Publisher's Synopsis
Marcus Friend, now fully recovered from his operation, and ready to read and write again, has launched his big idea, the Beliefs Club. After six months it appears to be going rather well so why does he need extra-terrestrial assistance to quell an unruly meeting of subscribers? As a sideline Marcus is doing some sin-eating but after jilting his partner Kate; ostensibly because he can no longer stand her yellow outfits, finds her setting up in competition. Clive Mewles, now retired from the curatorship of the Psychologists Hall of Fame Museum, is living in suburban South London with his identical twin, Gerald; once thought erroneously, to be his doppelganger. Both have had medical conditions diagnosed - Clive atrial fibrillation, and Gerald Type 2 diabetes - and Clive spends an interesting day in hospital where the heart people attempt to correct the A-Fib.For his part, Gerald, quite predictably, refuses to take T2D seriously. To his chagrin, Clive is succeeded by Dr Brygid Szymanski, who he had under him at the kitchen gizmos place featured in Pushing Envelopes and who he cannot abide. Brygid's first decision as curator is to kick out the livestock Clive imported into the museum, after which she pursues her own uncompromising ideas for a sideshow element. Her squeeze, the psychologist Tim Buzzard, currently developing a game show built around emotional intelligence, chides Brygid periodically for, as he sees it, adulterating the original concept of the Hall of Fame but, as he must surely know, chiding Brygid is a most unwise thing to do. Meanwhile Julie Owens, who worked as a PA for both Marcus and Clive, continues with her movie and aversion therapies, still not sure which is the more potent.An ideal opportunity to compare them comes with a consultee (actually the younger brother of the late Jamie Blenkiron, featured in "Pushing Envelopes" and "Chekyll and Ide") who complains of writer's block. Throughout all his ups and downs, the one thing Marcus has wanted more than anything is to be a father. Kate was unable to oblige (which may just have been the cause of the separation rather than the penchant for yellow) but back on the scene again - having left Fred Humbly in Milwaukee - is his ex, Stella. Stella never ever wanted what she called spawn, but is it possible she has had a change of heart? If she does produce then Marcus wants his extra-terrestrial friend, Zogtanian, to be the - well, you can't say godfather, let's say instead the absent friend. So there they all are, sailing into the sunset, and it doesn't matter how much the attendant moves the deckchairs.
