“Hoorah! The start of the hols! What shall we do?”

“We could ask Aunty Fanny for a tuck box; then row to Kirrin Island and camp there for the week living on wild berries and lashings of ginger beer. Knowing our luck, there’ll probably be smugglers and we’ll get in a frightful scrape but end up having tea with the Chief Inspector!”

“How about borrowing the caravan from Jennings the gardener and a horse from Briggs the farmer and spending the week exploring the country lanes? We might come across some circus folk and, who knows, we could get asked to run away with them!”

“I reckon we could take our tents and camp in the grounds of the deserted country house where Uncle Quentin is meeting with some of his mysterious scientist friends. I have a feeling that we might stumble across something which will save the country from a terrible threat.”

“What do you think?”

I swallowed. “Well, I thought we might plant out the hardy annuals and continue weeding the allotment and possibly even…”

In the quiet, all that could be heard was the regular thumping of the tail of a dog keen for excitement. My dry mouth had trouble forming the words.

“… even, move the shed.”

The white faces of my companions told me that I had pushed the boundaries of adventure too far this time. It would take more than Aunt Fanny’s fruit cake to restore their shattered nerves as they inhaled my suggestions into their souls and felt the ice-cold anaesthetic of fear numbing their spines. I could see, I’d have to go it alone.

In the silence, I turned and walked away; trying to close my ears to inner demons suggesting that the ground might still be too wet and, anyway, there might yet be the prospect of a late frost.

As I headed for the greenhouse, Anne’s voice echoed behind me.

“Good luck! Be sure to iron your waterproofs!”

Because I have signed up to GiveAsYouLive, the hoover bags bought on-line, raised 14p to help fund Parkinson’s research. It cost me nothing and has brought a cure that wee bit nearer. The link to GiveAsYouLive is here.

The Jelly Chronicles Volume 1 is available as an i-book here. Any proceeds to The Cure Parkinson’s Trust.