3. Dick meets the Eggheads

Hi, I'm Richard Everyman but people call me Dick.

Today is the first day of my quest.  The Big Society is out there somewhere and I have to find out what it is and what it can do for me and my fellow man.  It looks safe to explore now with the cat lying on a sack in the corner, sleeping off his last meal.  I'll have to be quiet though.  If my military training taught me anything it taught me how important stealth is to survival.

Through the window I can see the garden

The house looks abandoned but feels strangely familiar.  I have a weird sense of deja vu.  Through the window I can see the garden.  It is overgrown and...wait. Isn't that the rusty swing from which I was launched into the stinging nettles?  It can't be. This is the house of my incarceration!  I've come full circle.  I've gone from attic to tip and back to Lupin Drive.

If I'm right then the kitchen is through the door behind me.  I have to be certain.  What if that dysfunctional kid is still here?  He'll be an old man by now.  Maybe he's a full blown psychopath.  One thing is for certain I'll have to have my wits about me.  Dick Everyman has been in a lot of scrapes but this one could be the mother of them all.

Nothing has changed...

The only thing breaking the silence is the fat and contented cat purring in the corner.  Okay, the kitchen door is open and Dick is going in.  It is incredible.  Nothing has changed since I was thrown into the attic.  The furniture, the utensils the lino floor and yellow wallpaper are just the same as I remember. It's as if I've gone back in time. The only thing that is missing is the family.  All the material stuff they surrounded themselves with has survived but they are nowhere to be seen.

"Hello Dick, welcome home!"  Good grief that made me jump, where are the voices coming from?  This is crazy, my head is spinning.  It is all too much to take in.  First I'm on a package trip back to the 1960's and next I'm hearing disembodied voices.

"We're over here!"
I look to my left towards the cooker where at last I see the source of the voices.  The Eggheads are still in the same spot they occupied all those years ago.  I dash over to them, my heart beating with excitement.  At last I've found some friends.  Maybe now I'll get some answers.

It's been a long time Dick

"It's been a long time Dick."  The Eggheads seem pleased to see me as I shake them all by the hand.
"It's so good to see you Eggheads, I need you to answer my questions."
"Fire away."
I compose myself before taking advantage of their wisdom.
"What is the Big Society?"
There is an inordinate amount of head scratching and mumbling.
"Good question Dick.  What is it indeed?"  More head scratching.
"No, I'm asking you the question."  I can't hide my frustration.

"For the answer to your question you will have to ask more questions."  Now I'm even more perplexed.
"What kind of an answer is that?  I've spent the last 43 years incarcated in an attic, then I get myself thrown on a scrap heap and now I'm back in a place where time has stood still.  What kind of society is this?"  They are looking at me
"One question at a time please. You need to go and find out for yourself, it is the only way."
I'm disappointed, but perhaps they are right.  I will take their advice and search for the answer myself.
"Thank you Eggheads, thank you for your wisdom."

This is Dick Everyman signing out...