Stories of Tie Up Games

Did I expect it to work out the way it did? Not really – but it was certainly one of the more unusual times I have helped a family in this way. But perhaps I had better start at the beginning, with a phone call. The woman I spoke to had heard I offer a service for family games and told me she wanted...

“I suspect they are going to look for valuables after they have made them secure,” Christyne said as she wriggled round, and then looked at Steve. “Go on, tell me what you are thinking.” “I think you look amazing like that Grandma – is this the first time you’ve been tied up like that?” “Nope – hap...

“Yes, I know Bethany Earl – she’s in one of the year 6 classes. Why do you ask?” Mark looked over at his wife Yvonne and said “Well, you’re going to have to take care of her this weekend.” “She’s not coming here to… Oh. I know you’ve thought about her father before, but why now?” “Because” Mark said...

“Everything has to be absolutely perfect, Mummy – absolutely perfect!” Jane smiled as she looked at her ten-year-old daughter Alice, and said “of course it is going to be perfect, and all your guests are going to have an amazing time.” Jane herself was wearing a seventies style maxi dress with a red...

Lahore is a modern city, but in the residential areas it resembled a lot of the more affluent of the western capitals, and in the case of Ayesha her home as a two-storey house set back from the main road, a wall round the main building with a large black gate the only way in and out for vehicles. Sh...

Barbara looked across the kitchen table at Tommy as he shook his head. “No – I know we need to raise some more finances, but the risk is too great for you, Barbara,” he finally said. “But do you have any other possibilities at the moment? Look, I know she is the director of the company I work for,” ...

Over the last few weeks, I have made a number of home visits at the requests of clients to deal with their needs and healing – and with their permission, and the names changed, I’d like to share some of what I did with you to consider should you need counselling in these areas as well. For the first...

There’s not a lot to do in a small Scottish country village, and sixteen-year-old Corey knew that only too well as he walked down the high street. There was literally nothing to do – and although the Celtic game was on television that night, it was on Sky – and his parents had the TNT package only. ...

A very simple question really – What If the Games Player was Japanese… Kyoto Well, it started when I came back from my shopping expedition for the midday meal. I had left my eight-year-old daughter Chiyo with my housekeeper Mika, so that I could purchase the presents for my daughter’s birthday. I w...

Sweet Revenge “Oh he looks so sweet!” Billy grimaced as he looked at his older sister and her friend. Gill was wearing a black fleece with brown pants and trainers, while Sue had on a white jumper and jeans. “Why did you do this to me,” Billy moaned as he crossed his arms. They had made him wear a ...

Most people are familiar with the cult film Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, and the way the film opens – a reasonable perfectly executed heist in which a supermarket manager’s wife and daughter are held hostage in their home. It was, of course, only a film – but what if Hollywood had based it on a true st...

Cindy smiled as the door to the house opened, and she saw the older woman standing there. She was wearing a purple silk top, the long sleeves gathered at her wrists, a set of beads hanging loosely down her neck. The skirt was made for brown suede, and came to her knees, her feet in a set of beige ki...

Jay Edwards and Mrs McPhee are known internationally – but what if they were not British or American. What if they were, say, Indian… “Thank you, Mami,” Zunaira said as she sat at the kitchen table, drinking the glass of milk. It was a cool autumn afternoon in the wealthy suburb of Mumbai, and the ...

“So, when did it happen to you,” Beryl said as she looked over at her friend Betty. Betty slowly picked up her coffee cup and took a sip, before she said “two weeks ago – Dora and I had just got back from Chapel that Sunday, while Bert went to the Club.” “So what happened?” “That was a different se...

As the men walked across the car park, they looked round, before pulling the rims of their hats down to cover their heads and climbing in the back. “Guid murhnin Gentlemen,” the masked woman who was in the back said as they closed the door, and looked at the other two masked man sitting there. All o...

Sometimes it’s not much fun being the only boy in the family – but when Dad was away on business a couple of weeks ago, and Granny came to stay, all of us ended up doing something very different, and very exciting, and I got to be the man of the house. My name’s Jerry – I’m eleven years old, and I l...

“Cup of Tea?” “Thanks Mum,” Holly Carroll said as she accepted the cup and took a sip. She was thirty five years old, her long blonde hair falling loosely over her neck and shoulders, and she was wearing a lilac coloured dress, the shoulders pulled down, the skirt coming almost to the floor as her f...

“So just run it past me again,” the captain said as he sat in the office, “two people hit five apartments in the brownstone in one night, robbed the families there – and they didn’t try to raise the alarm?” “I know it sounds stupid chief, but that’s what seems to have happened – and all last Saturd...

Two days previously Yvonne Williamson sat next to her husband Mark as he spread some photos out on the coffee table. “So, Charlie and Lisa have gone with Rachel and Frank to the pictures,” she said with a smile, “so who do we have here?” “Meet Tom Caine, his wife Coral and their lovely eleven year ...

Thanks to the great work of people like Dan de Carlo, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge have become icons of, to coin a phrase, Safe Good Girl Art. There have also been a lot of stories looking at the relationship between the two. So, what if Adam and Eve were to spend a weekend at the Lodge Lodge – ...

“Well, that settles it,” Tom said as he looked across the Table at Barbara, “we are going to need a boost to our resources in the next few days.” “I knew paying for that holiday was going to be an issue…” “Hey,” Tom said as he looked over, “given what the utility company just did, we would have to d...

There must be some Irish blood in me somewhere, because I love St Patrick’s day – although will not go as far as drinking green Guinness. But what I have really enjoyed after the last few years, since Steve and I go together, is paying a visit and playing a game – and this year, the O’Brien family w...

After the event, everyone agreed it had been a sleepover to remember – although for different reasons for each of the children and their mothers… “No, Joel – the deal was you could have one friend, and Katy could have one friend. So Pat is going to come round with his mother, and Matilda will come r...

I know some in my profession are a little squeamish about entering the premises of families when the whole family, or at least the kids, are present, but I have to admit it is not something that bothers me too much. In fact, it makes things a little easier for me if I make sure the family in questio...

The wind was blowing over the Northumberland hills as Ophelia Chapel looked out from the windows of her main room. She was 65 years old, with snowy white hair, and was wearing a red and black checked blouse over a white top, blue jeans and black knee length riding style boots. “Any sign of any of th...