INSEPARABLE ONCE # 2

 

We were once inseparable
Tied with the bonds of love
But when the day came
When bonds become restraints
Love melted into the ether
And the ties that bound
Turned inexorably to dust

BE MY VALENTINE # 5

 

On Valentine’s Day

One pickle said to the other

“Your love means a great dill”

Even skunks celebrate Valentine's Day

Because they're very scent-imental!

THE END

 

I knew this time would come

I knew there would be an end

So don’t try to justify yourself

And no, we can’t still be friends

Snippets of Downshire Life – Girlfriends Forever

 

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 and 30 something Sarah Whitmarsh lived alone in the Jubilee Court Apartments overlooking the promenade.

Although she had no man in her life she had some very good friends, and they did a lot together, but her three closest friends, sisters Rachel and Kay Wilkinson and Penny Van Der Zelden, had all recently found themselves partners, and to her immortal shame she was jealous, but she didn’t tell them that or even let it show, because her girlfriends were very important to her, and she would never do anything to jeopardize that.

One of their regular meeting places was Bizzoni's Ice Cream Parlour located by the entrance of the Pier or in the Pier Pancake Palace, which was opposite, and it was in the former on the 1^st of August when someone caught her eye.

“It can’t be” she suddenly exclaimed “it’s just not possible”

“Why can’t it?” Penny asked

“Why isn’t it possible?” Kay added

“Never mind all that” Rachel retorted “what the hell are you all talking about?”

“I’ve no idea” Penny replied

“Um” Kay said

“Very helpful” Rachel said and turned her attention to Sarah “Well?”

“I just saw Danny Butterfield” she replied vaguely

“But he went to Australia” Penny pointed out

“That’s what I thought” Sarah said

“It can’t have been him” Kay said

“Lookie-likie” Penny exclaimed

“Do what?” Kay asked “Have you got brain freeze or something”

“He must be a lookie-likie, you know a dopple thingy” she explained

“You mean a doppelgänger” Sarah said

“Yes” Penny said and smiled

“Well there’s only one way to find out” Rachel said and stood up

“What are you doing?” Sarah asked

“We’re going to find out if it’s Danny or not” she replied

“Oh, I don’t know about that” Sarah protested

“We’ve got to, he was the love of your life after all” Rachel insisted

“That was a very long time ago” Sarah said

“I know but just the possibility that it was him has made you glow” Rachel said “and that’s just on the outside, I wouldn’t like to speculate what’s going on the inside”

“Stop it” Sarah said and blushed and the other three laughed dirtily

“Oh, ok then” she conceded “You’re not going to shut up until we do”

“Good decision” she said, and they headed towards the door, all except Penny who was still sitting at the table eating her ice cream

“Come on hoover-head” Kay called

“I haven’t finished my Sundae” she retorted and shovelled down the last three spoonful’s before getting up.

 

“Ok, which way did he go?” Rachel asked

“That away” Sarah replied and pointed along the promenade

“What’s he wearing?” Kay enquired

“A blue t-shirt and navy shorts” Sarah said

“Seriously? This is Sharpington at the height of summer everyone is wearing shorts and t-shirts” Rachel said “we need more than that to go on”

“Well he’s 6ft 5” with bright red hair if that helps” she retorted

“Yes, that’s definitely better” Rachel said “right Kay shin up the lamp post and see if you can spot him” 

 

“Well?” Sarah asked after a couple of minutes had passed

“No, nothing yet… hold on though I think that might be our man, yes, yes that’s him” she announced triumphantly and began her descent.

“Are you going to share?” Sarah asked impatiently

“Yes, he’s down by the Crazy Golf” she replied smugly and then Sarah rushed passed her and they were off.

 

Daniel Butterfield was indeed the love of Sarah’s life, the one that got away, the one she let get away, but equally she was his lost love.

They began dating at college and were together all through University but after graduation he was offered a job in Melbourne, it was a great opportunity that he felt he couldn’t pass up, and he was thrilled at the prospect, and he thought she would be too, but he was wrong.

Sarah didn’t want to leave Sharpington, all the people she loved most in the world were there, and she knew no one in Australia.

So, she said she didn’t want to go, she thought that if he loved her as much as she loved him he would stay, while he thought that if she loved him as much as he loved her she would go with him.

But they both miscalculated neither would give ground, and angry words were exchanged which served to entrench them further, up to the point that they stopped talking, and he left Downshire a month later, and she hadn’t seen him since, until he walked past Bizzoni’s.

 

The girls made their way quickly through the crowds of tourists but by the time they got to the Crazy Golf he was nowhere to be seen

“Right Kay shin up the lamp post again and see if you can spot him”

“Oh ok” she sighed and started climbing and thirty seconds later she was back on terra firma and said

“Jubilee Park” 

 

Danny liked Jubilee Park, it held great memories for him and he had thought of it often when he was away, it was one of his favourite places in the whole world and although he had been there for years it hadn’t changed a bit from when he used to go fishing up at the boating lake.

But apart from the fishing, and the boating on the lake, there was a miniature railway, picnic areas and acres of grass and well-maintained gardens, and as a young man it was the place he felt most at peace and where he was often lost in dreams.

He had loved it at Jubilee Park for as long as he could remember, and the Lake was particularly special because it was where his dad taught him how to fish on the well-stocked little lake and as he got closer he could see young boys could still fish it.

Before he left for Australia some tree hugging idiot had decided to introduce Australian Black Swans to the lake and they didn’t mix with the fishermen, so the council tried to ban fishing but, in the end, they relocated the swans after one of them attacked a toddler, so the fishing survived.

 

The girls soon tracked him down and followed at a safe distance.

Sarah wasn’t entirely convinced that it was in fact Daniel Butterfield that they were following and secretly feared that they would feel extremely foolish when they realised they were stalking some random lanky ginger.

But her fears were allayed when he paused by the fountain and scanned his surroundings and she and the others got a proper look at his face.

“That’s him” Kay said

“Without a doubt” Rachel confirmed

“Oh yes” Penny agreed

“It is him” Sarah said quietly

“Well come on then let’s go and say hello” Rachel said

“That’s ok I’ve got it from here” Sarah said “You lot wait here”

 

On that warm sunny August day by Jubilee Lake Daniel made a bee line for his favourite spot on a little peninsula beneath the shade of a familiar old oak tree and he was just gazing across the lake and was enjoying the gentle breeze off the water when a soft voice from behind him said

“Hello”

He turned around to see that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes, short brown hair, 5ft 5 or 6, early thirties, nice figure, wearing a t-shirt, knee length shorts, and flip flops, whom he recognized, though that recognition left him speechless.

“I’m sorry” she said and began to walk away “You clearly don’t remember me”

“That wouldn’t be very flattering” he said “Especially after we shared our first kiss beneath this very tree”

“Ah so you do remember me” she said

“How could I forget Sarah Whitmarsh” Danny said

 

Rachel, Kay and Penny were watching events from a safe distance, but their view was obscured after the arrival of an ice cream van.

“Damn it” Rachels exclaimed

“Get up the tree Kay and have a look”

“Why do I have to do all the climbing?” she protested

“Because you look like a monkey” her sister said unsympathetically, and Penny giggled “So climb”

Once she had clambered to a sufficient height her sister called up

“Can you see anything?”

“Yes, I can see them now” she replied

“And?” Rachel snapped

“Oh my” Kay exclaimed

“Oh my?” Rachel retorted “What does that mean?”

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting that” Kay added

“What? What weren’t you expecting?” Rachel shouted

“Kissing” Kay replied

“What kind of kiss?” her sister asked

“What do you mean what kind of kiss?”

“Well was it an air kiss, a peck on the cheek, both cheeks or on the lips” Rachel explained

“Oh, I see what you mean” Kay acknowledged

“Definitely lips”

“And?” Rachel snapped

“Well I think it would be best described as a pash” she replied

“Wicked” Penny said

“And it’s still going on” Kay called

 

The Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa – Chance Encounter

 

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 which had become very important to the lives of those living in the village community with St Giles’ Church at its hub.

It was busy village with all the usual amenities you would expect, in addition to St Giles’ Church there was a village Hall, and primary school of the same name.

There was also the Trinity Methodists Church, Stephenson’s General store which included an off-license, newsagents and Post Office, and two pubs, Étienne of Normandy and the Saracen, and it was at the Saracen where Jake Price and Kevin Dunn liked to drink.

 

Kevin and Jake had been friends since preschool and when they left school aged 16 they both started work as labourers with Jakes Dad, who was a self-employed builder.

By the time they reached their early twenties they decided to go out on their own and were doing very well for themselves, in a much smaller way than Jakes Dad and did the smaller jobs the bigger builder’s weren’t interested In, along with a lot of hard landscaping.

 

Apart from working together they also spent a lot of their spare time together, and one of their regular haunts was the Saracen, and it wasn’t just the beer and atmosphere that drew them there.

They were also very interested in two of the barmaids, Jane Stone and Jenny Lock, and Jake Price’s partiality was for Jane, but he hadn’t been able to separate her from her best friend Jenny long enough to ask her out. 

Jane and Jenny had also been friends since childhood and were both the youngest daughters of farming families and lived on neighbouring farms.

They also had part time jobs at the pub and the Palace because they were saving up to go on holiday together.

 

When Jake and Kevin walked into the pub, the latter walked up to the bar while the former paid a visit to the gents.

When he was on his way back to the bar he was surprised and delighted to find Jane Stone was walking towards him, and he thought he would take full advantage of the situation.

“Hi Jane” he said

“Hello” she replied “Jenny’s behind the bar”

“I know I saw her” he said “it was you I wanted to talk to”

“Me?” she said incredulously

“Yes you” he replied

“Why?” she asked

“Why do you think?” he said

“Oh I understand” she said with a sigh “you want her phone number I suppose”

“No” Jake replied with surprise “Why would I want her number?”

“Everybody always wants her number” she replied “Which is a waste really as she never wants to go out with any of them, she’s only ever had eyes for Kevin”

“Really?”

“Yes”

“Well no I do not want her number” he said

“Now I’m confused” Jane said “Do you want to ask her out or not?”

“No! I wanted to ask you out” he explained

“Me?” she said incredulously

“Yes you” he replied

“I’ve been wanting to ask you out for ages but you’re always working or you’re with Jenny and I never get a look in”

“Seriously?” she asked 

“Yes” he replied “So?”

“So what?”

“Will you go out with me?” Jake asked

“Yes” she said and grinned like a Cheshire cat “Definitely yes”

“Good” he said “now can I kiss you?”

“Yes please” she replied

 

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 forever

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

BE MY VALENTINE # 6

On Valentine’s Day

The valentine card said to the stamp

Stick with me and we'll go places!

While the farmer gave his wife

Hogs and kisses!

And the caveman gave his wife

Ughs and kisses!

And the Persian gave his wife

Rugs and kisses!