It's Friday - What Can Possibly Go Wrong?
A weekly newsletter from Jodi Taylor
This week we have:
Discover the rich seam of content on Jodi Taylor’s YouTube Channel
A David Sands Writing Competition entry: Hinchcliffe and Bill by Elaine Perkins
This Week in History: The Night the Terror Began: Jack the Ripper’s First Victim Discovered
Jodi Taylor Book Recommendation: Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather 💙📚
A joke from the #SillySunday thread in Jodi’s Fans and Readers Facebook Group
The Book of the Month is Saving Time by Jodi Taylor
There’s plenty to read this week and you can see everything new on the blog too. CLICK HERE for the blog.
Discover the wide range of content, including interviews, readers ’ questions, and book extracts on Jodi’s YouTube channel. Please visit and subscribe CLICK HERE
Hinchcliffe and Bill by Elaine Perkins
It was a Wednesday and things were quiet in the small room that was the office/workspace of Hinchcliffe and Bill Ltd.
Anderton Thordan Beta Hinchcliffe was short, stocky and basically humanoid. A bit scruffy but a people person. He liked people and people liked him. He got most of the work. Bill, on the other hand, was tall, genderless with striking green eyes, purple fur and a prehensile tail that worked as a third hand. Bill didn't really get on with people but was a better engineer and could fix just about anything. Hinchcliffe didn't know if Bill had any other names, they were always just, Bill.
They went from space dock to space port, where ever the work was. The sign outside said it all. "Repairs, odd jobs and workers for hire. From a Toaster to a Star Liner, we fix anything."
Work had been slow for a while now and they were thinking of moving on.
Bill was curled up asleep in a corner when the door opened. A greasy looking man walked in, "Obviously, an engineer," thought Hinchcliffe. "Maybe, a medium size freighter. Anything would be good right now."
"What can we do for you on this lovely evening"said Hinchcliffe, with a smile.
"I'm Third Engineer on a .....well known Cruiser and I'm going to be in deep sh.... trouble with the Chief, if I don't get the auxiliary manifold working by tonight." was the reply from the shifty looking man. "Cranford's the name. I shoulda had this job finished two weeks ago, but it just slipped my mind. Now, the usual company that does all our work ain't got anyone spare and I'm desperate. You know how it is" He was pleading and that was music to Hincecliffe's ear. Desperate and quick meant big money. "No problem, we can get that done in no time. Let us in at a side airlock and your Chief will be none the wiser."
Later that evening, Hinchcliffe and Bill arrived at Dock Seventeen. They had been expecting big, but this was something else. A Galaxy Class Star Cruiser. Only the super rich could afford to travel in this much style. Sleek, elegant and expensive, very expensive.
"Wow, will you look at this" said Hinchcliffe, his eyes lighting up, "We should have charged more".
This Week in History: The Night the Terror Began: Jack the Ripper’s First Victim Discovered
In the early hours of 31 August 1888, a woman’s body was found in a dark, narrow alleyway off Buck’s Row in Whitechapel, East London. She would be later identified as Mary Ann Nichols, known as Polly. Brutally murdered and horrifically mutilated, she became the first canonical victim of a killer who would go on to terrify London and captivate the world—Jack the Ripper.
Victorian London was a city of extremes—immense wealth side by side with desperate poverty. Nowhere was this more visible than in Whitechapel: overcrowded, crime-ridden, and home to thousands of the capital’s poorest residents. Prostitution, homelessness, and casual violence were tragically commonplace. But even in this harsh environment, what happened to Mary Ann Nichols sent a chill through the district.
At around 3:40am, two workmen discovered her lifeless body lying in front of a stable yard entrance. Her throat had been slashed twice with brutal force, and her lower abdomen mutilated in a way that suggested more than simple street violence. There were no witnesses, and barely any sound had been heard. The attacker had melted into the night.
Jodi Taylor Book Recommendation: Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather 💙📚
A novel about nuns in space on a living ship. It was good fun, easy reading, great escapism. I found it exciting, moving, and filled with real people trying to do the right thing.
Have you enjoyed this book too?
A joke from the #SillySunday thread in Jodi’s Fans and Readers Facebook Group
This week’s joke is from Anna Scutt:
They say every piece of chocolate you eat shortens your life by 2 minutes.
I've done the maths.
Seems I died in 1537.
The Book of the Month is Saving Time
