How to Stop Time

Tom, suffering from depression since he still hasn’t found Marion, arrives in Plymouth looking for a purpose. He finds Captain Samuel Wallis and asks to join his crew. Tom introduces himself as John Frears, a musician with some technical skills that could be useful on a voyage. Captain Wallis hesitates to hire him. Wallis’s friend Tobias Furneaux convinces him, touting the need for music to keep spirits up on such a long voyage. Tom launches into a list of other skills he could perform: hooking sails, oiling masts, repairing rigging, reading words and maps, loading and firing a gun, speaking French and some Dutch. Captain Wallis relents and agrees to bring Tom along.

It’s the start of the half-term break. While at the supermarket, Tom runs into Daphne, who says think Camille likes a “certain new history teacher” (259). Tom changes the subject by asking about the rum in her cart. Daphne explains that it is for her mom in a retirement home in Surbiton. Daphne continues saying her mom believes she is “here for a good time not a long time” mentioning that she isn’t even that old (260). One woman, named Mary Peters, at the home claims to have been born during the time of William the Conqueror.