In the last post: Bert's fiance, Olive, only had eyes for Dick Charmer, so Bert slouched away...

Dear friends, if you like a good chuckle, dim-witted heroes, and larger-than-life villains, then you'll love this fascinating series. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, I’m blogging nibble-sized chunks of new ‘Life in the Clouds’ stories. You can check in regularly and read them free, or wait to buy the entire story when published.

---

​Enchanter on the Roof ® James Field. Part 06

At five-o'clock in the afternoon, Dick Charmer climbed down from the terrace house roof. This is a strange place, he thought. Almost like stepping a hundred years into the past. They banned most motorised vehicles, and if you wanted to get about, you either walked or used a horse.

In ages past, it had been part of the Cloud Estate, a hamlet for the mansion’s servants and farm workers. These days The Stables was a private community for the privileged, especially pampered girls who owned their own horse or came for a riding holiday.

Humping heavy slate tiles and buckets of tar and cement in the blazing sun had left him exhausted. His stomach craved food and he needed a refreshing shower and doze. While renovating the roof, The Stables’s owners had let him occupy the end terrace house, a three-up three-down affair, simple but adequate. He passed through the dwelling and into the kitchen, took a beer from the fridge, and wandered out into the generous garden.

The house cast a blessed shade, but the air still hung on him like a heavy quilt. He glanced across the fence and saw Olive stretched out on a sunbed. She wore a pair of large black sunglasses and a yellow polka-dot bikini that was at least two sizes too small.

“Hello,” she called and raised a champagne glass, complete with a cherry on a stick. "Care to join me?"
​
To be continued…

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

---

​The real world:

Rather than miss an instalment, it’s easy to follow my blog on bloglovin’. They’ll give you a friendly nudge as I release new parts.
​
Like to know more about Alf, Bert and the rest of the gang? You can read their chaotic history in What on Earth.