“After you get what you want, you don’t want it” go the words tothe song. There must be some truth in them given the fact that after spending many months doing up one house, most of us move to another!

    Unfortunately for some

this migratory pattern can  become habitual, and for serious cases of  the virus Renovati Repeatus there

are only three known treatments...divorce from the prime mover, bankruptcy and buying a cockatoo. Of the three, the last is the most reliable. (Trust me, I speak from experience.)

       Cockatoos live to a grand old age, somewhat in line with

humans and,  if you think about it,  there are particular advantages to a pet’s longevity for those fighting this dreaded disease.

        If you do go broke before completing the treatment you will still have something to leave your children because the cocky will inevitably outlive you ( unless you were given it as a Christening gift)  and if divorce ensues you can at least look forward to some companionship in your old age; albeit that  conversation may be somewhat limited. “Well bowled Warney” could also be less relevant thirty years on.

       But the ultimate cure relies on the greatest attribute of these clever creatures. A single beady-eyed  cockatoo can reduce a team of strapping great moving men to weak- kneed troglodytes in the time it takes to say “the cage is too big for the car it will have to go in the truck”.

    Though unfazed by three flights of stairs and a baby grand, the prospect of naked fingers within reach of a formidable beak certainly proved too daunting for the otherwise stalwart crew, set

to transport our worldly

goods to yet another house “with potential.” 

   When the roller door closed the sound reverberated  off the corrugations , doubling its impact and creating the distinct impression of  mass murder in progress.

       Apparently the calls started coming in by the first set of lights and by the time they’d reached the Highway the Police Rescue blockade was in place. The hole the emergency services cut in the

roof despite the protests of

the ashen-faced driver, revealed the irate culprit who, faced with the consequences of his misdemeanours,

loudly demanded “Salute  the Major, salute the Major.”

      Mind you, we felt the fine for creating a public nuisance was somewhat steep and still hold to the conviction that the  moving company should give us back our beds, even before the quote for the van’s new roof comes in.

   After all, we need to sort out our new home.  This time we’re obviously staying put.

IT'S EASY TO BUY

 

Because the book is available at

leading booksellers DYMOCKS 

  &  independents.GLEEBOOKS

( Often found in the section

nominated 'science fiction'.)

GALAXY To buy on line,through

any of the terrific booksellers

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On the back cover of the The Gene Thieves it says science fiction.

But don’t let that discourage you if you don’t like the genre.

Genetics, science and love are major elements in the drama and

mystery of The Gene Thieves. The future is out there and, after

reading this book, I believe scientists have a lot to answer for.

The ramifications of current trends in scientific research are

examined and held to account in this book. It is a great story too!