 11.30 (it was bloody cold this morning and none of us wanted to get out of bed).

🎉🎉🎉🎉 Hooray ! A continuation of the story about the "other Charlie". I am so pleased to see the return of this story @Mark Ponyboy Peters. I look forward to reading this chapter and hopefully a few more yet, at least, before it concludes. I hope we get to meet cousin Patrick aka Trinity de la Creme in this chapter. Now without further ado I will read it.

I love your brevity @chris191070.

I found it interesting too @CincyKris, particularly that workplace safety issues such as cables lying around and lumber not being stacked properly, are being overlooked or ignored. The building industry in Australia is notorious for not ensuring worker safety is treated as paramount, and if this building site reflects the norm in Canada, it seems it may be the case there too. As noted by James repeatedly, these "small" problems could become big problems if ignored e.g. death(s) on a building site, environmental law breaches. Large corporations invariably scoff at such "trivialities" until the shit hits the fan, at which time it is usually the workers' or middle management who are blamed. In this case it also appears the client has unrealistic expectations, which I suspect is common in this industry, as are labour shortages, at least in Australia. James' job is not conducive to healthy living at present; early starts and late finishes, with insufficient rest and proper meal times. I daresay if challenged in such circumstances many employers would blame the employee and say they are not managing their time well, a typical cop-out again to blame the employee. James' employer does however, seem to be better than the average, or at least his immediate boss is. I think once James returns from his trip to Toronto he and Evan should ease back a bit on the texting etc as one or the other or both may start to find the attentiveness a little suffocating. I think I would, but I am inflexible, grumpy and unreasonable at times. LOL. An interesting story thus far @ChromedOutCortex, one without any tragedy or overwhelming angst. The only real "bummer" in the story to date is James' fractious relationship with his family, whom I assume have largely rejected him because he is gay.

'Dad Creep' rather than 'Twink Tops' then @Cane23.

I also love her self-deprecating sense of humour:

Perhaps someone treated Evan as he treated James, or perhaps he has done some genuine soul searching and realised he treated James poorly, or perhaps the grass was not greener on the other side. I am very sceptical the changes will last @CincyKris and will be very pleasantly surprised if they do.

And a very kind, compassionate, altruistic and genuine human being if all one reads about Dolly Rebecca Parton is to be believed. Dare I say, someone who lives her life according to what I understand to be the basic tenets of Christianity.

Of course if any of the students have a "daddy" fetish Herr Becker may be an ideal participant. Herr Becker, Housemaster, "Daddy", 'Twink Tops' fantasy.

Maybe not for Killian and Jacy though if @weinerdog's speculation above comes to fruition.

Not a thing @drsawzall. It is just I can imagine him critiquing the performance of those participating, telling them what they are doing wrong and how they could improve their performance and scoring them on their personal "attributes", all based on their families wealth and social status.

There you go @Lee Wilson, problem solved. And as my "reward", you gladly donate your first class ticket to Italy. Arrivederci Signore Wilsonino. I'll send you a postcard from Milan.

I seem to recall you have previously mentioned you are already a grandfather @Lee Wilson or have I imagined this? If so, you simply cannot go as to do so might slight your grandchildren. If I am mistaken, I guess there is no competition, you win.😠😠😠

Hello God! I adore Dolly.

Lou indicates Winston "got a pretty big settlement from when his parents were killed". I suspect @Davide they may have been killed in a car accident caused by another driver who was found at fault, or in their own car and the manufacturer was found at fault, or they may have been murdered. Art and Seth are now on "boner watch", with boners making random appearances, sometimes at the most inopportune moments. If Seth decides additional naturist explorations are in order in the Lamonica/Stevenson family home he may find the novelty of nudity will wear off and the boners will become less recurrent. Of course, given his age they may become even more recurrent - he brushes against the dining table leg, voilà boner; he sits on the couch next to Art, voilà boner; he watches Lou eat a banana whilst watching TV, voilà boner; a gentle breeze is felt through the household, voilà boner. A trip to Italy, flying first class, how wonderful. Perhaps Lou could have taken me as a de-facto grandfather for Art given one of his grandfathers is deceased. Living 'Down Under' can be such a depravation at times @Lee Wilson.

Hopefully not Herr Becker though.

@Laura S. Fox commented after the last chapter that there will be homoeroticism in this story @Cane23. If Ali's first appearance was any guide to future appearances I can certainly see him putting the homo in eroticism so to speak.

My speculative juices have all but dried up after this chapter @Josh Aterovis, mirroring Killian's despondency after being so close to learning the identity of the looter, who is also the likely murderer. I think after this chapter the only persons who can be ruled out are Jacy and Professor Howard. It was interesting to note that for the first time Killian considered Bridget may have been involved in the looting, and that her getting cold feet may have led to her murder. Was this merely a red herring introduced by @Josh Aterovis to whip we readers into a speculation frenzy, or a legitimate observation on Killian's part requiring further consideration. I will be interested to see what our resident expert on red herrings, @drsawzall, has to say on the matter. The distressed caller has not been heard from again as yet. Were the two calls received to date just another Aterovisian distraction, and if not, who was the caller and what was the purpose of their calls. A possible explanation which has just occurred to me now is that the caller was Eve, perhaps calling Killian at work rather than at home, as she wants to use him for some purpose relating to Kane. I cannot believe she would be calling to ask Killian to help her make amends with Kane, or even more unbelievably Adam, so she must be up to something nefarious if it is indeed she who has called.

My apologies @Robert Hugill I have just been re-reading your profile information and note you have your own blog Planet Hugill, not a programme of the same title. Does your blog address your love of classical music? I seem to recall @Gary Lis a classical music fan as well, or it may just be opera.

OMG The Nimrud Panther, potentially traded by Uncle Vernon for sexual services provided by Ian's Aunt. I cannot imagine this having occurred though as what value did this artefact have for Ian's Aunt, particularly given it looked like mud according to Ian or a turd according to the rest of the "gang". Ian has also always portrayed his Aunt as very serious and proper, but I guess underneath all that Victorian frustration and repressed sexuality, there could have beaten the heart (and the loins) of a woman with a voracious appetite for passion. I also recall Louis alluding to the fact Uncle Vernon often cast a lascivious eye at photographs of scantily clad or unclad younger males. I suppose he could have been bisexual. I have been under the impression chapter 40 was the final chapter @Robert Hugill. I have just checked the chapter listing and noted the Prologue and Eileen was classified as chapter 1, so this chapter really is only chapter 39, so all is forgiven. LOL. I am very pleased by this, as it means we readers get one more chapter before you 'Complete' this story 😢😢😢😢. It has caused a "minor inconvenience" though, as I had the "perfect" song selected to publish in honour of the final chapter, but cannot wait to do so on the final chapter as I will probably forget by the time the "real" chapter 40 is published. It is a fabulous song, disco of course, and although not as good as the original by Donna Summer, it is a very worthy remake. What makes it of great significance Gary L, @drsawzall, @pvtguy, @centexhairysub, @Daddydavek, @VBlew, @Carybr and @CCinPS, is that Robert Hugill is one of the backing vocalists on the track as a member of the Pink Singers. It is rather appropriate too because the song itself was released 41 years ago and was a substantial hit, just like this story. I have never seen this video @Robert Hugill and it really is the epitome of 80's tackiness, but I liked it nevertheless, very amusing and loved the sleek black cat. Jimmy looks about 15 or 16 years of age, Steve looks like he could have "inspired" Chris Lowe from Pet Shop boys in his Roy Orbison glasses, standing completely still with a poker face and Marc is so over the top. I hated Tainted Love by Soft Cell, so have never given Marc the regard I perhaps should have as he is rather a good singer. I have to ask Robert, is that you by chance on the surfboard with Jimmy? LOL.

If the first three chapters are an indication of the story yet to be told then we readers are in for a treat. A small cast of interesting characters thus far, set against the backdrop of a somewhat "disturbing" all boys school, Veridien Academy.

Ali presented himself as more eccentric than prankster (Lawrence's description, not mine). I, like @drsawzall, suspect Ali knows far more than what he shared initially with Lawrence. He was exuberant and somewhat chaotic in manner, but I am almost certain that masks a very observant person with a mind like a steel trap. I, like our other resident doctor, @drpaladin, wondered if Ali paid Lawrence a visit on his own volition or was he sent to interrogate, and if so, by whom. Ali lacked a filter in his open, if not blatant, admiration of Lawrence's physique. To his credit, Lawrence was not hostile to this. He was cautious in his responses to Ali's questions, providing only the most basic information about himself, information which Herr Becker and the school's administration would already have on record. And speaking of Herr Becker, Ali did not give him a glowing reference, but how much of his assessment was truthful and how much was embellishment for dramatic effect. I must say @Laura S. Fox, Ali reminded me a lot of young Jack from Beyond The Veil. He has Jack's exuberance, lack of filter, nervous restless energy, chaotic manner, irreverence and inquisitiveness. Lawrence described him as feline like, a description which could perhaps be applied to Jack too given his similar small slender build. Much to ponder after Ali's visit to Lawrence @Laura S. Fox but the pressing question for me at least was, what was Ali listening to on his headphones? 1986 electronic beats. Could it perhaps have been New Order with any number of their club hits from that era e.g. Blue Monday, Sub Culture, Shellshock, or Thieves Like Us. I am going to go with Sub Culture.