Streets of London

The nine year old Tim moves with his parents to London, because his father got a new job. One day Tim makes contact to Tony, a homeless, who lives under the Waterloo Bridge, near Big Ben. Both make friends to each other and Tim tries to hide this from his parents. As his mum asks Tim one day because of his sudden appetite on fruits which he never touched before, Tim has to tell her about his new friend and his mum reacts very angry. His father gives house arrest to Tim. But Tims achieves that his parents got to know Tony and they agree. When they meet him, Tim tells Tony that they gave him house arrest because they want to forbid his friendship to Tony because Tony is a bit different. Tims parents are ashamed, but Tony takes a really emotional speech explaining to them that he has not choosen this kind of life and the other homeless also not. But nevertheless they are not bad people. They only had bad luck and under bad circumstances they declined to this kind of life. This speech convinces Tims parents and they allow Tim again to visit Tony. Nearly all his freetime Tim spends now with Tony and his classmates get sceptical because he has no more time for them. So they spy on him and as they find out his friendship to an old homeless they blame him in front of his whole class and ignore him the next time. For Tim this is a hard experience, but he don't want to give up his friendship to Tony because of that. He has faith that one day they will forget and come back to Tim again. Now the winter is near and Tim is afraid about Tony that he could freeze to death. He askes his parents if Tony cannot move in their home. After a time of thinking they agree, but only temporarily. For Tony the whole environment is strange and he finds it very difficult to adapt. But all of the family take regard to that. Tim's father also arranges a job as security man for Tony. Everything seems to move in the right direction. Then in the summertime the family plans to go on holidays at the Mediterranean sea. Unfortunately Tony is still in the trial period and cannot join them. After they come back there is a letter from Tony on the table where he explains that he found out that this kind of life is no more 'his'. He thanks all of them for all the effort they took for him. The next day early in the morning Tim run to Tony's old place and finds him there. How will their friendship go on? Has Tim understanding for Tony's decision? And what will Tony become?

My name is Udo Fehring, 47 years old and living in Kuerten, Germany. My profession is SAP-consultant. I have started to write several years ago. At first this story 'Streets of London' should become only a short-story but it happened that it became a novel for kids. I have tried to find a publisher but failed and so this novel layed a time in my draw. Until I detected a cheap choice to publish the book on my own. Published were since now six books from me (all in german): 'Streets of London', 'A friend looks for both', 'Rescue of the paradise', 'Homeless', 'The luck lays on the street' and "No Mozart". Four of these novels are for kids. 'Streets of London' is about a friendship of a nine-year-old boy, from bourgeois circumstances, to a homeless old man. I was inspired by the same-named song from Ralph Mc Tell, which is about homelessness and tells us how glad we can be to have a home. I like to put children in the center of my stories. I admire that they - in contrary to us grown-up - act often without prejudices, that they are open for new experiences and that they have a lot of dreams. I put also a spot on social unfairness as in the story of 'Streets of London' because I am also a socially motivated person.