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TAKING THE PLUNGE

My dad was a fella with an Einstein brain from a not so well off family. The way his brain worked was a wonder. It took him a while to gather his thoughts which kind of suggested he was indecisive which was not the case. When it came to it he made a choice and stuck right on with it. At fourteen he left school and worked as an apprentice bookbinder of all things. At fifteen he had enough to pay for night school. Electronics was the thing he thought. At sixteen his brother joined him. At eighteen they both qualified. At nineteen in 1940 he was in the RAF mending radios on bombers. His brother mended radios in tanks in the desert and Italy. In 1946 he got married on a whim to a nurse who nursed him. Nothing so romantic as a war wound. An in-growing toenail. In 1950 he was developing radar and early computers. His brother fixed TVs in South Africa after emigrating. What is all this about you might ask. A life history. In a way for sure but mostly it is about taking the plunge. In 1963 he

A Chicken, White Tack and a Chimney Sweep

  Raphael Ravenscroft suddenly fires up and fills the speakers of the bedside digital clock. That riff. And what a riff. That infectious sound, a creation of pure genius by the coming together of one of the greatest saxophone players of the modern age and the burgeoning talent of ex busker and Steelers Wheel front man Gerry Rafferty. Eight in the morning and time to get up. Tommy Tucker, as is his usual practice, wakes but does not turn off the alarm. He always, most definitely always, listens to the entire track. Baker Street containing the best example of passionate saxophone playing. Ever. He bounces out of bed full of beans and into the shower. Then dressed. He wears his normal clothes which considering his natural buoyant exuberance are rather subdued. White T shirt with a motif of guess who, a young Raphael stencilled on the front. Black, white and a shade of grey. Hanging loose over a pair of everyday jeans, faded blue and part covering pale blue sneakers. The mop he calls hair

The Sunbed and a Margarita

Quite clearly the way forward was do as the boss said. There was no question. He was always right. Lucy Turnbull was not happy though. The system they were installing as far as she was concerned was defective. It left them vulnerable. They had significant value in clients’ funds that needed a very serious degree of protection. The system should have a built in fail-safe but didn’t. That surely was a mistake Lucy had worked at the solicitors for a good number of years. The office manager. Organising, arranging, dealing with the constant stream of contrary and sometimes abusive clients that fell through the door every day. The practice was large with around twenty-six legals, that’s how she referred to them, covering a vast array of fields. And all their support staff, of course. They varied in competence. There were a few that were just simply a pain in the arse. The legal side of their work was fine, after all she did not get involved in that. The administration though, that was someth

JUST WHO IS ELLIOT SHALLOT

  JUST WHO IS ELLIOT SHALLOT has been published -  A con man scams a lady but who scams the con man and who will end up dead.  CLICK TO BUY: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ VISIT MY WEBSITE: https://www.martindixonshortstories.com/ for details of this, other books and future publications. The First Chapter Can Be Read On My Website SHORT BLURB: Matt is a con man. And he’s a good one. But this time he’s picked the wrong mark. Maria’s mum has just handed over a priceless heirloom and the consequences are devastating. Now Maria needs to find Matt and recover the necklace before the head of the Family takes control. Although willing to allow Maria time, Family Boss Gianni has a backup plan. And from his villa on the shores of Lake Como, he’s putting it into action. When Matt is shot, he convinces Elliot to help him but has he made another mistake.

DOUBLE SWITCH (How to get rich with a shotgun and a flamingo) - Book finally published

 DOUBLE SWITCH (How to get rich with a shotgun and a flamingo) is finally published. Click on: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DOUBLE-SWITCH  for details. Read below the short blurb and the first chapter. Stanley Holden’s all screwed up. His wife has died in a car crash. But things are about to change. Doris is screwed up. Her husband walked out leaving her with a young daughter but she still finds the time to talk Stanley out of his depression. Stanley wants to retire and has an exit strategy. Rob a jewellery shop. Rob a bank. Make a heap of cash. Simple. But he has a problem. For the perfect crime he needs a man with a shotgun and a flamingo. Benny Morgan has a sawn-off. A small-time crook hitting soft targets with a life dredging the bottom of the pile. He wants out. Enter his saviour, Stanley Holden. Detective Inspector Dave Simmons is tracking Benny and his cousin but is getting nowhere fast. After a hold-up that Stanley witnesses, Dave latches onto him and is convinced he’s up to no g

The Panama Hat

  The Panama Hat Walter Bobkin was an enigma, he disliked the name Walter so much he referred to himself as Bob. Just simply Bob. Bob Bobkin. That is unless he were to seek employment in which case he was determined to use Walter as he felt, even with his minimal qualifications, he would secure a much more professional position with such a title which is of course an incredibly snobbish attitude to have in this modern world. But then Bob is a snob, a person who lives in a superficial world on the periphery of reality. He is a man of independent means derived from his father's hard and industrious life so, barring investment disasters, it was unlikely that he would ever need to work anyway. A confirmed bachelor who had never really been interested in women, very set in his ways and a routine that was cast in stone. He was maybe about fifty, a tall man, perhaps as lofty as six foot four, but straight sided and spindly. He certainly did not have the physique or stature of a prize figh

Six Crime and Mystery Books Shortly to be Published

Click on READ MORE below to read the first chapters of six Crime and Mystery Novels already published or shortly to be published. Included with the chapters are details of release dates or sites where the books can be purchased.  CLICK ON THIS LINK  https://www.martindixonshortstories.com/