The Talent Show

In the days following Christmas, brother Merlin and I went for a walk, enjoying the brisk air for a while before nipping into the dock snack bar. We fancied a drink of their spiced blackcurrant tisane.

Amos Seadog was there, about to leave having delivered some provisions to Fenton Barker in the kitchen.

"Hello, gents," he said in his jovial voice. "Good to see you back, Jackson. Nice timing - avoiding Ramsey. He was in a bit of a tizz for a while."

With a nod, he left and I turned to Merlin. He was examining the dregs of his tisane when he realised I was watching him.

"What?" he said, "Oh, you mean Ramsey Nettlefield? He came to look for you whilst you were away. To see if you'd organise the talent show."

"What talent show?"

"Oh, it's an idea he had to resurrect any good cheer that was lagging once Christmas celebrations were over. It was daft. I told him he was being too optimistic in his expectations. He wanted a big event but hadn't thought it through. People were busy preparing for Christmas and wouldn't have sufficient time."

"You told the mayor he was daft?"

Merlin laughed. "I was tactful. He has good ideas, but you know he can get carried away if not reigned in. Look at the last Melting."  [See A Fete Worse Than... Unless for details.]

I had to agree. Poor Alex Periwinkle had been in a sad state after Ramsey's changes of plans had caused him unnecessary work. Twice. If Merlin had forestalled a repeat of that minor fiasco, all well and good.

"No talent show then?" I prompted.

Shaking his head, my brother took a spoon, scraped the edge of his cup and licked it. "Not to the same degree. It'll be scaled down to only include children. There's been a suggestion to the school."

"Not to Alex Periwinkle?"

"No. I remembered what you said and phoned to warn him. He conveniently found other
jobs that he needed to do."

 

"So, who?"

"I believe it will be a joint effort by Hilda Hamilton, Eve Wildwood and Angelica. And it will only be a minor alteration of their existing plans. Some of the children's arty projects will feature, but instead of it being in their classrooms, they'll use the village hall and they'll have a small audience. They have already erected a temporary stage, I've been told."

"Really?"

"I was chatting to Hilda at the library and she told me the pupils have been asked to give it some thought over Christmas - whether they would be happy to tweak something they had done and demonstrate it before an audience."

I thought about my two. Beverley wouldn't be concerned whether or not she'd be included. I could imagine Brendan performing something - but I'd have no idea what that would be. However, he'd missed three weeks of schooling and that might be a reason for excluding him. Whilst that would be fair, I wondered if my boy would see it that way.

I mentioned this but Merlin merely shrugged, an apologetic smile on his face.

o 0 O 0 o

The show was upon us. 

Everyone waited patiently until Eve Wildwood introduced the first act.

There we were, in the audience, watching as a selected few children from the school demonstrated a range of talents with a variety of acts. And it was a variety. Brendan was with us, and he didn't seem too sad at being excluded. He responded well to the various participants. I was quite proud of his grown-up attitude.

Britney Honeydew entertained us by dancing with an extract of the ballet The Faerie Wood.

Lester Waters tried to mystify us with a series of magic tricks. I think most of us knew how he did them, but he performed them well and accompanied his actions with comic dialogue. He seemed happy at the laughter his act causes.

Gregory Cheshire and Carlotta Bassett acted a scene from The Prince and the Pup Paws.

Either side of this performance we had songs from Clarice Bamboo and Nikko Kitsune.

When Eve Wildwood introduced the final act before the interval she said it was a scene from a mini-play written and acted by a group of the children she taught. I missed the title because Brendan leaned back and whispered to me, "I could have been in this but it didn't seem fair on those who'd practised all the acty stuff."

I smiled in acknowledgement and returned my attention to the performance area.

Nolly Persis and Hughie Grunt walked forward, each dressed in their normal clothes. My eyes widened when I saw they were accompanied by Lucky Snow-Warren, and whilst his clothes were not his own, they were familiar.

I heard Brendan. "He's doing me, dad."

What followed was a section of Brendan's story, What I Did Over the Weekend* and his friends simulated their peril at the underground river beneath Van Dyke's Waterworks. I wondered how they'd simulate Michael the Sea Serpent. But they did. 

Some children appeared wearing a weird costume. I'd no idea what it was originally supposed to represent.

Merlin tapped me on the shoulder. "It's Orton and Sherman in their Beastie Hunt* costume."

Of course it was.

* Detailed in earlier stories

o 0 O 0 o

The second half of the talent show was entertaining but I didn't really take it all in. I was touched that Brendan's friends had realised that, as it was unlikely he could personally participate in the talent show, they'd do it on his behalf.

I realised that, at the snack bar, Merlin's smile hadn't been an apologetic one. It had been a knowing one. He'd known about Orton's part in the talent show and decided to keep the children's plan a secret from me. Brendan had been told, of course, which accounted for his laid-back acceptance of remaining an audience member. I watched him as he continued to enjoy the activities of the other school children.

 At the end of the show, he turned to me. "Well, dad. What did you think?"

I considered what response he'd like to hear. I think I was inspired.

"Hmm. If they need a new theme for the next Flash Gopher TV serial, then maybe you should write "Flash Gopher and the Serpent of Mellowdene."

He grinned. "Maybe I should."

o 0 O 0 o