Bill's Helical Blues

By Tony Thorne MBE

Mystery and mayhem ensue when our luckless hero decides to start an aerial photography business, using his new model helicopter, after successfully dealing with a particularly annoying intruder in his garden.

Things develop successfully, until a sinister client approaches him with a proposition that seems a little shady, but financially impossible to refuse.

Thereafter, one murky event leads to another situation… including the need to replace his helicopter with one of the new popular quadcopter drones.

How can he get out of his resultin,g dire trouble?

Maybe his long suffering wife can help him… but how?

Hilarious, quirky, murky, strange adventures.
Bill's Helical Blues... The amazing escapades of Bill, our hapless hero, his long suffering wife, and his model flying machines. More mystery and mayhem and even what he fears is murder, follow..! 

Don't miss this one for an entertaining read and maybe a good idea for a profitable weekend business for you too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Nov 6, 2017

Tony Thorne MBE

I am an Englishman, born and technically educated in London, England, and now living in Austria; but in the winter, in the warmer Canary Island of Tenerife. I originally qualified as a Chartered Design Engineer, specializing in Applied Physics products. For developments in the field of low temperature (cryo)surgery instruments, and very high temperature (carbon fibre) processing furnaces, the Queen awarded me an MBE. Earlier in life I also wrote and sold science-fiction and humorous stories, was an active SF Fan, and a spare time lecturer for the British Interplanetary Society. Now retired I write quirky speculative fiction; mostly tall Science Fiction and Macabre tales, with over 100 short stories published in various collections, including MACABRE TALES, THE BEST OF THE TENERIFE TALL TALES, THE JUNIOR PHILOSOPHY SOCIETY, BEST SELLING AUTHOR PLAN etc.. The first 4 volumes in my near future, 5 stars SF espionage series for general readers, POINTS OF VIEW, are now available from Amazon, Smashwords etc. My best selling title, THE SINGULARITY IS COMING, is published in English and Chinese versions.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title Page

Chapter One - The problem and its solution

Chapter Two - An unusual client

Chapter 2 - The assignment

Chapter 3 – After the Storm

Chapter 4 – More Helical Blues..!

Chapter 5 – The new project

Chapter 6 – What happened inside?

Other Titles by Tony Thorne MBE.

About the Author

BILL’s HELICAL BLUES

Tony Thorne MBE

2nd. edition November 6, 2017

Published by Etcetera Press

Copyright 2010-17 Tony Thorne MBE

All rights reserved

Author´s Note:

The first part only of this novella appeared in a different version in volume 3 of my TENERIFE TALL TALES trilogy.

Cover by the author & borshahasan ©2014-7 Tony Thorne MBE

Chapter One - The problem and its solution

That pigeon is driving me nuts! Bill Haggerty complained, with a look of exasperation. Every morning at around 5 am it wakes me up with it's cooing. Then it starts again in the evening. I tell you, I've had enough.

His wife Janet nodded sympathetically. I know what you mean dear, it's a real pain, but what can we do about it?

Bill had a possible solution. I could buy a catapult or get an airgun, and sort it out for good.

His wife was more cautious. You can't risk that Bill. You don't know where the slug would end up. This is a highly populated area and we'd be in a lot of trouble if something came down and hit a neighbour, especially a child or a baby.

Bill nodded mournfully, You could be right. But look, I can't stand it much longer, we have to do something. I'll give it some thought.

He did just that and the following evening he came home with a possible solution. Janet, you remember that car-boot sale we went to the other Sunday morning? There was a stall there selling radio-controlled model helicopter kits. I bet I could make good use of one of those, if only to scare the darned bird away.

The way it always flies up to the top of that big conifer, in the middle of the garden next door, is very irritating, I have to agree, his wife exclaimed. Let's go to the there again next Sunday and get one. It can be for your next birthday! But do you think chasing it with a model helicopter will really be possible?

I don't suppose I could kill it, unless I attach a long knife to the front of it or something. Maybe I could even lassoo it? Whatever, I'm sure it will scare it away at least.

The following Sunday they went to the car-boot sale again. It was a large well-established one, in a supermarket car-park. The vendor they'd seen before was there again, and he had just one outdoor model helicopter left. Bill began to bargain with him, and eventually made a deal for 45 dollars for the whole package. He couldn't wait to get it home.

The assembly instructions were a bit daunting, but Bill managed to work out everything that was required. After several exhausting hours, the helicopter was assembled and read for its first test.

It had unfortunately just begun raining and the wind was getting up, so Bill decided to give the machine a first run in his living room. He