Snippets of Downshire Life – Holy Week – Easter Monday

The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, and to the east 15 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between the seaside resort and Pepperstock Green was the rambling village of Brookley and at its heart was St Mildred’s Church.

The villager’s spiritual needs were met by its vicar Rev Cecil Payne who lived at the adjacent vicarage with his wife Lily and their six unmarried daughters, Chrissie, Daniela, Hazel, Heather, Katie and Elise.

Cecil and Lily loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties and they had expectations for their daughters.

For Lily her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Cecil just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Easter loomed, there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, but the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

The youngest of whom were twins, and the oldest of them, by two minutes was Katie.

They were not identical twins, but she and Elise were as alike as made no difference.

 

On Easter Monday she got on the train bound for Sharpington and in pursuit of a highly prized item, well to her anyway.

She was going to track down the love of her life, Danny Perry.

She lost her heart to him when she was only six and he was the new boy who arrived at the school after the Christmas break.

Although she was instantlly taken with him, indeed she was completely smitten, it was love at first sight, but he didnt speak to her for two years, but thats boys for you.

Techniccally it wasnt the first time he saw her they had been at nursery school together but his parents moved away before they started school propper, but she didnt remember him.

 

But as his cousin Sue Peach was one of her best friends she got great intel about him, what he was doing who he was seeing, what music he liked what films she went to see.

Once they got to secondary school she was still carrying a torch for him, but their contact was still minimal and although she didnt really speak to him, she did see alot of him, around school especially, though they were in different streams, because he was a brainiac like her twin sister.

But if she saw him in town or in the cinema queue or at the Lido he would always smile at her because he knew she was his friends sister.

But she never had the courage to speak to him, so she would just smile back.

Sometimes she would be with girlfriends and sometimes with a boy and sometimes he was with mates and other times he’d be with a girl.

She had her fair share of boyfriends but none of them were serious, it was just a question of trying someone on for size to see if they fit, and some of them could have been a good fit if she given them a chance but her problem was that how ever good the fit was, they never measured up against Danny.

But the older she got the braver she got, and Katie eventually worked up the courage to speak to him and they went on to speak a lot once the ice was broken.

Katie was firm friends with his cousin Susan, but she didn’t know at the time that she knew she carried a torch for Danny, but it was Susan who got them both involved with St Mildred’s Choir, in an effort to get them together.

 

On Easter Monday Danny was fishing off the end of Sharpington Pier, it wasn’t his favourite fishing retreat, he preferred to fish Purplemere, at his preferred shady spot by the point on the south side of the water, that was the place he felt most at peace and where he was often lost in dreams.

But it was the closed season, so he had to settle on the Pier, but it was still peaceful enough on the fishermen’s deck.

 

Katie got off the train at Sharpington station and set off directly for her destination.

The day before, Easter Sunday, she had been at a birthday party in the village, and it was at the party where she got the information that led her to the Pier.

Because Danny Perry was also at the party and she heard him say to his cousin that he was planning a fishing trip the next day.

So, she took the decision that if she was going to get him she was going to have to do the running.

This was not one of Katie’s strong suits, but she was galvanised into action by two things, firstly that all five of her sisters now had men in their lives and she didn’t want to be left out, but the main reason that she had decided on such a bold course of action was that she had also overheard Mandy Reed say that she was going to ask Danny out when they went back to college the next day, and she wasn’t going to let that happen, she really hated Mandy, not a very Christian attitude, she knew that, especially for a Vicars daughter but that was how she felt.

 

When she reached the promenade, she was suddenly overcome with panic, what if Mandy also found out he was going to Sharpington, unlikely she thought but nonetheless she decided to run.

Katie was small and slight and was possessed of whippet like speed and she sprinted onto the Pier and ran the full length until she reached the top of the steps that led down to the fishermen’s deck.

Once she was there she sat on a bench and questioned the wisdom of running to the Pier as she was now hot and bothered.

Fortunately, she had a solution to her appearance and picked up her bag and went to the ladies.

Firstly, she splashed water on her red face, then after drying it again she opened her bag and with the aid of its contents made quick work of making herself respectable and remade up her face.

Her blue t-shirt was a bit sweaty from her run, however she had a white vest top in her bag, so she changed into that, then all that was needed was a squirt of deodorant and a couple of dabs of perfume and she was done.

 

It was an unseasonably warm sunny day and Danny was sitting on a bench looking at the blue sea, he had cast out and was enjoying the gentle breeze off the water.

“Hello” A soft voice said, and as he looked around he saw Katie standing with the sun at her back, or at least he assumed it was her, because with the breeze stirring the strands of her strawberry red hair and the golden sun behind it she appeared to have a fiery halo that left her face in shadow,

But her silhouetted shape left him in no doubt.

“Hi” he responded

“I thought it was you” she said

The sun was temporarily obscured by a cloud and he could see her lovely face for the first time.

“Have you caught anything?” she asked as she sat down on the bench next to him.

“Not yet” he admitted, then asked

“So, what brings you here?”

“I remembered you saying yesterday that you were coming fishing and as I was on the Pier I thought I would come and say hello before I go home” she replied

“It’s a bit out of your way isn’t it?” he asked already knowing the answer

“Yes” Katie admitted gazing out across the sea “but I like it here”

“Me too” he concurred wistfully, but he didn’t care what had brought her there.

They sat there in silence for quite a few minutes just enjoying the scene until she asked

“Have you been fishing long?”
“What today? Or in general?” he responded, and she laughed

“Both then” she said and laughed again

“Well today, about 2 hours before you found me” he told her “and generally since I was seven when my Dad first took me with him”

“Do you still go with him” she asked

“Oh yes” he replied, “What about you?”

“Me? I’ve never fished” she replied

“Would you like to have a go?” Danny asked

“Yes please” she answered enthusiastically

“Ok then” he said as he reeled in the line, then he quickly discarded what was left of the bait and opened his bait box.

“I can’t put the wriggly thing on” she said horrified

“It’s ok I’ll put the bait on” he replied and smiled at her
I baited the hook and then stood up

“Ok we need to stand up to do the next bit” he said, and Katie got quickly to her feet.

He showed her the basic principles of casting and then he stood behind her as she held the rod in her right hand.

“God you smell good” he thought to himself “Your hair, your skin, your clothes”

He breathed in her perfume deeply then internally chastised himself “Concentrate”

 

Danny put his hand on hers and indicated the best place to hold the grip.

“Now pull some line out with your other hand” he instructed, and she did as he said, and Danny took his right hand off hers,

“Right you’re on your own” he said and rested his hands on her middle.

Swiveling at the waist Katie swung the rod to the right and then snapped it forward and the baited hook sailed through the air and plopped a respectable distance from the pier. 

It was a good job he was holding her waist though, otherwise her momentum may have had her following the hook into the water,

But Katie just thought it was good that he was holding onto her.

“I did it” she squealed
“Great cast Katie” he said indicating his spot on the bench
“now comes the patient bit, you sit down and watch”

“No, I’ll be fine were I was” she said

“Nonsense fishermen’s privilege” he insisted
“Well thank you” she said perching on the seat staring intently at the line while he did the same with her legs.

“Why is the end of the poley thing wobbling?” she asked concentrating intently on the task while he was concentrating intently on her legs.

“That means you have a fish” he replied

“What do I do?” she yelled excitedly

“Strike” Danny said

“What’s that?”

“Jerk the rod up sharply and then reel it in”

He stood up as she reeled in frantically and looked down at her and she was the picture of concentration with her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth,

She noticed he was watching her and withdrew her tongue and smiled at him and then returned her full attention to her task and poked her tongue out again.

The line was getting close to the pier and in its wake, there was definitely a fish

“Should I stand up?” she asked
“If you want to” he replied so she stood up and reeled furiously for the last few feet
“Now lift the rod up slowly” he instructed and as she lifted the rod up vertically the fish left the water and swung towards her, Danny reached out and grabbed the line and wriggling on the hook was a little Dab.

“And there’s your fish” he said, and she beamed broadly

“No, I can’t touch it” Katie squealed as he offered the fish to her

“What kind of fisherwoman are you?” he asked teasingly “you can’t put the wriggly thing on the hook and you won’t touch the fish”
“I'm a girlie fisherwoman obviously” she said and giggled, and Danny carefully unhooked the fish

“What are you going to do with it?” she asked frowning

“Let it go” he said and climbed down towards the water and put back in the sea and it swam away.

When he climbed back up she beamed him a happy smile and squeezed his arm.

 

They sat on the fishermen’s deck for several hours, doing more talking and laughing than fishing.

Katie looked at her watch and suddenly sighed.

“I have to go” she said “I said I’d be back by 4”

“If you give me a few minutes to pack up I’ll come with you” he suggested not wanting the day to end 

“Great” she said

So, he quickly packed away and put his tackle bag over his shoulder and with his rod bag in his hand they set off, firstly up the step, then along the Pier to the promenade and then up to the Station.

 

Danny couldn’t remember a time he had enjoyed a fishing trip so much, and she couldn’t remember a better trip to the seaside.

They both thought it had been a great Easter Monday and they enjoyed the walk to the Station and the train journey back towards Brookley.

He didn’t want the day to end but he knew as they reached Old Halt that time was running out because when they got to Brookley and left the station they would have to go their separate ways because she would go right, and he would go left.

So, Danny knew he had about five minutes to summon up the courage to ask her out.

The train came to a halt and they stepped onto the platform and his mind was blank, he just didn’t know how to ask her.

Katie chatted all the way along the platform, through the ticket barrier and when they reached the entrance he still couldn’t think how to ask her out and they were stood on the pavement in the sunshine and were about to part.

What he didn’t know of course was that she was going through the same turmoil

“I really enjoyed the fishing” she said

“Me too” Danny said with his stomach in knots, and he had just decided that he was just going to have to blurt it out and hope for the best.

“Do you want to go to the pictures on Saturday” she asked “The new Stars Wars is on in Sharpington”

“I’d love to” Danny said immediately relieved.

“That’s a date then” she said and sighed, then she kissed his cheek and turned towards the Vicarage.

 

He felt ten feet tall as he walked the last few hundred yards to his home and smiled to himself that the girl he had loved for almost six years since had asked him out.

 

She stood on the corner of the station carpark and watched until he was out of side then she jumped up and down, and punched the air,

“In your face Mandy Reed” she shouted.

Not very Christian and not very lady like, but she didn’t care she had a date with Danny Perry, and the shy girl who lacked confidence had asked him out.

But however it came about, it didnt really matter, what mattered was that it happened and it was the begining of the love that lasted a lifetime.

Which began on the day that Katie caught her first fish while also catching her first and only love.

 

 

 

Snippets of Downshire Life – Holy Week – Good Friday

The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, and to the east 15 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between the seaside resort and Pepperstock Green was the rambling village of Brookley and at its heart was St Mildred’s Church.

The villager’s spiritual needs were met by its vicar Rev Cecil Payne who lived at the adjacent vicarage with his wife Lily and their six unmarried daughters, Chrissie, Daniela, Hazel, Heather, Katie and Elise.

Cecil and Lily loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties and they had expectations for their daughters.

For Lily her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Cecil just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Easter loomed, there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, but the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

They would perhaps have been slightly encouraged by the fact that the second eldest of the brood, Daniela, already had someone in her sights, and that was George Parnait, the verger.

She had been carrying a torch for him since Christmas, but she hadn’t made any progress, despite the fact that she had volunteered for every church event, meeting and service that she knew he would be at.

Daniela was well placed to do that because she was employed by the church in an administration role and one of her duties was to manage the schedules and rotas and she cherry picked the dates to match those of George, it was unethical and unprofessional, but she reconciled it that with the fact that it was in a good cause.

 

On Good Friday they were to be working together preparing for the service.

It was an important day in the church calendar and could either be at noon or in the evening but at St Mildred’s it was the latter.

Which meant they had all day to get ready and she had arranged it that way as it was important for her to have him to herself for most of it.

 

On the morning of Good Friday, she was in the family bathroom at the vicarage making the final adjustments to her appearance and she was at the mirror pinning the final errant strands of hair into place.

Her straight honey blonde hair was tied in bun at the back, but she always wore a fringe.

When she worked in the office she normally often wore gold rimmed half-moon spectacles, but they were only for reading and she often just peered over the top of them rather than keep taking them off.

But there was no need for them in the church so as she stood before the mirror there was nothing obscuring her pleasant unblemished face, a face that turned to pretty when she smiled.

Daniela stepped backwards so she could get a better look at the rest of her.

The Blue patterned dress with contrasting navy collar and cuffs was tailored to fit and defined her figure exquisitely.

She turned sideways to get another view and scanned herself from top to bottom.

She was not unhappy with the overall appearance, she was a little broader in the beam than she would have liked, her legs were good, she liked her legs even in thick black tights and sensible shoes they were nice.

“Not bad” she said and nodded at her reflection to acknowledge she had passed muster.

  

“Not a bad looking woman eh?” she was thinking as she walked across to church, then she frowned, “so why am I still living at home?”

She often wondered that, the problem was when she worked at the church and worked so hard in the Church community she found it difficult to have a social life and meet new people who weren’t already part of her church family.

But though she often wondered why she was alone she wasn’t unhappy, she didn’t feel diminished by her circumstances, and would have remained content had it not been for the arrival in the village of the new Verger.

However, her mother was not content with her and her sisters remaining unattached and unwed and kept telling her and her older sister that their biological clocks were ticking.

 

But she was not interested in George Parnait because of her mother’s nagging or a feeling that she was in a race against time she really wanted him, and she hadn’t felt like that since she was still at school.

So, she had woken that morning in a particularly determined frame of mind, so she said to herself

“Well if you’re going to do something, do it today”

 

As she entered the Church the just after 8 am she found it was a hive of industry, with a team of parishioners, among other things, dusting, polishing and mopping, 

Emily Sanders, who she worked with in the office gestured her over

“Morning” she said

“Hi Emily” she said and handed her a folder “here is the list of who’s doing what, I’m going to work with George to unpack the paraments”

“I thought you might be” Emily said and giggled which made Daniela blush and made Emily giggle again.

 

 

 

 

All though Daniela had mentioned paraments specifically, on Good Friday it is preferable that there are no paraments, banners, flowers, or decorations except, for a representation of the way of the cross.

The Lord's table, pulpit, and other furnishings, normally adorned, were to be bare of cloth, candles, and anything not actually used in the service.

Her next move was to win George over with her carefully rehearsed charm offensive and she found him standing by the dais, he was a tall upright man a few years her senior with slightly thinning hair and the beginnings of a paunch, and when he turned around she noticed that in his arms he carried, the baby Jesus.

And her charm offensive fell at the first hurdle when she exclaimed

“Why are you holding the Christ child? We are supposed to be depicting the way to Golgotha, not the nativity”

“We have the wrong boxes or at least one wrong box” he replied

“Oh no” Daniela winced “What are we missing?”

“The cloths” he replied

The cloths were crucial to the Good Friday service, as the cross was to remain visible, but the figure on it and all the other permanently fixed images of Christ had to be veiled by scarlet coloured cloth as by partly concealing the cross, the veil also calls attention to it.

“Well that won’t do” she said and took out her mobile phone and walked to one side.

She was phoning Wellham Farm, where the church rented one of the Wellham Barns as a storage facility.

It was about four miles from the village and they stored a variety of things there, Santa’s Grotto, all the stalls for Fete’s and Bazaars, processional items, the nativity scene and costumes of all shapes sizes and uses.

 

Five minutes later she returned to find George still cradling the divine infant.

“They’ve found the missing box” she announced and smiled when she noticed he was still holding the babe “it’s at Wellham Barns”.

“Great give me directions and I’ll go and get it”

Daniela was about to agree and then she remembered the other item on her agenda, so she relied

“You’ll never find it with my directions, we’ll both go, you can drive and I’ll nav”

“Suits me”

“That’s settled then, now pop the little fella back in his box, and well return him to the stable” she said and laughed at her joke

 

The journey to the farm was a quiet one, on Georges part because he was trying to take in as many landmarks as he could which he would remember for next time and for Daniela because her mind went blank.

Once they reached the farm George got the errant box from the boot while she went in search of its replacement.

 

Sam Wellham, who managed the storage side of the farms business handed Daniela the advice notes, one for the box that they were taking and one for the box they had returned, then she handed it back and said goodbye as she got back into the car.

 

On the return journey she was struggling to find a way to start the conversation which she hoped would lead to him asking her out, but she drew a blank but then George suddenly asked.

“So, are you involved in the Holy Saturday Vigil?”

“No, no I’m not” she replied with relief and added hopefully “I’m free all day”

“What about you?” she added already knowing the answer as she had made sure they were both off.

“No, I’m spending the day with my son” he replied proudly

“Your son?”

“Yes, Kevin”

“I didn’t know you had a son, how old?” she asked

“He’s eleven”

“He doesn’t live with you then?” she said

“No, he’s staying with my Parents in Purplemere” he explained

“Not with his mum?” she asked wondering where she might be lurking

“His mum died last year” he replied sadly “A car accident”

“I’m sorry” she said and then waited for him to unburdened himself with the tale about the accident.

She had been for a birthday treat to Tipton Spa with her sister and were on the way home.

The accident happened just as the sun was setting behind them and a car came around the bend on the wrong side of the road and hit them head on.

The car rolled several times and ended up on its side in a ditch.

“That’s awful” she said

“The two of them and the other driver died instantly” he said and after a brief pause he added

“I blame myself of course”

“That’s silly” she said

“Is it?” George contradicted her “I bought her that Spa break”

“You feel guilty because you lived, but that isn’t the same thing as blame” she insisted

“Just guilt then?” he asked
“Yes” she said “and that’s in the past, you have your son and he is the present and the future”

“What kind of future without his mother?” he said bitterly

“The future has infinite possibilities, but the past is only ever the past” Daniela said

“That’s very profound” he said

“What for a Vicars daughter you mean?” she said

“No, I mean it, it was very profound” he said and gave the weakest of smiles

“Well I’m very deep” she said

“So why is he living with your parents?” she asked “He must miss you”

“I miss him too, but we thought it best if he stayed at the same school with all his friends until they break for the summer holidays then he’ll be starting big school and he’ll be the new boy along with everybody else”

“Do you talk to him about his mum?” she asked, and he nodded

“All the time”

“That’s precious”

“Yes, it is” he responded positively

“You’re a very positive person Daniela” he said

“Well I do always look for a positive in any situation” she said, and he thought for a moment before he responded

“Well if it hadn’t been for the wrong box being delivered to the church and our having to drive to Wellham to swap it we wouldn’t have had this chance to talk, so that’s something of a positive”

“There you are then” Daniella said

 

When they got to the St Mildred’s he parked the car and retrieved the box from the boot but before they reached the Church steps he said

“I really enjoyed our little mission today, and as I’m not driving to Purplemere until the morning, I was wondering if you’d like to go for a meal after the service, if you don’t have already have plans that is”  

“I’d like that very much” she replied “I’ll have to go home and change first, but yes that would be lovely”

 

Well the operation hadn’t gone according to plan in anyway shape or form, but the outcome was much better than she could possibly have imagined

“Thank you, God, for your divine intervention” she said to herself and smiled.

 

Snippets of Downshire Life – Holy Week – Maundy Thursday

The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, and to the east 15 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between the seaside resort and Pepperstock Green was the rambling village of Brookley and at its heart was St Mildred’s Church.

The villager’s spiritual needs were met by its vicar Rev Cecil Payne who lived at the adjacent vicarage with his wife Lily and their six unmarried daughters, Chrissie, Daniela, Hazel, Heather, Katie and Elise.

Cecil and Lily loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties and they had expectations for their daughters.

For Lily her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Cecil just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Easter loomed, there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, but the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

The sweetest of whom was 20-year-old Heather and the reason she was unattached was that she wasn’t sure that there was anyone worthy enough for her give up her good works for.

She was a shining girl, intelligent but not academically so, but she was inclined towards an unquenchable sense of public duty.

Not that she didn’t occasionally take time out to look for “the one” but she failed to locate him on the occasions when she did.

She was arguably the prettiest of the Payne girls, in fact Heather was very attractive but not showily so, very feminine, brunette and petite, and everyone who knew her was surprised that she had never had a steady boyfriend and since the time in year ten at school when she bloomed she had run the gauntlet of well-meaning friends, throwing what they considered to be suitable candidates in her path, but she side stepped them all.

There was something special in her nature, a simple goodness, she believed in goodness and not surprisingly, everlasting life and of course good and evil.

 

The problem with finding “the one” was that she was too fussy, apart from him needing to be tall and dark, “the one” needed to meet her usual criteria, handsome, kind, loving and be true of heart.

But in addition, she was searching for someone with a moral compass, a practicing Christian naturally, a church goer at least occasionally, though not someone permanently on their knees, a devout man but not a pious one.

She wanted a man who was worldly but not tainted, attractive but not vain, masculine but possessed of modesty.

A man with good dress sense, free of tattoos and body piercings, well mannered, and gentlemanly, definitely not someone who drank from a bottle.

However, with every passing week Heather had become convinced she was looking for someone who didn’t really exist.

 

At the beginning of Lent a new Choirmaster, Robert Perry, arrived at St Mildred’s from nearby Sharpington after their existing music director had a heart attack, and over the following weeks she realised that he met most, if not all, of her criteria, plus he was blessed with great kindness, a quality in her opinion unfailingly, underappreciated in the modern world, which was a quality that she had not bargained for.

But she soon dismissed him as a prospect and cleared him off her radar, firstly because he was seven years older than her, although that in itself was not a deal breaker, but he also spent a lot of time away from the village and was quite secretive about where he went.

 

Robert too was searching, he was searching for a woman who shared his faith and who put others before themselves, a good woman and he had sought her all of his life and he had met several possible contenders over the years, not unsurprisingly given the fact that he was a significant member of the church and well respected among the ecclesiastical music field, but the ones who caught his eye always fell short of his ideals, so he ended up

walking the righteous path alone.

He found several members of the choir met his criteria

and none more so than Heather but that did not influence his decision to give her the solo at the Easter service.

From the moment he arrived at St Mildred’s it was obvious she was the go to girl when it was time for a soloist he could rely on, and her work ethic was exceptional, and he pushed her to her limits which each additional performance.

 

But as Easter approached they had to intensify the rehearsals, as at the beginning of Holy week, her sister Hazel, who was also the church organist, tripped down the church steps and broke her arm.

Hazel was a very accomplished musician, and it took a couple of days phoning around the county to find someone of a decent enough standard to fill her shoes.

But even though they found someone relatively quickly and of a suitable standard they still lost two days rehearsal which was time that had to be made up.

Everyone involved gave total commitment and worked diligently to make up for lost time and when it got the evening of Maundy Thursday there was only Heather’s Good Friday solo that they had to polish, neither her or Robert were in the best of moods as neither of them had intended to still be practicing that late into Holy week and they both had somewhere else they needed to be, and they didn’t want to be late.

Robert made them even later when he insisted on her doing it one more time, and he did that because he became mesmerised by her angelic voice and was struck for the first time by the fact that not only did she sound like an angel, but she looked like one as well.

However, stand in Organist Harry Paul called a halt to proceedings when Robert asked to go again.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, it’s getting late and you can’t improve on perfection”

“No, you’re quite right” he agreed with his eyes still fixed on Heather

“Oh no” she said looking at her watch “Look at the time”

“Somewhere to be?” Robert asked

“Yes” she replied and put her coat on but didn’t elaborate.

He supposed she must have a date or something equally frivolous, and then he looked at his own watch.

“Oh, dear it is rather late” he said, “Do you have somewhere to be as well?” she asked as he put his own coat on

“Yes, I do” he replied, “and I particularly wanted to be there on time”

“Oh yes? What is it a new restaurant?” she asked

“Of a sort” he replied

“What about you?” Robert asked as they left the church “Do you have a date?”

“Certainly not” she said with afront “I have more important things to do with my time”

“Well I’ll see you tomorrow at the service” he said as he was digesting her answer

“Quite so” she agreed “I hope you make it on time”

“You too” he replied and walked to his car as she headed in the opposite direction to the Vicarage.

As she lived so close she was fed, showered, changed and on her way out the door before Robert had even reached his front door in Sharpington.  

When he did, he closed the door behind him and went straight to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich.

He ate it far too quickly to be good for him, in fact he was still chewing as he stepped into the shower and as he did so he knew he would have heartburn for the rest of the night.

He dried himself and dressed in warm clothes and was then on his way.

He drove into town and parked on the promenade and checked his watch as he hurriedly walked toward his destination, as he was twenty minutes late.  

He looked through the window and saw it was quite busy and a queue had formed so he walked around to the side door and walked in and undid his coat as he did he said

“I’m terribly sorry I’m so late I was unavoidably detained”

“Well they all say that” Heather said as she turned around and Robert smiled when he saw that it was his angel.

And at that moment they both realised that their mutual searches for “the one” had come to an end and it happened at the Sharpington soup kitchen.

Snippets of Downshire Life – Holy Week – Palm Sunday

 

The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, and to the east 15 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between the seaside resort and Pepperstock Green was the rambling village of Brookley and at its heart was St Mildred’s Church.

The villager’s spiritual needs were met by its vicar Rev Cecil Payne who lived at the adjacent vicarage with his wife Lily and their six unmarried daughters, Chrissie, Daniela, Hazel, Heather, Katie and Elise.

Cecil and Lily loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties and they had expectations for their daughters.

For Lily her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Cecil just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Easter loomed, there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, but the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

The eldest of whom was 32-year-old Chrissie and the only reason she was unattached was that the object of her affections was the Curate, Graham Parker, and he was painfully shy and was seemingly blind to her advances or more likely unable to act on his feelings.

But with Easter looming large she was determined to snag her man before Holy Week, she just didn’t know exactly how.

But then on Palm Sunday she got some divine inspiration during the service when a supplicant stumbled in church and Graham reached out an arm and prevented her from falling and then helped her to her pew.

However, her first emotion was not one of inspiration, it was a feeling of overwhelming ill will towards the congregant and intense jealousy because her man had his arm around the stupid clumsy woman.

But then after a brief prayer for forgiveness for her lapse of decorum in Gods house an idea began to germinate and by the end of the service it was fully formed.

 

When the service was over it was Chrissie’s job to return the hymn books to the shelf on the back of the pew, pick up the hassock’s in preparation for the cleaners and to collect any discarded personal items and take them to the vestry.

Graham’s role as Curate meant that he would be outside the church with the vicar, talking with parishioners, after which he would himself go to the vestry to secure the church valuables to the safe.

It was in the vestry where Chrissie intended to put her plan into effect.

 

After finishing her work, she loitered about in the shadows until the congregation had finally dispersed before she emerged but her strategy almost failed before it began when her father called from the door

“Come along Christine, lunch is waiting”

“Ok Dad I’m nearly done, you go on ahead and I’ll catch you up” she replied

“Alright” he responded and after listening to his footsteps recede she proceeded to the vestry to find her quarry.

She was suddenly very excited and almost broke into a run with her red hair flowing behind her, she just hoped he would still be there when she reached the vestry.

Chrissie stopped outside the door and took a deep breath before she opened it.

As she pushed the door open she was relieved when she caught sight of him and he was stood by the closet putting his coat on

“Hi Graham, still here?” she said and he instantly blushed and looked at the floor.

“Erm hello”

Chrissie smiled because she had seen him standing in the pulpit and hold the attention of the entire congregation but in her presence, he could barely string a sentence together.

He buttoned his coat and without looking up he walked towards the door which was the very moment she made her move and she timed it to perfection.

Just as he passed her she pretended to stumble and just as he had with the congregant at the service he reached out an arm and caught her just as she had hoped he would.

Chrissie was a few inches taller than Graham even in flat shoes so she made her move and quickly got the better of him and using his own weight against him deposited him on the nearest chair and quickly parked herself on his lap where she proceeded to kiss him, and as she had been so desperate to taste his lips she thought it might have been an anti-climax, and when at first he went rigid she feared the worst but he gradually relaxed and when she let him come up for air she said

“You see that wasn’t so bad”

And he clearly agreed because he kissed her, and that was the long-awaited kiss she had imagined and when it was over she added

“And it’s even better when you join in”

That Palm Sunday may have marked the end of his shyness but the long-awaited kiss in the vestry was the beginning of a love that lasted into their golden years.  

 

The Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa – Holy Week – Lazarus Saturday

 

The beautiful Downshire village of Clerembeax St Giles was situated to the west of Abbeyvale located between Grace Hill and Bushy Down and on the outskirts was the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa.

It was once the home The Clerembeax’s, who arrived in Downshire following the Norman conquests and stayed for a thousand years before the name died out following the death of the reclusive Marcus Clerembeax at the age of 96.

The current owner was Yvonne Labuschagne, who decided to open it as a Hotel and Spa.

The Spa was a good attraction, but it was crucial for them to maintain a high occupancy rate, however things were tough in the Hotel trade with the success of Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express and so places like the Palace needed to offer something extra to attract the guests, apart from the Spa. 

So, they put on novelty weekends, such as “Murder Mysteries” and in addition, they had a sizable Ballroom which was used for special occasions, high days and holidays, which boosted occupancy and Spa numbers at the same time.

But it was necessary to offer guests as wide a range of activities as possible during their stay, to attract them in the first place, and hopefully to come back.

But some guests came back time and time again in pursuit of entirely different activities.

One such visitor was Carole Went, who was a very lustful Lady, an eye-catching cougar who doused herself in heavy musk and went on the prowl.

She was a woman on the wrong side of forty who was still a woman full of desire, with the looks and the confidence to get what she wanted.

She was outrageously flirty and was exotic, erotic, earthy and dirty, and swung both ways in order to get satisfaction.

Carole preferred to cast her net on nights when there was either a function on in the ballroom, or a stag do or hen night, when she knew she could play the percentages to ensnare her prey.

 

Carole walked into the bar looking for someone to satisfy her desire and the bar was full of randy young men on a stag weekend and on that night, she chose a young man twenty years her junior called Tony, to satisfy her urges.

Lustful Carole took him to her room and used him and abused him and extracted every ounce of pleasure from him until he was a spent force.

 

She awoke in the early hours and sighed before congratulating herself on a job well done and lay there for about twenty minutes before she sat up and sat on the bed watching him, rerunning the earlier events through her head, subconsciously selecting those specific moments that were most memorable.

As he stirred Carole wondered if he would do the same when he was awake and what moments they would be.

Tony opened his eyes and looked at her watching him and then she pulled the blanket off him and said

“I hope you’re ready to go again”