HALLS OF ACADEMIA BY JONAH
This is a work of fiction so be aware that every character herein is also fictitious. If you think you recognise yourself, or somebody else in here - you don't. Some places, and some institutions in here are real, but the people attached to those institutions in the story are not. At least one character is the creation of another author, Jacob Lion, in the USA. My thanks to Jacob for his permission to use his characters in my story.
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Chapter seven
Wednesday morning was hot. At half past seven it was almost oppressively hot and the two little boys in our bed were not helping. I rose and showered and then went down to start the breakfast. Now that WAS like old times, and it was nice.
"Thought it must be you," said Jonah, coming down in his dressing gown.
"It was too hot to stay in bed," I responded.
"You could never stay in bed, hot or not," he replied, putting on the kettle.
Now, if any man possesses the gift of making tea,it is Jonah. English tea is the best in the world and Jonah's tea is the best in England. It was well worth travelling a hundred and thirty miles for. I know all this to be true because he has often told me so.
Bacon sizzling, eggs scrambling, baked beans steaming away as I gave them another stir in between feeding the toaster.
"Going out Peter?" Jonah enquired.
"It's the start of the Middlesex Sessions today," replied my brother. "I'm supposed to be assisting Miles Burton KC in the Crown vs Harper, which I should have been taking notes for yesterday, only Sally Campion has been doing most of the legwork for me."
"You'll need a good breakfast inside you then," I remarked.
"Cheers Simon," he said. "I could get used to this."
Garret was the next to appear.
"What are we doing today?" he wanted to know.
"I hadn't really planned anything," replied Jonah." I was going to ask the boys, but I dont see any boys. Are you sure you brought some with you?"
"Well SOMETHING was pushing up the temperature in our bed to something approaching the sub-tropical," I said, ruefully.
"You do surprise me," muttered Jonah.
"Get your breakfast Garret," I told him. "I'll go and see if I can rouse the dynamic duo."
"Luck!" said Pete.
"Oho!" said Jonah. "Are you telling us that young Adam takes after his father?"
""I'm taking the fifth," replied my brother.
"That's good," said Jonah. "Now you're not fussy which country's law you practice."
I opted out of any more wit and repartee by trotting upstairs.
The boys lay naked on our bed, intertwined with one another. It was almost a shame to wake them. Alright, It WAS ashame to wake them, but I did it anyway. I moved to the foot of the bed and attacked a foot of each boy with tickling fingers. Both boys sprang apart and sat up.
"Showered, dressed and breakfast," I told them. "Dressed ready for going out."
"Where are we going," asked Adam.
"I don't know," I replied. "You'll have to ask Grandad Jonah, but you won't be seeing him till you're showered and dressed."
I trotted back downstairs and left them to it.
Jonah and Garret were just finishing off their breakfast. Pete was nowhere to be seen.
"So, have we come to a verdict?" I asked.
"River trip to Greenwich?" suggested Jonah.
"Hell yes," I returned. "I haven't done that since forever and I don't think Garret ever has."
"It's supposed to be for the kids," commented my partner.
"That's fair enough," I told him. "If you stay and clean the flat, while we're out of the way, and you can get dinner on ready for when we get back."
Jonah grinned. He recognised where I'd learned that ploy.
"You're not a kid anymore either Simon," he pointed out. "Between the two of you I reckon you ought to be able to do a good job before I bring the boys back."
It was time to gang upon him.
"Garret mate," I said. "Do you mind nipping upstairs for Lloyd's medication and his list of dietary requirements? Oh, and the restraints in case Adam gets stressed."
"Do you think he'll need the Tarmazapan?" queried Garret.
"God, I hope not, but you know what he can be like. They'd best take it with them, just in case."
Jonah had seated himself on the arm of the settee and was listening to all this with exagerrated patience.
"Finished?" he enquired.
Two immaculately dressed and spotlessly turned out little boys clattered down the stairs.
"Well done boys," I told them. "Now its scrambled egg and baked beans for breakfast - with lots of lovely tomato sauce."
Jonah burst out laughing.
"I definitely brought you up right," he chuckled. "Boys, get a couple of napkins from the kitchen drawer. You've done a great job of gettting yourselves ready, so we'll see if we can keep you that way."
"Where are we going Grandad Jonah?" Adam wanted to know.
"Well young man," said Jonah, "since you're both dressed for swabbing the deck, I thought we'd go on a sea voyage."
Both boys turned questioningly to me but I just nodded to indicate that Jonah was telling the truth.
With both boys breakfasted it was shoes on and then make for Rayners Lane tube station. We caught a Metropolitan surface stock train to Westminster.
Adam was familiar with the Houses of Parliament but Lloyd was excited to see them. We crossed the road to Westminster Pier and boarded the waiting riverboat. As the sun beat mercilessly down on us, we opted to sit on the top deck, where we could see everything.
Even after many years, I could still remember my first journey on these boats with Kori and Liam for company. As we swung out into the channel we glided past the Thames River Police station. No boat was moored there now so they were obviously out on patrol.
We glided downstream past the old Tattershall Castle, a floating restaurant that was probably no longer seaworthy, but there was no danger of anybody taking her to sea anyway. Likewise the HQS Wellington. The old WW2 destroyer was effectively a shore establishment, but no longer of the Royal Navy. She belongs to the Honorable Company of Master Mariners. She was soon behind us as we slipped under Hungerford and Blackfriars bridges and the Blackfriars railway bridge. On the North Bank, the City of London held sway, with the domed bulk of St. Paul's Cathedral dominating; meanwhile Lambeth and Southwark crowded the South Bank. Under London Bridge and the ancient Tower of London was to the North with Tower Bridge dead ahead. We passed HMS Belfast on our starboard side then under Tower Bridge and into Dockland. The suddenly broad river threaded its way between tall buildings, obscure creeks and vast stretches of deserted water. In no time at all we were tied up at Greenwich Pier and clambering ashore beneath the tall masts of the SV Cutty Sark.
Now the Cutty Sark is a large and impressive ship and both of our little tykes were fascinated by her. For me (and, I suspect, for Jonah) it was a novelty exploring the vessel without Kori to get excited and pester the crew although, as I remember, they loved him. So - at the time - did I. That doesn't mean we don't get on now by the way. In fact, it's a long time since I heard anything of him.
Jonah's mobile phone was very much in evidence as countless photographs of both Lloyd and Adam had to be taken in every corner of the ship.
We disembarked eventually and explored the streets of Greenwich. It came as a surprise to find that, even in the twenty-first century, it is still possible to find a traditional pie, peas and mash shop in London. Well that accounted for our lunch.
Having satisfied the inner man (or boy, in some cases) we boarded the riverboat for Westminster Pier.
A short ride on the underground to South Kensington saw us at the Science Museum. This is another place with memories. The memory of Pete putting Jason Dorridge on the floor for being obnoxious and racist for a start. Jason later became a good friend and his younger brother, James, owns the betting shop below Jonah's flat. That makes him Jonah's landlord.
Of all the museums in London, the Science Museum probably changes its displays most often. It certainly holds the most special events. The traditional things are still there though. Lloyd enjoyed the aeroplanes on the top floor but was most fascinated by the railway ephemera on the ground floor.
To be honest, that has always excited me. Since I taught engineering design, I'd have been in the wrong job if things like that didn't excite me. The steam engine probably demonstrates mechanics in their rawest form. The internal combustion engine is a little more protective of its secrets while electricity is the nearest thing to magic on this earth. To me all this is fascinating and I get paid to ensure that it fascinates others. How good is that?
Displays of Space exploration were what floated Adam's boat. Peter had probably been letting him watch too much television. Not that it was a bad thing. Science-fiction and science-fact have never been as many miles apart as most people think. In fact many people confuse the two. Humans specialise in their knowledge and the way that people treat knowledge outside of their personal specialty has changed over the centuries. As late as the nineteenth century, "it'll never fly" was probably not common sense, but it was widely accepted as such. By the nineteen-sixties, the opposite point of view held sway. If a thing was not possible, then it was only a matter of time before it would become possible. For the industrial designer, the problem is a familiar one. Whenever one needs to do something that involves unfamiliar technology, one has to ask the question, "wait a minute, have we invented, or discovered, that yet?" Note that the question is not whether it can be done. It is whether humanity yet knows how to do it.
All too soon, for the boys at least, it was time to join the Circle Line train to Euston Square. Lloyd had his notebook out at Euston Station from where we caught our train to Harrow and Wealdstone station. The walk home from there was sure to wear the boys out. Well it wore us out.
Garret was the one with the highest level of residual energy (if you don't count the boys, that is) so he busied himself cooking omlettes for us all. After that it was dominoes till bedtime. None of us would take long falling asleep.