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    A Place in the Clouds
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    A Place in the Clouds
    Unavailable
    A Place in the Clouds
    Ebook105 pages1 hour

    A Place in the Clouds

    By Michael White

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    For the residents of the Marion Hayrick retirement home, a unique opportunity has arisen to place their mark on the residential centre where they live. Given the choice between a nice little garden feature, a gazebo or a water feature to enhance the gardens about the home, they take a somewhat different approach....

    Containing several memorable characters, twists and turns and a VERY odd gardener, "A Place in the Clouds" is another short story from the increasingly difficult to categorise collection of short stories called, "Liverpool" which is available to purchase separately.

    "The removal truck arrived at the Marion Hayrick retirement home at precisely the same time as the hearse from Arthur Prendergast’s funeral directors (motto: “death with dignity, interment with interest: easy pay plans available”), the two vehicles jostling in an undignified manner in the small car park outside the home, in what seemed to be a vain attempt to get as near to the front doors as each one of them possibly could. From these double sized doors (wheelchair ramp carefully placed off to one side, large canopy covering the first six feet of the outside of the building), a small reception area could just be seen. Jumping down from the removal wagon as it and the hearse continued to attempt to outmanoeuvre each other, a large, swarthy looking man entered reception, followed by one of the occupants of the hearse in close pursuit, his dark, well-pressed suit contrasting starkly with the removal man’s slightly dusty and well-worn overalls.
    Noting the open plan common room off to the left, the men approached the reception desk and began a loud, three way argument with the receptionist behind the counter who wore a white, vaguely medical uniform, and a rapidly growing crimson complexion. In one corner of the common room just off to one side where the doors of two wide lifts were firmly closed, two old ladies sat, quietly watching the television, which was currently playing, “Cash in the Attic” at an extremely low volume. The lack of volume could be easily confirmed by what appeared to be continual adjustments being made to hearing aids by the two women as they attempted to hear the television. One of them stood up to look out of the window, which overlooked a large garden that more or less surrounded the home.
    “Windy, isn’t it?” she said, adjusting her hearing aid once again. The other lady looked at her in disgust and tutted.
    “It’s not bloody Wednesday!” she shouted, “Its Thursday! What are you saying it's Wednesday for? Bloody touched you are!” The other old lady sniffed and made to take up the argument. Her answer however, became irrelevant as from outside the sound of an ice cream vans musical bells could be heard. It grew slightly louder and then the van turned into the car park of the home, before coming to a sudden stop at the sight of the hearse and the removal van still jockeying for a position near to the door. The music from the van rang loudly through the air. There was a vague rumbling from somewhere upstairs and both of the lifts began to move upwards almost simultaneously.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMichael White
    Release dateApr 18, 2013
    ISBN9781301170159
    Unavailable
    A Place in the Clouds
    Author

    Michael White

    Michael White was a science lecturer before becoming a full-time writer and journalist. He is the author with John Gribbin of the bestselling ‘Stephen Hawking – A Lifetime in Science’. He is a regular contributor to the ‘Sunday Times’, the ‘Observer’,the ‘Daily Telegraph, GQ, Focus’ and ‘New Scientist’.

    Read more from Michael White

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