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The Cherry Pickers

Short Story Index 1.

The following collection are from the book "The Cherry Pickers" and are about two young lads who one summer find themselves looking for a new pub for Mrs Jabody to buy. They are about food, sport, pubs and the relationship between two young men who are desperately trying not to be available for selection in the fireman's reserve football team.
1. The Pie and Four Sausages
Getting caught in a thunderstorm me and Joe shelter in a rather tatty pub called the Pie and Four Sausages. There we meet the owner Mrs Jabody and find themselves agreeing to help her in her search for a more respectable pub in which she can spend her remaining years. 5 pages
1B. The Firemans Reserve Football Team
There are times when every man has to do his duty, even in the lowest ranks of amateur sport where knowing how to play is not as important as being there. 3 pages
2. The Griffin and Barge.
Having made our hero drop the chicken, the window cleaner suggested the two lads look at the Griffin as it was up for sale. The ex wrestler who owned it however gave a very different impression. 8 pages
3. Buying a Bicycle
Waiting in the The Shovel and Custard for the next bus makes Joe think there must be a better way to spend our time. If you ever thought buying a bicycle was a simple matter.... 4 pages
4.The Erudite Frog
A chance sighting of a strange pub sign plays on the our heros mind until he just has to go and investigate. It was not for sale but with a name like that it just demanded further investigation. Even if it did mean they would have to go though Apace Gap. 5 pages
5. The Longest Night
They say never volunteer for anything, but what is more important is never let any one else volunteer you, especially when it involves railway stations, funny policeman and staying up all night. 5 pages

6. A Days Cricket
Me and Joe agreed to play cricket for the local eleven as they were a couple of men short, it wasn't until traveling to the game that I discovered Joe thought cricket was a small insect. 4 pages

7. The Castle and Stumps
Me and Joe go in serch of a strange little pub called The Castle and Stumps, it is not the sporting connections however that saw us leaving very much the ritcher and alot wiser. 6 pages

8. The Cow and Blanket
It was a nice day for a trip to the zoo. Unfortunatly I was with Joe which can turn any nice day into more of an adventure than one would reairly like. Especially if there is a boat involved. 3 pages

9. So What's the Curry
A surprise party, Judys famous curie, and Indian Princess. Our hero end up sitting on top of a hill with an elephant and an Indian girl who could not speak a word of english. 6 pages
10. The Duck and Broom
Eventually finding the derelict pub in centre of an unspoilt village, the two lads meet the strangest group of people they had ever met and that was saying something. They ended up helping cinderella elope with her prince charming. 6 pages
11. The Chicken and Three Buckets
Even Milly, the best cook in town, could not persuade Joe that baking his own birthday cake was not a good idea. By a strange turn of events it all ended with lads being stranded on a small island in the middle of the river. 5 pages
12. Bix and the Jazz Man
Loosing a seven foot, twenty eight stone gorilla is not easy but Joe managed it. Our heroes have half an hour to find it before any one noticed it was missing. But this was no ordinary gorilla. 6 pages
13. The Sump and Three Rats
A simple lunch time drink somehow turns into a full scale war between the landlord the brewery and a rather unpleasant gangster. Sometimes a good idea in the room behind a the pub ... just isn't..... 8 pages

14. The Shadow and Spread
If the lady salesman from the Trusting Development Corporation was showing the lads around a very strange historic building that had been built by Hans Olson, which they both knew, but she did not. It was Olsons special brew that eventually saved the day. 6 pages
15. Didding under Lively
Village cricket is a sort of friendly event simply for people to get to gather and socialise. Ask to play for a small village we had never heard of we did not think we would end up staying alone in an old dark mansion with an axe murderer. 8 pages

16. The Griffin and Three Fingers
Being trapped in a dark cellar with Judy was bound to have its bright side, but one could not reckon without Joe. The owners of old pub had suddenly vanished, only the tall man with a black cloak held any clue to the mystery. The two lads should have known better than to get involved with the weird intrigue woven by the members of the Snittering Club. 8 pages
17. All Steamed Up
Judy long ago realised that you cannot come between a man and a steam engine so agreed to go on a trip to the old pumping engine. She might not have agreed if she had known that it was only our heros quick action that would save her life. Because when you think of quick action, our hero is not the first person that springs to mind. 7 pages
18. The Cherry Pickers
The The Cherry Pickers was the oldest pub in the town, although not many people had heard of it. By the time the surveyor had found his tusked tenon in the roof and the local perseveration society and museum had got involved, Mrs Jabody wondered if it was all worth it. 7 pages
Open Reading Project - Short Story Index