Thursday 25 May 2017

Mornington-By-Mere – (64) Calming Influence

(Part 01)

Quiet and shy 35 year old Ashleigh Oakes lived and worked up at Mornington Field, which was once a fully operational RAF station, and he lived in Apartment 6 of Dowding House, which had been converted from what was once the bases Sergeants Mess
He was not a native of the small country village of Mornington-By-Mere or indeed the Finchbottom Vale which nestled comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
Ashleigh was in fact a foreigner by birth, having been born in Nottingham, but he and his family moved to Downshire when he was still a schoolboy and he lived in Nettlefield for 20 years.
He had always been gifted with his hands and was encouraged by his parents to pursue a profession which would make the best of his skills and after school he took an apprenticeship with a jeweler called Harry Lamb and he worked for him until his death.
Harry had no family so Ashleigh inherited the business from him which he planned to carryon in the same way that Harry had taught him, however on first seeing the quaint picturesque village of Mornington-by-Mere, while on a walking holiday he fell in love with the proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with its Manor House, 12th Century Church, Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere, so he decided to move the business and himself.

Moving to Mornington proved to be a momentous decision because despite being a quiet shy man, and new to the area, when he moved to Dowding House he instantly fell in love with his new neighbour Yolanda Torres.
She was not new to the Finchbottom Vale but she was a new resident in the village although she was not a stranger as she had worked in Shallowfield for Downshire Denticare and divided her time between there and Mornington.
She would have liked to work all week in Mornington but there just wasn’t enough dentistry required for that.
Yolanda had always loved the village and had often dreamed of living there but never dared hope that it might actually happen one day.
But when the opportunity of an apartment up at Mornington Field presented itself she snapped it up.

She was also not cursed with Ashleigh’s affliction of shyness but she was immediately attracted to her shy neighbour.
But despite their being a mutual attraction four months quickly passed by and nothing happened between them.
Until that is he got a toothache, which he at first ignored, then he self medicated and finally he made an appointment to see a dentist.

He got the earliest appointment he could, which was two days after he first woke up with the toothache and his appointment was at midday.
Ashleigh didn’t like going to the Dentist’s it terrified him and just the thought of it wound him up to such an extent that his heart pounded in his chest and with every passing minute the adrenilin pumped around his body and his palms sweated and his head throbbed.
He would have gladly killed someone than to see a dentist but it was getting worse with every minute.

(Part 02)

The Doctors, Dentists, orthodontists and pharmacists were all based elsewhere and provided a skeleton service to the village.
The Doctors presence was maintained by the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield and one of their number, Locum Doctor Kelly Spearman lived in one of the Military Row houses.
The Dental and Orthodontic staff came from a large specialist practice in Finchbottom, Downshire Denticare and the Shallowfield, Robert Harvey Pharmacy in Oakwood Road filled any prescriptions and delivered them to the surgery every day.

The reception area for the Doctors, Dentist & Orthodontic Surgeries sat in an extension between the two buildings.
Because Mornington was such a small village none of the practices were open full time but Baron St George, the head of the Mornington Estate heavily subsidized all three as well as the small Chemist shop, which shared the Doctors premises.

Ashleigh had got the earliest appointment he could, which was at midday two days after he woke up with toothache.
He walked up to the desk and, Katie Parsons, the receptionist directed him to the waiting room.
Ashleigh didn’t like going to the Dentist’s because it always wound him up, so as he sat in the waiting room with his blood coarsing through his veins causing his heart to pound in his chest and with every passing minute the adrenilin pumped around his body so that by the time he was called his heart was ready to explode.

As he went into the room the dentist was sat at a computer in the corner with her back to him.
“Take a seat” she said and he turned around and sat in the chair and then the light was turned on and angled into his face.
This served only to make him produce even more adrenelin and then he realised that the Dentist was Yolander.
“You need to relax Ashleigh” she said
“I have a fobia” he snapped
“Well you still need to calm down” She said
“You have to relax”
“I cant” he panted
“You really must” she insisted and put her hand on his and that action slowed his breathing down imediately and when she squeezed it, it stopped altogether for a moment.
“Nice and calm” she said.
Yolanda was looking at him lying in the chair with his eyes fixed on her.
“Very calm now” she said as she stroked his hand
“Nice and calm” she added and then her mouth was over his and Ashleighs andrenelin was pumping again and he was far from calm as he reciprocated and she took that as acquiescence so she sat on his lap
“Are you relaxed now?”
“Yes” he replied
“Good” she said and kissed him again

After five minutes of very satisfactory kissing she asked
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes much better”
“Good” she said as she slipped off his lap “Now lets do a propper exam, and tonight I will come round to yours and help cure your fobia of Dentists”

Mornington-By-Mere – (63) Even Frumps Need Love

(Part 01)

Twenty eight year old Fiona Burnham lived alone in the village of Mornington-By-Mere, which is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which form the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside where Fiona lived in a small two bedroom cottage in the row of West Gate Cottages on the banks of the River Brooke.
She had only lived there full time for around 6 months when she finally sold her house in Purplemere and moved to the village.
Her brother had lived in the house before her and she often visited him there and she had fallen in love with the place and when he married a missionary and left for a new life in China, she took over the tenancy.
She was a hard working girl and for the last two years she had run her own business, Premier Lace.
Having made the decision to move herself and the business to the village the latter happened in a much more timely fashion than the former.

She was from a good Christian family and although she wasn’t as devout as her brother she was strong in her faith and had an unerring work ethic.
Fiona left school at the age of 15 and began working for her Uncle Normans import/export textile business.
But after ten years her uncle died and the company was sold.
Fiona was left a substantial bequest in his will so she used it to start her own business, and she did very well very quickly, but there was always something lacking.
Fiona was a statuesque young woman, tall and straight backed, which in itself was quite an achievement, considering the challenge for her to stand upright due to the size of her breasts which were on the large side of substantial, which were surmounted, much to her embarrassment, by very large nipples, in an almost perpetual state of arousal, which was why she was known around the office as “Miss pencil rubbers”.
But despite her particular attributes that would normally stir the blood of any self-respecting red bloodied man she was not given a second look in that regard.
She wore horn rimmed glasses and her red hair was scraped back severely from her face, which itself bore no makeup.
Her clothing was of good quality, though lacking in style, and her footwear was functional rather than aesthetic and she exuded a mannish air, and men generally thought on the whole that Fiona Burnham was quite sexless.
All though she was making a success of her own business she wasn’t a very popular figure in the workplace of her uncles, although she was very efficient, she had no one there she could really call a friend among her colleagues, and to say the least Fiona appeared aloof.
So it was with some surprise that Guy Merchant found himself one day casting his eye over her in a lascivious manner.

(Part 02)

Guy Merchant was a buyer for Hanratty’s Department Store in Abbottsford, and he was fast approaching his thirtieth birthday and was a confirmed Batchelor.
He was not by any definition, a ladies man, but had not been completely unsuccessful in the pursuit of women, despite his Batchelor status.
He had no particular “type” when it came to women, he was not so successful with the opposite sex that he could afford to discard possible companions based on something as superficial as hair colour, body shape or breast size.
But not by any criteria imaginable did he ever think that the sight of Fiona Burnham would cause a blip on his radar.

He had known Fiona for about 5 years when she worked for her uncle but when she set up on her own she was in a colleague’s territory so he lost touch, and even when she moved to Mornington she was still not in his area, but when Hanratty’s restructured, Premier Lace ended up on his turf.

When he arrived in Mornington he drove up and parked outside Premier Lace and expected to find Fiona very much unchanged but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
As he walked in he saw Fiona was no longer wearing thick framed glasses and her red hair was no longer swept back off her face but hung in soft red curls with a delicate fascinator balanced on her head and above her ear was a small floral arrangement.
When he first saw her standing there he did a double take, and stared quite hard until he was convinced it was her.
Instead of the familiar drab office clothes he was accustomed to see her in she was wearing a pale pink dress which showed a shape he had never noticed before, he knew obviously she had a massive breasts, it was impossible for her to conceal such wonders, but they were now more exquisitely defined in the bodice of what he interpreted to be a bridesmaids dress, which was open at the back and plunging at the front, the result of which was that he spent more time than was strictly necessary just staring at her bust, confused as to what exactly was holding them up.
Finally lifting his gaze above the level of her chest he noticed she was wearing makeup on her face and something he had never seen before, a smile, and the addition of that smile made her very pretty.
Fiona suddenly became aware Guy was watching her and as their eyes briefly met she blushed which was when she steeled herself, took a deep breath and walked gracefully towards him, not on her usual functional items of footwear but on stylish stiletto heeled shoes.
“Hello Guy” she said avoiding eye contact “how lovely to see you again”
“Likewise, wow Fiona” he said “you look stunning”
“Thank you” she said and blushed again
“A little overdressed for a meeting though I would have thought” he added
“Ah there’s a reason for that” she said and giggled as two more bridesmaids and a bride suddenly appeared.

Fiona explained that one of her oldest friends had got married the month before in Mornington but when they returned from honeymoon they discovered that the whole wedding album was a disaster.
So they were getting all the principles together again to retake the photos courtesy of the Kilbourne sisters and the Digitize Image Lab.
And they had been doing it all morning and it had taken longer than expected.
Just when she finished explaining one of the photographers called for the principles again and she said
“Here we go again”

It was outside in the June sunshine as he waited for the photographer to complete his play book that he spotted her again while he was indulging in another spot of appraisal but it was another ten minutes before they resumed their conversation
“So do you want to rearrange the meeting for another time?” Guy asked
“We’re all done now so yes and no” she replied
“Now I’m confused” Guy said
“I know” she confessed “Let me get changed and I’ll explain over lunch”
“Well don’t change on my account” he said
“Don’t worry I won’t wear anything frumpy” Fiona said

Fifteen minutes later she returned and good to her word she wasn’t dressed frumpily at all and had swapped her bridesmaids dress for a summer dress and Guy thought she looked gorgeous
“Wow definitely not frumpy” he pointed out
“Thank you” Fiona said and blushed

(Part 03)

As they walked down to the Old Mill Inn he felt rather shamefaced for fawning over Fiona and feeling flattered by her familiarity when in the past he wouldn’t have paid her any attention or welcomed any approach from her.
Guy couldn’t believe his luck that he was having lunch with her, not only at the same table but she was seated right next to her.
One course followed another as did the glasses of wine and as the deserts were arriving Guy asked
“So how come there are two totally different Fiona’s?”
“What do you mean?” she asked
“Well the one I’m with now and the girl in the sensible footwear”
“Well ordinarily I’m quite shy” she confessed “and I don’t make friends easily”
“But today you’re bubbly and confident” he said
“That’s because I know everyone and they know me, the real me, I don’t have to pretend and I don’t have to hide” Fiona said
“So why did you hide?” Guy asked
“It started when I first got promoted” She said “partly so people would take me seriously in the position and partly because I wanted to desexualize myself”
“But it didn’t work” Guy said
“No, they just ended up disliking me” she admitted “then it was difficult to undo what I’d done without looking silly so I was stuck with it”
“Oh I see” he said
“It did have its compensations” she said “because I was never a target for unwanted sexual advances in the workplace”
“But when I set up on my own I reinvented myself” she said “And here I am”

Coffee followed desert which was in turn followed by more wine, then it occurred to Guy that he had drunk too much and wouldn’t be driving home.
So it was with a light head and a lascivious eye that Guy enquired if there was somewhere to stay and as luck would have it the Old Mill Inn had several guest rooms and they had a vacancy.

After he had reserved a room Fiona suggested a walk in the fresh air to clear their heads and once outside she steered Guy towards Church Bridge and when they were half way across he said
“When I asked you earlier if you wanted to rearrange the meeting for another time, you replied “Yes and no””
“I did”
“So what did you mean?” Guy asked
“What I meant was that I didn’t need you cancel today’s meeting but I do want to see you again” she replied but he completely missed her meaning and Fiona smiled and they carried on walking and as they left the bridge and joined the Riverside path Guy stopped and said
“You know I think you should have shown everyone at the old place the real you” he said
“Because I’m sure they would have liked you as much as I do”
“I’m not interested in what they might think” Fiona said standing very close to him
“I only care what one of them thinks”
Guy was gazing into her eyes and the penny still hadn’t dropped as he said
“It was very fortunate then that Premier Lace ended up in my territory”
“Your new boss Sean Feely made sure of that” Fiona confessed
“Why would he do that?” Guy asked
“Because I asked him too” she confessed
“Why...” he began and then the penny finally did drop
“Oh”
“Is that a problem?” she asked
“No not at all” he replied and as they stood together beside the River Brooke in the sun she did what she had dreamt of doing for five years and kissed him.

Mornington-By-Mere – (62) The Skyping Soldier

(Part 01)

In the quaint chocolate box English Village of Mornington-By-Mere, which was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale, stood the Old Mill Inn which was the beating heart of the village, and Twenty year old plumber, David Cooper, sat in the pub drowning his sorrows because he was missing his girlfriend Sharon Taylor.
The last time he’d seen her was when he waved her off at the Nettlefield Barracks wearing the combat fatigues of the Downshire Light Infantry as they left on deployment to Brunei for jungle operational training and from there to Canada for battle training on the prairies of Alberta.
A three month absence which was passing agonizingly slowly, for him anyway.
They skyped occasionally, more so when she reached Canada, not so much in Brunei due to the remoteness of the jungle bases.
They also exchanged email, which was also problematic from Brunei, but what she did do was to send him little video messages, which she would record and send to him from her phone when she could get a signal.
David really looked forward to getting them and the first thing he did when he got up in the morning was to check his phone.
One morning however there was nothing, and there had been nothing for two days, and as a result he was very low.
He was counting the days until she was home again, and as of that moment there were only four days to go.
Just four days until he could hold her and touch her again, but still he was disappointed not to get a message, which was why he was drowning his sorrows in the Old Mill Inn but he went home before he drank too much and had an early night.

The next morning he was disappointed again when he woke up and found no message from her and went off sulkily to have a shower.
All of a sudden when he returned and began to dress for the day his phone vibrated on the table, so he picked it up and held his breath before he looked.
It was from her and it was a video message and when it began he gasped so he put his phone down and picked up his tablet so he could see her on a bigger screen.
She was in a hotel room sitting on a sofa with a large silk dressing gown on smiling into the camera.
“This is for you darling” she said and let the silk robe fall away off her shoulders and he could see her lovely figure in her black lingerie.
He assumed the hotel was in Canada because of the décor, but he wasn’t completely sure and to be honest he didn’t really care because
Sharon then started cavorting around in front of the camera in a very provocative manner while still maintaining eye contact with the lens, so he would know it was all for him.
David was enthralled by her display and couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
After five minutes of watching the sexy little soldier she smiled broadly and rushed over to the laptop.
“I really miss you” she said and smiled again and then she got really close to the screen and whispered
“I love you” and kissed the screen and then she was gone.

(Part 02)

David was enthralled by her display and couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
After five minutes of watching the sexy little soldier she smiled broadly and rushed over to the laptop.
“I really miss you” she said and smiled again and then she got really close to the screen and whispered
“I love you” and kissed the screen and then she was gone.
“Wow that was incredible” he said “and she loves me”
Sharon had always resisted saying it before, he knew that she did, but she never said it, since the first time.
When he said it to her she would reply “me too” but she never initiated it.
He sat on the bed for about ten minutes after the show ended his phone vibrated again.
“What now?” he said “I don’t know if I can cope with another video”
But it wasn’t a message it was a phone call from her sexy little soldier.
“Hi Soldier” he said
“Hello darling” Sharon said “Did you get my message”
“Oh yes” he replied
“Do you think I’m really slutty?” she asked
“No, I think you’re really sexy” David said
“Did you like it?”
“Are you kidding me, I loved it” he replied
“Good, because I’m outside” Sharon said
“Outside where?”
“Outside on your doorstep” she said
“What? You’re here now?”
“Yes” she replied and he rushed downstairs to the door and prayed it wasn’t a prank
But when he opened the door there she was, his beautiful Sharon, and she was wearing a dress.
“Well I can’t see you anywhere” he said “there is a really fit bird in a dress but I can’t see a soldier”
“Shut up and kiss me” she said so he duly obliged and she held him tightly.
“What are you doing here? You didn’t say you were coming home” he said
“You didn’t ask” she replied
“No I didn’t,” he acknowledged “but that’s because you said you weren’t coming back for another four days”
“Change of plans” she said “and I have one month’s leave”
“A month? That’s fantastic” he exclaimed “what’s the catch”
“Why does there have to be a catch” she retorted defensively
“There always is” he said “so where’s your next posting?”
“Cyprus” she replied and he thought that wasn’t too bad and then she added “for 12 months”
“12?” he said sadly
“Yes” she replied “But you can come and visit me out there and I can send you more videos”
“Well you paint a very attractive picture” he said “you in the flesh in the sunshine and regular videos of my sexy little soldier”

Wednesday 24 May 2017

Mornington-By-Mere – (61) Hidden Angel

(Part 01)

Twenty one year old Benjamin Taylor lived with his parents in the small country village of Mornington-By-Mere which lies in the Finchbottom Vale that nestles between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which form the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and the Taylor family lived in Dulcets Road in a house called Green Fields.
He had graduated from University earlier in the year with a degree in mathematics and his parents hoped he would do something like Accountancy or even teaching but he enjoyed working with his hands, particularly with wood so he got himself a job with Bespoke Furniture, who had moved to Mornington Field.
It wasn’t as well-paid a job as his parents might have hoped for but the money would get better because he was good at it.

Apart from the fact he had a job he was good at, that he enjoyed to boot, he also got to stay in Mornington and he only had a ten minute walk to work each day.
He really enjoyed his time at University in Abbottsford but the thought of living and working in a town or city made his blood run cold.
Not that his time at University was spent in the manner of a country boy, he lived life to the full and he enjoyed every minute of it but when he returned to Mornington it was like being refreshed so it was always in his plans to live there.
He loved living in Mornington it was his little slice of heaven he just needed an angel to share it with him and he hadn’t met anyone in Abbottsford that fitted the bill.
Ben had had more than his fair share of girls during his three years but the vast majority of them he wouldn’t have wanted to take home for a visit let alone as a life partner, they were too brash and vulgar and he set his target much higher than them and when he did meet one that did measure up to his ideal the mention of living in a small country village frightened them away which established in his eyes that they weren’t made of the right stuff.
He did puzzle on the fact that if he hadn’t found a suitable contender out of a pool of 90 thousand then he was clutching at straws if he thought he would strike it lucky in the small body of water that was Mornington-By-Mere.
But he didn’t allow such thoughts to discourage him in his quest and he had faith that he would find the one he was looking for, he just had to be patient and keep looking.
What he didn’t take account of was that one morning as he was walking to work the right girl would just cross his path without him even looking for her and take him completely by surprise.

(Part 02)

Ben Taylor first saw her one morning as he walked to work, she was a little in front of him when she suddenly appeared as he crossed the bridge over the River Brooke on West Gate Road.
He assumed she must have emerged from the Riverside path but wasn’t sure where she had joined the path, but he fell into step with her and followed her for part of the way up to Mornington Field at least as he wasn’t sure where the anonymous figure that had fallen beneath his gaze was headed but as he was a bit of a people watcher he decided to while away his walk to work by analysing her, at least he assumed it was a her.
He noticed her feet first, clad in sporting wear, trainers or some such shoes which were in fact sexless and indeterminate of gender with no distinguishing features, the only possible indicator was that they were small, but that was all.
Moving upwards he noticed the black trousers were baggy and gave nothing away, as was the sweatshirt which was large, long and grey, Reaching down to cover the wearers bum.
The brown hair was of medium length and of no particular style so could therefore have been masculine or feminine.
Had the necessity not arisen for the figure to reach into their back pocket he would not have noticed the shape of buttocks revealed, the movement of which, as she walked, gave her away, she was most definitely a girl.
As he got closer the wind moved her hair and through the fine brunette strands he glimpsed in the delicate lobe a simple feminine stud in her ear which confirmed his suspicions.
She continued walking along West Gate road with head down Watching her sexless feet, apparently afraid to look the world in the eye or perhaps afraid the world would notice her, either one might have been true he thought.
When they went through the West Gate entrance and onto Mornington Field she turned left and followed the road around to what used to be a hangar and although he normally went straight ahead at that point along the old runway, and it would take him out of his way, he followed her and was only two paces behind as they turned the corner and he was level with her as they reached the kerb and momentarily she looked up in his direction, to check if the road was clear and he was able to glimpse her face, a pretty face, in fact a lovely face.
Briefly their eyes met, beautiful soft blue eyes, but he could not hold her gaze and she looked back at her feet withdrawing again into her shell as she crossed the road.
“I know you’re in there now” he thought to himself as the shy girl withdrew.
He slotted in behind her again once they had crossed the road so he could see which building she worked in as he didn’t know where she was going but he knew it had to be on Mornington Field somewhere and as it turned out he only had to follow her for another five minutes to the old South Guard House.
He watched her go in the door and then smiled to himself as the sweet looking girl he was fascinated by worked for Crazy Chocolatiers.
“Well my hidden angel I will look for you again tomorrow morning” he said to himself

(Part 03)

“Well my hidden angel I will look for you again tomorrow morning” he said to himself
As it turned out it was another week before he caught site of her again but she was too far ahead for him to catch up but the next day he timed it better but it was all a bit hit and miss and he could never get as close to her as he would have liked and those were his only opportunities because Crazy Chocolatier’s closed half an hour earlier than Bespoke so she was at home long before he even clocked out and he still didn’t know exactly where she came from so it wasn’t possible even for him to arrange to bump into her somewhere else.
So having identified his “Angel” he had great difficultly taking it to the next level.
Apart from the obvious obstacle of not getting close enough to her, he also found it insanely difficult to think of something to say to her which was never an issue when he was at Uni, there he always knew what to say and he was never knocked back, but after two weeks of “stalking” her he was completely clueless.

19 year old Andrea Walker was an only child and lived in the house that she and her mother Angela were born in, number 4 Dulcet Mill Lane, in the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside.
She was a quiet shy girl and found it difficult to meet new people but once the ice was broken people really liked her because she was such a sweet natured girl, with a wonderful sense of humour and an infectious laugh.
But the biggest obstacle for her shyness was the opposite sex and no matter how she approached it she couldn’t break the ice with boys which was why she had never had a boyfriend or indeed come anywhere near to getting one.
But she would have liked to meet the good looking boy she kept seeing on West Gate Road in the mornings.
But that wasn’t the only time she saw him because the girl from Addison’s Bakers always parked outside Crazy Chocolatiers with the lunch orders and she often saw Ben Taylor at the van with his work mates getting their lunches.
One day she pointed him out to one of her workmates, Selina Tilley, and she said she knew him and she said he was as nice as he looked and more importantly he didn’t have a girlfriend and furthermore he wasn’t gay, and Andrea thought that that would do for her.

Alexandre Quarit, the owner of Crazy Chocolatier’s also lived in the Manorside of the village in fact she also live in Dulcet Mill Lane and she was having a BBQ and all the staff were invited and Andrea was the only one of the girls that would be going on her own but she really wanted was to go with Ben Taylor so she hoped and prayed that he would ask her out and she could suggest the BBQ.
However as the week went on it was apparent that it wasn’t going to happen so on Friday morning she lay in wait by the West Gate Bridge and as he crossed she suddenly leapt out
“Do you want to go to a BBQ on Saturday?” She blurted out loudly which stopped him in his tracks and frightened his to death in the process
“Oh erm yes please” he replied and then they both laughed.

Downshire Diary – (66) Nanook of the North

(Part 01)

Neil Etherington was an average man approaching his thirtieth birthday not that he was a bad looking man, he wasn’t, but he wasn’t stunning, sexy or buff, he was strictly middling but his girlfriend
Samantha Barraclough was anything but, she was an absolute beauty three years younger, elegant, daintily petite, intelligent, funny, sexy and with a perfectly beautiful angelic voice, pure Carrington Chase educated perfection, Carrington Chase being Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought it was the other way around, and it was a voice that made Charlotte Green sound common.
He pinched himself at the start of everyday, especially the ones on which he woke up beside her, just to check he wasn’t dreaming.
Because the good fortune that brought Samantha into his life was the type of thing that didn’t happen to him, and everyone who witnessed them together unanimously agreed that he was punching well above his weight.
They first encountered each other at a business meeting at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, where she was a potential new client and he was trying to win a new account, but the meeting was unresolved as it was love at first sight.

Neil worked for a firm of architects called New Horizons whose head office was in Sharpington by Sea while Samantha Barraclough was approaching her 28th birthday and was a project consultant for the family business, Barraclough Ventures and the project that Samantha’s company was heading up was the regeneration of the former Industrial Power House of the county, Northchapel.

The love that bloomed between Samantha Barraclough and Neil Etherington in Abbottsford in June went from strength to strength
However things had not been all plain sailing since they had met, though not between the two of them they were completely simpatico.
The problems stemmed from a different quarter entirely and from those who should have been the most delighted for them, their close friends and family.
Neil and Samantha were the victims of snobbery, inverted and otherwise.
Her family thought she had set her sights to low while his nearest and dearest believed he had set his too high.
Her friends thought he was common while his thought she was a snob.
Only their closest friends Jonathon Hardman and Isabelle Decoene stuck by them.
So as a result they had found it difficult to fit inside each other’s worlds, but the couple believed that love will out and Samantha drew a line under the difficulties when she said
“If you can’t live in my world and I can’t live in yours we shall just have to make a world of our own”
If he hadn’t been in love with her already he certainly would have been after that speech.

So having overcome their initial difficulties of not being accepted in each other’s worlds and having set out to make a world of their own, they made the decision, after spending two weeks together on a narrow boat on their first holiday together, that they should move in together.

(Part 02)

Samantha asked “In Tipton or in Brocklington?”
Her house was up in Tipton, although she was rarely in it as she spent more time living in hotels than she did her house so it had never felt like home to her, but she thought it might if she had someone to share it with but Neil had a nice cottage in Brocklington and that would also be lovely so when he replied.
“Neither”
To her question, she was taken aback.
“Neither?” she asked
“I think we should buy somewhere new, a blank canvas, somewhere that will be ours and not yours or mine” he replied and a she exclaimed
“That’s perfect”

However as perfect as that solution was it didn’t solve the problem of where they should set up home.
Samantha was from Tipton in the north of the county but when she fell in love with Neil she also fell in love with the Finchbottom Vale so they considered buying a house in the area and they almost bought one in Forestdean but it fell through at the last minute.

At the time they were quite upset about it but every cloud has a silver lining because they found a place in Applesford that needed a bit of TLC but by the time they completed and took possession it was almost a year after they started courting.

Because of her high powered job with the family business, Samantha had to spend a lot of time away on business.
It was during one of her trips away that Downshire was gripped in winters bitter grasp and snow fall and near blizzard conditions had closed a lot of the Downshire roads and Samantha was stranded in Northchapel on the evening before Neil birthday.
“I can’t get back tonight darling” she said on the phone “But I’m going to try again in the morning”
“Don’t risk it hon” he said “it’s not worth it”
“But I want to celebrate your birthday with you” she said
“We can still celebrate the next day or the day after that”
He pointed out
“It won’t be the same though” she said sadly
“Promise me you won’t do anything silly” he said
“But…”
“Promise me” he insisted
“Ok I promise” Samantha said with her fingers crossed
“Ok I’ll see you soon” he said “I love you”
“Love you too”

Washed and shaved Neil decided to go and put the kettle on before he got dressed so he slipped on his dressing gown and made his way down the stairs to the kitchen and it was when he reached the bottom step that there was a loud knocking so he went to the door and when he opened it Nanook of the North stepped into the hallway.
The figure was dressed in a fur hat, long winter coat with a heavy woolen scarf wrapped around the neck and knee length boots and Nanook was carrying a hold all.
In fact the only part of them that was visible was there eyes but he recognized them immediately.
“Samantha?” he said, “What are you doing here?”

(Part 03)

“Samantha?” he said, “What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t want to miss your birthday” she replied through her scarf.
“You could have had an accident” he said crossly and took off her fur hat and kissed her forehead as she un-wrapped the scarf from around her neck.
“Where’s your car? I didn’t hear you pull up,” he asked as she sat on the stairs and unzipped her boots
“Do the honours?” she said holding out a leg.
Neil hung her hat on a peg and pulled her boot off to reveal a knee length red sock”
“I had to park down on the main road and walk up” she replied as she held out the other leg
“Happy Birthday” she said as he removed her other boot and she stood up and kissed him
“Thank you” he said “But I’m still cross with you”
“You can spank me later” Sam said and kissed him again
“I didn’t want to miss your birthday” she replied “and I wanted you to have your present on the day”
“I didn’t mind waiting hon” he said “I would rather have had it late than risk losing you”
“It was quite safe” she said and kissed him softly “I followed a snow plough all the way”
“I don’t know what I would do if I lost you” he said and held her tightly
“That’s never going to happen” she whispered “You’re my soul mate”
“And you’re mine” he said
After a prolonged embrace she broke the silence
“Do you want your present now?” she asked
“Well as you risked life and limb to bring it to me I better had”
“Good choice” she responded as she unbuttoned her coat and slipped it off to reveal her beautiful figure in a red wool dress.
“Oh is that my present?” he asked hopefully
“If I’d known that was all you wanted I wouldn’t have brought you these” she said as she carried the hold all into the lounge and then she shouted “happy birthday”
And she emptied the hold all onto the sofa.

When he had opened all his presents Samantha looked at him smugly
“I did good didn’t I?”
“Yes you did, I loved my presents” he said and she looked up at him childlike and smiled and then he kissed her smiling lips.
“I love that you are here with me, but I’m still cross that you took such a risk in the snow, but having you with me has made it a perfect day” he said and she looked up at him childlike and smiled and then he kissed her smiling lips
“But...”
“But? There’s a but?” she asked with a frown
“But there is something that would make it even more perfect” he said enigmatically
“What? What could possibly make the day more perfect?” she asked
“Just one thing” he said
“Yes but what is it?” She asked impatiently
“The one thing that would make the day more special and more perfect is you agreeing to be my wife” he said and handed her a ring box and her mouth fell open.
“You want to marry me?” she asked disbelievingly
“Yes” he replied suddenly doubting her response “if you don’t like the ring I can change it”
“NO!” she shouted “I’m never giving this back”
“So you like it?” he asked
“I love it” Samantha replied “it’s perfect”
“So is that a yes then?” he asked
“To what?” she asked as she admired the ring on her finger
“Will you marry me?” he asked
“Of course I’ll marry you” Samantha replied and threw her arms around him and showered him with kisses


Downshire Diary – (65) Propositioning the Muse

(Part 01)

Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the north but our story begins in the East, or more precisely, 20 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between Finchbottom and Pepperstock Green, in the sprawling village of Denmead.

Owen Carrington’s Uncle Glyn died on New Year’s Day and left him his Cottage and a small cash sum, more than enough to keep him going for a few more years.
He left it to him because he felt they were kindred spirits, he wanted to be a writer himself but his father made him get a proper job, Owen really liked him and he was a great story teller, and it was his Uncles colourful tales that helped him when he was writing his novels.
His death came as a great shock as it was sudden though not unsurprising given his health.

So that was how he found himself living in a lovely Victorian Cottage in the quaint Downshire Village of Denmead.
It was a very tranquil place though not without its distractions.
From his study he could look out through the open French windows and across the expanse of lawn to a stand of ancient woodland, there was no fence to separate garden and wood the two just merged.
And on the other side of the wood was the hub of the village, the Green Oak, everyone seemed to go there at some point, either for a drink, the restaurant or the coffee suite.

As a writer Owen’s star was definitely in the ascendency after the success of his first Romantic novel “The Maiden Muse” but the change in the fortunes of his writing career were not universally well received, his publisher liked it, his new agent loved it, the bank manager was ecstatic about it but his mother was disappointed by it because she thought it was a bit girlie.

But it wasn’t just his writing career that was climbing high, so was his love life thanks to his muse and lover, Juliana Molesworth, who had brought his writers block to an end, and since she had become his muse he had become a writer of bodice ripping romances which had proved to be an occupation which suited him very well indeed.
And it suited him in many ways, but the main benefit was that he was able to work at home, so he had no tedious commute every day and his working day was flexible to the point that some days he didn’t write at all.
This afforded him the opportunity of playing a round of Golf during the working week when most people had their noses to the grindstone or even taking a day out to go fishing.
However his muse was in her third year at the University of
Downshire where she studied English at Abbottsford.
In the short time they had been together she had come to mean everything to him so in the final weeks of the year he did something that rocked her world.

(Part 02)

Owen Carrington’s muse and lover Juliana Molesworth, was in her third year at the University of Downshire where she studied English at Abbottsford.
In the short time they had been together she had come to mean everything to him so in the final weeks of the year he did something that rocked her world.

He had driven up to Abbottsford to see her unexpectedly to find bedlam in the house that she and her friends rented.
He had hoped to get a quiet half an hour with her but it didn’t work out that way.
When he got there it was really busy and that weekend there was a houseful but she was pleased to see him.
“What a lovely surprise” she said “I wasn’t expecting to see you until next weekend”
“I have something important to talk to you about” he said but she didn’t hear him because of the rowdy atmosphere.
As a result of the raucous gathering he wasn’t able to get her on her own and that was a problem because he really needed to talk to her and the longer it went on the quieter and more troubled he became and Juliana had picked up on that so she also became quiet and troubled.
When they eventually found themselves alone together on the doorstep before his drive home he said more forcefully than he intended
“Juliana I need to talk to you”
“Oh ok” she said with a sense of foreboding
“Not here though” he said “Lets walk over to the park”
They walked in silence, Owen deep in thought and Juliana fearing the worst.
It was a cold evening and the park looked eerily beautiful in the moonlight and they eventually found themselves sitting on a bench in the little park looking up at the moonlit sky.
“Juliana I have something important to say….” he began
“Oh God,” she exclaimed “You’re going to dump me”
“No of course I’m not going to dump you” he replied “Why on earth would you think that?”
“You’re not dumping me?” she said quietly “Honestly?”
“Juliana Molesworth I promise you that I have no intention of dumping you” He said frankly
“What then? You turn up out of the blue, you’ve been really quiet all day, and then you say you have to talk to me, about something important no less” Juliana said “so if you’re not dumping me then what?”
“Juliana Molesworth will you please stop talking for one moment, just long enough, so I can ask you to marry me” he said
“What?” Juliana exclaimed
“Will you marry me?” he asked,
“Yes, yes, and yes” she screamed and threw her arms around his neck.
“I haven’t got a ring” he said “We need to buy your ring together”
And then they kissed, but not just another kiss in a long line of kisses, not just of affection or of gratitude, this was a kiss that marked an engagement, and it was a kiss which lead to them spending the night in the Abbottsford Regents Hotel.

Tuesday 23 May 2017

Downshire Diary – (64) The Demerera Girl

Tony Ritson was the manager of Nettlefield Furniture Palace and was fast approaching his fortieth birthday and as he approached that milestone he had lost his heart to his new assistant manager Shona Sarai, who was his junior in more than one respect because apart from being his assistant she was also 12 years younger than him.
She was what was termed in the 21st century as mixed race, but in that regard he did not consider himself to be her superior because he just adored her.
He was her boss certainly, he was older than her undeniably but he was not better than her in anyway shape or form.
Some of his employees however thought she was inferior because of her ethnicity but not him.
He wasn’t entirely sure what her heritage was, and he thought it indelicate to enquire directly, but the result was most pleasing to his eye.
He thought of her as his “demerara girl” although he wasn’t sure if that was an offensive term or not, he just thought of her like that because she was as sweet as sugar and her skin was a beautiful soft brown.
Over the three months they had worked together he had grown fonder and fonder of her but what he didn’t realize was that she had fallen for him from the first moment they met, but he didn’t find that out until the end of August.

It was the August bank holiday and the store had closed an hour earlier than normal, the rest of the staff had gone home and Tony and Shona were just finishing up.
Shona had done the walk round of the shop floor, while Tony did the same on the basement level, and then she sat herself on one of the large corner sofas at the back of the store adjacent to the top of the stairs.
In reality she was draped there more than sat and as he appeared from below he swallowed hard when he came upon her.
“Have you finished?” he asked trying to appear indifferent and failing spectacularly
“Yes all done” she replied “Why don’t you sit down for a moment”
“Ok” he replied dry mouthed but sat down on the opposite end of the suite from her.
“That won’t do” she said to herself, so she got up and walked over to him and sat on his knee.
“Oh dear me” he exclaimed quite flustered
“Do you know what this means?” she asked
“No” he replied
“It means this” she said and she put her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth, a hot liquid kiss, passionate yet measured.
He had dreamed of that kiss many time but that hadn’t prepared him for it to be quite so wonderful which made his head swim but despite just how much he was enjoying it he still stopped.
“What’s wrong?” she asked urgently
“Nothing” he said
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked in panic
“Of course not” he replied reassuringly
“Then why did you stop?” Shona asked in confusion
“Because I don’t think its right” Tony replied
“You don’t want me then” she said forlornly
“I didn’t say that” he corrected her
“Then what’s wrong?” she asked earnestly
“What’s wrong is that I’m your boss!”
“I don’t care” she said “so nor should you”
“But I’m also 12 years older than you” he pointed out
“I don’t care about that either” she said and tried to kiss him again but he evaded her
“So you don’t want me then” she said forlornly
“I don’t want you here” he said
“I don’t understand” she said with a confused expression
“I don’t want you to be a work place fling” he said “I want to take you out in the world, I want to take you out for dinner, or a movie and then I want to kiss you, and more”
Shona was wearing a beaming smile as she got off his lap and offered him her hand
“Come on then, old man” she taunted and she giggled like a schoolgirl.