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    GR1: The Flying Machine
    GR1: The Flying Machine
    GR1: The Flying Machine
    Ebook94 pages1 hour

    GR1: The Flying Machine

    By Ron Crouch

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Grandpa Ramsbottom and Timothy's latest invention, made in their magical garden shed, will take them to places they only dreamed. Follow them along as they travel, from England to Canada in the most unusual way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRon Crouch
    Release dateNov 5, 2018
    ISBN9781999507350
    GR1: The Flying Machine
    Author

    Ron Crouch

    Ron was born in Brighton, England and has worked in the U.K. and Canada for over thirty years as a police officer. He has extensive international travel experience while working with the British Merchant Navy as a navigator, where he travelled extensively in the Middle East and throughout Europe.He continues to write crime fiction from his home in Ontario, Canada.

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      Book preview

      GR1 - Ron Crouch

      Grandpa Ramsbottom 1

      The Flying Machine

      By Ron Crouch

      ISBN: 978-1-9995073-5-0

      Copyright 2018 Ron Crouch

      Cover Art by Chris Salewski

      3rd Edition

      (Formerly ‘The Amazing Adventures of Grandpa Ramsottom – The Flying Machine)

      All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events in the story are either a product of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated to my three children, Oliver, Melanie and Alaister. My love for you is as big as the universe.

      Chapter 1

      Operation GTR

      Do you think it will work Granddad? asked Timothy.

      Of course it will work, laughed back his grandfather. Grandpa Ramsbottom positioned the next aluminum section onto the capsule. Pass me the rivet gun Timmy, would you please? Timothy handed the gun to his grandfather.

      Thank yoooou, came the tuneful reply.

      How long do you think it will be before we take off Granddad?

      I should think we’ve got about another three months’ work ahead of us. If we get good weather I reckon we’ll be taking off about the end of July, Timmy my boy, replied Grandpa Ramsbottom enthusiastically. It’s getting late now, we’d better call it a day. Have you done your homework? Timothy nodded. Good boy. Right, let’s clear up, lock the shed and creep back indoors for dinner. Now remember, not a word to anyone.

      Course not Granddad, replied Timothy indignantly.

      They cleared away the tools, scraps of metal, bits of rubber and Perspex, put away the glue, swept the benches and floor and turned out the shed light. Grandpa Ramsbottom locked and bolted the shed door and both he and Timothy walked slowly back up the garden path towards the house, too exhausted to speak. Through the kitchen window they could see Mrs. Ramsbottom, Timothy’s mother busy in the kitchen.

      Grandpa Ramsbottom was eighty-five years old though he looked a hundred and five. However, despite his looks he was as sprightly as a young man. He was a short, skinny little man with a cheery, mischievous face, rosy-red cheeks and long silvery-white wavy hair that cascaded over his shoulders. He wore wire-rimmed spectacles that perched on the end of his nose. He looked like a wizard and Timothy long suspected that he was, as many people did. It was not uncommon for Grandpa Ramsbottom to be working in his shed for weeks on end, ably assisted by his grandson Timothy. New projects were constantly being developed. There were more failures than successes, but Grandpa Ramsbottom was not a man to give up easily and when he and Timothy were successful, what marvelous inventions they would produce. Many times he would remind his grandson that, From failure comes success Timmy. Every time you fall down, you get right back up again and keep on trying. There is no such word as, can’t. Apart from Timothy, everyone thought he was eccentric and humoured him. To them he was nothing more than a silly old fool, but to Timothy he was his best and most trusted friend.

      Timothy was only ten years old and very small for his age. His face held an expression of perpetual shock; eyes wide open like a deer caught in the headlights. His spiky-blond hair helped to convey this look. Because he was, a little different, he had been bullied at school. When Grandpa Ramsbottom got to hear about it, he was so angry, he decided to invent something to protect his grandson and came up with the idea of an electric force field that would surround Timothy. As soon as the bullies got close to him, Timothy would activate the force field and they would receive a small electric shock, enough to scare them off, but not enough to harm them seriously. Grandpa Ramsbottom had added an additional feature, a red button on the control which increased the electric shock power to a disabling level. Timothy was told that this button was only to be activated if he was ever grabbed by a stranger. Fortunately he had never had to use it. There was also a control marked, Skunk Spray. Actually it was ten times smellier than the real thing. Bullies sprayed with, Skunk Spray had to stay outside for ten days until the smell wore off. Each day they would be hosed down with cold water, then covered with tomato juice and finally scrubbed with a stiff brush. Timothy had only used this feature once, since then he had never been bullied again. Timothy would provide the same protection for other children who were bullied. Timothy’s favourite weapon was the Wind Gun, another invention of his grandfather’s. Once hit by the Wind Gun, the bully would begin passing wind for a week. This normally resulted in suspension from school until the condition cleared itself up. Timothy had used this feature many times. He once used it on a man in a shopping plaza who was shouting nasty things at his wife. The man could still be heard exploding, running and jumping across the parking lot. People at the car plant where he worked got to hear about it and gave him the nickname, Windy, which I believe they still call him to this day.

      Academically Timothy was not brilliant; he was only good at sports, biology and writing stories in English class. He struggled with mathematics, particularly algebra. Once he got a friend to do his art homework. His friend drew a beautiful picture of a church. When asked by the teacher if Timothy had sketched it, Timothy lied and said that he had. ‘Well then,’ said the art teacher. ‘I want to see every piece of art homework done as well from now on.’ This was very difficult for Timothy to do, because he wasn’t good at drawing. Now he had to spend hours on his art homework, so that his lie would not be discovered. He learned his lesson the hard way and has never lied since that day. His artwork did improve as a result. What Timothy had, that set him apart from the rest of his peers was imagination. He was really the creative mind behind his grandfather’s inventions. Timothy would provide the ideas and Grandpa Ramsbottom the technical ingenuity. This latest venture was one of their most exciting and adventurous to date.

      Grandpa Ramsbottom and Timothy entered the kitchen to the awful smell of boiled cabbage and fish and were greeted by Mrs. Ramsbottom in her familiar way.

      Where the heck have you two been? In that shed again I suppose. One of these days you’ll blow yourselves up, as if I should care. Now go and get your hands washed. Dinner’s been ready for hours! Her voice boomed after them along the hallway, causing the house to shake, her screechy voice echoing in their ears. Every time she shouted, the

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