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| 19. PANIC at the PAIR TREE! Part 1. |
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What do you do when there's a hole in your shoe? Or when your boots are too small? Or your trainers are just worn out?
Well, on Magee's Island, you take them to the PAIR TREE. You tie the laces together and lob then up into the branches. And you make a wish.
And if you're lucky, the laces will catch a branch and your PAIR will twirl round it and stick.
And you'll get your wish!
The PAIR TREE is the most colourful tree in Ireland. It also happens to sit right on the edge of Maud Pinkerton's farm; against the golf course fence. And only a few hundred metres from Sam Whitehead's lighthouse.
Sam's job, when he isn't changing the lighthouse bulbs, is to look after the golf course; keep it in tip-top order.
But something always goes wrong when he's working on the thirteenth green.
If he isn't being hit by flying trainers, or bouncing boots, then he's being poohed on by birds as they dodge high-flying, high-heeled shoes.
A few times, like today, he's even had chest pain from his angina while climbing the PAIR TREE to clear away some of the tattered footwear. And when that happens, he sits down against the tree trunk, takes a few puffs of his angina spray, and takes it easy for a few minutes until the pain goes away.
Today, though, Sam was getting worried; not just because he was taking a rest when the course needed urgent attention for a competition that had already started, but also because the pain wasn't going away this time.
Luckily for Sam, Maud Pinkerton was at home, and spotted him sitting on the thirteenth green looking very pale and sweaty. She rushed outside to see if she could help.
***
At Stepminder Castle, Professor Dunlambert woke to the familiar police-car-chasing-the-helicopter-through-the-castle sound, and Uncle Sid howling outside.
'Scramble!' she yelled from the top of the stairs before bolting down them and out into the stormy courtyard.
She rushed to the Beetle and tried to open the boot to see the computer; to find out where the emergency was. And then she realised, the boot should have opened by itself, long before now. And why were the lights not flashing?
And as she turned, she realised that Uncle Sid was howling this time because there actually WAS a helicopter in the castle; the Air Ambulance helicopter, and Fergus was sitting in it shouting 'woo-woo-woo-woo', pretending to be a REAL paramedic.
And of course there wasn't REALLY a storm, just the mad gust of wind from the rotor blades.
'What on earth...?' she began, and then she spotted Pilot Sally Bumford sitting on Ben's Trike, revving up the engine with a huge smile on her face; pretending to be a cool secret agent, in Ben's leather coat and flying helmet.
Paramedics Pete and Sean, meanwhile, were in the kitchen, making the cranberry tea.
The phone rang. Nobody could hear it outside because of the racket, so Pete thought he may as well answer it.
And on the other end of the line, Maud Pinkerton was in a bit of a flap; Sam Whitehead had taken as many puffs of his angina spray as he was allowed, and the pain in his chest was still there. It had been there for almost half an hour.
Pete threw the phone to the professor, as Sean grabbed Sally Bumford by the arm, and sprinted to the helicopter. 'It's your friend Maud,' shouted Pete. 'She needs your advice!'
And less than a minute later, Pete, Sean and Sally were airborne for Magee's Island.
Of course, what they hadn't realised, was that a certain little goose hadn't bothered his feathered quiff getting out before they took off. They soon figured it out though, as they gently touched down beside the thirteenth green, switched off the rotor blades, and heard a familiar 'woo-woo-woo-woo' coming from behind them.
But they hadn't time to wonder what to do with him: Sam Whitehead needed their help.
Maud Pinkerton gave them the whole story - about Sam being up the tree clearing some shoes and boots when the pain came on; and how it was still there even though he'd taken his angina spray. Pete quickly put an oxygen mask on Sam's face, as Sean connected him to the heart monitor.
Fergus - nosey as ever - had heard the bit about the shoes and boots in the tree. And as Maud scurried back to her kitchen to rescue her burning cake from the oven, the little green goose scurried up the tree to rescue a pair of baseball boots that looked just about his size.
'Perfect!' he muttered. 'Just what I need to sort out those dodgy landings!'
And as he slid them onto his big feet, Pete slid a tiny needle into Sam Whitehead's arm, and gave him an injection which did, FINALLY, take the pain away.
But it didn't take away the fact that the poor lighthouse-keeper was actually having a heart attack, and needed to get to hospital quickly. But with as little fuss as possible.
FAT CHANCE OF THAT, OF COURSE!
For just as they got Sam sorted, an almighty cry of 'FORE!' sounded in the distance; quickly followed by a stray golf ball and a group of golfers who'd never seen a helicopter on a golf course.
Luckily for Sam and the paramedics, the golf ball overshot the thirteenth green.
Fergus, however, wasn't quite so lucky. As he turned to see where the familiar shout came from, he lost his balance - as usual - and fell from the branch; right into the path of the stray golf ball.
As he lay in a crumpled heap under a pile of boots and shoes and trainers, stars floated by his head. He opened his eyes and just about made out the golf ball; it looked just like any other. But the voices were definitely NOT like any others: they were Scottish accents - Scottish firefighters if Fergus wasn't mistaken!
He stared back at the empty thirteenth green; at the flag fluttering in the wind.
He stared up the thirteenth fairway; at the familiar faces of the Scottish Firefighters' golf team.
And he stared into the sky' at the red Air Ambulance helicopter as it turned and headed for Farset City Hospital with pilot Sally, paramedics Pete and Sean and their patient Sam Whitehead on board.
Leaving Fergus behind!
And he realised instantly...OH NO...HE WAS ABOUT TO GET RUMBLED...AGAIN!
Watch out for the next BLOG...coming soon.
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