The Chimes of Big Ben

    Think of all the planning that went into the extremely elaborate plan of 'The Chimes of Big Ben,' bringing in an agent, a plant into the Village. To have both the Colonel and Fortheringay seconded to the Village. To have Nadia Rakovsky assigned to Number 6 by turning her into a damsel in distress. Have Nadia feed him false information, false hope, then watch, just watch as Number 6 puts into operation his plan for escape.
   Then there's the 12 hour journey to London, what a palaver that was. Having Number 6 and Number sealed in a crate, have that crate transported from Poland to London, via Danzig and Copenhagen. No, the Crate was put on a boat and taken back, placed on a rocker-bed to simulate movement, along with sound effects of road traffic, a ship and an aeroplane. Make him arrive in an office he knows very well, supposedly in London, only to have it all come to nothing, simply because a man has his watch set at the wrong time! It is quite often the missed tiny detail that lets any good plan down. But after all, who would have thought Number 6 would ask for Post 5's wristwatch, his own having become waterlogged!

BCNU