Mind Games and Ministers by Chris Longden

Author:Chris Longden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C L L Publishing

Sisters’ Space was based in a small, 1960s primary-school building on the outskirts of Medlock town centre. The school itself had closed in 1998 and a few years later the council had decided that the premises could be used as a centre for local women who needed support and that there should be a special focus on tackling domestic violence. Funding had always been an issue for the centre – for its staff and for the building itself. The place was looking pretty shabby these days, and I had a list of charitable foundations as long as your arm to apply to. The council had made it quite clear that we couldn’t expect any more help from them than we already got.

Shaun followed me down the corridor and, to give him his credit, he seemed genuinely interested in the centre. He even stopped and began chatting to some of the service users, providing Gillian with the opportunity to beckon me away from him.

“Rachael, we need to keep him away from Dee. Bev says that she’s been necking the Tammies again this morning. And you know what she’s like at the best of times. What the hell is Shaun Elliot doing here, anyway? Will this be to do with the rumours I heard about funding cuts?”

“No,” I said. “He’s just having a nosey around, after all the publicity that we’ve been getting. But like I said before, Gillian – chill pill. Temazepam is on tap here today, by the sounds of it. So if he’s freaking you out that much, go and ask Dee if she’s got any spare.”

“I might bloody do that, Rach.”

I motioned for Shaun to follow me to the other end of the centre, where our new project was based. The initiative was all uncharted waters for us. A new and exciting opportunity for Sisters’ Space. But for me, it represented much more than simply the latest development at work. No one knew this, but the original idea for the Chocolate and Cafe enterprise had been sparked by Adam. We were on a family day out to Hebden Bridge and while we were in a cafe, Adam had told me:

“If there was a way of combining your love of coffee and chocolate with that mad work of yours … helping women out, I think that we’d be totally redundant in your life. Yeah. Now that’d be the dream Rachael Russell job!”

And I’ve always liked a challenge.

Adam had – unwittingly – hit upon a great idea. The location of Sisters’ Space was perfect. We were practically in the centre of town where there were very few (half-decent) cafes. Certainly no chocolatiers. We saw some heavy footfall to and from the nearby shopping centre. So, all in all, it was a fantastic way to build the women’s skills and confidence and ultimately to generate some much-needed income for Sisters’ Space.

Shaun and I skirted around the new cafe chairs and tables (donated by an unusually generous local furniture company – I

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