FOUR SEASONS

 

First love gave me springtime

And invigorated my life

It was summer in my heart

When you became my wife

Then in our autumn years

You were taken from my side

Now with my bitter loneliness

It’s in the winter that I reside

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (89) Afternoon Delight

 

It was in the late 1980’s when Neil Tipper, a Uniform Police Constable in Finchbottom, was on holiday with a group of fellow officers.

They were staying in an apartment on the Island of Andros in the Cyclades chain.

It was a quiet island due to the fact it was a two hour ferry ride from the mainland but Neil thought it was worth it.

The lads had been there for two days when quite by chance they met up with some familiar faces.

A group of girls from the Vale and among them was Debbie Parsley a girl he had known at school in fact she was his first crush.

There had always been something smouldering between them, although they had never been out together, they had come close once or twice but it never quite happened for them.

But there they both were on the same island at the same time and with no attachments and it was apparent straight from the start that there was still a spark.

An ember which glowed beneath the Greek skies and burst alight with a kiss on the sands of Agia Marina beach one bright warm day which led inevitably to burning passion in his apartment where the made love for the first time.

 

Neil stood in the bathroom doorway and watched her stir as the afternoon sunlight painted patterns on her naked contours as it shone through the billowing curtains.
Her hair, still damp from their passionate exertions, clung to her face and neck and beads of sweat sparkled on her luscious skin.
She lay on her side, knees drawn up to her belly, showing off the wonderful sweep from her narrow waist to a curvaceous hip and then onto the perfect roundness of her sumptuous buttocks.
Debbie rolled on to her back as she stirred again and the magnificence of her was there before him with patterns of light and dark dancing over her gorgeous form.
Her nipples aroused as the soft breeze wafted over her and Debbie’s eyes opened and she smiled broadly when she saw Neil watching her.
She sat up and brushed the hair from her face then moved onto her knees and stretched, leaning back until her hands touched the bed behind her, supporting herself on clenched fists and throwing her head right back putting on a display until her black hair tumbled down her back.
His eyes slowly scanned the beauty of her form the cascading black hair, down the cords and sinews of her neck to the fine structure of her shoulders.
He then scanned slowly down, consuming every inch of her naked torso, her firm breasts, the softness of her flat belly and her curved hips and round buttocks before reaching her long taught thighs.

Neil left the doorway and picked his way through the discarded clothing on the floor to reach the bed where she now sat on her haunches looking at him with a radiant smile illuminating her face with eyes that said “again please”

 

 

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (88) The First Adventure

 

Gary Smith and Carla Lund, were staying on a camp site in the Finchbottom Vale that was once a working railway station before it fell afoul of Dr Beeching and his cuts, in a place called Sharpinghead.

The two of them were staying in a converted signal box which was comfortable enough but because of the limited floor space it had bunk beds which didn’t go down well at all with Carla, she wanted a double bed and plenty of comfort and more than a little loving.

“What the hell are they?” she said when she saw the bunks

“A challenge” Gary replied flippantly but she was not impressed

“We’re not 13” she said,

It was not an insurmountable problem as far as he was concerned but she just wasn’t the adventurous type.

Although Gary could remember the time when she was, a time when she enjoyed a kiss and a cuddle in the woods back in the days when they were courting but she seemed to have forgotten just how much.

The bunk beds were bad enough but Carla really lost it when she realised there was also no toilet or bathroom en suite and the nearest facilities were 60 yards away.

She stormed out and left Gary to unpack and she was gone for hours, in fact Gary was already asleep in the bottom bunk when she got back.    

The next morning just after first light he had to get up to the toilet, he wasn’t going to bother dressing but trotted the 60 yards to the toilet in his pants.

When he returned to the signal box he quietly closed the door and was just tiptoeing across the room when he spied, highlighted in the early morning light, Carla’s naked buttocks protruding from beneath her duvet and written on a post it note, stuck to one buttock was one single word “Sorry”.

And that was when he woke her in the dawn light and the adventure returned to their marriage.

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (87) Yacht Club Rules

It was a beautiful summer day when Commander James Pendlebury drove towards the Sharpington Head Yacht Club.

He was on his way to buy a ticket for the Midsummer Ball which marked the end of the Regatta.

He parked the car in the member carpark and walked inside the Yacht Club and went directly to the office of Ivana Tombs.

Ivana was a very stern looking young woman with short brown hair who managed the commercial side of the club.

She never smiled and always peered superciliously over her specs at everyone, not a joyful looking person by any means.

He knocked on the door and was met with a surly monosyllabic response.

“Come” it uttered

So he went,

“Good morning Miss Tombs and how are you today?”

“What do you want Commander?” she snapped

“I’m very busy”

Trying to maintain his good mood he persevered.

“A ticket for the big bash please Miss Tombs”

“Do you by any chance mean the Sharpington Head Yacht Club Midsummer Ball?” she asked

“Yes that’s the one” he replied

“Just the one ticket?” she replied, “Not bringing a guest?”

“No just me” he replied “I figured I’ll just get lucky on the night”

“£90” she said getting up from her desk and preparing to walk over to the filling cabinet.

James made no effort to get out of the way and indeed narrowed the gap so she had to squeeze past him and rub her pert little bottom against him.

When she had got through the gap he followed very close behind her and positioned himself so that he could firstly stare down her gaping blouse at her beautiful lace cupped tits and then be in situ as she opened the draw and stepped backwards thus placing herself in his arms.

His position was perfect and she reversed right against him

“For goodness sake Commander Pendlebury” she barked

“I’m terribly sorry Miss Tombs, truly I am”

“£90” she snapped

He took out his wallet and paid her in cash, she took the money and along with the ticket she gave him a look that said

“Why are you still here? I have more important things to be doing”

“Good bye Miss Tombs and thank you” he said insincerely “Sorry again for my clumsiness”

But before he got to the door Miss Tombs got there first

“Just a word before you go Commander” she said quietly and started poking a bony finger in his chest

“If you do get lucky at the Ball on Saturday night and it’s not with me I’ll cut your rigging so you’ll only be able to take part in the ladies races next year”

Then she quickly glanced over her shoulder before she kissed him. 

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (86) Being Patient

Charlie Wise was 30 years old and had lived in Clarence all his life, and although he lived alone it wasn’t altogether out of choice.

There were more than a few eligible females in the village that he could have had his pick of, and he had even tried a few of the on for size but none of them suited. 

But things changed for the most eligible bachelor in the village when Maxine Prendergast moved in next door with her Aunt Vikki.  

 

The lady of the house, Vikki, was a very attractive woman and was still in possession of a very fine figure despite being the wrong side of 50, and she lived with her much younger girlfriend Lindsay and when Maxine’s marriage came to an end and she needed somewhere to escape to, Aunt Vikki and Lindsay welcomed her with open arms.

 

Charlie was taken with Maxi from the first moment he saw her but Vikki cautioned him to be patient and not press his suit too earnestly.

So he took her advice and bided his time, which he did until one sunny Sunday afternoon six months after Maxi arrived in Clarence.

 

He left his house just after lunch and the first people he saw were Vikki, Lindsay and Maxie who were all laughing and joking as they pottered around in Vikki’s front garden.

It had only been six months since Maxi had moved in and they were still getting on famously.

The way they behaved around each other it looked like they’d known each other forever and it certainly didn’t look like there was over 25 years between Auntie and niece.

“Hello girls” he called as he gave them a wave.

“Hello” they chorused in unison as they all waved back.

“Are you coming in for tea?” called Vikki

“On the way back” Mike suggested “I’m just popping to the shop”

“Ok” she replied cheerily

 

He bumped into friends outside the shop so it was an hour later by the time he returned to Vikki’s house there was no sign of the girls.

The gardening tools and the wheelbarrow were still in the front garden and the front door was open so he knew that they were still about somewhere, on the patio drinking tea was his guess.

 

Charlie decided to go in and was just about to announce himself to the occupant’s when he heard light hearted vocal discourse coming from the conservatory.

The lady of the house, Vikki, and her girlfriend Lindsay were sitting on a rattan sofa laughing and giggling.

However as delightful as the affectionate scene was it didn’t hold his attention for long because there was someone else present albeit on the periphery.

Maxie was standing in the kitchen with her forehead resting on the glass partition as she watched the happy scene, with a wistful look on her face and Charlie walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder and made her jump.

Although it took her by surprise it didn’t divert her attention for long and after a moment he whispered

“They’re very happy together”

“I want that” Maxie said

“You want what?”

“Oh no I’m not gay” she replied quietly “but I want to be happy like they are”

“So do I” he said and she turned to look at him and Charlie leant in and kissed her

“It took you long enough” Maxie said “I’ve been waiting six months for that”

“I was being patient” he explained

“Thank God it finally was out” Maxie said and kissed him 

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (85) The Rebellious Miss Illingworth

 

At the western end of the Finchbottom Vale lay the small market town of Childean and on the outskirts was the Dancingdean Spa Hotel.

The manager was Ian Ferguson and he was 28 years old and his father was owned a substantial share in the Hotel which influenced the decision to appoint him.

However it may have been nepotism that got him the job but it was his hard work and diligence that kept him in place and his choice of old school friend Declan Hughes as his assistant certainly didn’t hurt. 

Declan was also a single man when he joined the staff and it wasn’t until Ian was in a relationship with a regular guest that he followed suit.

 

The Illingworth’s were from Northumberland and stayed at the Dancingdean Spa Hotel for three weeks every July and had done since they were married. 

Jack Illingworth was in fish and had a string of fish processing plants, his wife Mary was a big wheel in the Women’s Institute and their 25 year old daughter Elmarie was desperately unhappy. 

Some of her unhappiness stemmed from low self-esteem because of her body shape, she wasn’t fat but she was what parents often refer to as big boned.

But mainly she was unhappy because of her domineering parents, they told her what to do, what to say, what to think, where to go, her mother bought her clothes, he father vetted which books she read and what music she listened to, she was to all intents and purposes their prisoner.

But she had begun to rebel although very subtly, in fact so subtly that they didn’t even notice she was doing it.

 

And one day Elmarie pretended to sprain her ankle so she didn’t have to go out with them on their boring outings and it worked.

So understandably she was feeling rather pleased with herself, it was a small victory in the scheme of things, but it was a victory nonetheless.

In fact she was so pleased with her subterfuge that she set about doing all the things her parents wouldn’t let her do starting with the hotel bar.

 

It had been a very quiet afternoon, and although the manager, Ian Fergusson, was on a day off, he had everything set up and running like clockwork.

All Declan had to do was man reception for a couple of hours, but as there were no new arrivals expected until the evening he just sat in the small office at the back of reception and put his feet up and waited for the bell to ring.

Which it inevitably did, and it woke Declan from a long afternoon snooze where he was dreaming about the curvy Miss Illingworth and he surfaced from that lovely dreamland when he heard the “ding”.

The bell rang several more times as he made his way to the desk and when he reached it he found a rather tipsy Elmarie Illingworth leaning against the front desk with her rather generous chest sitting on the counter top.

 

“Can I help?” Declan asked her, although the direction of his gaze one could have supposed he was addressing her breasts.

“I’m locked out” she slurred “I lost my key somewhere in the bar”

“Did I mention I was in the bar?” she added

“No”

“It’s a very nice bar” she continued “have you been?”

“Yes I have”

“It’s very big you know, and they have lots of drinks” she said as if she was imparting some radical new information.

Declan tapped into the computer and looked at her bar tab and was heartily impressed at the amount she had put away in one short session.

“Well I’ll tell you what we’ll do, we will sit over there and have some coffee, while I get someone to look for your key” He suggested

“I’m not allowed coffee” she said “so yes, that would be lovely”

And she tottered to the nearest sofa and sat down.

 

 

Declan then rang through to the bar and ordered coffee and asked them to look for Miss Illingworth’s room key.

The coffee and the room key arrived in short order and he sat and chatted with her while she drank.

He had noticed many times before then that she was a pretty girl, with blue eyes and a lovely smile, not that he had seen her smile before, she normally looked a bit sulky.

She also had a curvy figure and great legs, which he had noted before, and she was his ideal which is why he had been dreaming about her all afternoon.  

He had always found larger women attractive and he made no apology for that, you like what you like, and she had a pretty face and was the perfect age.

And as they sat together he found she was really funny as well.

 

A couple of cups of coffee later and Elmarie had sobered considerably

“Ok let’s get you up to your room?” he suggested

“Oh yes please” she said and giggled

“Behave, they’ll be none of that” he scolded

“Shame” she said brazenly

 

Although it was a slow process he got her upstairs and safely into her room.

“Well thank you” she said and leant in to kiss his cheek but at the last second she kissed him on the mouth and the Nano second their lips touched Elmarie thrust her tongue into his mouth in a wet sloppy fashion, which took him completely by surprise.

 

As enjoyable as it was, and as much as he had looked forward to kissing her, he didn’t want it to be just a drunken fumble that would be regretted the next morning so he broke away. 

“No don’t stop” she said and tried to reengage her lips

“I don’t want to stop” he said

“Good”

“But we must” he said

“But why?”

“Because I don’t want it to be something you’ll regret later” he explained

“I won’t though” Elmarie said  

“I don’t want to take that chance” Declan said

“So that’s that then” she said grumpily and sat down heavily on the bed

“As you say “That’s that”” he confirmed “which is why you are going to have a sprained ankle again tomorrow, and as it’s my day off tomorrow we can spend the day together”

“Really?” she asked and stood up

“Only if you want to”

“Will there be kissing?” Elmarie asked as she walked towards him

“I hope so” Declan said

“Me too” She said and hugged him

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (84) You’re a Philistine

 

Downshire Constabulary Detective Constable’s Simon Guiver and Nicola Ellenden worked for the Northchapel CID and had worked together on many occasions in the past and they got on well.

They were on the face of it chalk and cheese, he was from an upper middle class background, who was a fast tracked graduate copper, while she was a council estate comprehensive girl who started as a Community Support Officer before joining the constabulary and had worked her way up to Detective.  

Despite their differences however they complimented each other, he with his classical education and analytical mind and her with her razor sharp instincts and hard graft.

The only bone of contention between them was the driving, they both hated to drive with a vengeance, this was a very unusual in their profession, as it was the norm for partners to fight over who gets the keys and not to fight to make sure the other one did.

They had tried a number of ways in the past to determine who got lumbered with the driving such as, Rock Paper Scissors, Arm wrestling or tossing a coin but none of the options really worked as they both had a propensity to cheat. 

So they decided the fairest way was one of them should drive there and the other would drive on the return journey.

On the day the life changing day in question Simon Guiver was driving and there was only one thing he hated more than driving and that was driving in the rain.

And that morning in April and it was raining, but not April showers, no it was raining hard and had been for hours.

At least their destination, Pomery’s Perfume’s was in Northchapel only about three miles from the station.

Pomery’s, was an old family business established in 1879 by Jules Sebastian Pomery and was currently run by his Great-Great Grandson Claude.

They had moved to their present location in Northchapel in 1928.

The two DC’s presented their warrant cards to the Olympic security guard and were waved through the main gate and directed to the reception.

The broad white building was a prime example of the art deco style with its angles, curves and symmetry. 

DC Guiver got out of the car and paused for a moment, despite the rain, in appreciation of the stylish building.

“What a fabulous building” Said Simon.

“Yes it’s very…. white.” Said DC Ellenden running towards the building.

“Is that all you can find to say about this magnificent structure?”

Said a stunned Simon

“This wonderful example of Art Deco architecture?”

She stopped running, then took a moment to study the façade then said.

“Yes, I stand by my original statement, it’s definitely white, oh and it’s got some green bits”

“You’re a philistine Nicki” Guiver said running after her.

He caught up with her by the entrance and they were laughing as they walked into reception together.

 

They were directed to the first floor by the reception and were greeted by a middle aged balding man in a smart suit.

“Good morning” He said offering his hand. “Paul Cork, assistant manager.”

“Good morning sir, I’m DC Guiver” Simon said shaking the offered hand.

“And this is DC Ellenden” He said gesturing toward Nicki.

“Sir.” She said also shaking hands.

“Would you like to see the scene of the crime now?” He said relishing the change of routine.

“Afterwards I will take you through to the conference room Mr. Brownlow would like to meet you before you leave”

 

After they had been shown the suspected point of entry and Mr. Cork had given them a tour of the offices, which were in good order save for the power leads and data cables trailing to and from non-existent PC’s, Printers, and Scanners etc, they were shown into the conference to meet the managing director.

 

Half an hour later they were shown out of the board room and stepped into the private lift.

“I suppose this is wasted on you” Simon said “you being a philistine”

“What do you mean, the original 1920’s Art Deco Otis Elevator, lovingly restored for posterity” she retorted as they rode it from the top floor to the lobby. “Not bad for a philistine hey”

“You fraud” he said and backed her into a corner “you like it”

“It’s functional” she said

“And you liked the “white” building” he suggested

“It just happens to be my favourite building in Downshire” she said cockily

“You are amazing” he said and then kissed her

     

Nicola and Simon didn’t say a word on the short walk back to the car.

But when she walked to the passenger side he broke the silence.

“Oy dolly daydream” He shouted. “You’re driving remember.”

Nicola jumped. “Sorry Simon I was miles away.”

“I know where you were and who you were with.”

He retorted and she flushed red.

“I was with you” she replied and smiled