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Paraffin Winter by Peter Chowney
Fiction
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The winter of 1963 was the coldest winter of the century in the UK, at a time when post-war austerity and social class divisions made for a miserable life for many people. These were the days of back boilers, bubble and squeak, paraffin oil stoves, gas works, steam trains, and starting handles. The 1960s technological and social revolution hadn’t happened yet.
Ronnie and Jenny Delaney live in the south coast town of Poole, close by the gas works. They get by - Jenny works in the local pottery and Ronnie runs a paraffin delivery round, helping to keep his grateful customers warm. But then something unexpected turns up on the paraffin round: an eyeball. It doesn't take Ronnie long to work out that it's got something to do with his past as a small-time crook, back in the East End of London. Someone's messing him about. He can handle it. Or so he thinks.
But things start to get complicated, and he quickly finds himself way out of his depth. It's going to take someone cleverer than Ronnie to get to the bottom of this one. And that someone is closer than he could ever have imagined ...
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Chapters
| Title | Description | Date Created |
| Paraffin Winter 01 (22.38 MB) | The Eye of the Storm: It's Boxing Day 1962, and the first snow has begun to fall. Next morning, Ronnie makes an unexpected find on his paraffin round. And that leads to meeting someone from his past - someone he'd rather have forgotten. | Feb 4, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 02 (31.36 MB) | The Naming of Parts: Ronnie visits Veronica James, and gets another surprise. Back home, an inspector calls, and Ronnie has to tell Jenny what's going on, and reveal something of his past. | Feb 4, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 03 (32.21 MB) | Happy New Year: Ronnie and Jenny celebrate New Year with dinner out, and find that someone else is in need of Ronnie's services. | Feb 4, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 04 (26.59 MB) | Charlotte Comes to Stay: Ronnie gets some useful information from a friend of a friend, but finds himself in a spot of bother on the quay. And a new friend comes to stay ... | Feb 4, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 05 (41.08 MB) | King Coal: More clues turn up, with Jenny making a find at the pottery and Ronnie getting closer to finding out exactly who the victim is. | Feb 4, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 06 (31.41 MB) | Chapter 6: The Picnic. Jenny reveals something of her past, while Ronnie discovers something more sinister than a scotch egg. | Feb 14, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 07 (24.74 MB) | Veronica Comes Clean: Ronnie finds out who it was that told Veronica to contact him. And it's someone closer than he would have imagined ... | Feb 20, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 08 (37.53 MB) | Dead in the Water: where Ronnie gets some new clothes, but can't hold back the tears when events take a downward turn. | Feb 28, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 09 (36.41 MB) | Battle of the Giants: Ronnie and Jenny see the town's power brokers in action, but Ronnie comes of worse in another little encounter. | Mar 8, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 10 (38.03 MB) | Exile: After getting into some very hot water with DI Parker, Ronnie has to cross the water to escape, while Jenny proves to be more resourceful than he could ever have imagined. | Mar 13, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 11 (30.47 MB) | Railway Terrace: Jenny waves goodbye to Ronnie, and goes home to Mum and Dad. She needs to talk all this through, with someone who knows what's going on ... Author/narrator's note: All this now requires some suspension of disbelief, in terms of the narrative voice! And I'm sorry if Jenny keeps lapsing from Dorset to Norfolk, I'm doing my best ... it's just that I've lived in Norfolk more recently ... | Mar 20, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 12 (24.21 MB) | Home Comforts: Jenny settles back into life with Mum and Dad, and sits out the snowstorms ... | Mar 28, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 13 (42.41 MB) | Footprints in the Snow: Jenny and Veronica use their contacts to make plans. But can they trust each other? | Apr 3, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 14 (27.86 MB) | Silurus closing: Jenny goes to London, to learn more from party comrades. And the man on the motorbike closes in ... | Apr 12, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 15 (30.3 MB) | Across the Water: Jenny and Veronica go looking for the kid on the estate, and Jenny takes a cold trip across the water. Silurus is closing in ... | Apr 18, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 16 (25.66 MB) | The Warning: Jenny goes to see Inspector Parker. But while she's there, Silurus prepares a welcome home for her ... | Apr 25, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 17 (37.01 MB) | A Place of Safety: Trying to escape her pursuer, Jenny puts her safety into Veronica's hands. And a trip to London reveals more useful truths, from one who knows ... | May 2, 2010 |
| Episode 18 (31.44 MB) | Friends and Comrades: Jenny goes to see an old friend, and confronts her with an uncomfortable truth. And she receives a telephone call, from a comrade in London. | May 16, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 19 (24.88 MB) | Jenny and Veronica go to Poole Civic Centre, where an accomplice helps them uncover more information about Burford's activities. | Jul 22, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 20 (26.28 MB) | While Veronica is away, Jenny works out who Silurus really is, and finds new courage to carry on. | Aug 5, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 21 (30.89 MB) | Them Bones Again: Jenny and Veronica prize more information out of Charlie, and Jenny has an unexpected visitor. | Aug 21, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 22 (33.1 MB) | Aboard the Petworth: Jenny and Veronica see what they can find on board - Jenny investigates, and Veronica keeps the crew occupied. | Oct 5, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 23 (37.5 MB) | Cecil Unmasked: Jenny and Veronica go to see Fred's mum who, with a little persuasion, tells them who Catfish really is. But on the way home, there's an accident ... | Oct 26, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 24 (39.07 MB) | Charlotte and the Red Lion: Jenny and Veronica set off for Wapping, but are forced to break their journey at a hotel in Farnham. There, as Jenny tells Veronica something of her past, they realise that they share a dark secret. | Nov 3, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 25 (40.48 MB) | Execution Dock: Jenny and Veronica investigate the dragon's lair, and finally discover the truth, to their potential peril. | Nov 13, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 26 (27.36 MB) | Chapter 26: A Condemned Angel. Jenny reaches into the depths of her ingenuity to aid her escape, and the flames in the night consume everything. Almost everything ... | Nov 20, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 27 (35.45 MB) | Homecoming: Jenny and Veronica's plans lead to their ultimate conclusion. But Veronica has one more surprise - although maybe, it's no surprise at all. | Nov 26, 2010 |
| Paraffin Winter 28 (0.62 MB) | Paraffin Winter is now available as an e-book. | Dec 27, 2010 |