The
Downshire Navigation was part of the canal network which ran between
Nettlefield in the north, down through Millmoor and the Oakham’s to
Northchapel, Abbeyvale and then to its most southerly point, Abbottsford, where
it again headed north, this time to Childean, Purplemere and Finchbottom where
it joined the River Finch.
But the
narrow boat, the Lily of the Vale, was moored on a stretch of the canal close
to Lower Oakham, which was where Samantha Caddick’s family home was, but the
Lily was her new home.
She had
bought her when she was 18 with some of the money from the National Savings
Certificate her grandparents had purchased when she was born.
The rest of
the money and a lot more besides was spent on restoring the old lady, with the
invaluable practical assistance from her dad.
But after
seven years, spending every spare minute, evenings, weekends and holidays, the
day came, in mid-November for her to take up residence aboard her own
narrowboat, and moved her chattels with the help of her
best friend Clare Todd.
Well, she always called her, her best
friend, but in reality, she was her only proper friend, she had sacrificed a
lot of friendships since leaving college except Clare because she never put
conditions on their friendship.
They also had a lot in common, both had
strong Christian upbringings, they both had unwavering faith, were both only
children, were both redheads, were both five feet nothing and they were always
there for each other.
While Sammi was rebuilding her boat, Clare
was getting married, having a child, and getting divorced while pregnant with
their second child, and through all the joy and trauma Sammi was there.
So, on
moving day Toddy was on hand to help, they were going to use both of their
cars, but Sammi wasn’t taking everything she owned because she would be a
regular visitor to the old family home, to use the washing machine and tumbler.
They were only about 50 yards from their
destination, so they loaded themselves up with boxes, but because of their
diminutive statures they struggled to see where they were going.
Fortunately, a fellow Bargie, or two, came to
their aid, in the shape of the Poll’s.
“Can
we help?” a voice asked
“Who
said that?” Toddy asked and peered around the box she was carrying and added
“Good
heavens”
It
was at that point that Sammi also looked around her bundle
“I
think I’m seeing double” she said
What
they were actually seeing were twins, identical twins, around their own age,
just shy of six feet tall, pleasant looking with short brown hair.
“Identical
twins” Sammi said
“George
Poll” the first one said
“Stuart”
added the other
“Samantha
Caddick” she said “Sammi”
“Clare
Todd” Toddy chimed in “Toddy”
“We’re
not quite identical” George said and lifted the hair away from his forehead to
reveal a horizontal 4-inch scar
“I
got him with a Cricket bat when we were seven” Stuart confessed proudly, Sammi
thought the scar was rather fetching.
“We
assumed you were headed for the “Lily of the Vale” George said “So we thought
you might like some help”
“That’s
very kind” Sammi said “Thank you, I’m afraid there’s more in the car”
“No
problem, let’s get this aboard first” George suggested “And then we’ll help
with the rest”
With the first
boxes and bundles safely on board the four of them walked back towards the car
park.
“So,
which one is yours” Sammi asked
“The
Witch of Oakham” George replied “Not as pristine as the “Lily”” he said “But
I’m getting there, it’s very much a work in progress”
“Just
you?” Sammi asked
“Yes,
I’m only visiting” Stuart interjected “I’m only up here for a week’s training
course, then I’m back home to Shallowfield”
“Shallowfield?”
Toddy echoed
“Toddy’s
spending Christmas in Shallowfield” Sammi added
“Really?”
Stuart asked
“Yes,
the girls and I are spending Christmas with my Aunt Ruth” Clare explained
“Girls?”
“Yes,
my daughters” Clare explained
“How
old?” Stuart asked
“Jane
6 and Daisy 4” she replied proudly
“I
have a son Callum, who’s 6” Stuart said just as they reached the car.
They
comfortably managed the rest of Sammi’s possessions between them and George
pointed out that there didn’t appear to be a lot of stuff for two girls and
Sammi laughed and said
“No
this is all mine”
“I’m
a land lubber” Toddy explained “I prefer foundations, walls and a roof”
“Me
too” Stuart agreed
Once
everything was down in the cabin Samantha said
“Thank
you so much for the help, now you have to let me buy you a drink”
“Great
idea” Toddy chipped in
“Ok
with me” George replied
“Me
too” added Stuart “where do you want to go?”
“Well,
I need to get back to Lower Oakham to collect my car” Toddy explained “So why
don’t we go to the pub there”
“And
I can bring you back afterwards” Sammi offered
“Ok
let’s go” George replied, and he and Stuart started along the towpath.
“Nicely
done” Sammi mouthed, and they fist bumped before following the twins.
“I
don’t think I’ve ever been to Lower Oakham before, what’s the name of the pub
we’re going to?” Stuart asked and the three of them chorused
“The
Navigators”
After their
promising beginning Samantha didn’t see much of George over the two weeks
following, the weather turned distinctly awful, and the combination of work,
weather and a desire to get settled into her cozy floating home as quickly as
possible meant she didn’t manage any more than a wave.
However, on
the plus side of the foul weather it meant she could focus on getting
everything stowed away neatly, she liked neat, and by the end of November, she
had brought everything from her parent’s house that she needed, and everything
was where she wanted it to be, and she could relax and enjoy her new home.
Then on the
morning of St Andrews Day she woke up with a start and shouted “Christmas”.
Sammi loved
her parents dearly, but they didn’t really do Christmas as much as she would
have liked, other than the religious aspect, they didn’t go all out with the
festivities, decorations could best be described as minimalist, they didn’t
stint on the presents though.
It was
Christmas decorations, or the lack of them that led to Sammi waking abruptly
and shouting “Christmas”
The next
day was the 1st of December, and she didn’t have a single decoration.
It was a
school day so she would accept no argument from Toddy and picked her up an hour
later and they drove to Abbottsford’s Phoenix Centre, and she made a beeline
for Hanratty’s Department Store because in her opinion they really knew how to
do Christmas.
Once inside
Sammi was like a child in a sweetshop at the end of rationing, she didn’t know
where to look first, luckily Toddy was with her, because she reined her in a
bit at times, otherwise she feared she would have bought the whole shop.
In her
trolley, was a 4ft tree, baubles, garlands, swags, ornaments, lights, and
tinsel, when she picked up a snow globe.
“You’ve
only got a Narrow Boat Sammi, it’s not the Titanic”
“Point
taken” she said and put the snow globe back on the shelf.
They took
all her purchases to the car and then she treated Toddy to lunch and then
dropped her home by mid-afternoon so she could pick up her children after which
Sammi spent the rest of the day decorating the boat, and when she was finished,
she was staggered to see the difference, there were coloured lights, garlands,
swags, ornaments, tinsel and baubles everywhere.
“Goodness
me” she exclaimed and started thinning them out a bit.
The next
day she turned her attention to the outside of the boat, stringing several sets
of solar powered LED lights from stem to stern and she was just making the
finishing touches when she spotted George Poll walking along the tow path, and
she was very pleased to see him.
They
chatted for about ten minutes although there was quite a bit of flirting mixed
in, but then the heavens opened.
“Come aboard”
Sammi said and opened the door and went down the companion way, and when George looked up, he was staggered to see the
interior had been transformed from when he and his brother helped her move in a
couple of weeks earlier.
With the coloured lights, garlands,
ornaments, and baubles almost everywhere.
“Merry Christmas” he exclaimed
“It’s the
first time I’ve had my own place to decorate, and I’ve gone a bit overboard
with the decs, but I love Christmas” she said unapologetically
“Have you
not put yours up yet?”
“No, I’m
not bothering this year” he confessed “I’ve not finished painting yet”
“Shame”
“But you’ve
done more than enough for both of us” he said and laughed
“Well, I’ve
still got room for a bit of Holly and a sprig of mistletoe” she said
The next
week or so kept her gainfully occupied with the usual round of Church
activities and Christmas shopping.
Toddy and
the girls were heading to Shallowfield as soon as school broke up, so she had
to have their presents bought and wrapped in plenty of time.
Keeping so
busy however did have its compensations, it meant that she didn’t dwell on her
disappointment regarding George Poll, she had thought she was making some
progress with him, but she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him for the best part
of two weeks, and she was miffed.
But when
she returned home after Church, around lunchtime on the last Sunday of Advent,
she noticed signs of life aboard The Witch of Oakham and saw there was a Christmas
Wreath hanging on the door, which made her smile.
Just at
that moment the hatch opened, and George appeared
“Hi Sammi”
he said and joined her on the tow path
“Hello
George, I haven’t seen you for a while” she responded
“I’ve been
in Shallowfield for the last two weeks, my Great Uncle George died” he
explained
“Oh, I am
sorry, where you close?”
“Yes, I was
named after him” he replied “it’s been hard, what with the funeral, sorting his
affairs and clearing his house”
“I imagine
it was” she sympathized, and an uncomfortable silence followed for about a
minute before she added
“I see
you’ve entered the Christmas spirit”
And
gestured with her eyes towards to wreath
“I like it”
“Oh yes
thank you, I’ve already delivered yours to the Lily” he said.
“Really?”
she said “That’s very kind”
“Well, they
have a big Christmas market in Shallowfield, and I remembered what you said
about wanting some holly and mistletoe, so I got you some, I know you didn’t
mention a wreath, but I got you one anyway” he explained as they walked slowly
along the tow path
“Thank you
so much” she responded and when they reached her boat she added when seeing the
wreath “That’s beautiful, and the holly is so vibrant”
“Would you
like help putting it up?” he asked, which she definitely did not, she was more
than capable of doing it herself, but she replied
“Oh yes
that would be lovely”
Sammi
supervised the hanging of the wreath and directed him for the placement of the
holly swags, then she pointed up at the beam above the door.
“Can you
hang the sprig of mistletoe up there?”
“No
problem” he replied
“That looks
great” she said when it was done
“We had
better test for functionality though” she suggested and adopted a pose where
her head was inclined, and she was pointing at her cheek.
“That seems
reasonable” he agreed and leant down to kiss her cheek but at the precise point
his lips were about to touch her skin she turned her head and kissed him on the
lips, from where a more substantive kiss took place beneath the mistletoe, and
Sammi had the romantic Christmas she had always dreamed of.
No comments:
Post a Comment