Life’s Tapestry of Love

Tuesday, 12 July 2022

Downshire Diary – (59) Heatherlands – Doctor in Clover

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 our story begins slightly further south equidistant between Nettlefield and the Oxley’s, in the beautiful village of Heathervale.

When Chris Palmer moved to Nettlefield from Purplemere following a very acrimonious divorce he had sworn off women for good.

But he was a relatively good looking man who was fast approaching his 40th birthday, with a good physique and short sandy hair, greying at the temples and was possessed of piercing blue eyes, so he didn’t go unnoticed.

His reason for moving to Nettlefield in particular, over all the other places he might have chosen either in Downshire or beyond, was the Heatherlands District Health Centre.

It was a large practise that serviced a large area, covering Nettlefield itself, Oxley Green, Heathervale, Oxley Ridge and Tipton and Chris had been fortunate enough to land the job as practice manager and he also found himself a nice little flat in Nettlefield.

The senior partner, and Chris’s boss, at the Health Centre was Dr Clarisse Lowe, a tall statuesque woman who dressed in tweed, with Chestnut hair, a voluptuous figure, lovely long legs and a generous frontage, who was in her mid-forties and was just the kind of woman Chris would have fallen for in his previous life.

Clarisse had been married to Edward Lowe, who had been an eminent surgeon in Downshire, he had also been twenty years older when he married her and he had two children from his first marriage, Josie being the oldest.

The marriage was a happy one but only lasted five years because Edward died suddenly on the Tipton Twelve Trees Golf course after suffering a heart attack.

She had been a widow for 10 years when Chris arrived in her life, her widowhood had left her lonely but also afraid of risking her heart on someone who might end that loneliness

But apart from the fact that she had vowed not to risk her broken heart again she also had instigated a policy at the practise forbidding fraternisation between members of staff, so even if she were so inclined toward Chris she wouldn’t be disposed to go against her own edict.

But the heart wants what the heart wants which was why two people who despite their reluctance to expose themselves to love again and who were very definitely not looking for a relationship, let alone love, found it anyway.

As a bi-product of the loving relationship she began with Chris, Clarisse scrapped the “No Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical gloves were off in regard to work place relationships which was just what the doctor ordered for a lot of the staff, but for doctors

Tony Dark and Denise Guilford it made no difference at all because they had been romantically involved for two years.

The scrapping of the relationship ban should have given them the green light to come out of the closet but the simple truth was that they rather liked the closet, they enjoyed the sneaking around.

When they were around other people at the health centre they were cold and aloof, but in private they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, so whenever an opportunity to enjoy some intimacy presented itself they grabbed it with both hands.

And from the first moment when Denise made the decision to seduce Tony it opened up a whole new world of sensual pleasure, dirty, lustful, naked pleasure.

They both loved the excitement of sneaking around and it made them very aroused and they had to indulge themselves wherever they could.

Sometimes they did it in his house, occasionally in hers, at times they met at hotels and from time to time they did it at the surgery and even on occasion in her car, but never in his as it was far too small.

One evening they found themselves alone at the Health Centre and decided to indulge in a “private consultation” in his office,

The normal plots and plans made it all the more exciting, but that excitement didn’t diminish when an unexpected opportunity presented itself.

As all the other staff appeared to have left for the day they went into his office and closed the door and she immediately walked over to him and kissed him.

“This is a nice surprise” he said

“Yes but we don’t know how much time we have” she replied “So less talk and more action”

After the event Tony was sitting at his desk, naked from the waist down, and was watching Denise redressing herself by the door and she was just buttoning her blouse when the door opened and Nurse Josie Minter appeared and asked

“Hi Tony, have you seen Dr Guilford?”

“Not since this afternoon” he lied “Was it something important?”

“No nothing that won’t keep until tomorrow” she said “but if you see her can you tell her I had to go on a home visit at Mrs Cooper’s”

“Sure thing” he said “See you tomorrow”

And then the door closed and Denise began unbuttoning her blouse again.

Downshire Diary – (58) Their First Holiday

Neil Etherington was an average man approaching his thirtieth birthday not that he was a bad looking man, he wasn’t, but he wasn’t stunning, sexy or buff, he was strictly middling but his girlfriend

Samantha Barraclough was anything but, she was an absolute beauty three years younger, elegant, daintily petite, intelligent, funny, sexy and with a perfectly beautiful angelic voice, pure Carrington Chase educated perfection, Carrington Chase being Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought it was the other way around, and it was a voice that made Charlotte Green sound common.

He pinched himself at the start of everyday, especially the ones on which he woke up beside her, just to check he wasn’t dreaming.

Because the good fortune that brought Samantha into his life was the type of thing that didn’t happen to him, and everyone who witnessed them together unanimously agreed that he was punching well above his weight.

They first encountered each other at a business meeting at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, where she was a potential new client and he was trying to win a new account, but the meeting was unresolved as it was love at first sight.

Neil worked for a firm of architects called New Horizons whose head office was in Sharpington by Sea while Samantha Barraclough was approaching her 28th birthday and was a project consultant for the family business, Barraclough Ventures and the project that Samantha’s company was heading up was the regeneration of the former Industrial Power House of the county, Northchapel.

The love that bloomed between Samantha Barraclough and Neil Etherington in Abbottsford in June went from strength to strength

However things had not been all plain sailing since they had met, though not between the two of them they were completely simpatico.

The problems stemmed from a different quarter entirely and from those who should have been the most delighted for them, their close friends and family.

Neil and Samantha were the victims of snobbery, inverted and otherwise.

Her family thought she had set her sights to low while his nearest and dearest believed he had set his too high.

Her friends thought he was common while his thought she was a snob.

Only their closest friends Jonathon Hardman and Isabelle Decoene stuck by them.

So as a result they had found it difficult to fit inside each other’s worlds, but the couple believed that love will out and Samantha drew a line under the difficulties when she said

“If you can’t live in my world and I can’t live in yours we shall just have to make a world of our own”

If he hadn’t been in love with her already he certainly would have been after that speech

As part of “making a world of their own” and to increase the time they got to spend with each other they decided to plan a holiday together.

Obviously there were certain stipulations, it had to be for at least two weeks, they had to go somewhere they were unlikely to run into any of their friends and ideally it had to be somewhere or something they had never been or done before and Neil left it to Sam to make the arrangements because he knew she would come up trumps.

Samantha gave him no indication of what she had planned, where they were going or what they were doing but Neil didn’t mind in the slightest as long as he was with her.

It was a pleasant morning as Neil Etherington stood waiting outside his Brocklington cottage for Samantha to arrive and he looked at the sky and hoped it would stay fine.

It was warmer than it had been over the previous week, with the skies a mainly blue expanse, broken only by the occasional passing cloud of fluffy white.

And it was when he was surveying the sky that she appeared in typical Samantha style on time to the minute and was looking as lovely as the weather, and she was immaculately turned out as usual.

She was wearing a large peaked white cap with her blonde hair scraped into a ponytail sticking out the back.

The rest of her outfit was all matching, predominately white with jade trim, Polo shirt, short flared skirt and ankle socks.

Her ensemble was then finished off with white pumps.

“Neil darling” she said as she launched herself at him for a kiss.

“I’m a bit excited”

“Good I like it when you’re excited” he said and she gave him a look

“You look really gorgeous”

“I look gorgeous do I?” she said and kissed him

“God yes” he replied

“That’s just goes to show what wonderful taste you have” She said smugly

Samantha opened the boot so he could throw his bag in and as she rearranged the boot to accommodate it he got a lingering look at the girl he loved so much and as she was bent over he gave her a playful slap.

“You can stop that Neil” she chastised “you can spank me when we get there”

“Well the sooner we get going then the better” he retorted

“Get in the car then” she snapped

“So you want to be punished then” he said

“Just get in the car,” she ordered and smiled, so he did what she said and got in the car and buckled up tight as he knew it was going to be a white-knuckle ride.

Samantha raced out of the side road and headed off away from the village and they sped off across the Vale.

He had no idea where they were headed and every time he thought he knew, she sped past the turning.

It was when they were on the main Abbottsford road when he had convinced himself that that was their destination when Samantha indicated left and turned off into the country where she race along narrow lanes that he was unfamiliar with and they drove for about 45 nerve-jangling minutes until she suddenly turned off into a little car park by the canal and came sharply to a halt.

“We have arrived,” she said

“Where are we?” he asked genuinely not knowing where the hell they were.

Where they were precisely was in a carpark beside The Downshire Navigation, part of the canal network which ran between Nettlefield in the north, down through Millmoor and the Oakhams to Northchapel, Abbeyvale and then to its most southerly point, Abbottsford, where it again headed north, this time to Childean, Purplemere and Finchbottom where it joined the River Finch.

“Come on” she instructed and got out the car and opened the boot.

“But where are we?” he asked again

“Shut up and grab the bags” she retorted, and again he did as he was told but they only went about 20 yards along the canal bank before she climbed aboard a narrow boat.

“Hey what are you doing?” he said with alarm and looking around to see if anyone was looking.

“Don’t panic” Samantha said mockingly as she picked up a plant pot and recovered a key that was hidden underneath it.

“This is our boat, come on” she said brandishing the key like a trophy.

“Oh, ok” he said and climbed aboard.

By the time he’d climbed down the companionway with the bags and closed the hatch behind him Samantha was already unpacking the bags that she carried aboard.

“I think I should say right from the outset, as this is our first holiday together, that on this trip I am the captain so don’t get any ideas” she said and laughed

“So what am I then, your first mate?” He asked

“No you’re the cabin boy” she replied and completely disitergrated into laughter at her clever joke

“Well I have just one thing to say to you” he said

“Whats that?” she asked between giggles

“Mutiny” he said and propelled her along the cabin to the sleeping compartment with her giggling all the way.

The barge was moored on a stretch of cut between Abbottsford and Applesford, the latter being a quaint country village, which would at a later date have great significance in their lives.

And for the next week they poodled along the canal enjoying eachother and the stunning downshire scenery, by which time they had reached the Northeast corner of the Finchbottom Vale where they turned around and headed back the way they came.

On the journey back to Applesford Samantha said

“I’ve really enjoyed our holiday”

“Me too”

“I’ve enjoyed being with you all the time” Sam said

“It’s been great hasn’t it?” he agreed

“I wish we could be together all the time” she mused

“You as well?” He asked

“You mean that’s what you want?” She queried and he nodded

“So you want us to live together?”

“I do” he said

“In Tipton or in Brocklington?” she asked

Her house was up in Tipton, although she was rarely in it as she spent more time living in hotels than she did her house so it had never felt like home to her, but she thought it might if she had someone to share it with but Neil had a nice cottage in Brocklington and that would also be lovely so when he replied.

“Neither”

To her question, she was taken aback.

“Neither?” she asked

“I think we should buy somewhere new, a blank canvas, somewhere that will be ours and not yours or mine” he replied and a she exclaimed

“That’s perfect, that’s brilliant, why didn’t I think of that” she said and she hugged him tightly and said

“You’re perfect and I really love you”

Downshire Diary – (57) The Distraught Muse

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 our story begins in the East, or more precisely, 20 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between Finchbottom and Pepperstock Green, in the sprawling village of Denmead.

Owen Carrington’s Uncle Glyn died on New Year’s Day and left him his Cottage and a small cash sum, more than enough to keep him going for a few more years.

He left it to him because he felt they were kindred spirits, he wanted to be a writer himself but his father made him get a proper job, Owen really liked him and he was a great story teller, and it was his Uncles colourful tales that helped him when he was writing his novels.

His death came as a great shock as it was sudden though not unsurprising given his life health.

So that was how he found himself living in a lovely Victorian Cottage in the quaint Downshire Village of Denmead.

It was a very tranquil place though not without its distractions.

From his study he could look out through the open French windows and across the expanse of lawn to a stand of ancient woodland, there was no fence to separate garden and wood the two just merged.

And on the other side of the wood was the hub of the village, the Green Oak, everyone seemed to go there at some point, either for a drink, the restaurant or the coffee suite.

Owen’s star was definitely in the ascendency after the success of his first Romantic novel “The Maiden Muse” but the change in the fortunes of his writing career were not universally well received, his publisher liked it, his new agent loved it, the bank manager was ecstatic about it but his mother was disappointed by it because she thought it was a bit girlie.

But it wasn’t just his writing career that was climbing high, so was his love life thanks to his muse and lover, Juliana Molesworth, who had brought his writers block to an end, and since she had become his muse he had become a writer of bodice ripping romances which had proved to be an occupation which suited him very well indeed.

And it suited him in many ways, but the main benefit was that he was able to work at home, so he had no tedious commute every day and his working day was flexible to the point that some days he didn’t write at all.

This afforded him the opportunity of playing a round of Golf during the working week when most people had their noses to the grindstone or even taking a day out to go fishing.

But all the normally enjoyable pastimes that would ordinarily keep him entertained didn’t distract him for the time Juliana was away at University, but he poured all his love and longing into his second novel instead.

However as much as the time may have dragged, the time of his lonely exile did come to an end.

Juliana she returned from Abbottsford on Friday night with her parents as Owen was in Nettlefield at his publishers.

He spent Friday night in the Prince Royal Hotel hoping to relax and catch his breath, after all the frenetic activity of the day not to mention a long boozy lunch and the associated meetings and he was completely knackered and he was understandably looking forward to a good night’s sleep before Juliana’s return from University.

However there is a well-known saying about “the best laid plans”.

Things began to go wrong at about 2 am when the people in the room next door got drunk and started to trash the place.

Then after the night manager had dealt with the disturbance he just drifted off to sleep when a crack of thunder almost blew him out of bed and then the storm rumbled round for hours after that, making sleep nearly impossible, he would just doze off and then Boom, then things would calm down again and then Boom.

He gave up eventually because after the 9th or 10th time the fire alarm went off so he went downstairs and checked out and set off on the drive to Denmead.

When he got back to the village and went to his bed but he’d not been asleep more than an hour when he was woken from his slumber, not this time by drunks, thunder claps or fire alarms but by the persistent ringing of his mobile phone.

He reached a hand out from beneath the duvet and grabbed the phone

“Hello” he said sleepily and he was snapped awake by the sound of unrestrained tears coming from a distraught Juliana.

Once he had calmed her down sufficiently that she could speak and having determined no one had died he quickly washed and dressed and went out into the rainy morning and trudged the relatively short distance to her house.

She was still in tears when he arrived; though much calmer.

Her parents were both out at Stephenson’s Supermarket where they worked so she had to unload it all on him.

It took him about half an hour of soothing words to get her to the point where she could tell him what was wrong without bursting into tears again.

Ruth was returning to the University at Roehampton at the weekend in time for her final year although her first lecture was still two weeks away.

Juliana had worked her socks off all summer at the Green Oak pub in order to earn enough to enable her not to need to get another job in Abbottsford.

She already had a little job in the University Library, which although it didn’t pay well it fitted in perfectly with her studies, but she didn’t want to have to take another job as well.

She had calculated that with all the shifts she had done, on top of her future earnings from the library added to the meagre savings she had left from the previous year, she had sufficient to meet her needs and leave her enough to treat herself to a new laptop, her old one being on its last legs.

But when she had gone to the pub first thing that morning to pick up her wages she found that she had been under paid by the sum of £300.

Juliana had worked her socks off all summer at the Green Oak pub in order to earn enough to enable her not to need to get another job in Abbottsford.

She already had a little job in the University Library, which although it didn’t pay well it fitted in perfectly with her studies, but she didn’t want to have to take another job as well.

But when she had gone to the pub first thing that morning to pick up her wages she found that she had been under paid by the sum of £300.

Furthermore, even though it was the landlord’s mistake, he and his wife were on holiday and the manager was unable to make reparation until they returned.

All of this meant that after all the other out goings she wasn’t going to have enough to fund her new laptop until she was home next.

She really wanted that particular laptop but she said that she would just have to get something cheaper and gave a weak smile.

Owen managed to persuade her not to settle for less than she really wanted and just soldier on with what she had for a couple more months and as every cloud had a silver lining by the time she was ready to buy it would be at an even better price.

Juliana punched him for his sunny optimism but seemed happier with life.

He then offered to go into town with her and keep her company while she did her other shopping.

She gave him a hug and a kiss and said

“No that’s ok, I’m meeting mum for lunch”

When he left her at the door she was altogether happier, he on the other hand was less so.

In the meantime he walked briskly, through the now pouring rain, to the cottage and got in the car and drove into Finchbottom, he knew he could get there and back before Juliana returned to the village.

The reason for his sojourn was to purchase her a new laptop, printer and accessories so she would have them to take with her when she returned to University after the weekend.

Her parents would have done the same thing if they could have afforded it, but they couldn’t, they were nice hard working people and had no great wealth but considered themselves rich beyond measure because of what they did have.

The last thing he wanted to do was to step on their toes and steal their limelight so he planned that they would present it as a joint gift.

They were all going out for a meal that evening at the Leathern Bottle in Finchbottom but they were meeting first at the Molesworth’s so they could present it to her before they left for the restaurant.

He drove back to the village, and when he got indoors he called her dad Greg, he span him a line about getting it at a knock down price through a friend who used his staff discount.

Owen thought he wanted to believe him more than actually believing him but he was pleased his daughter was getting her laptop.

He repeatedly insisted on paying something towards it and Owen repeatedly declined his offer and in the end they compromised.

He would let Owen pay for the gift if he let him and Lavinia take Juliana back to University on Monday morning and they verbally shook on the deal.

He knew Juliana wouldn’t mind as they had already discussed the possibility.

Her parents struggled at times to reconcile themselves with the changing nature of their relationship, Greg in particular was feeling more than a little redundant.

It was undoubtedly the way of the world but it was hard for a father to take in and Juliana and he had no intention of exacerbating the situation.

That evening he drove through the rain with the gifts in black sacks to keep them dry, and he arrived at the Molesworth household at the allotted time and was met by Greg who was standing by the open garage door.

This allowed them to smuggle Juliana’s gift into the house unseen through the internal door.

Lavinia was in the kitchen and indicated the coast was clear so he stepped in and placed the packages onto the counter.

As soon as his hands were free Lavinia kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you Owen” she said, filling up, although he wasn’t sure what exactly she was thanking him for.

Was it for buying the laptop or letting them take Juliana to Abbottsford or for making their daughter happy.

It could have been any or all of the above.

He patted her on the back and she released her grip and turned away to wipe her eyes and Owen did the manly thing and shook hands with Greg.

A few minutes later Juliana came into the kitchen, looking as lovely as ever, to find the three of them standing in close order on one side of the room.

“Hello darling” she said as she walked over and kissed him

“I didn’t know you were here, I didn’t hear the doorbell”

Then she realised something was amiss

“Why are you all huddled over here?” she said suspiciously and tried to peer behind them.

“Well there is something we want to do before we leave for the restaurant” Gregory said falteringly

“Owen? Would you like to do the honours?”

“No Greg you have the floor, the honour is yours” he replied rather pompously.

“Well we know how disappointed you were this morning and also because we think you deserve it” her dad said proudly

“So we got you this as a going away present”

And with military precision and not unlike the red sea, they parted to reveal the brightly wrapped parcels.

“What’s all this?” she said

“Open them and you’ll find out” Owen said

So she set about the task and as she ripped off the paper her eyes widened with delight and she smiled broadly

“You shouldn’t have,” she said with a frown that lasted a Nano second and then she was smiling again.

Gregory and Lavinia were hugging as they watched their daughter’s joy, no doubt remembering long passed moments from her childhood, then Juliana hugged and kissed her parents and when she turned to Owen he was expecting the same treatment but instead she poked him, hard.

“As for you” she said sternly and poked him again “all that tosh you spouted this morning, “every cloud has a silver lining””

Another poke

“And all the time”

Poke

“You were planning this”

Another poke, and Owen nodded

“Pretty much” he confirmed and then he got his hug and kiss

“I love you,” she said

“Steady” he said you’ll make me blush

“I love you too”

That kind of set the tone for the rest of the evening and they had a lovely time.

Midway through the evening while her mum was in the loo and Greg had gone in search of the wine waiter he took the opportunity to tell her that her mum and dad would be taking her back to University and why he thought it was a good idea.

She leant over and kissed him on the lips

“I really do love you Owen Carrington,” she said

“And I really do love you too” he replied just at that moment her parents returned to the table and the moment was gone and it was such a great evening that he didn’t think of it again.

Downshire Diary – (56) The Banks Wood Maiden

Andy Parish was born and raised on Nettle Green Farm which nestled on the lower slopes of the Tipton Hills in the lee of the Town of Nettlefield.

He was a tall lean man with a well-toned physique and a weathered complexion born out of a lifetime spent in the open air.

Andy had happy memories of the farm and nearby hamlet of Nettle Green but it became a cold and bitter place after his mother died so at the age of 19 he left the farm for University and never returned until his father died 9 years later.

He was always very close to his father but when Andy’s mother died he climbed inside a bottle and never came out, and the farm went to rack and ruin.

But despite their estrangement the farm was left to him, such as it was, so he gave up his job as a farm manager in Great Trottwood and returned to Nettle Green Farm to breathe new life into his old family home.

He had been back just over a month and had already employed a couple of labourers to do some general repairs about the place when he got an email from the local forestry authority in regard to Banks Wood, which was situated on the Northeast corner of the farm, and could he meet one of their tree surgeon in the wood at 10 am the next morning, he hit reply and typed an affirmative response.

As with the rest of the farm the woodlands had suffered due to neglect at his father’s hand so it was hardly a surprise that the forestry people were concerned about Banks Wood.

He walked up to the wood the next morning and when he got up there the happy memories of his childhood flooded back and he was lost in the thoughts of those happy days when he heard a voice behind him.

“Hello Andy”

He turned around to see that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5ft 5 or 6, early twenties, nice figure, wearing a Hi-Viz vest over a t-shirt, knee length shorts, work boots and carrying a hard hat, whom he vaguely recognized.

“I’m sorry, I know that we’ve met but I can’t place you” he said

“Well that’s not very flattering” she said “Especially after I showed you my underwear in these very woods”

“Toni Henderson” he said

“Ah so you do remember me” she said with a giggle

“How could I forget” Andy said “White with little pink flowers if I’m not mistaken”

“My God you do remember” she said and blushed

“As I said hard to forget, young girl, pink petals, all very Freudian”

“I think I preferred it when you didn’t remember me” she said and laughed

“In your defense you were only seven” he said

“I was older the last time we were in these woods though” Toni added

“There was no flashing involved on that occasion though” he pointed out

“There would have been if I’d had my way” she said “But you rebuffed my advances”

“I know but you were only just 15 and I was 19”

“That didn’t bother me” Toni retorted

“It wouldn’t have been right” he said “no matter how much I might have wanted to”

“You wanted to?” she asked with surprise

“Of course” he admitted

“I didn’t think you did” she remarked “I thought you didn’t fancy me”

“Even after the kiss?” he asked

Toni and Andy had been to the same house party in Nettlefield, although they didn’t go there together, but when it was all over they walked the mile or so back to Nettle Green together, she lived in the hamlet, on the other side of Banks Wood from the farm.

Even though it was a route she had taken a thousand times he wasn’t going to let her walk through the woods on her own after midnight so he offered to walk her home, which she accepted without question and that was because she planned to ambush him in the dark.

It happened when they were halfway through the wood when she pinned him against a tree and planted a kiss on him, a kiss which he reciprocated in spades.

A kiss which could easily have led to something else had he allowed himself to take advantage of the situation.

It was a long kiss, a hot kiss, a passionate kiss and overall a perfect kiss, a kiss against which every kiss that followed would be compared to.

“Ah the kiss” she said wistfully “That was some kiss”

“Yes it was” he agreed and then they both stood looking around, lost in remembrance of that night almost a decade before.

“We used to have a lot of fun in these woods when we were kids didn’t we” Andy said

“We did” she agreed and then they spent the next half an hour reminiscing.

“So why have you lured me into the woods today?” he asked “Are you planning on flashing your drawers again?”

“Definitely not” she said and laughed

“But you don’t deny that I have been lured here?” he asked suspiciously

“I have perfectly innocent intentions” she said

“So what are they?”

“Trees” she replied

Toni worked for the forestry and managed the local woodland but they didn’t have control of it all, there was still about 10 percent of the local Woodlands in private ownership mainly on the Tipton side of the area and Nettle Green Farm had about 5 acres which had been badly neglected over the previous ten years of the farms decline.

The main concern being that there were a number of dead trees, one in particular was quite sizable and could, if it were to be allowed to fall unchecked, take a number of healthy trees with it.

Andy just stood back and admired Toni as she spoke with great knowledge and passion on the subject.

She was still as pretty as she always was, blue smiling eyes and soft brown hair dancing on her shoulders, he suspected that she would normally have it tied back when she was working, but he was pretty sure she wanted to make an impression.

“We’ll I’m happy for you to do whatever you need to do” he said

“That’s good to know” Toni retorted and smiled

They saw quite a lot of each other over the next couple of days as Toni and her team tackled the dead trees and on Sunday he took her for lunch at His Lordships Arms, which was a foody pub on the outskirts of Nettlefield.

It was a beautiful early summer’s day so they decided to walk the mile to the pub, he met her on the edge of Banks Wood and when she emerged wearing a floral summer dress she took his breath away.

In the weeks since they had met again they had settled into such an easy association so they chatted companionably as they walked and it occurred to him that the near decade that had passed felt more like ten days such was the easy conviviality between them.

The two of them enjoyed a pleasant lunch and several drinks and they walked hand in hand on the way back and as they neared Nettle Green she suggested

“We can take a shortcut through the wood”

“Oh no, you just want to get me in there so you can flash me your knickers again” he remarked

“Honestly, I have no intention of showing you my knickers” she promised “I’m not that kind of girl”

“Alright then” he said and she led him by the hand but after a few yards she ran off and shouted over her shoulder

“Come on old man try and keep up”

He stood smiling for a second and then ran after her and he eventually found her standing against a familiar tree looking very alluring.

And as he approached she smiled and said

“Do you recognise this tree?”

“Yes” he replied “this is the spot where you ambushed me 10 years ago”

“If you mean it’s the place where we shared the most perfect kiss I’ve ever had, then yes it is” she retorted

“Well I think we might be able to improve on it back at the farm” he suggested

“No, our first kiss for 10 years has to be in the wood, it must be in our wood” she replied “And it has to be by our tree”

And so more than nine years after that first special kiss in Banks Wood Andy kissed Toni, who had been in love with Andy since she was fifteen years old and she had all but given up any hope of getting him but that summer all her dreams came true and Toni got her man, the only man she had ever wanted as Andy pledged his love beneath her beloved tree.

Downshire Diary – (55) Heatherlands – Doctor on Call

When Chris Palmer moved to Nettlefield from Purplemere following a very acrimonious divorce he had sworn off women for good.

His reason for moving to Nettlefield in particular, over all the other places he might have chosen either in Downshire or beyond, was the Heatherlands District Health Centre.

The marriage was a happy one but only lasted five years because Edward died suddenly on the Tipton Twelve Trees Golf course after suffering a heart attack.

She had been a widow for 10 years when Chris arrived in her life, her widowhood had left her lonely but also afraid of risking her heart on someone who might end that loneliness

As a bi-product of the loving relationship between Chris and Clarisse, she scrapped the “No Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical gloves were off in regard to work place relationships which was just what the doctor ordered for 34 year old Linda Bowles who had the hots for one of the clerical staff, Peter Butler.

She was pretty, stick thin, flat chested, seriously ginger and tall so she looked like an unstruck Swan Vesta.

She was known rather unimaginatively as ginger Linda and she wanted nothing more in life than to be Peter Butler’s significant other the problem was that Peter was scared of her.

Not that he didn’t like her or find her attractive, he did, very much so, but she scared him, because she was everything that he was not.

She was a confident, outgoing and feisty woman of the world whereas he was timid, mild and extremely naïve about life, and in particular women.

Peter had lived a very sheltered life and had spent much of his 32 years looking after his elderly and invalid parents so all he had ever known was work and caring from the time he left school.

And it was from school that he first joined Heatherlands, although it wasn’t called that then, and nor was it a health centre, it was just an orthopaedic outpatients clinic.

But when it took on its present guise, he was one of the few who made the transition.

Peter was an only child and his parents had him late in life, his mother was 44 when she gave birth and his father was ten years her senior.

Neither of them were in good health while he was growing up, his mother never fully recovered from her traumatic labour, Peter had just turned 25 when her heart gave out and five years later his father lost his long battle with cancer.

For the two years that followed he lived alone in what had been the family home all of his life, he seldom went out, with the exception of the Heatherlands Christmas Party as Clarisse wouldn’t take no for an answer on that one, and he had no friends outside of work, and his job at Heatherlands was the only pleasure in his life.

That was until Dr Linda Bowles arrived just after Christmas and he had something else to look forward to every working day, seeing Linda.

He thought she was beautiful, especially when she smiled at him, but he couldn’t talk to her when she said hello because his knees turned to jelly and his mouth went dry.

She was gorgeous and terrifying in one moment, she was so direct and bold and fearless and she left him quivering, but he adored her more than anyone he had ever known but because of his shyness he knew he would never find the courage to speak to her.

So he resigned himself to the fact that he would just have to watch her from a safe distance.

When singleton, Linda Bowles, first joined the Heatherlands District Health Centre, she was hoping it would be the last time she would be the newbie.

She had spent the previous three years as a locum, drifting in and out of various surgeries in the four corners of Downshire as well as the bit in between.

It had been a bit of a gypsy existence and she had been unable to put down any roots, but when she applied for the permanent position at Heatherlands, and got the job she hoped that she would finally have a normal life, her own home and someone to share it with.

In the short term she was able to rent a house in the village of Heathervale, or more precisely the granny flat in the garden of a house in the village, but it suited her needs very well.

But having secured a permanent job and suitable accommodation she was not prepared to lose her heart to a good looking man on her first day in her new job.

It happened while the senior partner, Clarisse Lowe, was introducing her to the staff around the building, and when they entered the administration office and she saw Peter Butler standing by the photocopier she felt cupid’s arrow strike home.

Peter was an inch or two taller than Linda was, and she was almost six foot tall, with a kind face, blue eyes and a mop of mousy hair and what endeared him to her even more was his shyness, she thought it was cute.

Having found someone for her to lavish her love upon she had to curb her desires because of the “No Fraternizing” rule but after Easter when Clarisse and Chris Palmer got together and she scrapped that particular edict Linda tackled her crush in the same way she dealt with everything in her life, head on.

She let him know in no uncertain terms what her intentions were and what her desires consisted of, namely him,

Or at least she thought she did, but if she had then her advances had fallen on stony ground.

For almost eleven months she flirted with him outrageously and flaunted herself unashamedly at every opportunity, but to no avail.

“He’s just not noticing me” she said to herself one day

Peter had noticed her, he couldn’t fail to notice her, she was always there smiling and looking good enough to eat he was just too scared to react, because he didn’t know how to act with a woman, especially one as lovely as she was.

By the autumn she was getting a little despondent so when in in November she was invited to a dinner party at Clarisse Lowe’s house she took her chance, when she got her alone to confide in her that she really fancied Peter.

“Well everyone in Heatherlands knows that” she retorted and laughed

“Really?” Linda said

“Well you’re not subtle Linda”

“Well Peter hasn’t noticed me or worse he has noticed and he’s horrified” she said and grimaced

“Oh he’s not horrified, he really likes you, he’s just scared of you” Clarisse said

“Scared? Why? I’m not going to hurt him” Linda asked

“You have to understand that he has led a very sheltered life”

Clarisse said and then explained about him having to care for invalid parents and missing out on his childhood and a normal young man’s social experiences.

“It’s like he’s lived his whole life in monochrome and then you turn up and you broadcast directly to him in technicolour” she said

“You are larger than life Linda and Peter is a shadow dweller who is happy to be anonymous, which of course he wouldn’t be if he was with you, and that’s why he’s scared”

“So what should I do?” Linda asked

“Well if I were you I would wait until the Christmas Party” she replied

“Will he go to the Christmas party?” she asked “I wouldn’t have thought it was his kind of thing”

“It’s not, but he goes because I tell him to” Clarisse replied

“Why?”

“Because he’s scared of me” she said and laughed

It was true that Clarisse did tell Peter that he had to attend the party and because of that that was what he was going to do, but not out of fear he did what she asked out of respect.

So over the course of the year Doctor Linda Bowles had set her cap firmly at shy and naïve Peter Butler but she had struck out but then in December there was light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of the

Heatherlands District Health Centre staff Christmas Party which was held at The Foothills Hotel in Oxley Ridge.

The marriage was a happy one but only lasted five years because Edward died suddenly on the Tipton Twelve Trees Golf course after suffering a heart attack.

On his death however he had left her extremely well off so at Christmas Clarisse always laid on transport for those who had to get back for baby sitters after the part or alternatively they could stay overnight at the Hotel.

Unfortunately on the day of the party Linda was on call until midnight and therefore couldn’t indulge herself in the pursuit of Peter Butler.

And when Linda had to go to Nettlefield for a suspected case of Meningitis at 10 o’clock she thought she was going to miss her chance altogether.

However half way to see the patient she got a phone call to say that an ambulance had been called as there had been a deterioration of the patient’s condition and she was now critically ill and the ambulance beat her to the patient by 15 minutes which meant she was not required to attend after all.

And as Linda did a U-turn and headed towards Oxley Ridge she chastised herself for being relieved and felt guilty because it was an outcome that benefitted her.

She would have felt even worse if she’d known that the critically ill patient had died on route to hospital.

It was a little before midnight when she walked through the doors into the foyer of the Foothills Hotel and was greeted by Clarisse.

“Linda darling let me get you a drink” she suggested

“That will be lovely” Linda replied “But I’m still on clock for another ten minutes”

Just at that moment there was a commotion in the hall which prevented a slightly tipsy Clarisse from telling her not to worry about ten minutes and to get a drink down her neck.

They looked around and saw Chris Palmer and his brother Darren carrying Peter Butler between them who was holding his left foot.

“What’s happened?” Clarisse asked

“He tripped over his own feet” Chris replied and laughed

“I’m fine, I just twisted my ankle” Peter said

“We’ll be the judge of that” Linda said “After I’ve examined you”

“You can use room 104” The night manager said

“Perfect” Linda said “And can you arrange for some ice?”

“Time to get him into my consulting room” she whispered to Clarisse as she followed the casualty

“Just be gentle with him” Clarisse retorted and laughed

When she reached room 104 the door to the room was open and Chris and Darren had Peter laying on the bed waiting for her and he had already shed his shoe and sock.

“Right let’s have a look at you” Linda said

“It’s just twisted” he said

“Really? Remind me which one of us is the Doctor?” Linda asked

“Sorry Doctor” he said meekly

“That should reduce the swelling”

She said as she packed the bags of ice around his ankle

“And now if we can have some privacy I’ll give you a proper examination” she said

“We’ll leave you to it then” Clarisse said and went out the door with Chris but they didn’t close the door completely and stood peering in.

“Right then let’s start with your blood pressure” she said

“Why are you undoing my trousers?” he asked with alarm

“Are you sure that you’re a proper doctor?”

“Just relax” Linda said

“But I don’t think that’s the way to check blood pressure” he said

“Trust me I’m a professional” She said “you’re in safe hands”

“Whatever you say doc” he answered and closed his eyes.

“Well there’s definitely nothing wrong with your blood pressure”

She said

“Oh my” Peter exclaimed

“Well I think we can safely leave them to it” Clarisse said and quietly closed the door

“He doesn’t know what he’s in for” Chris added

“All his Christmas’s have come at one” she said and they both laughed

The next morning, those who made it down to breakfast were a sorry looking lot, severely hungover with bloodshot eyes and thumping heads, and among them were Clarisse and Chris.

But the exceptions to the rule were Linda and Peter who were both bright eyed and bushy tailed and smiling from ear to ear.

Downshire Diary – (54) After the Lord Lieutenant’s Summer Ball