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100 pages

English

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This is not just a single journey through life, but more of multiple opportunities to experience over and over again the emotions and actions of people from many walks of life. Along the way, Jonathan, a child who is bullied both at home and outside, transforms from the main character (a harmless innocent in the whirlpool of cosmic mystery) into the very real people that he was before (or at least in memories of his DNA). In each story, it is the actual memory of these past lives and adventures which are remembered and recalled for all to read. Stories involving, amongst others, Ancient Warriors, Smugglers, Chimney Sweeps, Native American Indians and Artisans of Paris. These are stories of passion, hardship, love, sadness, heroism and joy sewn from a common thread, woven into a cloth of morality and wisdom.

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Short story

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Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers
Date de parution	31 janvier 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781528947541
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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The Adventures of Jonathan
Peter George Spackman
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-01-31
The Adventures of Jonathan About the Author Dedication Copyright Information Acknowledgements Introduction Prologue Chapter 1: The Hollow Stacks The Song of the Sweeps (AKA Tapeloc’s Song) Chapter 2: The Riddle of the Medicine Wheel Chapter 3: The Moon Dances upon the Seine Mine Heart as If Is Yours Le Ange Chapter 4: The Power of the Stones An Ode to Barley Phonic Interpretation of An Ode to Barley Chapter 5: The Mystery of the Winged Helmet Chapter 6: The Mallet, the Chisel and the Sky Chapter 7: The Stars, the Sun and the Sail A Ship’s Watch: The Ship’s Bells: Chapter 8: The Bed Is Vacant The Epilogue: The Journey Begins Key to the Character Names
About the Author
Peter George Spackman, before retirement, enjoyed a variety of diverse occupations concluding in 27 years as a civil servant. Since retirement, the author has obtained a BA (Hons) from the University of Leicester, following a lifelong interest in History and Archaeology and published an enlightening book An A-Z of 1001 Field-Names and Their Interpretation . His hobbies are as varied as his life, actively engaging in archaeological investigations, history, intermingled with an appetite for a good game of poker and a passion for home-cooked food.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to the victims of bullying, in whatever form, with the expectations of inducing the unfortunate fact that they are not alone and that someone somewhere is thinking of you.
Copyright Information
Copyright © Peter George Spackman (2019)
The right of Peter George Spackman to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528908375 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528908382 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781528947541 (E-Book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgements
Unfortunately, without ‘the bullies’ and the parent of Jonathan, who subjected ‘life lessons’ upon an innocent child, for whatever reason, Jonathan would not have experienced ‘refuge’. So, actually, in a roundabout way, without me condoning bullying, thank you for the people who bullied Jonathan.
A big thank you to Jonathan for allowing me to record and transcribe a few of his many lives, with the hope that he survives long enough to recall many more lives, loves and morals.
Thank you for the dedication and understanding of the illustrator Jacqueline Simester www.Illustrere.co.uk , her interpretation of my initial thoughts, her design techniques bringing the stories to life and adding a visual concept to the script.
Thank you to Stephen Wass, who, amongst many other talents, plays the squeezebox in a ‘Morris Dancing Troup’ for the task of composing the score to ‘The Song of the Sweeps’.
Most of all, a huge thank you to my dear wife, Carol Ann, for the many hours that she supported and encouraged me whilst I put the tales of Jonathan on paper. Carol Ann is an angel amongst mortals, for whom I have had the honour and privilege to share five decades ‘of this life’ with a thought ‘have we met before’ in another time, another place.
Introduction
These are tales told by Jonathan, a person who was the victim of prolonged bullying, but Jonathan is not alone as the perpetrators (who I believe must carry a sort of bullying disease) are more numerous than people realise. A disease carried by unthoughtful people, whose only pleasure is to make someone sad as a result of being the subject of unkindness and both mental and physical cruelty. There are thousands of others, of all ages, out there in the wide, wide world who are constantly under the stress caused by bullying. It appears to be a perplexing situation in so much that the victim has little choice; do they complain to someone in authority and in so doing, may make matters worse for themselves, or do they retaliate in a way but in so doing, this places them at a far greater risk of harm. Sometimes, there are no easy options; sometimes, the only option is to grin and bear it; which, unfortunately, should not be an option at all. Jonathan does take the latter path but also develops some long-term strategies which could help him achieve an amicable outcome. In the recollections of Jonathan, you, the reader, will see how the strategy unfolds often in mysterious ways; it is not a magic in practice but magical in transition. You need to understand that Jonathan is not only bullied outside of the home but lives with a certain amount of fear, inside of the home. With the instances he recalls of physical abuse from an early age, little things like very hot water poured from a jug during hair washing with the instructions of ‘stop the whinging’, and the constant hard tapping of the top of his head when a parent was making a point. He remembers having some unsightly blister-like things on the knees for which the doctor had prescribed hot poultices to be applied each evening. This, he said was literally torture as the poultices were so hot that one parent had to use tongs to lift them from boiling water onto Jonathan’s knees whilst the other parent looked on with tears in the eyes. It came to light years later that the reason for these torturous activities was to make Jonathan strong and brave, ‘yeh’ right. These activities only developed quite inward persona which in turn, Jonathan believed, signalled an open invitation to be bullied outside as well as inside of the home.

Say no to bullying.
Prologue
These are tales of life, its ups and downs, its expectations and the realities, the hidden mysteries of mind and beyond. This is the truth that develops, stems from the microcosm of eternal ether for which access is denied by the majority of souls but the few that have ventured into what I call Quercusroburism: the act of ‘open mind’ know this to be true; this is the reality of things, and reality is truth, is it not?
There are things that are truly unexplained, things which appear magical, and the secret is to offer no attempt of explanation but just to accept and learn that for every action, there is a reaction; sometimes, it is the unexpected outcome that inspires the recipient to greater things and develop a form of ‘sixth sense’.
Let us begin; whether Jonathan is real or not, I leave entirely up to the reader to make up their own mind as I do not wish to influence anyone in any way, but merely tell the story as it happened.
Jonathan had just moved into a new house which, unlike the two-bedroomed dwelling he had shared with five adults and three children, was now a spacious three bedroomed and had the pleasure of a bathroom, all be it, downstairs. A small bedroom was all his with two sisters sharing another; overlooking a railway station as the semi-detached house was part of a new estate set upon a hill on the outskirts of town. A window gave a fascinating picture of the toing and froing of steam trains, some pulling multitudes of coal-filled wagons, which Jonathan used to count, and I remember him saying that the record number of wagons was 104. I think that Jonathan could count before being able to talk; that came at a price, as a small boy out of bed and staring through the window at trains was met with the displeasure of his father. That was not the worst thing to happen, and it was all too easy to accept punishment. I think if a person knows no alternative, that becomes the accepted norm; it becomes apparent that punishment is the result of something that someone somewhere believes to be wrong, but are not steam trains beautiful beasts, not to be missed and worthy of a smack or two.
It was night time that hid the fears; yes, the dark and unknown can be very worrisome; especially if there are things that are not explained. Jonathan recalled the first time he saw a ghost, the ghost of his great-grandmother when an apparition appeared ascending, swaying side to side a white-faced staring figure tapering into nothingness, not evil but most definitely frightening. The first year after that was bad; there were visions and happenings, Jonathan put his head into his hands and recalls nights of noises, shuffling sounds and realistic attacks by large black birds. Sleeping under the covers, afraid to even peek out until the blessing of day light; those early years were nothing more than mental torture with no escape, nights seemed a never-ending torment. Almost as if the house and particularly that room had been placed on some ancient burial ground where bodies were laid on pyres, open air and subjected to repeated visits of carrion crows ripping the flesh from the departed; memories all relived in the very fabric of the earth and transmitted, somehow, through the bricks and mortar to the souls who dwell inside.
School would be an escape from ‘the house’ or so Jonathan thought, but it did not take many weeks for the bullies to latch on, like hungry leaches, and soon he was a victim of not only name-calling but physical abuse. It is, unfortunately, a reality that children try to dominate, rule and influence others who tend not to possess those traits. Just a fact of life, I guess but not an acceptable one, and all that we can do is endure with a resolute mind and more than a little hope. It is apparent that if you know of nothing else, you accept your life as a normality and make of it as best as you can. It is funny that during the, su