I was surprised, though not by any means unhappy, to discover that about half of the people who wrote to me after Chapter One was posted had not read Timmy and the Travellers, and it was suggested to me that it might be helpful for them, and for anyone else approaching the story for the first time, to have an idea of who the characters are and what they look like. So here is a brief line about each of the characters who first appeared in the earlier story.
You can keep this open on a separate tab while you read the story if you want – that way you can refer to it if you've forgotten who someone is, or if you haven't read the earlier story and need some background information. You would need to open Nifty twice to do that, but hey, life would be boring if it was too easy...
Jeremy Fielding, age (at 1st June 76) 11 yrs 10 mths, height 4' 09, weight 88lbs; short mid-brown hair, blue eyes. Goes to The Grove School.
Jeremy's main problem in life is his unpleasant step-father, whose racist politics frequently bring him into conflict with his step-son. Jeremy's other main problem is that he is starting to feel sexually attracted to his best friend, who is:
Bilal Khan, age 12 yrs 02 mths, height 4' 10, 91lbs, long black hair, brown eyes. Small birthmark underneath left eye. The Grove School.
Bilal is undergoing puberty, which makes him very self-conscious. He is Jeremy's closest friend, but is unaware of how Jeremy feels about him.
Tony Hanson, age 12 yrs 05 mths, 5' 00, 96lbs, very long blond hair, blue eyes. Wears a dental brace (retainer).The Grove School.
Tony has known Jeremy and Bilal for several years. He is good at football and very proud of the length of his hair, which is already below shoulder blade length.
Kamran Younis, age 13 yrs 04 mths, height 5' 02, 107lbs. Long black hair, brown eyes. Mitchells School.
Kam is the oldest member of the Collection and is markedly more mature than the other boys, with a deep voice and the first signs of facial hair. Was introduced to the Collection by Bilal, who goes to the same mosque.
Awais Younis, age 8 yrs 11 mths, height 4' 04, 56lbs, mid-length black hair, brown eyes. Ears that stick out. Kings Walk Primary School.
Kam's younger brother and much the youngest member of the Collection, but is good enough at football to deserve his place. Very energetic and outgoing.
Usman Shabbir, age 11 yrs 03 mths, height 4' 07, 78lbs, short, neatly-combed black hair, brown eyes, steel-rimmed glasses. Ivy House School.
Previously very quiet and introverted, he started to come out of his shell shortly before Easter, when he formed a friendship with Sim. Uzzy takes the dominant rôle in their burgeoning dom-sub relationship.
Simeon Lewis, age 11 yrs 07 mths, height 4' 10, 84lbs, short, light brown hair, green eyes. Jewish. Very large front teeth and a significant lisp. Ivy House School.
Sim finds it hard to understand why he likes being bossed about by younger and smaller boys; all he knows is that it makes him feel good. Would do anything for Uzzy, his best friend.
Miguel Àlvarez, age 10 yrs 10 mths, height 4' 07, 83lbs, fairly short black hair, brown eyes. Spanish accent, demonstrative playing football but otherwise quiet. Inchley Manor School.
Miguel has no connection with the other boys except for football, but he is more than grateful that they accepted him without making jokes about his nationality.
Owen Gwyn-Thomas, age 11 yrs 00 mths, Height 4' 06, 71lbs, shortish dark brown hair, brown eyes. Heavy Welsh accent, bad squint, has to wear eyepatch. Ivy House School.
Owen has discovered that he enjoys performing oral sex on his friends, though since the travellers moved away he has been without anyone to do it for.
Colin Carlington, age 11 yrs 08 mths, height 4' 03, 63lbs, bright red hair, blue eyes. Wears glasses. Self-conscious about his appearance (describing himself as 'a short-sighted midget with stupid-coloured hair'). Ivy House School.
Colin is the natural leader of this group, and has become very close friends with the former bully Graham Truscott, with whom he now has a physical relationship.
Matt Williams, age 11 yrs 07 mths, height 4' 08, 112lbs, mid brown hair, blue eyes. Matt is seriously overweight. Ivy House School.
Friends with Owen, who sometimes performs oral sex on him.
Luke Jenner, age 11 yrs 00 mths, height 4' 10, 86lbs, light brown hair brushed up, green eyes. Ears that stick out. Ivy House School.
Luke is the quietest of the group, generally keeps in the background.
Timmy Collier, age 13 yrs 03 mths, height 4' 10, 77lbs, floppy blond hair, blue eyes. Pretty in an almost feminine way. Ivy House School.
Timmy is small and puny and was originally bullied by the travellers, but subsequently formed a close, loving relationship with one of them.
Graham Truscott, age 13 yrs 07 mths, 5' 02, 105lbs, dark brown hair, brown eyes. Ivy House School.
Formerly bullied Colin and his friends, now Colin's closest friend. Graham has moved from being hated by the younger boys to being a friend and ally.
Stephen Wood, age 13 yrs 06 mths, 5' 05, 118lbs, light brown hair, blue eyes. Athletic and popular with his own year. Ivy House School.
Stephen was formerly involved in Graham's bullying of the younger boys but is now friends with them. Still has not reached puberty. Close friends with Tom, one of the travellers.
Christy Smith, age 12 yrs 09 mths, height 5' 01, 100lbs, dark brown hair, brown eyes.
Christy now has a close and loving relationship with Timmy.
Michael Kelly, age 12 yrs 08 mths, height 5' 00, 97lbs, red-brown hair, blue eyes.
Mikey is Christy's best friend, and is slightly ahead of him in terms of physical development. Has become interested in girls.
Danny Kelly, age 11 yrs 00 mths, height 4' 09, 87lbs, red hair, blue eyes.
Danny is Michael's brother and enjoys dominating older boys, especially townies. Played a dom-sub game with Owen before the travellers moved away, now using Alan as his sub.
Tom O'Leary, age 10 yrs 11 mths, height 4' 08, 78lbs, mid brown hair, blue eyes.
Tom is Danny's best friend, and is also close friends with Stephen Wood, whom he views as a substitute brother.
Alan Byrne, age 13 yrs 02 mths, height 5' 00, 91lbs, mid brown hair, blue eyes.
Alan has found that he enjoys being dominated by Danny, though he is just starting to find that Danny wants to play rougher than Alan had expected.
Ivy House and Inchley Manor are both prep schools, which take pupils up to the age of thirteen, at which point they take the Common Entrance exam in order to try to gain admission to one of the Public Schools (which are private and fee-paying and, in theory at least, offer the best education in the country). The thirteen-year-olds in these schools are therefore in their final year and are the most senior boys in the school.
The Grove is a selective secondary school which takes pupils who passed the Eleven Plus exam (taken at that time by all eleven-year-old pupils in their last year at primary school). Age range 11 to 18.
Mitchells is a Secondary Modern school, taking pupils who did not pass the Eleven Plus. Age range 11 to 16.
Kings Walk is a Primary school, taking all pupils from ages 5 to 11.
I hope that helps, but if you need to know more send a mail to the usual address – gothmog@nyms.net – and I'll be happy to answer your questions.