When two flamboyant men arrive in a sleepy Kent village in 1956, it does not take long for the duo – in their colourful corduroy jackets and jeans – to gain notoriety. Local child Joe, in a burst of irrepressible curiosity, is discovered by the pair after breaking into their cottage in order to spy on the ‘bloody pansies’. From these unlikely beginnings, a friendship and sense of solidarity develop between the three; but it is an alliance that will be challenged by a hostile and intolerant community.
Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.