007 And A Bit

Would being a secret agent be a good fit for his talents? There was one way to find out.

- Lesley Eames

Timmy didn’t mind that Gran’s friend, Mrs Roberts, had called round for a chat. But they were talking about knitting and that was dull.

He took himself into Gran’s back yard as he had some toys in the shed which he hadn’t played with for a while. Unfortunately, the shed was locked and it would be Bad Manners to expect Gran to leave her visitor to come and unlock it.

He watched a caterpillar crawl up a wall instead. Then he wondered if Gran might allow him a third biscuit today, as he was sure it wouldn’t spoil his appetite for his dinner.

Heading back inside, his attention was caught by something Gran was telling Mrs Roberts: “I’m no James Bond, Sheila.”

“Who’s he?” Timmy asked, hoping James Bond wasn’t just another person who liked knitting.

“A secret agent,” Gran said.

“What’s that?” It sounded exciting.

“Goodness.” Gran gave it some thought. “I suppose it’s someone who finds out secrets and fixes problems.”

That was definitely exciting. “Is Mr Bond coming to tea? Will I get to meet him?”

Mrs Roberts laughed.

“James Bond isn’t a real person, darling,” Gran explained. “He’s a character in a book. In films, too.”

“Oh.” Timmy was disappointed. “So there’s no such thing as secret agents?

“No, they’re real enough.”

“Do you need one to fix a problem for you?”

“They only do important jobs,” Gran told him. “Ordinary people like me can’t hire them.”

That sounded unfair to Timmy. No one was more important than Gran.