Snippets of Downshire Life – St Dwynwen’s Day

Glynis Jones was 26 years old and had been working in the costume department at the Purplemere Studios for eight years.

It was her first job after she finished college and she had been happy there, mostly.

But while she was there, she had been seeing a design director, Jordan Andrews, he seemed nice at first, but ultimately, she realized it wasn’t working, so after a couple of months, she ended it.

However, when it ended Jordan wouldn’t accept it and he wouldn’t stop pestering her, but she remained resolute, which was when he turned nasty and made her life a misery.

So, she chose the only course of action left open to her and resigned, that enraged him even more and he pledged that she would never work in the industry again.

“I will have you blacklisted” he screamed

Fortunately, she had been approached several times by one of the studios supplier’s, Periodicity Costumers, who were based in the idyllic village of Mornington-By-Mere, situated in the beautiful Finchbottom Vale, which nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.

And as luck would have it her cousin Dave was the village Police Sergeant, so she was able to stay with his family for a couple of months at the Police House while she found her feet and she knew that the job was going to work out.

 

She lived with her brother Graham in Purplemere while she was working at the Studios, and when she moved to Mornington she left a lot of her stuff there as she didn’t want to burn her bridges completely.

They were both from Wales originally and moved to Downshire together, and they had lived together in his flat for 7 years.   

 

At the beginning of October Glynis started working at Periodicity and was welcomed with open arms as they had been trying to poach her from Purplemere for two years.

She was also introduced to the village nightlife by her co-workers, even though that was restricted to the Old Mill Inn and she immediately turned heads.

 

Because she was a pretty girl, tall and slim with lovely corn coloured hair, a fair complexion and a lovely smile, she soon had the young men dancing attendance on her.

But she had sworn off men for the duration, so she gave them no encouragement.

But two of her admirers were not so easily discouraged and they were two friends who worked for Paige Turners up at Mornington Field and they not only shared an attraction to Glynis they also shared a house in Military Row.

 

The two guys in question were Scott Lazaro and Graham Collins and they were both personable enough in their way but were as different from each other as chalk and cheese.

Scott was the younger man by a year, tall and dark with classic good looks, whereas Paul was short, stocky with close cropped orange hair and despite her pledge Glynis really liked them.  

But despite the fact that she liked them, they were men and she had played that game before and lost so she was in no mood to repeat past mistakes.

 

However, her reservations notwithstanding, she did weaken after a month of persistent pursuit and went out on a few dates with them, cinema, coffee, a drink or a pizza, but strictly as companions, nothing else, but without her meaning for it to happen a fondness developed between them.

They were all of a similar age and even to the casual observer there appeared to be a bit of a love triangle forming, and as time went on Glynis was enjoying the attention and as a result, she was reluctant to upset the status quo, but in the end, it wasn’t her decision.

 

It happened in early January when Scott overheard his love rival Graham talking to his sister at the house they shared, where he was boasting about securing a Valentines date with Glynis and how he was going all out to win her affections once and for all, a lavish restaurant, red roses and handmade chocolates.

“She can’t possibly say no” he said smugly

“We’ll see about that” Scott said to himself because Scott knew something that Graham was ignorant to.

 

The first thing he did was to make a date with Glynis for the last week of the month, and secondly, he went to see another friend, who also worked up at Mornington Field for Bespoke Furniture, to cadge an off cut of soft wood for a little project.

Working on wood carving had always been a hobby of his but now he had a project that had to be completed in two weeks.  

 

On the day of the big date Scott picked Glynis up from the Police House.

“So where are we going?” she asked as she closed the passenger door

“You’ll have to wait and see” he replied and accelerated away

An hour later he pulled into an empty parking space on the promenade at Sharpington-By-Sea

“The seaside?” she asked

“Disappointed?” he countered

“No, not at all, I love the seaside, but I’ve never been here before”

“Then you are in for a real treat”

 

Obviously, January was not the time to see Sharpington at its best but even in the winter the attractions were open even if for restricted hours except for Friday to Sunday, but it was worth a visit just to see the illuminations.

The first place he took her to was Bizzoni's Ice Cream Parlour on Sharpington Pier.

“Ice cream? In January?” she asked

“It’s not just ice cream, its Bizzoni’s ice cream” he explained “And no visit to Sharpington is complete without one”

“Well, when you put it like that it makes perfect sense”

 

After Bizzoni’s they walked to The Sharpington Fun Park, which was the first purpose-built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21^st century roller coaster, but of all the rides on offer it was the Tunnel of Love, which Scott thought was the perfect location for what he had in mind.

They were wrapped up against the cold and Glynis put her arm through his as they walked and she felt comfortable, because Scott was a tall man, six foot four in fact, Glynis was tall herself, so it made a nice change to walk arm in arm with a man who was taller than her and it made her feel very feminine.

 

When they got to the Fun Park, he went to the kiosk to buy a shed load of tokens, because he didn’t know how many rides it might take to do what he needed to do.

As he queued for the tickets Glynis looked on, and he turned around and smiled and she surprised herself when she said to herself

“I think He’s the one”

 

When he rejoined her, they went inside the park and ambled around aimlessly until he said

“Let’s go on the Tunnel of Love”

“Oh ok” she agreed

There was a bit of a queue as the ride was clearly still popular even if it was a bit old fashioned for the 21^st century.

When their turn came, they got in the next empty boat and it set off, it was an altogether slower ride than anything else in the park but that suited him.

“I’ve got you a present” he said as he fished in his pocket

“Why?” She asked suspiciously “What’s the occasion?”

“You don’t know?”

“No”

“Happy St Dwynwen’s Day!” He said and held a small, gift-wrapped package in his hand.

“You know about Dwynwen?” she asked “The Welsh patron Saint of love”

“I do, which is why I got a gift for my Welsh Goddess of love”

He said and handed her the small, gift-wrapped package

“What’s this?”

“Open it and find out” he suggested but her fingers wouldn’t work because she was overwhelmed, she had never felt such romantic feelings.

When she managed to gain control of her digits and tear the paper to reveal the contents of the package, she audibly gasped

“It’s a love spoon” she whispered

A Welsh love spoon was traditionally given as a St Dwynwen’s day gift and was ideally hand carved by the suitor, but in the contemporary age they are normally bought commercially.

“It’s beautiful” Glynis said, “where did you find it?”

“I made it”

“You made it?” she asked in disbelief “For me”

The romantic feelings that she had felt previously, multiplied exponentially as she held the hand carved spoon in her hands.

She only took her eyes away from it long enough to look at the man who had made her feel so special.

Her eyes had only just returned to the spoon as the boat emerged into the night air.

“Let’s go around again,” she pleaded “Twice”

So, he handed over two more tokens to the operator and their boat passed through the entrance again and the moment the door closed behind them Glynis kissed him and they were still kissing when they emerged into the night air again and for most of the next circuit. 

Snippets of Downshire Life – Burns Night Supper

 

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 it’s in the Town of Abbeyvale where the participants of this tale live their lives.

 

Simon Tempest was a modest, well mannered, well-groomed and good-natured man, knocking loudly on the door of his fiftieth birthday.

He owned and managed a coffee house in the town, a nice one, called Café Société, it was not one of the chains, in fact it was a very swanky establishment, with prices to match, which attracted the discerning punter and deterred the riff raff.

Simon was a single man, not that he was opposed to the idea of marriage, far from it, unfortunately the one he would gladly have made his wife was in fact already married, so he thought if he couldn’t have her, he was not prepared to settle for second best.

So, he remained unmarried and was content with his life, until the day the recently widowed Georgiana Rushworth walked into his coffee shop and back into his life.

 

After her first “out of the blue” appearance in Café Société she became a regular and whenever she walked in he would drop everything and spend as much time with her as possible.

However, on one occasion in January when she entered and beamed a smile at him, he was unable to leave his position behind the counter as he was short staffed due to a flu epidemic, unperturbed Georgiana proclaimed

“Not to worry, if Mohammed can’t come to the mountain then the mountain must come to Mohammed” and then she gracefully climbed up onto one of the stools at the counter.

“Excellent, as soon as the cavalry arrive, we can go and sit somewhere more comfortable” he said although he liked her where she was as he had a wonderful view of her legs.

 

While Simon made her coffee, Georgiana rummaged in her handbag and took out a flyer for the upcoming Burns Night Supper at the Abbeyvale Court Hotel and laid it on the counter.

“Ah it’s that time again all ready” he said gesturing towards the flyer.

“Are you going?”

“No” she said

“Oh! Why not? I’d have thought it was your kind of thing”

“It is yes” she replied, “and I normally do go”

“But?”

“But I don’t want to go on my own” she replied, and he looked at her with puzzlement and then said

“Why not?” he asked, “You’re not exactly lacking in confidence”

“I know I’m not” she replied and smiled

This made her blush and averted her gaze after a few moments she looked back at me.

“And you won’t be among strangers either” he pointed out

“I know, but when my husband was alive, he was an arm to hold on to and I didn’t need confidence” she said “now I’m alone so it’s a case of no escort, no supper”

“What about you brother, he’s unattached” Simon suggested

“Well, he would do it if I asked him because he loves me, but I know he can’t abide haggis, and he thinks bagpipes are an abomination”

“Ok I see how that might be a problem” he said and they both laughed before she said. 

“I have had offers though”

“I don’t doubt that for a moment” he said “you are a catch”

“You are too kind” Georgiana said and bowed

“So, who is in the running?” Simon asked

“My sister’s new man Michael suggested his brother as an escort”

“Really? I’ve met him” he said brightly “he’s very nice”

“Yes” she agreed, “I like Michael”

“Yes, so do I, but what I meant was that I’d met his brother, Steve” he responded

“How do you know them?” she asked

“They’re regular customers” he replied “and they’re nice guys”

“That’s as maybe, but...” she began but left the sentence unfinished

“But what?” he asked

“I’m a bit old for blind dates” she replied “And I haven’t been on a date of any kind for so many years”

“Is that all that’s holding you back?” Simon asked

“Well partly”

“So, what else is worrying you?”

“Well, I’m not sure I want a stranger knowing where I live” she admitted.

“Ok, if you don’t want him to pick you up at your house you could always go with Clarisse and Michael and meet Steve at the Hotel”

She sat quietly for a few moments drinking her coffee and he judged that she was not altogether convinced by his argument and then a thought occurred to him and he said

“If you’re still not sure there is a very simple solution you know”

“What’s that?” she asked vaguely

“You could go with me instead” he said

She didn’t speak but was considering the merits of his suggestion in silence, so he pressed on

“I’m quite partial to Haggis, I can tolerate bagpipes and I already know where you live”

Again, there was silence until he added

“So, what do you think?”

“I think No, if you’re only asking because you feel sorry for me?” she said

“Of course, not” Simon recoiled

“Really? So, you actually want to take me?” she asked and he began to panic because the truth was that he thought of nothing else but being with her but he had held back because he was unsure of his ground but he was now in a catch 22 situation so he walked around the counter and replied

“Yes, I do”

“Promise?” she asked

“Promise”

“Very well you can pick me up at 7 o’clock” she said and slid effortlessly off the stool and then reached up and kissed his cheek.

And as she left the coffee house she smiled and said to herself

“Well played Georgiana, very well played indeed”

PUZZLED PARTNER

 

You are 13 down

And always 2 across

You are never 1 down

And sadly not 19 across

You are six letters

Starting with a T

You are coffee time

And an acrostic too

As well as cryptic

Let’s try 11 down

Followed by three across

Which is what the canines do

You to be 7 down

I have never known

A dictionary won’t help me

Nor a thesaurus

For like most women

You are an unsolved puzzle

THE “LOVE” WORD

 

Love,

Is just a word

Such a small word

Often misused

A throw away word

Used as a panacea,

To paper over the cracks

Tell someone “I love you”

And everything is expected

To be forgiven

But love

Is too small a word

For what I feel

Far too small

For what I want to express

As the love I feel

Is immeasurable, infinite

In its depth, its quality

It’s all-encompassing nature

It colours everything

All I say, all I do

Yet to express my feelings

All I can say is

“I love you”

It’s just so inadequate,

For what I want to express

My need for you

Of never being parted from you

To be joined forever

In every way

But I don’t have the word

To articulate it

I don’t have the vocabulary

I just have

Love

INSEPARABLE ONCE # 1

 

We were once inseparable
Soul mates incarnate
Held by an eternal bond
As strong as tungsten
Yet soft as pure silk
I thought our union
Would last for ever
Even to the end of eternity
But the bonds that held us
Have disappeared
Like tears in the rain

We had it all, in our grasp

We could see it, feel it, touch it
Something steadfast and solid
Reassuring and comforting
A constant, a given
Something infinite and immeasurable

We had it all in our hands
A living breathing thing
That we gave life
Our own creation, our new entity
But we let it escape from our grasp
Slowly slipping through our fingers
Though we tried to recapture it
It was illusive, like trying to net smoke
It evaded our efforts

So now it's gone, and nothing remains,
Of that entity that was us
Nothing tangible, nothing physical
Only memories remain

Snippets of Downshire Life – Library Shelfie Day

 

The traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre, and illuminations, has all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park, but in addition to those attractions the town obviously benefitted from all the normal amenities, such as the Public Library.

The longest serving member of staff was Chief Librarian, Karen Braiser, who was the very epitome of her kind.

Her dark greying hair was pulled back severely into a bun arrangement, she wore heavy framed spectacles and dressed in black pinafore dress over a long-sleeved blouse, black tights and wore sensible shoes.

She dressed like that all year round, whatever the weather, the only variety being the addition of a black or grey cardigan, in the depths of winter.

Karen was thirty-seven years old and had worked at the library since she left school and she loved it.

She was a private person and didn’t really socialise with the other staff up until the point Brittany Hutt joined the staff.

 

Brittany was a breath of fresh air around the place, she was a University graduate and openly admitted that she had only taken the job at the Sharpington Library until she decided what she wanted to do with her life.

Brittany was the antithesis of Karen, for a start she did not dress in the subdued manner that Karen did, she was an explosion of colours and styles, and her hair seldom stayed the same colour more than a week at a time, nor was she mousy or private she was loud and proud, and you always knew when she was around.

The one thing they did have in common though was their love of the printed word, they were both well-read and shared an encyclopaedic knowledge of books, and so despite the differences of age style and demeanour, they formed a rather unlikely friendship.

 

Another great lover of books was local Taxi Driver, Danny Tomkins, who was a regular visitor even before his niece Brittany started to work there.

From the first moment that her Uncle Danny walked into the Library and said good morning to Karen, and she responded curtly, Britt could read between the lines, they wanted each other.

Despite the fact that she was aloof and standoffish, and he was brash and over familiar, they wanted each other, and Britt knew it, even though they did not.

Karen had not been enamoured of him when he was a complete stranger, but when Britt formerly introduced them she was even less so.

For Danny’s part he found her mode of dress unappealing, her hairstyle old fashioned and she was older, by seven years.  

But when they were discussing a book or an author, they communicated as equals.

 

Brittany didn’t understand why nobody else saw what she did, or why they didn’t see it, what she did know was that she was powerless to change it.

However, after she had watched them do the same dance for months the germ of an idea formed and quickly grew into a fully developed plan, and she didn’t have to wait long to implement it.

 

It was the 4^th Wednesday of January and the day started the same as any other, but it didn’t remain that way for long.

Karen, Brittany, and Danny were all stood by the main desk when Karen asked.

“What on earth is going on today?”

Her question was in response to seeing more than a few of the Libraries patrons walk eagerly into the library, take a selfie, and then leave just as briskly.

“It’s Library Shelfie Day” Britt replied and laughed.

“What on earth is that?” Karen and Danny asked in unison.

“It’s self-explanatory really” Britt replied.

“You visit your local library, take a selfie in front of a bookshelf, i.e. “shelfie” and then you share it on social media”

“Why?” Karen and Danny asked again in synch.

“Well primarily it helps to promote Libraries” she replied, “and the better the selfie the more times it will be shared and the more times its shared then ergo the more visibility “your” Library gets on social media”  

“Oh, I see” Karen said, “I think”.

“Come on let’s do one of our own” Britt suggested.

“You, me and Uncle Danny”

“Oh, I’m not sure about that” she said doubtfully.

“Come on it will put Sharpington Library on the map” Britt said.

“Oh Ok” she agreed “Where?”

“In front of the poetry section” Danny suggested.

“Which ones,” Britt asked “Modernists, Postmodernist, or English Romantics?”

“Edwardian” Karen replied

“And Georgian” Added Danny

“Oh yes” Karen agreed.

“Ok then” Brittany said, “Let’s get into position, I’ll take it and you two can stand behind”.

“No, that’s no good” she said.

“It’s no good just standing there pulling a face” Brittany said.

“I was smiling” Karen protested.

“Or just smiling” she said, “I know, kiss Uncle Danny”.

“Absolutely not” Karen protested.

“That’s not going to happen” Danny concurred.

“You have to kiss, we need to do something that people will do a double take on, you two kissing will definitely do that”.

“Seriously?” she asked.

“Seriously” Britt replied

“Is this alright with you?” she asked Danny.

“Well, as it’s in a good cause, I suppose I’m in” he replied.

“Ok then let’s make this quick Britt” she said, and she turned to face him, and he stooped down to get in shot

“Ok, go” Britt said and the reluctant couple puckered up and they kissed, but as her lips touched his it was evident that it was so much more than a “good cause kiss” and the kiss lasted for a full five minutes and might easily have gone on for another five had the assembled patrons not given then a rousing round of applause which were loud and boisterous enough to bring the kissing couple back to the moment.

“Well, if that’s a reluctant kiss, I’d like to see the one when you’re actually up for it” Brittany said.

“Well, you’re not going to get an opportunity” A red faced Karen said and took Danny by the hand and dragged him down the medieval history aisle.

WHERE AND WHEN AND HOW

 

Where did it go?
That sense of one
The feeling of togetherness
Of mutuality, symbiosis
Thinking each other’s thoughts
A consciousness shared
Breathing in unison
A single beating heart
Speaking in a single voice

 

When did it happen?
At what point?
Did we separate?
When were we torn asunder
Split like an atom
Dissected like conjoined twins
To breath alone
To stop sharing one heart
And speak for ourselves

 

How could it be?
When I looked at her with love
A stranger looked back
Independent and solo
Individual and free
Thinking on a different plain
Breathing different air
Heart pulsing with a different beat
Speaking a foreign tongue