Acme Time Travel Incorporated - Volume 2

The Gazette Office – Frinton-on-Sea

Gabriel sat at his desk, staring at his laptop screen. He didn’t seem to be quite able to focus on the matter in hand (which was to research mental health care in the 1920s and 30s). He had typed into Google the search words ‘Mencap history’ and it had come back with an item labelled ‘Mencap’s history and timeline’. Apparently in 1946 a woman called Judy Fryd was trying to get some sort of recognition and support for people with children with learning difficulties.

So that was in 1946.

And John Cullen had been born in 1917.

And 29 years later, somebody was trying to get support for people looking after children with learning difficulties.

He could barely imagine what John’s mother had gone through to try to look after John, with no support other than from her friends and family. He would have to ...

“So, what’s her name then?” Barney called across the room.

Barney was sitting with his second cuppa of the day. Gabriel seemed to make most of the teas now. Not (as Barney explained) because Gabriel was an office flunky, but because out of the two of them, Gabriel definitely made the best cups of tea. Barney very much relished a good cup of tea, and he would always give Gabriel fulsome praise for his efforts.

Carefully dunking a Digestive biscuit into his tea, Barney tried again.

“So, what’s her name, I don’t remember you saying?”

Barney smiled an innocuous smile at Gabriel, who was looking a bit cornered.

“She’s called Ginny.”

Barney pondered on this.

“Short for something is it?” Barney wondered, as if to himself.

Gabriel gave a ‘don’t know’ sort of shrug.

“Old, fat and ugly, is she?” probed Barney.

Gabriel looked uncomfortable but knew that Barney didn’t mean any harm.

“Probably got warts as well,” suggested Barney, chuckling.

“She’s very ... well ...,” Gabriel mumbled.

“Tell you what, Gabriel. We need some more teabags. When you go for lunch, why don’t you take twenty quid out of the tea fund? Get another box on your way back. And if you need to buy her a coffee and a sandwich, then you could use the change from the twenty quid. That all right?”

Gabriel smiled over at Barney. He’d never had a Dad, or at least no one who had owned up to the responsibility. He wasn’t sure if Barney had ever had kids, but he felt like Barney was taking on some sort of step-dad role.

It was a nice feeling.