Tales from the WABAC Machine
A selection of stories set in past years
The Stone Age
What if two fine residents of Bedrock met a man who was not a robber...
17th Century
Tales of Footscray Lodge: The Wicked Lady
Before it was a prep school, Footscray Lodge was a manor house - and at a time when highmaymen roamed the byways...
18th Century
For Sir Angus Holderness, his wife and her friend, a voyage to Barbados means an encounter with pirates...
Back to Edwardian England, and a tale of Oriental intrigue...
A dark and stoormy night, and Juliette Huntingdown learns a family secret...
Coco is invited to dinner by Madame X, and learns the history of a very famouse jewel collection - one that is notorious for various reasons...
1890's
The Western States were pioneer country, lawless, rough - and the most feared of the bandits in the area were The Wildcats...
1920's
One of my favourite series of novels are the Wooster and Jeeves stories of P G Wodehouse. That whole period of between-wars England allows for tales such as this one, written in honour and respect for the originals.
Continuing to try and re-capture the spirit of P G Wodehosue in ym way, we follow Barty and Jayes as they visit the US for a brief stay...
Another tale of Wodehousian daring-do, in which we learn how Jayes obtained his current position.
Coco reads of the time the infamous collection crossed the path of Barty and Jayes
Aunt Agnes is threatening Barty with matrimony to a stunning yougn woman - desperate plans are called for, but they have a habit of taking strange turns...
Circumstances force Barty and Jayes to take a Nile river cruise, where they meet some interesting fellow passengers - including a couple with a secret, one with eyes on more than the river, and the parents of Gladys Pugh...
A summer evening, in the moonlight - but for Barty and Gladys, as well as Jayes and Daphne, this will prove to be a night to remember...
Barty finds himself in another tangled situation, as Sir Clive blesses his engagement to Gladys...
When Barty visits the French coast to play the tables, he finds himself in a sticky situation...
Before he met Gladys, Barty was a man about town, but when he fell for an American Heiress, he never knew the full story...
Let Golavus take you back to the Jazz Age, and a young lady detective...
1930's
Barty, Gladys and Jayes attend a house party in Dublin, with some interesting results...
1940's
A tale of XYY and some ancestors of old friends...
1947 - and Barty and Jayes visit America, before they answer the call of old friends...
Scotland in the 1940's and there is skullduggery afoot - as well as rope, twine and gags...
From the dark days of the Second World War, a tale of land girls and escaped PoWs, not to mention the farmer's wife and daughter. If you are a German speaker, the translation is my fault.
1948, and teams are gathering in London for the first post-war Olympics. For Mary, when she sees a face she thought dead in a newsreel, she dismisses it as a mistake. Later, however, she sees the woman again, and long held secrets are about to be revealed...
1950's
The mean streets of Soho cover a multitude of places, people and tastes - but sometimes a man has to stop things which break the code...
Some nice, quiet home invasion stories...
1958 in small town America, and for one family the Independance Day celebrations take on a decidedly more dangerous hue...
The two men thought it was a retreat for single women - a nice easy target...
Lady Margaret and her maid have some unexpected visitors...
The story of the Maynard boys is well known in the small towns of the mid-west - and it starts here...
Boston - and Dr Jane Huntingdown is called by the PD to help...
The challenge was this - a tale that featured the "perfect family" beloved of fifties and sixties US sit-coms. This was the result...
Just a quiet afternoon...
Mothers often had to help with the knot tying badge...
London, the Fifties, and in the fog-bound night a Scotland Yard detective looks into a kidnapping - with surprising results.
1960's
Inspired by a set of old Polaroids, a long hot summer...
Inspired by a set of old Polaroids...
Based on an idea by Thomas Silk, the fashion scene in London in the late 60's was a truly cutthroat world...
Inspired by a classic TV series, a playboy author is approached at a bar with a very unusual offer...
A raid on a private bar leaves the dancers and owners inconveniently restrained...
In a land down under, three young ladies face a night to remember - or not...
1967, and for two girls planning a night out, the evening takes a sinister turn - and the music reflects that...
For the senior girls at St Blazius, the last night of term means dance night - and a kidnapping...
As a girl band heads north for a concert, their day takes a very different turn...
A family discussion brings memories for the grandmother, of her youth in the early 60's and the man who robbed her...
Marie's Flower Power Predicament
Marie relates another tale of her youth, as Carrington in 1964 is given a taste of radicalism - and robbery...
In Carrington, in the 1960's, there lived a girl named Marie Parkinson, who with her friend Shirley liked to investigate mysteries, and often ended up in trouble as a result. With grateful thanks to Golavus, we present the first tale of this plucky young lady, who in later years would marry, and eventually have a granddaughter called Sara...
In one week, he found what he was looking for, and never looked back...
When Laurie walked into the precinct house and stood in front of the duty officer, she had no idea what to say or what had happened to her mother and aunts. When she last saw them, they were hostages...
A nice, simple tale of a boy, a rainy day, a bag of ropes and scarves, and his family...
Three women in wet London - a nice cup of tea or a kidnapping...
Another tale inspired by a black and white photo, we focus here on two flatmates returning home from the Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park shortly after the death of Brian Jones.
The definition of dull should read "An english country town on a Sinday in the early Sixties." For this family, however, this Sunday was going to be anything but dull...
In the "Relative Perils" section is a tale called Sister of The Bride, where an earlier tale is hinted at. Here's that tale, set in 1967...
A series of home invasions with a smililar theme...
The Daydreams have been booked to perform the Anthem at the 4th July game - but someone wants to stop them...
So what has happened to these ladies over the previosu weeks...
It's the boots that attract him...
The last known sighting - and stealing - of the collection was in the late 60's, from the flat of an actress called Debbie Sweetlove. As Coco hears the tale, she learns where an old friend learned their trade - and the reason why Madame X needs her help...
The St Monica's Ladies Circle Tupperware Party
It wasn't quite what they expected...
Working late is one thing - but what happens when she delivers the work...
A staple of suburban life - the Tupperware Party - only...
1970's
So a client had placed an order - can it be filled from the students and staff at the Campus?
A seasonal tale of home invasion...
One mid-term holiday from St Blazius - so what happened?
When the head of the secretarial pool invites her colleagues to dinner, the last thing they were expecting were the armed intruders...
Take Three Girls...
A party of discovery for one student...
The inspiration for a cult film...
A tribute to the crime programs and films of my youth...
A young woman has an awakening, in an unusual way...
A man's den is his castle, a place to indulge his interests...
It Was Acceptable in the Seventies
Short tales of the time...
The first day of their new store proved to be eventful...
There we were, on a Yahoo group called Pops Inn, discussing various things as we do, and the topic of plaid skirts came up. Tex sends us a picture of - well, the fashion sense of the 1970's for men. This led to a discussion of the things we used to wear, and one thing led to another... and this tale in the style of the police shows of the time. Minus the police.
Inspired by some old photos of catalogues for American RVs, a tale of corporate intrigue and summer vacations...
My good friend TexMex sent me some time ago a set of photos from a classic Harmony magazine, and asked if I could do something with them. I always like to oblige friends where I can, so return with me to the early 70's as Tina persuades her sister to tie her to a chair as a rehersal for a Scout show - only to discover that two unexpected visitors may have other plans for them that day...
A Teacher/Pupil relationship that would be frowned upon...
A tale from the decade that taste forgot...
Subtitled "The Long and The Shorts Of It", this tale tells of a night never to forget in the long, hot summer of 1975.
Once upon a time, there was a site and Yahoo group called "Frank's Attic", and two of the photos on that site inspired this tale of a boutique owner and her twin daughters one Saturday night.
A secretary has to get ahead any way she can - including dressing to impress...
The death of Edward Woodward brought memories of the films and shows people most admired him for - and in my case, the earliest fo those was Callan. That got me thinking,of the time and, well, one thing led to another...
Have you noticed something about the summer fashions this year - that maxi dresses are back in? There is something in Economics called the Hemline theory - that dress lengths go longer in times of recession, and that seems to be happening. None of which is germane to this, save it inspired me to try another forage into the decade of fashion strangeness...
Short stories of the time...
Jayes and the Borrowed Burglar
An untold tale of Coco's youth, wherein a nighttime visit to a seaside flat leads to a meeting with a rather older, but still active, Sir Bartholomew J Rhymaes, his wife Gladys and their manservant Jayes...
How does one discover one's loves in the time of brown...
Inspired by a picture from a 1970's Danish clothes catalogue, three women gather for coffee and cake - as well as unexpected guests...
Just a typical Seventies sitcom atmosphere - at first...
Not inspred by the exploitation film, but by the thought of a gang with no motive...
Your movie of the week - not...
A review of the career of a notorious kidnapper...
A short tale of when hemlines and shorts were short - really short...
Seventies Bound - The Typing Pool
A temp's life can be difficult at times...
Seventies Bound - The St Monica's Ladies Circle
A group visit to a stately home turns more exciting...
Two students have an unexpected visitor...
They had a family outing planned - their visitors stopped them, but made sure they understood why...
Seventies Bound - Crime School
From the history of St Blazius School for Young Ladies...
Hamburg and a mother/daughter moment...
Seventies Bound - Family Night In
Just a quiet Friday night...
Four housemates, one kidnapper...
A report on a spate of home invasions in Southern England in the seventies - by three well mannered and apprently elderly thieves...
A small tale of a home invasion, and three generations...
Veronika Mueller is entertaining tonight - until some unexpected guests interrupt her fun...
Why is one man targeting these women - and taking strange things...
Sheila was having strange dreams - and then fate played its hand...
St Monica's Young Mothers Group
They wanted to plan the Christmas party - but a stranger had other ideas...
It was one of those new fangled American ideas - but it soon took an interesting twist...
A tale of three generations and go-go style boots...
Who said only the young need to experience an armed robbery...
When brown and wool were king...
Who would rob a business at Christmas...
Seventies Bound - School's Out
The start of the Easter break for these teachers was not as expected...
Three girls, one visitor...
How did five ladies discover a life long passion for coffee and security...
This one came after watching Life on Mars - thank you Gene Hunt...
Someone is collecting former assistants of John Steed, Esq...
What happened to the teachers...
America, Independance Day - and a family play a game...
Seventies Bound - On The Couch
Good Old Fashioned Bank Robbery with hostages...
Such fun...
We return to Riverdale in the 70's, as Objects of Beauty visit...
What If... Beauty and the Best - Silent Night
What would happen if Beauty and Best were operating during the 70s financial crisis...
Family bonding...
Short tales of the time...
1980's
This story was actually inspired by a black and white photo I came across, but it suggested a past experience that a mother relates to her daughter to help her get over the trauma of a robbery.
Why have three seemingly ordinary, innocent and unconnected girls been snatched off the street? The police are baffled, but the answer is one that will surprise some.
Instead of spending the day at school, they spent it at home with two men who wanted something...
Exams were a nightmare in the eighties - but for Hannah and her firend, going home for an intense session of revision does not turn out the way she or anyone in her family expected...
This tale of a woman held hostage while the shop she lives above is raided is set in the mid-Eighties.
A story from the early 1980's where a prank played by a student on two of her friends goes in an entirely different direction.
A young girl in the 1980's keeps getting kidnapped - why?
Business, Japanese style...
1990's
Why would anyone want to rob Agnes McAdam....
When he first started out, George Simpson helped with a bank heist....
Although nominally set in 1997, the real nostalgia bit of this tale is the fact the women are dressed as their favourite cartoon characters. Not that stops a gang making them feel - uncomfortable....
Why is he dreaming of robberies decades ago....