Hi Bernard, just a quickie to let you know that I’ve become an obsessive reader thanks to your books.I first saw the Sharpe series on tv while living in new zealand in the 90’s,ironically peter jackson rented the same house (fully furnished) to sean bean when he filmed lord of the rings in wellington, so Sharpie got to sleep in my bed!unfortunately we had sold it by then and were not permitted to pop in for a visit!. anyhow I’ve just read the gallows thief(it would make a great film) and would really like to find out more about ‘the flash language’ it’s much better than cockney rhyming slang. I wonder why it died out as it is harder to translate for private conversations,there is nothing on the net about it.So much for my short message eh? kind regards John Hurt.