Hetty’s Legacy

52

After Hutch’s Aunt Hetty dies, Hutch finds he has been left a small legacy. He invites Starsky to take a trip to England to follow in Hetty’s footsteps for a trip she made with her best friend many years before.

 

Author’s Note: This is partly a nostalgic trip partly down memory lane based on epople and places from my own past. If you don’t like rambling stories about nothing, please don’t read! More notes at the end.

Title art created by Lapfordlass. Written and first published between July 2022 and October 2023.

---

Hetty’s Legacy – Part One

Arriving home after his morning jog, Hutch opened the door to his apartment and bent down to pick up the mail that was waiting on his doormat. Although intent on getting into the shower as quickly as possible, he nonetheless flicked through the various envelopes to see if there was anything of interest amongst them. There was a water bill, a subscription renewal for ‘House Plants Monthly’, a flyer for a local car place and a large, thick envelope that felt as if contained several papers. The envelope was typed, indicating it was probably a business letter, and it took Hutch only a moment to notice that it had a Duluth postmark on it. Feeling a stirring of curiosity, he sliced open the envelope and first pulled out the folded letter (written on good quality paper), which had been sent by Coleman, Warner and Stubbs.

He started to read:

To Kenneth Richard Hutchinson

Dear Sir

Regarding the Last Will and Testament of Henrietta Bergdin Ellingsen

also known as Hetty Ellingsen

In accordance with the wishes of the late Hetty Ellingsen, please find enclosed a cheque for the sum of $4,000 , a copy of her private recollections ‘There and Back Again’ and a personal letter. Please sign and date the enclosed form to acknowledge receipt of these items and return said form in the envelope provided.

Yours faithfully

James Stubbs

Feeling somewhat stunned, Hutch looked at the cheque which was attached to the letter by means of a silver paperclip. $4,000! He couldn’t believe his own eyes. Shaking his head, Hutch next drew out a thick pile of papers from the envelope and found he was looking at a small binder entitled ‘There and Back Again’ by Hetty Ellingsen. He flicked through to find neatly typed pages with different titles every few sheets; Hetty Bergdin Travels to Bergen; The Charming Russian; On The Trail of King Arthur; and Ghosts, Green Glugs and Glastonbury.

Hutch smiled to himself as he vowed to settle down tonight and read some of Hetty’s travel writing. It seemed these tales might be as eccentric and fun as the lady herself had been. Finally, he checked the envelope again and found a long, thin envelope addressed to ‘Hutch Kennison’.

He laughed out loud at the private joke as he carefully took out the letter and began to read. When he finished the one page message, he had tears in his eyes. He carefully returned the letter to its envelope and stood it on the piano, next to a frame that was a recent addition; a photograph of his mother and his two aunts with Hetty.

He placed the other papers carefully on the coffee table and then picked up the phone, dialling the long distance number for his parents. It was almost seven-fifteen in Bay City so it would be nine-fifteen in Duluth – hopefully just the right time to catch his mother before she either went out or got stuck into some charitable project or other.

The phone rang for four chimes and then his mother answered: “Hutchinson residence. Eleanor speaking.”

“Hi Mom, it’s me.”

“Ken, darling, how lovely to hear from you. How are you?”

“A little stunned to be honest!”

“Ah. You’ve received your bequest from Hetty then?”

“Yes, how come you didn’t tell me it was coming? You were her executor.”

His mother laughed softly. “I thought dear old Hetty would like it to be a surprise. Don’t you?”

Hutch nodded. “Yes, she certainly would have. I can’t believe how much she left me. It was so kind of her.”

“Well, she was always generous with her money and her time. What did her letter say? If you don’t mind telling me, that is.”

“Just that she was proud of me and wanted me to spend some of the money on an adventure.”

“Typical Hetty! And will you? Go on an adventure?”

“You know I think I might.”

“Good…Well, I must be going, my darling. I’ve got a luncheon to prepare for the local hospital fundraiser. I’ll speak to you soon. Bye.”

“Bye Mom.”

Hutch had hardly put the phone down when there was knock on the door and Starsky walked in.

“Morning, Blintz! Hope you noticed that I’m early this morning!”

“Oh, yes, great. Is that the time?”

Starsky raised his eyebrows. “Hey! You haven’t had your shower yet! Get going, Blintz! I take it you haven’t eaten yet? I’m starving – thought we might stop for a breakfast sandwich on the way in.”

“Yes, okay, we can do that…but I want to tell you some news before we go to work.”

Starsky had carried on through to the kitchen and grabbed a coke from Hutch’s fridge. Despite Hutch’s general lectures on Starsky’s eating habits, he usually kept a soft drink or two in stock for his partner. Starsky flipped the lid off and took a swig.

“What’s the news then?”

Hutch picked up the cheque and handed it to his partner. Starsky stared at the cheque and then whistled his surprise.

“It’s from Great Aunt Hetty’s estate.”

“That’s t’riffic, Hutch! Really, I mean it, I’m so happy for ya. Any idea what you’re gonna do with it?”

“Well, I’m going to put half in my savings account but Aunt Hetty was quite insistent that I use half to take a trip. I think she wanted me to have an adventure like some of the ones she took and described in her diary.”

“That sounds great. Any idea where you want to go?”

“Well, I plan on reading her travelogue tonight. I took a peek at the chapter titles and I think I might follow in her footsteps, maybe take a trip up the fjords of Norway or go to Britain and see some of those places connected with King Arthur that she was so excited about.”

Starsky nodded. “You gonna do it this summer?”

“Yeah, I thought I would.”

Starsky nodded again, but looked a little less happy.

“What’s up, partner?”

“Nothing. It’s great news. I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time…Just I’m sorry we won’t get to spend our two week vacation together this year but – hey, never mind, I’m pleased for ya. I really am. It’ll be a t’riffic experience for ya.”

Hutch shook his head fondly. “You’re coming with me, you dummy,” he explained.

“Huh? What do you mean? I mean that’s nice of ya, Hutch, but I don’t think I can afford it.”

Hutch smiled as he said, “You don’t need to afford it, I’m paying.”

Starsky frowned and shook his head. “Nah, you shouldn’t be spending your money on me.”

Instead of answering, Hutch got up and retrieved Hetty’s letter from the piano and then handed it to his friend. “Hetty wanted me to spend it on a trip for the two of us. Go ahead; you can read it.”

Starsky read the name on the front of the letter and raised an eyebrow. “Did she get a bit muddled towards the end of her life?”

“Nope, still razor sharp.”

“Then why-”

“-It was a little joke we shared together.”

Starsky smiled in understanding and proceeded to open the letter and read the contents, which were written in a bold, neat hand.

My Dearest Ken,

It has been a joy to watch you grow into the man you have become. I am so proud of you. Even if I haven’t said that before, I hope you already know it. You have a heart of gold and the compassion of an angel. But you are sometimes a little too sensible! I want you to promise me that you will use this little gift I leave you as unwisely as you can. Or if that is too much for your cautious mind, save half and spend half!

Travel, my darling boy. Have an adventure like one of the many trips I undertook. Don’t leave it until you are old and grey, although age never stopped me from having fun, but even so my advice is to travel while you are young and not yet tied down.

You know that all my travels were undertaken with my best friend, Minnie. Any experience will be all the richer if you have someone to share it with. I was privileged to share my adventures with her and I would love you to travel with your best friend. There should be enough to cover at least one adventure together, depending on how vast your dreams are!

Take care, have fun and never forget I love you.

Hetty

Starsky finished reading and folded the letter up carefully. As he handed it back to Hutch, he said, “I wish I’d met her even more now! What a great letter!”

Hutch nodded as he walked to place the letter back on the piano next to Hetty’s picture.

Starsky knew his pal all too well. “You okay?”

Hutch pulled a hankie from his pocket and blew his nose before saying, “Yeah.”

“Come on, Blintz. Get in that shower and then let’s go get breakfast before we start our day. I’m buying. Least I can do if you’re springing for a trip abroad!”

As he walked past Hutch, he patted his back gently, acknowledging his friend’s sense of loss. “I’ll go wait in the car. Don’t be long!”

Hutch nodded back at him and smiled a little as he headed towards the shower. By the time, he was hurrying down the stairs to join his partner, his brain was buzzing with ideas; all of which he intended to talk through with Starsky as soon as the job and time allowed.

 

Hetty’s Legacy – Part Two

Hutch had been reading through Hetty’s notes for a week now and sharing the odd snippet or two with Starsky whenever they had the momentary pause of a stake-out or a meal break. They’d decided in the last couple of days that they would go to Britain and follow Hetty’s journey to visit places associated with King Arthur and his knights. Hutch was started to feel excited. Just a little over a month and he and Starsky would be on their way. They had a lot of plans to make before that could happen though.

“Aliens.”

Starsky’s voice interrupted Hutch’s thoughts.

“I’m sorry?”

“Aliens.”

Starsky was doing that thing again where he had clearly had a whole conversation with himself and was expecting Hutch to read his mind and know what he was talking about.

“What kind of aliens? Non-US citizens? Or Marvin the Martian?”

Starsky looked confused and then bemused as if surprised that Hutch didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Real aliens. You know; area 51, grey skin, huge eyes, big hands. That kind.”

“Not really, no. I mean I’ve never seen one and I’m willing to bet that you haven’t either!”

“Well, no, but lots of people have.”

“Nutcases maybe.”

Starsky fixed him with a look before stating, “Anyway, it was probably aliens.”

Hutch wiped his hand over his face. It had been a long day and he was counting the seconds until end of shift. Too long a day to start a conversation about aliens. Although alcohol might help him keep his cool while he listened to Starsky’s latest wild theory.

“How about you tell me all about these aliens of yours over a beer at Huggy’s?” he suggested.

Starsky’s face brightened. He checked his watch, surprised that it was nearly end of shift.

“Oh. Yeah, sure. Let’s do that.”

Hutch reached for the radio mic and signed them off duty. Starsky rolled up his magazine and threw it onto the back seat before starting the Torino’s engine and heading the car downtown towards Huggy’s.

A short time later, they were both sitting back in their favourite booth and sipping at ice cold beers.

“Aah.”

Hutch knew he was going to regret asking, but he asked anyway, “So these aliens? What about them?”

There was glint in Starsky’s eye – genius or madness? – as he responded.

“Oh, well. After our talk the other day about places we wanted to visit, I started doing a bit of research on Stonehenge and an article I found said that the stones were constructed by aliens as an extra-terrestrial navigation marker. Whaddya think about that? You buy it?”

“Not for a second!”

“Well, how do you think they got there? Especially the ones balanced on top?”

“Slave labour.”

“Nah, they pre-date slavery by quite a ways.”

“I bet there were slaves in ancient times. Or at least coerced poor people.”

“But how’d they lift those massive stones up in the air like that?” Starsky demanded to know.

“How’d the Egyptians build the pyramids?” Hutch countered.

“Slave labour and a system of pulleys,” Starsky had to concede.

“Exactly.”

“Hmm. Well, that theory kinda tallies with another article I read saying Merlin oversaw the project. The original ultimate druid as well as wizard.”

Hutch raised an incredulous eyebrow.

“Don’t give me that look! You come up with a better theory!”

Hutch sighed. “All right, I will concede that Merlin, if he existed, could have overseen construction and come up with the idea of a pulley system.”

“Good. So we can stop on our way down to Cornwall to see Stonehenge?”

“Why not? Add it to the itinerary, Starsk.” Hutch was feeling magnanimous as well as excited. “Although maybe we’d better not add anything else. We’ve only got two weeks. I don’t know how we’re going to fit everything in.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll just have to plan it like a military operation.”

“This is supposed to be a holiday, don’t forget. I don’t want to be rushing hither and thither!”

“Hither and thither?! You been reading weird novels again? Relax, pal. We’re going to have an adventure but I promise there will be time to smell the roses and make memories.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Cross my heart and all that jazz.”

Hutch snorted. “Well, okay then.”

 

Hetty’s Legacy – Part Three – Getting down to the details

Unbeknownst to his partner, Starsky had made a long distance phone call to Hutch’s mother. The first Hutch knew about it was when he came home to find a medium sized brown cardboard box waiting for him on the landing outside the door of his Venice Place apartment.  He carried the box through to his kitchen table and found a pair of scissors with which to slice it open. Inside, were a whole load of books and a note addressed to him…and Starsky. Hutch rolled his eyes, although there was no-one there to see him do so and picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, partner. I’ve received a box from my mother. Only it isn’t for me; it appears to be something you’ve asked for!”

“Oh that’s t’riffic! I’ll just grab a quick shower and then I’ll be right over!”

Starsky put the phone down before Hutch could ask for an explanation. He would just have to wait until his crazy partner arrived to ask him why there was box of books from Hetty’s house now adorning his table. Like his partner, he decided to take a quick shower. It had been a long, hot summer work shift and he was more than ready to wash away the stink of the day, particularly the fractious one they had experienced. How he longed to be on vacation! It couldn’t come quickly enough as far as he was concerned, but there was still four weeks to go.

In no time at all, Hutch was settled on the sofa drinking his first beer. One for his partner stood open and ready on the coffee table. Hutch waited for the whirlwind to arrive. Only a few minutes later, he heard the roar of the Torino through the open window, the closing of the door, and the sound of feet jogging up his stairs. Then the door was flung open and Starsky came rushing in.

“Hey Blintz! Where are the books?”

Hutch indicated with his beer bottle and his partner headed over to the kitchen, quickly delving into the box like a kid unpacking a Christmas box. There were a few noises of excitement, contentment and surprise and then Starsky came over to the sofa, carrying a novel and a wide book of photographs.

“Look at that, Hutch! Wow! We’ve definitely got to go there!”

Starsky thrust the photographic book into Hutch’s hands as he flopped down beside him. He thanked Hutch for the beer as he picked it up and took a swig.

Hutch put his bottle down and opened up the book to see pictures of Stonehenge, taken throughout a year at different times of day and marking the changing qualities of the stone in different light, weather conditions and seasons.

“I’ve got to admit it does look amazing. You’re right: we definitely have to call in on our way down to Cornwall…Now, tell me how come my mother is sending you books!”

Starsky grinned. “Well, it suddenly occurred to me if your Aunt Hetty loved stories about Arthur so much, she was bound to have had books on the subject.”

“I figured Mom and my aunts would have got rid of everything when they cleared her house. I’m glad they hung onto some of her books.”

“Yeah, your Mom said they had to get rid of a lot, but she held onto some for sentimental reasons. Lucky for us!”

“What’s the other book you’ve  got there?”

“It’s a novel called The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. It came out a few years ago. I’ve heard of it. It’s supposed to be good.”

Hutch raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “You’ve heard of it? Really?”

Starsky looked affronted and then grudgingly admitted Hutch’s surprise was justified.

“Well, all right. I’ve heard of it since I went into the library and asked if there were any good books on King Arthur and June recommended the ones by Mary Stewart. I’ve got them on order but they haven’t arrived yet.”

“Them?”

“There’s three in the set, but Hetty had them all so I can cancel my request…but I might wait until I’ve had my date with June or else she might be disappointed in me!”

Hutch rolled his eyes again – this time to an audience of one – before asking, “What does June like to do when she’s not hushing people?”

“Ha ha. Dancing. I’m taking her dancing. Tomorrow night.”

Hutch nodded. “Sounds fun.”

“You got a date tomorrow?”

“No. I think I might just relax at home this weekend. It’s been a helluva week.”

Starsky nodded his understanding. “A date might take your mind off it…June’s got a sister, if you’re interested. A couple of years older. I didn’t mention it before because I assumed you had a date this weekend. I could give June a ring and see if Sally-Ann is free?”

Hutch deliberated.

“You don’t have to take her dancing. We could double date a quiet restaurant and then I could June dancing afterwards…Whaddya say, pal?”

“All right. See if she’s free.”

Starsky grinned and leapt up to use Hutch’s phone. Within a few short minutes, the date had been arranged.

“We need to get out and wipe this week from memory,” Starsky said as he went and collected two more beers from the fridge.

“Yeah, we do,” Hutch replied with a big sigh.

“Hang in there, pal. Not long till our vacation. Only four weeks. The weeks will start to fly by now!”

“You reckon?”

“Yep. I do.”

Hutch found himself getting even more excited. “Can’t wait.”

The two of them chinked their bottles together and settled back to talk through the plans they had made already and all the things they still needed to do before they could set off on their adventure.

/\/\/\/\/\

Over the next four weeks, Hutch reckoned Starsky had read his way through every tome ever written on the subject of King Arthur and so had he by proxy! Starsky had delighted in sharing snippets with his friend, telling him facts he’d found out, making him read the odd paragraph or even whole chapters that he himself had found fascinating. Hutch had pretended to protest but secretly he had thoroughly enjoyed it.

They had decided they would hire a car when they got to London and then make their way down to Cornwall via a number of stops. Their first journey would take them straight to Winchester, in the county of Hampshire, where there were plenty of places to stay and a connection to Arthur to investigate. From there, they would travel past Stonehenge (stopping for a look around the famous monument) before continuing on down to the West Country.

Now, they were getting into the detailed planning. Starsky had bought various road maps and these were spread out over Hutch’s kitchen table, along with tourist information that Starsky had got hold of. Hutch had no idea when or how. His friend was certainly thorough. They’d both been to a travel agents and booked flights to Heathrow last weekend and rooms at a small hotel at Winchester for the first night. Now they were checking their plans for the rest of the stay before they started booking further accommodation.

Starsky pointed at the map and said that he wanted to visit Warminster and suggested spending the night there.

“What’s at Warminster?” Hutch asked. “I don’t remember the name from Hetty’s journal.”

“Oh, it’s got nothing to do with King Arthur,” Starsky informed him, “but lots of people have had sightings of alien spaceships around there. It would be really cool if we saw one, don’t ya think?”

Hutch rolled his eyes. “No, I don’t think!”

“Oh, go on, Hutch, please. Just one little alien spotting trip. Please. The rest of the holiday will be all about King Arthur, I promise.”

Hutch couldn’t take the continued begging and reluctantly agreed to a stop off at Warminster, much to Starsky’s delight. “Where do we head after that?”

“Then we go to Glastonbury. I think we should stay there for a couple of nights, really soak up the place and we can visit Wells Cathedral from there easily, if you want to see the famous clock Hetty told you about.”

Hutch shouldn’t have been surprised by Starsky remembering about Hetty and her fascination with the clock at Wells Cathedral, but he was. He was also touched. “Yeah, let’s do that. Good idea and then we can relax before the long drive down to Tintagel. How many nights do you think we should spend around there?”

“Two or three? It’s supposed to be pretty around there. We could do some other sightseeing while we’re down in Cornwall, not just Arthur related. My guidebook says St Ives is pretty with lots of art galleries – you’d like that. Or there’s Land’s End. Sounds cool. What do you think?”

Hutch felt a wave of excitement as he said, “All of it sounds cool.”

Starsky grinned. “Not long till we’re there, pal! Our adventure awaits!”

Hutch grinned back. “Can’t wait!”

 

Hetty’s Legacy Part Four – In Search of King Arthur

“Please don’t tell me that’s our car!”

Starsky checked the key fob and grimaced. “Yep…Interesting colour isn’t it?”

“It’s orange!”

Hutch stated the obvious, as if Starsky didn’t have eyes and couldn’t see it was a particularly bright shade of orange.

“Yep.”

“Yep?! Is that all you have to say?”

Starsky shrugged.

“I’m not driving around in an orange car for two weeks!” Hutch protested. “Let’s go ask if they’ve got something else.”

“Like what?” Starsky asked, indicating the other hire cars dotted around the lot. “You want to be driving around in a Mini? With your long legs? The Cortina’s the biggest car here by far. I think we’ll have to make do, pal.”

Starsky slapped Hutch’s shoulder in an attempt to buck up his friend’s spirits. Hutch sighed, took a deep breath and sighed again.

“Come on, pal, let’s get our luggage in the trunk and get out on the road to our adventure. ‘Sides you won’t notice the colour once you’re inside the car.”

Hutch supposed that was true. He followed Starsky over to the vehicle and tried to put the colour of it out of his mind. He knew it was a stupid thing to get annoyed about and he made a vow to himself that he wasn’t going to let this silly little thing spoil his holiday. He wouldn’t have minded about the car really, if he hadn’t been so tired. The flight to Heathrow had been long and he’d had trouble sleeping, courtesy of a wailing baby. Hutch had felt like wailing himself a few times during the ten hour flight.

Starsky had already got in the driver’s side, adjusted the seat and put on his belt before his partner had even managed to open the passenger door. Unlike his partner, Starsky could sleep anywhere. He didn’t seem to have noticed the crying baby at all. He had slept well and seemed full of energy whereas Hutch felt like he was walking around in a fog.

“Hutch?”

“Hmm.” Hutch tried to get his seatbelt done up; it took two attempts.

“I think you should try to sleep on this leg of the journey,” Starsky suggested. “We’ve only got a short drive to our first stop and it’s not particularly scenic. You won’t miss anything. I’ll wake you when we get near Winchester. Should take us a couple of hours maximum.”

Hutch deliberated. “You sure? Don’t you want me to navigate?”

“Nah, this bit’s the easy bit. I got it written down. I’ll stick it here where I can see it.” Starsky pulled a card from his pocket and placed it on the dashboard. “A3, M3 as far as somewhere called Popham and then follow the signs to Winchester; that’s what the lady at the hotel where we’re going said. She told me the motorway’s practically brand new. It only opened in ’71.”

Hutch didn’t know what to do with that piece of information. He yawned rather than make a comment.

“Well, I guess if you don’t need me to navigate, I could do with a nap.”

Starsky nodded and started the engine. He reversed carefully out of the parking space and followed the exit signs.

Hutch wasn’t ready to relax yet. “Don’t forget you gotta drive on the left,” he cautioned.

“Yeah, I know. Honest, I’ve got it. You sleep.”

Starsky carefully pulled out of the lot and onto the correct side of the road and drove along for a mile. When he came to a roundabout, he followed the signs for A3 Guildford and then drove up the slip road and eased out into the steadily paced traffic. Hutch looked out of the window for a few minutes until he felt his head beginning to nod, then he wriggled until he could place his head into a more comfortable position. Finally settled, he closed his eyes and slumped.

Within a couple of minutes, Starsky heard his breathing even out and nodded in satisfaction. So far the Cortina seemed like it was a nice smooth ride. Hopefully, Hutch would be able to sleep for a while.

/\/\/\/\/\

True to his word, Starsky woke Hutch up as they reached the outskirts of Winchester. Hutch sat up and yawned.

“What time is it?” he asked, sleepily.

Starsky checked his watch. “Five pm.”

“So that’s ten a.m. in California time?”

“Nope. Nine a.m.”

“Are you sure? I thought Britain was seven hours ahead of us?”

“Usually but they’re on British Summertime so that adds an hour.”

“Oh…I thought taking a night flight would make things easier but I feel very confused. My body’s telling me that it must be breakfast time but your watch says it’s nearly dinner time.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean! Never mind, we’ll get used to the time difference by tomorrow, I expect…Keep an eye out for Percival Street. Should be on the left somewhere. The hotel’s called ‘The King’s Arms’.”

Hutch yawned but kept an eye out as instructed.

“There.”

Starsky turned into the street that his friend had pointed out and drove along it for a few hundred yards. ‘The King’s Arms’ was on the right, set back from the road and with plenty of parking in front. Starsky pulled into a space and turned off the engine. Both men clambered out of the car and stretched their legs.

“Looks nice,” Starsky said, indicating the redbrick building with a still-green Virginia Creeper growing up one side.

Hutch nodded his response. The two of them unloaded their bags from the trunk of the car and headed towards the front door.

They were met by a young lad, who said eagerly, “Let me take those for you, sirs.”

Before Starsky could protest, the lad had taken his large suitcase and manhandled it over to a small elevator. He returned and took Hutch’s case from him as well. He deposited the case next to Starsky’s and then pulled the elevator door shut and disappeared from view. Hutch watched in complete bemusement. A lady appeared from a doorway behind the desk labelled Reception.

“Mr Starsky and Mr Hutchinson?”

“That’s right. Mrs Wordsworth, is it?” Starsky asked.

“That’s right. We spoke on the phone. Only, please call me Sophie.”

“Pleased to meet you, Sophie. Please call me, Dave, and my friend is Ken.”

Sophie smiled and nodded at them and then opened up the large blue book on top of the desk.

“If you’ll just sign in, I’ll get your keys for you. Are you still wanting to stay the two nights with us?”

“Yes, please.”

“And will you be wanting some dinner this evening? The restaurant is open from six to eight-thirty.”

Starsky looked at Hutch and then back at Sophie. “We’re feeling a bit confused by the time difference. It still feels like breakfast to us but we’ll say yes and come down around eight if that’s okay?”

“That will be fine.” Sophie looked at them kindly. “Would you like some tea brought up to your room? Or coffee? I could do you some toast, if you’re craving breakfast foods.”

“That’s so great of you!” Starsky said. “That would be t’rriffic. Toast and two coffees. If that’s really okay?”

“Of course. My pleasure. Here are your keys. First floor. Rooms four and five. Lewis will have put your cases outside your rooms for you. I’ll be along with your order shortly.”

“Thank you very much.”

The two men headed towards the elevator and travelled up to the first floor. They saw Lewis walking towards them. Starsky fumbled in his pocket then realised he didn’t have any change yet. He quickly pulled his wallet out and took out the first bill he found. He went to offer it to the lad but Lewis held out his hands and shook his head.

“Oh no, sir, that’s all right. Carrying your cases is all part of the service.”

“Oh…well, thank you.”

Lewis nodded and headed back towards the elevator but then turned a sharp right and headed down the staircase to reception instead.

Starsky looked at his key and inserted it into the keyhole of ‘Room 4’. He swung the door open, hefted his case inside and explored his room. He heard Hutch doing the same thing next door. There was a large four poster bed with a dark blue quilt topping it, a closet, a chest of drawers and a weird contraption that Starsky took to be a suitcase stand. There was also a small table, covered with a white lace tablecloth, and one wooden chair. The window looked out over the garden, which contained tables and chairs, and looked very picturesque. An open doorway quickly revealed that he and Hutch had access to a shared bathroom. The door the other side of the bathroom was closed so Starsky went and knocked on it and waited for Hutch to let him in.

“Hello,” Hutch said, sounding slightly surprised. “Where did you come from?”

“We’re sharing a restroom, pal.”

“Oh. Okay, that’s fine.”

There was a knock on Hutch’s door and, when he answered it, he found Sophie standing there with a tray filled with a coffee pot, two mugs, a rack of toast, a pot of butter, two glass dishes of conserve, two plates and two knives. Hutch took the tray from her with a smile.

“Thank you very much.”

“You’re very welcome. See you in the dining room later.”

Hutch carried the tray over to the small table in his room and placed it down carefully. Starsky quickly poured coffees for both of them and added milk to each mug. He looked for the sugar and saw a pot of rich, brown crystals. He eyed it suspiciously, sniffed it and then placed one spoonful in his mug. Very cautiously, he tasted his coffee and smiled with relief.

“Hey! That’s not bad.”

Hutch was busy applying a thin layer of red conserve to his first slice of toast.

“What’s that?” Starsky asked.

“I think it’s strawberry jelly. Or jam as they say over here.”

“And that?”

“Not sure….maybe apricot?”

Starsky decided to try the yellow jam first and decided it was indeed apricot.

“That tastes alright,” he announced to Hutch. “Try some. It’ll keep us going to dinner.”

“I don’t think I can face eating dinner,” Hutch said, as he slowly ate his piece of toast. “I think this is all I want.”

“Nah. You wait, you’ll be starving in an hour. Mark my words.”

“I don’t think I will. I can’t eat all hours of the night and day like you can!”

Starsky rolled his eyes. “Well, come down and keep me company. You never know – once you smell food, you might want some.”

“All right,” Hutch agreed, although he looked less than convinced. “I guess that might work.”

“That’s the spirit!” Starsky said, teasing his partner for his lack of enthusiasm.

This time it was Hutch that rolled his eyes, but he had a smile on his face as well.

“Why don’t you have a nap, pal?” Starsky suggested. “I’ll go unpack and then come back for you in time for dinner.”

“All right. I might do that.”

Starsky started to head to the bathroom door, paused and came back to gather up the tray of toast.

“Seems a shame to let this go to waste.”

Hutch snorted and followed his friend, shaking his head in fond bewilderment at Starsky’s never ending appetite. Hutch patted his friend’s shoulder as he passed through the door and then closed it behind him.  He turned around. Eyeing both his suitcase and the bed, he tried to decide which object’s call needed answering first. The bed won the contest and he fell onto it and was asleep within seconds.

Hutch was still fast asleep when Starsky returned and nothing his partner could do would rouse him. Starsky soon gave up and went to enjoy his dinner, eating Hutch’s meal as well with only the smallest of twinges to his conscience.

/\/\/\/\/\

Hutch woke early and stretched. He was still dressed in his clothes from yesterday, but at some point Starsky must have removed his shoes for him, covered him with a light blanket and drawn the curtains. He felt much better after what was – he glanced at the bedside clock – fourteen hours sleep! Hutch threw back the blanket and sat up, feeling both refreshed and crumpled. It was time to unpack and then take a shower before Starsky came in, demanding they went down for breakfast.

Hutch was just patting his hair flat when Starsky knocked. Hutch quickly crossed the room and opened the door.

“Morning.”

“Morning. Hey pal, you look a lot better than yesterday!”

“I feel a lot better. Thanks for letting me sleep.”

“No problem.”

They entered the small dining room and found a table set out with enough breakfast paraphernalia for two. Sophie quickly appeared and offered them coffee or tea and also took their order for eggs and bacon. Both men enjoyed their breakfasts – Hutch in particular as he’d missed dinner the night before. They talked about their plans for the day and got directions from Sophie to the Great Hall, where they would be able to see the remains of Winchester’s 13^th Century castle. It turned out it was only a twenty minutes away by foot and they both agreed a walk would be good after hours of sitting still whilst travelling the day before.

Once breakfast was done, they returned to their rooms to pick up their wallets and, in Hutch’s case, a backpack he’d brought with him. Starsky snorted when he saw it.

“Whatcha want that for? We ain’t camping!”

“No, but we don’t know where your next meal is coming from so I thought I’d bring some snacks along with me. Can’t have you getting grumpy!”

Starsky punched his friend lightly on the arm and then grinned.

“Good thinking.”

He watched in patient bemusement as Hutch filled two small flasks with water and then placed them in his backpack. Then the two of them set off, following the instructions Sophie had given them. As they walked along Sussex Street, they admired the ancient buildings. When they reached the entrance to The Great Hall, Hutch paid for two tickets and bought a simple leaflet telling the history of the place. The ticket seller also gave them a free map of Winchester itself, with points of interest marked on it.

He read it aloud to his friend: “It says here that The Great Hall is one of the finest surviving aisled halls of the thirteenth century. The Great Hall is an enhancement of the original Winchester Castle built by William the Conqueror in 1067 and was added by Henry II in the early 1200s. The remains of the original round tower are still visible.

The Arthurian round table was hung here in the thirteenth century and repainted under Henry 8^th’s reign. The names of Arthur and his knights were added at this time. Around the walls of the hall, you can see the Winchester Panels – pictorial epigrams illuminated in a medieval monastic style.”

The two of them walked around the long room, which measured 110 feet by 55 feet, reading the labels on the exhibits of armour and paintings. They were only a few other people visiting this early in the day so Starsky and Hutch had room to stop and admire each feature and go around more than once to take it all in.

As they left the building, Starsky said, “Shame that the table isn’t original to the medieval period, but it was still cool. I could just imagine those knights sitting around it before being sent off on a quest or two.”

Hutch nodded. He opened the map they had been given and perused it.

“The town centre and the cathedral are that way. Shall we go for a wander?”

“Sounds good. If we see an old English pub, maybe we can get lunch there.”

“Great idea. We can see if it’s true that the beer is served warm.”

Starsky grimaced. “That will be weird, for sure, but I’m game to try it out.”

Four hours later, they were headed back to the hotel after a visit to Winchester Cathedral, which Starsky described as the grandest building he had ever seen; a steak pie lunch, which according to Starsky was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten; and a warm beer, which Starsky pronounced as the most disgusting thing he had ever tried.

 

Hetty’s Legacy Part Five – In Search of King Arthur…and Aliens

The next day, after an excellent breakfast, Starsky and Hutch said their farewells to Sophie and Lewis and packed their things back into their car.

“It’s still orange,” Hutch muttered under his breath but then quickly forced himself to shake off the tiny flicker of irritation.

Starsky looked at the sky. The weather had been very hot since they arrived and today was looking to be humid with it. A few dark clouds had begun to gather, suggesting the prospect of a refreshing downpour later.

“Hope it doesn’t rain till we’re safely at Wells,” Starsky said to no one in particular.

Hutch looked up at the sky and nodded. “Won’t be a storm for a while,” he announced, with the certainty of one brought up to know the feel of the weather and changes in the atmosphere. He was usually right so Starsky took his word for it.

“Who’s driving and who’s navigating?” Starsky wanted to know.

Hutch flipped a coin and Starsky chose heads and lost.

“I’ll drive. You navigate,” Hutch said, knowing that today’s trip would be comprised of two short journeys; the first would be taking them to visit Stonehenge, which was only about forty miles from Winchester; and then they would travel a similar distance onto Wells in Somerset, where they would be staying for the next two nights. They took the A34 and then turned onto the A303 and headed towards Amesbury.

Today’s adventure was set to follow one that Hetty and Minnie had experienced so they were following his aunt’s instructions and not going to drive all the way to the iconic ancient monument. Hetty and Minnie had taken a bus to the village of Amesbury (from the place where they had been staying) and then travelled on foot to seek out the monument, Stonehenge. It was supposed to be only a two mile walk so Starsky, who wasn’t usually one for walking, was happy to oblige his friend in following in his beloved Aunt’s footsteps.

As they drove into Amesbury, Starsky read from his guidebook: “The monument was in private ownership until 1918 when Cecil Chubb – what a funny name! – a local man (who had purchased the land from the Atrobus family at an auction three years before) gifted it to the British nation. Now it’s English Heritage’s job to conserve the site. Fancy that, Hutch! Imagine owning Stonehenge!”

“It’s crazy that a private family could have been allowed to own it at all,” Hutch agreed. “I guess in times gone by, everything was about the landowners’ rights. I’m glad good old Cecil was a forward thinker and gave it to the nation.”

They had arrived at the small car park (to which they had been given directions by Sophie) and the pair of them got out and paid the small fee for a day’s parking. They had no idea how long they might stay at the monument so thought it best to be safe and pay a little extra rather than pay a bigger fine if they were late back.

Following a mixture of Hetty’s directions and a walking guide Hutch had purchased, they set off in the direction of Stonehenge, first walking past quaint cottages and the local parish church, which was complete with a Norman tower and spooky churchyard – at least Starsky thought it was spooky. Once past the church’s drystone wall, the track took them out into farmland, where they passed by fields of grass and cows. Hutch stopped in a gateway to look at the giant herbivorous animals and remarked on them reminding him of his grandfather’s farm.

A little further on, they came to a field of golden corn and as Hutch leaned on the fence he got a soft look on his face that Starsky knew only too well. The fields of Minnesota had obviously been brought to mind.

Starsky had a quick look around and then observed, “There’s nobody around. I reckon no-one will mind if you want to go in and touch the corn.”

Hutch hesitated, but only for a moment and then he was climbing over the fence into the field. With careful steps, he walked up close to the almost chest high corn and reached out with reverent hands, which he passed gently over the golden ears. Seconds later, Starsky was beside him, doing the same thing. He turned to look at Hutch and was delighted to see the beatific smile his partner was wearing. He brought his camera up to his eye and took a photograph of Hutch before taking one of the views of the cornfield and beyond.

“Beautiful,” Hutch whispered and Starsky agreed.

By mutual silent consent, they stood standing in quiet contemplation for a few more seconds and climbed back over the gate and returned to the well-worn track. They walked along, enjoying the sunshine and chatting about nothing in particular and only keeping a vague eye-out ahead of them and so it was by chance that Starsky saw them first.

The stones.

All his looking at photographs in Hetty’s book hadn’t prepared him for the actually reality of them. He felt a thrill run down his spine.

“Wow!”

Hutch looked ahead to see what had caught his friend’s attention and whistled.

“Wow is right! Aunt Hetty wasn’t kidding when she said the stones were an impressive sight.”

The mid-morning sun was hitting the stones and making them stand out against the now glowering horizon; deep tones of dark grey and brown ran towards the top of each vertical stone and covered the whole of the horizontal ones. The lower half of each vertical stone looked pale grey.

Unconsciously, they quickened their steps and soon arrived at the gate leading into the field, where a small hut housed the lady selling tickets. They bought one each for the sum of forty pence and stepped through the magic portal into a world of ancient mystery.

The stones stood in isolated magnificence in the middle of the field. A well-worn path ran around them in a circle. A single rope fence stood between the path and the monument itself.

“This rope is only a recent addition,” Starsky told Hutch in a hushed whisper, “to stop people climbing on the stones and wearing them down.”

He didn’t know why he felt like whispering he just did and if Hutch thought it was strange, he didn’t show it. There were a few other visitors walking along the path and pausing every few yards to take a photo from what they thought was the best angle or where it would exclude the sight of the other people. Starsky fiddled with his many camera lenses and then took his first shot.

When they reached the half way point, Starsky asked, “You think it’s all right to sit?”

“Don’t see why not. Other people are.”

Hutch pointed across to a family, who at that moment had decided to sit down a little way from the path and share a picnic.

As the two of them settled on the warm grass, Starsky said wistfully, “We should have brought a picnic with us.”

Right on cue, Starsky’s stomach rumbled. Hutch sighed, opened his backpack and pulled out a candy bar and a granola bar. He handed the candy to Starsky, who ripped the wrapper open as if he hadn’t eaten for a week and proceeded to wolf down the contents. Without waiting for confirmation, Hutch handed his partner a second bar to eat and then slowly bit into his own.

“Ambrose is supposed to be buried under the altar stone over there,” Starsky said, pointing at the impressive slab of stone of purplish-green sandstone lying flat to the left of the centre. “That stone is supposed to have come all the way from Wales, although that’s not definitely proven, and Mary Stewart says it comes from Ireland…So…you think it was slaves who built this under the direction of Merlin?…Or aliens?…There’s something about the atmosphere here, don’t ya think – kinda out of the ordinary, magical, alien.”

Hutch decided he could go with the description of magical, but not alien.

“Yeah, it’s definitely got an otherworldly, out of its time atmosphere. I’ll grant you I could be convinced Merlin was instrumental in its construction if he really was the head druid of his age.”

Starsky reached into the back pocket of his denims and retrieved a slip of paper covered with his scrawling writing. He read it aloud: “So it was we brought the stone again to Amesbury, and I raised the fallen circles of the Giant’s Dance into their places for his monument.”

Starsky stood up and walked as close to the rope as he dared and stood, staring. Hutch joined him.

“I can just imagine Merlin standing here with his arms raised, muttering incantations and moving all the rocks into place.”

“’Course you can. It’s a nice thought but-”

“-Don’t finish that sentence,” Starsky pleaded and Hutch nodded, deciding to leave his friend’s imaginings intact.

Just then a crow flew over their heads and landed on the nearest stone. It put its head on one side and stared at them, silently.

Starsky side-whispered, “Do you think that is Merlin? You know, like reincarnated or something?”

“It’s just a crow, Starsky. Get a grip on that overactive imagination of yours!…I think we should probably head back now. Those clouds are getting closer and we want to be back in the car before the rain comes.”

Starsky shook himself out of his reverie but kept an eye on the crow.

“Okay, yeah. Let’s go.”

As they walked back to the entrance, Starsky kept checking over his shoulder and noticed that the crow was now following them in a mixture of short flights and hops. He found it a bit unnerving. Hutch didn’t seem to notice.

As they headed towards the path they had arrived on, Starsky heard the lady at the entrance say, “Hello Merlin. Have you come for your treat?”

He paused and watched as the lady threw some scraps onto the ground which the crow hastily gobbled up, before taking once more to the skies. Starsky looked around to make a comment to his partner and found he was way ahead of him. He had to jog to catch up.

“The lady called the crow ‘Merlin’.”

“Did she?” Hutch sounded unimpressed.

“Yes, she did. What do you think it means?”

“It means she’s as crazy as you are!”

/\/\/\/\/\

The car journey to Wells took them past Stonehenge again. Hutch had forgotten he was supposed to be driving and had climbed automatically into the passenger seat. Starsky didn’t mind; driving was his happy place. Like many of the other drivers on the road, Starsky slowed the vehicle as they passed the ancient monument on their right. Both of them took a long second look.

“Amazing.”

“Yeah they really are…I’m glad we walked to them though – seeing them like that was something special.”

Hutch nodded as he said, “Well, we can thank Hetty for that suggestion.”

“D’ya think we should call in again on our way back up to London? I kinda feel like I need to come back again to take it in and remember it. Ya know what I mean?”

Hutch nodded. “Yeah, I think that would be a great idea.”

Starsky grinned happily. A few minutes later he asked, “So what did Hetty write about Wells?”

Hutch reached into the seat pocket behind him and produced the much-worn, leather bound journal. He opened it reverently and began to read: “Today, Minnie and I arrived in Wells. What a picturesque place! The streets and avenues were delightful, with many of the buildings made from a beautiful yellow stone – sandstone possibly. From the ancient market place, we could see the two square towers of the cathedral just peeking above the rooftops. It didn’t look very impressive. How wrong we were!

“Once away from the town centre, we found that the cathedral was set back from a smartly kept grass lawn. People were gathered around the outside, looking at some of the external features while others sat in groups having picnics or ice creams. The whole place was filled with a happy atmosphere.

“And now I must mention the clock on the outside wall. The red and gold design is pretty but the most interesting aspect is the two carved knights. They stand on either side of the clock and their job is to strike the bells above their heads when the clock reaches the hour. It was enchanting. The Latin inscription on it read ‘Ne quid pereat’.”

Starsky glanced at Hutch as he asked, “What’s that mean?”

Hutch peered at the diary.

“Hetty’s written a small note in pencil at a later date – it says ‘Let no one perish’ – I guess that’s the translation…You want me to read more or wait till we get there?”

“You can read some-oh, look, a sign for Warminster!”

Hutch rolled his eyes as Starsky started peering around the car and upwards.

“Hey, keep your eyes on the road! You aren’t going to spot any aliens here!”

“How do you know?” Starsky demanded, but nevertheless returned to concentrating on driving.

“Didn’t you tell me most so-called sightings happened at night? It’s daylight.”

“Yeah, well, you wait till tomorrow night. I bet we see something.”

“I bet we don’t! Ten bucks says we see nothing.”

“You’re on!”

Hutch looked at the diary again.

“Right, where was I?…Inside the cathedral was even more impressive than the outside. There were fantastic vaulted ceilings, the bright blue organ pipes, and the stained glass window dating from 1340. All impressive but I fell in love with the wonderful clock located inside. How to describe it? It’s an astronomical clock, part of a famous group of clocks found in the West of England between the 14^th and 16^th centuries. The original parts were made in 1390. It’s supposed to be the second oldest clock in Britain and possibly the world and the clock face is the only surviving one of its kind anywhere!

“The structure of the clock face represents a model of the universe. The inner dial has a painted background of stars around which a large gilded sun moves, showing the hours. The dial is marked with Roman numerals. A smaller star shows the minutes. Four painted angels stand in each corner and it also has knight statues but these knights joust! When the clock strikes the hour, they rush around the top chasing each other. It is utterly charming! I could have stayed there all day. Minnie had to drag me away!”

“Sounds like we’re in for an interesting visit,” Starsky said. “And those are the clocks that inspired her purchase of the clock you now have; the one with silver knight ringing the bell, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Well remembered.”

“We’re almost there and the rain’s holding off. Shall we go straight to the cathedral and see the outside clock? Then we can be inside if the rain comes. Maybe we can get some lunch in the town afterwards.”

“Sounds like a plan. We should just be in time to see the clock strike the hour!”

Starsky smiled to himself at the excited tone in Hutch’s voice. This trip, following in the footsteps of Hutch’s aunt and her friend, was doing wonders for his partner. The total change of scenery and immersion in history was providing rest and relaxation of a totally different kind from normal; and of a kind that Hutch seemed to be loving. He had already lost the stressed look he’d been wearing the last few weeks.

Starsky was enjoying the trip so far, but a large part of his feeling of winding down from the stresses of their job came from seeing his partner so enthralled with everything they were seeing and hearing. If Hutch was happy then he was happy too.

/\/\/\/\/\

The next day was going to be one of the busiest they were going to have during their vacation. Starsky had wanted to visit Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole so they were doing that in the morning. Hutch had wanted to visit to Bath to see the Roman baths so they were spending the afternoon there. Then after dinner, it would be time for a little alien spotting at Starsky’s insistence.

As they drove the short distance to Cheddar Gorge, Hutch said, “Remind me what we’re going to see this morning?”

“Well, Cheddar Gorge is a gorge that’s been carved out by nature from the limestone in the Mendip Hills. There’s a series of caverns and the biggest is called Wookey Hole. There are loads of stories of magic and witches and all that good stuff.”

Hutch rolled his eyes.

“And, of course, it’s famous for cheese. I’m going buy me some.”

Hutch frowned.

“For some reason, I’ve got a hymn my Grandmother used to sing popping into my head.”

“Rock of Ages?”

Hutch looked slightly freaked out. “How did you know that?”

“Don’t you remember Sophie told us it’s where it was written? That guy with the weird name got inspired to write it while hiding in a cave from a thunderstorm.”

“Oh yes, of course. Augustus Toplady.”

“Exactly.”

Hutch hummed a few bars of the hymn before turning to his partner and asking, “Are you absolutely sure you want to go alien spotting tonight?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”

“’Cause it’s a complete waste of time!”

“Hutch, you promised we could go.”

“Okay, but why do I need to go? I get enough of being sat in a car for long, boring hours on stakeouts!”

“So you’re saying you would happily leave me to face an alien on my own? Some partner you are!”

Hutch shook his head in defeat. “You won’t need me watching your back because you aren’t going to see anything but, if it makes you feel better, I guess I’ll come along.”

“It does make me feel better and you are coming…Thanks.”

/\/\/\/\/\

Around nine in the evening, Hutch found himself sat in the car in the middle of a desolate spot on the outskirts of Warminster. Starsky had taken directions from the amused hotel manager and driven them out to where it was claimed there had been several sightings of lights in the sky.

After an hour of watching Starsky watching the skies, Hutch murmured, “See. I told you. Nothing.”

“Ssh. Any minute now.”

“Why are you shushing me? No-one can hear us!”

“I’m listening out for the hum of a spaceship.”

“I think I saw an asylum down the road,” Hutch observed. “I might drop you off there.”

“Ha ha.”

“What would you do if a spaceship appeared right now and parked right in front of us?” Hutch wanted to know.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, have you got a welcome speech prepared or what?”

“I don’t want to actually talk to an alien. I’m hoping they won’t see us. I don’t want to get experimented on!”

“I don’t think there’s any danger of that.”

“No? Why not?”

“Because given the choice between a prime specimen and…you…I know who an alien’s going to pick.”

“Hey! What am I? Chopped liver!”

Hutch shrugged.

Starsky returned to looking out of the window. Hutch opened Hetty’s diary and read it by flashlight. A few minutes later, he sniffed the air and muttered, “The car stills smells of that cheese!”

“It was delicious. You should have tried some.”

“No, thank you. Anyway, I was happy enough with that shortbread I bought from Bath.”

“Mmm, that was good. I’m glad we went to the see those baths. Imagine that; us walking where the Romans socialised. Hope Ma gets my postcard; she’ll be astounded.”

After another hour, Starsky was finally ready to concede they probably weren’t going to see anything and they headed back to the hotel, resuming their argument over who was mostly likely to be attractive to an alien.

/\/\/\/\/\

The journey to Glastonbury was uneventful. The hotel they’d chosen was a little way out from the town centre. They visited the George and Pilgrims (that Hetty and Minnie had stayed in) for a lunchtime meal but, remembering Hetty’s description of how the church clock rang all night, they had decided it would be wise not to actually stay there.

After lunch, they walked the short distance to the grounds of the long ruined Glastonbury Abbey, where King Arthur and his Queen, Guinevere, were supposed to be buried. There was a hushed, peace about the place that both of them could feel sinking into their bones. They both walked silently through the ruins, pausing every so often to read the small signs giving information about the different areas of the original abbey. Hutch tried to imagine the place as it had been with monks tilling the allotments, illuminating texts by hand and filing into the sanctuary for prayers. While Starsky wandered off to take some artistic shots, Hutch sat down on a bench to try to soak in the timbre and ambience of the place and to think about Hetty.

Slowly, he felt a calm, warming presence next to him as if someone had come and sat down beside him. He didn’t understand the sensation and wasn’t even sure he was feeling what he was feeling, but just in case Hetty was there with him, he whispered, “Thanks Hetty. Thanks for the money to come on this trip. Thanks for all your guidance and thanks for all your loving support.”

A moment later, the warm feeling began to dissipate but he still felt strangely at peace. Starsky was making his way back towards him. Hutch stood up.

As Starsky drew level, he asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah…just thinking of Hetty.”

“Oh.” Starsky nodded with understanding. “You ready to go? I saw a tea shop around the corner. I’ll treat you to something to eat, if you like.”

“Thanks, pal,” Hutch said, with a smile. “That sounds perfect and exactly like something Hetty and Minnie would have done.”

Starsky smiled back at his partner.

/\/\/\/\/\

The final stay of their journey down through the West of England was to be near Tintagel, where King Arthur was supposed to have had a castle. They had found a small guesthouse in Boscastle not far away and stayed there overnight. The next day, they set out early to visit the castle, having been warned by the owner of the guest house that the site could get incredibly busy during August as would the village.

They parked at the tiny car park at the top of the village and walked down past a church, teashops, shops selling Arthurian and magic related items, past residences made out of grey stones with grey Cornish slate rooves. Some of these were so buckled and bowed with age, Starsky was amazed that they hadn’t fallen in on themselves.

As they reached the bottom of the road, they saw the ruins of the castle. It was perched across two sites at the top of rocky cliffs. Starsky knew from his reading that the site had been eroded by the waves over time and a lot of the original centre of the castle had been taken by the sea.

The two of them paid the small fee and climbed up the steep pathway to one side of the ruined structure. After exploring that side, they walked across a narrow wooden bridge to the other side and read more information on panels there. A little while later, they walked up onto the hillside above the ancient stones so that they could try to gain a perspective of what the whole site must have been like.

“Wild.”

“Yeah, it sure is.”

It was still quite early and there were only one or two other visitors beginning to appear in the distance.

Starsky headed off further up the hill, saying over his shoulder, “Follow me.”

“Where are we headed?”

“You’ll see.”

As they passed a couple of small, gnarled trees, Starsky scanned the ground and picked up a long thin stick.

“Perfect.”

“What’s that for?”

“You’ll see.”

Starsky led them a little further until they came to a long, flat stone peeking out of a grassy knoll.

“Here we are. This is the spot.”

“What spot?”

“Do you remember reading me the bit in Hetty’s diary about Minnie knighting Hetty? They did it right here.”

Hutch looked around and smiled.

“Oh, that’s nice. I can just imagine them here, giggling as they did that.”

“Kneel down, Hutch,” Starsky ordered.

“What? No,” Hutch protested.

“You have to,” Starsky said. “That’s what the stick is for. I don’t have a sword but I’m sure an ancient Cornish stick will do.”

“You’re nuts!”

“So you’re always telling me but humour me. Okay?”

Hutch went to protest but, as he searched Starsky’s face, all he could see was a seriousness that demanded the right response.

“All right, but I feel ridiculous.”

Hutch knelt down on the slightly sun-warmed, smooth, alabaster stone then said, “Now what?”

“Shush.”

“I really hope no-one is watching.”

“Shush. Keep quiet, will ya?”

Starsky stood in front of his partner and formally tapped the stick on first one shoulder and then the other, saying in a very solemn tone, “By the power vested in me, I pronounce you to be Sir Bergdin of Bay City.”

Hutch unexpectedly found he had a lump in his throat. He stayed kneeling until Starsky offered him his hand and gently pulled him to his feet.

“Starsk…”

“I figured after you told me that Hetty’s middle name, Bergdin, meant ‘protected by spirits’, it would be an appropriate name for you…and it’s my wish for you too, pal.”

“Thanks.” As they started to walk back down the hill, Hutch laid an arm around Starsky’s shoulders and gave him a quick squeeze. “I don’t think I need spirits to protect me, pal. Not while I’ve got you as a partner…and as a friend.”

“Let’s not get into a soapy scene…but…thanks Hutch and likewise.”

They walked the rest of the way back down through the castle ruins and on to the village in companionable silence. When they got back to the car, Hutch asked, “Where we headed to now, Sir Starsky?”

Starsky grinned. “Well, my good Sir Bergdin, methinks a trip to the beach would not go amiss.”

“Agreed.”

Starsky started the car and headed away from Tintagel towards a place called Trebarwith Strand. When they reached it, they parked in a small roadside parking space big enough for three cars and followed signs pointing towards the edge of a cliff.

“Wow! I ain’t never seen nothing like that before!”

They looked down into a small cove covered with golden sand, rocky outcroppings and saw the bluest waves with white horses they had seen in a long time. They carefully picked their way down the steep path until they reached the beach. One lone dog walker was on the shoreline. Otherwise they had the place to themselves.

They found a flattish piece of rock and sat down, watching the ocean.

After a few minutes, Starsky said, “Thanks for bringing me on this vacation. I can’t tell you how much I’m loving it.”

“Even without seeing any aliens.”

“Even without seeing any aliens,” Starsky snorted.

“Well, I’m so grateful to Hetty that she gave me the money so we could do this.”

“I think she’d be pleased we followed in her and Minnie’s footsteps.”

“Oh yeah, she definitely is,” Hutch said, momentarily thinking back to Glastonbury Abbey, “…I mean she would be if she knew.”

Starsky looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

“I think she knows, pal. I got a feeling yesterday like she and Minnie were around…You think I’m crazy?”

“Nope, not in the slightest.”

“Glad we got a few more days around here before we start making our way back.”

“Me too.”

Starsky stood up as he asked, “Wanna see who can throw a stone the furthest?”

“Sure…By the way, you owe me ten dollars. We didn’t see any aliens!”

As they walked down to the shoreline and began to collect the right sized pebbles, Hetty and Minnie smiled at each other.

---

Chapter End Notes: Descriptions of the boys’ visit to Stonehenge are partly from my memories as a small child and partly from the article: Stonehenge: Inscrutable and Untouchable by Roger W Miller (April 9, 1978) He writes: “….so I took a bus to Amesbury. From there, it was about a two-mile walk to Stonehenge, probably the most delightful two miles I have ever stepped off. The paved walk runs through quaint Amesbury, past an old church complete with graveyard, over a literally babbling brook, past thatched-roofed houses and yards with the usually magnificent English gardens, by fields where cows stand motionless and pheasant hide. In the background is that neat, fully utilized, green-on-green hilly English countryside. About a half mile from the destination, the asphalt walk reaches the crest of a hill. There one looks down on Stonehenge for the first time. The view is splendid. The ruins stand alone. The mystery is unfolded.”

Quotation Starsky reads is from Mary Stewart: The Crystal Cave –Book 4 chapter 10.