The TV Time Travellers Read online

  All the evacuees – except me, of course – were being interviewed by News 24. Izzy was saying, ‘And I know I’ve made friends for life.’

  ‘If not even longer,’ quipped Leo.

  ‘And that’s why,’ went on Izzy, ‘we couldn’t let Zac be treated like that. He’s our friend, and so we had to stand up for him.’

  ‘Very well put,’ said Farmer Benson. ‘And look at them, all talking away without any sign of nerves at all. TV naturals, they are.’

  ‘They’re fantastic,’ I said. ‘And I’m so happy I met them.’

  ‘You’ll see them all again very soon,’ said Dad, who had an arm lightly round my shoulder. That sounded exactly like a promise.

  And then we heard another taxi roll up the drive.

  I looked at Dad. ‘That’s Victor and he—’

  ‘He was an evacuee here in 1939 and stayed for the whole of the Second World War,’ interrupted Dad.

  ‘You really have been watching me,’ I said approvingly. ‘I’d better go and greet him,’ I added.

  I got outside just as the taxi was pulling away, and Victor was looking around him with a mixture of sadness and wonderment.

  Then he saw me. ‘Oh, I’m very glad you’re here,’ he said. ‘Even though I understand Strictly Evacuees is not.’

  ‘No, they’ve gone,’ I said. ‘But I couldn’t miss this moment of living history.’

  ‘And I suppose I’m the living history.’

  ‘Well, yes, you are really.’

  ‘Good job I remembered my hearing aid today then – and my glasses.’

  We grinned at each other. ‘How exactly are you feeling?’ I asked.

  ‘Like a ghost,’ said Victor firmly. ‘And especially when I see you standing there, looking more than a bit like me and in identical clothes.’

  ‘I wanted to be authentic,’ I said proudly.

  ‘You really are,’ said Victor. ‘And now time is twisting and shrinking away so much . . . well, I half expect the people who lived here all those years ago, and who were so very kind to me, to come rushing out to greet me again.’

  ‘Wonderful if they could,’ I said.

  ‘And poor old Dennis; I’d give anything to see him tearing towards me with that big grin on his face. And I’d be thinking, What bit of mischief have you been up to now?’ Victor smiled and shook his head and seemed totally lost in memories for a moment.

  Then I gently took his hand. ‘And now,’ I said, ‘I’d really like you to meet my dad.’

  Pete Johnson

  ‘One of our best contemporary humourists’ TES

  How many of Pete’s books have you read?

  Funny stories

  THE BAD SPY’S GUIDE

  Shortlisted for the 2007 Blue Peter Book Award

  Book I Couldn’t Put Down category

  ‘This book grabs you from the first page (5 stars)’ Sunday Express

  HELP! I’M A CLASSROOM GAMBLER

  Winner of the 2007 Leicester Best Book Award

  ‘A real romp of a read that will leave readers ravenous for more’ Achuka

  HOW TO GET FAMOUS

  Shortlisted for the 2009 Leicester Best Book Award

  ‘Lots of humour and witty dialogue . . . thoroughly enjoyable’ School Librarian

  HOW TO TRAIN YOUR PARENTS

  ‘Makes you laugh out loud’ Sunday Times

  TRUST ME, I’M A TROUBLEMAKER

  Winner of the 2006 Calderdale Children’s Book of the Year

  (Upper Primary)

  ‘Characters every child will recognize and every adult should try to understand’

  Observer

  RESCUING DAD

  ‘Most buoyant, funny and optimistic’ Carousel

  Thrillers

  AVENGER

  Winner of the 2006 Sheffield Children’s Book Award, Children’s Books, shorter novel

  Winner of the 2005 West Sussex Children’s Book Award ‘Brilliant’ Sunday Express

  THE CREEPER

  ‘Explores the subtle power of the imagination’ Books for Keeps

  THE FRIGHTENERS

  ‘Prepare to be thoroughly spooked’ Daily Mail

  THE GHOST DOG

  Winner of the 1997 Young Telegraph/Fully Booked Award

  ‘Incredibly enjoyable’ Books for Keeps

  TRAITOR

  ‘Fast-paced and energetic’ The Bookseller

  PHANTOM FEAR

  Includes:

  MY FRIEND’S A WEREWOLF and THE PHANTOM THIEF

  www.petejohnsonauthor.com

  THE TV TIME TRAVELLERS

  AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 407 04889 5

  Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

  A Random House Group Company

  This ebook edition published 2014

  Copyright © Pete Johnson, 2012

  First Published in Great Britain

  Yearling 9780440868620 2012

  The right of Pete Johnson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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