BACK AND FORTH-I

CHAPTER 16

                                             THE LANDING

     Jim should never to know who he is, and, everyone is sworn to a lifetime secrecy of what they had just witnessed. Jim, along with the others, bid farewell to his forgotten friend, then returned to the party to help tell his story of what happened at Hastings on the 14th October 1066.

  Maria passed around drinks and plates of cut sandwiches that were eagerly consumed and nibbled, between which were smiles, comments and the odd one liner.

  However, the boys: Paul, Mac, Jim, Bill and Peter were here to tell me what happened at Hastings. I called for their attention, then I ushered everyone into the lounge, where, as well as being very comfortable is filled with soft, self cleaning leather, that, when connected, the seating became a circular settee, seating twenty people or more. Everyone could see each-other, and, in the centre, is a round cedar table that could spun round, so that one could reach any item one desired. The centre of the table held the very latest Dibnah 3D laser quad-television, and, as the table is spun, you missed nothing of your video enjoyment. We had come along from the old fashioned stop-start digital broadcasts of old.

  The ladies played mother, placing upon the table the drinks and nibbles, etc. They then sat down to cuddle up beside their men. I asked Paul to be so kind as to open the meeting, and to show me what took place on the field of battle. From his pocket, Paul removed his video stick, and proceeded to energise the TV screen. For those that have not experienced these latest devices, the video stick is about 60mm x 15mm x 5mm. The internal laser transmits and receives upwards of one years video, with the quality of the human eye. The laser sent out its signal to the thin double pane glass quarter circles. Between the panes the unit holds a special ionizing gas mix called the 'Dibnah' mix, after its inventor, Fred Dibnah. I have four of these screens, making a full 360 degree viewing area, and each of the screens can be individually manipulated by voice commands, and can be used also as a reverse viewing screen, with the camera digitally removed and the area filled in to good effect. Oh, and the sound is to die for. It is now being transmitted telepathically to the recipient. Telepathic video is coming soon, but I digress. I had better allow Paul to carry on with his movie.

   "Well," said he, smiling, "We waited for the Norman ships to arrive at Hastings. It seemed to take an age for them to unload their tiny ships, especially their horses. As you can see from the video clip, there were hundreds of small boats." We looked on as the area around Hastings began to fill with Norman troops and Breton mercenaries. The place is a hive of activity, with men running about here-and-there. Horses were marshalled, tents erected and cooking fires lit. It's very interesting how everything became coordinated.

      "How long did this initial preparation take?" asked I

      "About a day and a half. There were a lot of knights sent out to scout the immediate area and to prepare for an attack from Harold's forces. I could tell they were very nervous, some men began to fight over the silliest things. Dressed as Breton sergeants, Jim and I took a stroll around their camp. They were a well organised bunch, they'd got their act pretty much together, but you could feel the tension, it is almost electric."

      "There's the bastard coming over the hill, see him? He's the one on the white pony," remarked Jim, excitedly. "He's a mean looking geezer, if ever I saw one. Though I could have taken him out in a one-to-one tussle. About 5' :10 or11", I'd say, what's that in metric, Pete?"

      "1.82:mts, Jim. Though I do prefer Peter to Pete." Jim nodded his future compliance.

       "Thanks, Peter. Well now. He's a thick set, very muscular sort of chap, apt to keeping himself fit, I'd say. He had bright ginger hair and clean shaven. His face is pockmarked, as though he might have come through smallpox, or similar disease. The one thing I did notice. He had a deep, growling, raucous voice. You could hear him above all the din of the working fraternity. That's my initial input, for what it's worth."