CORPORAL

CLOUDS covered Mount Teide went I went for my morning walk – not surprising after that wild windy night. I'm a tad weary today, too - when leaves the size of a man’s hand CLASH together they tend to wake me up! 

But I must stick with my blog theme – my novel Helter-Skelter, which I am re-writing this month alongside the A-Z challenge.

CORPORAL Albert Smith and the pitiful remains of his squad were heading for the coast, a scant hour ahead of the enemy, when Albie, from his seat in the cab beside Private Thompson, saw the helter-skelter. 

It was far off to the right, blackened and smoking rather than clean red and white stripes, but the truncated-cone shape was unmistakable. He clutched Thompson’s arm; “Tommy! Look at that – I don’t bloody believe it!”

 These are the opening lines of H-S. It is 1940, and the British Army is racing to reach Dunkirk before the Germans. Chapter two returns to 1925 and follows Albie growing up - I will give you more snippets of his story as we go along.