Uncanny Christmas Tales – (050) Snowblind Love

 

The Dulcets are a collection of villages and hamlets comprising of Dulcet Meadow, Dulcet-on-Willow, Dulcet Green, and Dulcet-on-Brooke, to name but a few, and of course Dulcet St Mary, where

Doctor Harry Yorke had his practice.

Harry had never believed in love at first sight or in soul mates he thought them rather fanciful notions the stuff of romantic fiction and sentimental movies.

That was until he met, he met Nurse Melissa Ness and he was instantly smitten, and he thought she may have felt the same.

Even his sister had noticed and after she had seen them together, she said

“You two are like two halves of a different whole, and that each of them was the missing piece in the others puzzle”

It wasn’t many months before when she was nagging him about getting a wife he had said

“I’m not looking for a life partner” well he thought he may have found one whether he was looking or not.

But after the practice dinner at The Cross Keys, he was beginning to think he and his sister had misread the situation and over the following week that feeling was reinforced as she appeared to be avoiding him.

 

Harry had a couple of late calls in the village on Christmas Eve, because of the weather he decided not to drive, so he had to go out in the cold and trudge across the village through the snow.

After his second call he went back out into the cold night and by the time he got to the made road it started snowing again and by the time he reached the crossroads it was coming down hard and fast.

In fact, it was coming down so rapidly that visibility was reduced to zero.

It was so disorienting that he couldn’t have even found his way back to the house he’d just left, despite being no more than 15 minutes away from the Owen’s residence.

So, he inched his way along the footpath tucking up close to hedges, picket fences and garden walls so he didn’t wander off course.

When he reached the end of a row of houses, he had to take a leap of faith, as he couldn’t see the other side of the road.

As he trudged onward, he realised he had gone off course because he hadn’t reached the other side.

He had no idea how far he had gone as he had no point of reference, so he decided the best course of action was to veer left to try and find the footpath again.

Unfortunately, he had no idea how far left to go or for that matter how far left he had already gone.

Harry was just beginning to panic when he tripped on a kerbstone and crashed into another lost soul, and they fell to the floor in an untidy heap.

When he had scrambled to his feet, he found he was outside the Post Office

“I’m saved” he thought as he envisaged taking refuge in the shop until the snow abated, but first he had to help the other poor traveller he had left prostrate on the snowy ground.

“I’m so sorry” he said as he grabbed a handful of coat and pulled the stricken body to its feet.

The individual muttered incoherently under their breath as they brushed themselves off and he got the impression his apology was not being accepted gracefully.

And when they began to turn in his direction, he was bracing himself for a volley of abuse but to his great surprise he found the previously stricken figure to be Nurse Melissa Ness and the muttering scowling indignant face instantly changed to a beaming smile when she recognized the face of her assailant.

“Harry” she said excitedly, before cautiously giving a long look in the direction of the shop doorway then in a quieter voice she continued

“I didn’t know it was you”

“Are you ok?” he asked

“I am now” she replied and glanced again at the door

He looked her up and down and realised why he hadn’t recognized her straightaway, she was dressed in heavy duty winter clothes.

Her lovely thick black curls were completely covered by a red woolly hat, her dainty feet were in wellies and her slender figure was concealed by a puffer jacket.

She was still looking anxiously towards the shop doorway and then impulsively she steered him around the side of the building and kissed him as the snow fell steadily on them, which he reciprocated.

After a minute of mutually beneficial passion, he said

“Does this mean you’re talking to me again?”

“That depends” she said enigmatically

“On what?”

“On whether you go around kissing random women every five minutes or not” she said 

“I see, you are referring to the mistletoe kiss in the pub”

“I didn’t see any mistletoe” Melissa said

“So, you thought it was just a snog?” he asked

“Yes” she replied and looked down at her feet.

Harry lifted her chin, so he could see her eyes and then he kissed her.

It was less prolonged than the first however because a voice called from the shop doorway

“Mel?”

So, Harry released her reluctantly and she called.

“I’ll be there in a moment sis”

“I have to go” she said and kissed him again

“Perhaps we can pick it up again later” he said

“I’m going to Connie’s for Christmas in Purplemere”

“How long for?” he asked

“Until the New Year” she replied

“In which case I’m going to need another kiss before you go” Harry said and then they kissed one last time

“Happy Christmas Mel” he said

“Happy Christmas” she echoed, and she paused at the corner and added

“I’ve got you a present” 

“You’re the only present I want” he said, and she ran straight back into his arms.

 

Harry then watched as they drove away and then turned around and continued his journey home as the snow abated and he spent all that Christmas looking forward to the New Year.

CHRISTMASTIDE LOVE

 

Now that it’s Christmas

There’s something I must do

Or there’s something I must say

My heart is so full of love for you

I must tell you how I feel

Say how much I love you

And how much you mean to me

Then hope that you love me too

And if you don’t then I will know

But I will still love you

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (049) The Santa Express

 

The Dulcets are a collection of villages and hamlets comprising of Dulcet Meadow, Dulcet St Mary, Dulcet Green, and Dulcet-on-Brooke, to name but a few, and of course Dulcet-on-Willow, a large sprawling village beside the gentle shallow River Willow, which ran unhurriedly from the Pepperstock Hills to the more vibrant River Brooke, and it was on the banks of the river where the home of Clare Gammon was situated.

It was previously her family home and she had lived there all 26 years of her life; she had lived alone in the house for 2 of those years.

She worked in Dulcet St Mary for the Dulcet Garden Centre as a senior buyer, but she had many more strings to her bow.

Clare was very active in the church, at St Bede’s as well as farther afield.

This involved among other things, being a greeter at the church services, delivering Parish Magazines, helping at the Christmas Bazaar, Summer Fete, and Sunday School, you name it, and she did it and that was only in the village.

Her wider good works included the Soup Kitchens in Finchbottom or Purplemere, who were always desperate for volunteers.

The Christmas Charity Wagon in Sharpington, which was an old Mornington Brewery dray, pulled by two white shire horses, which was bedecked with tinsel and lights and carried on the back, a multi denominational choir singing Christmas Carols.

Clare was not however, among those going from door to door, as the wagon drove around the town, collecting donations in plastic buckets and handing out sweets to the excited children, no she was in the choir on the back of the Dray because she had the voice of an angel.

She also volunteered for the Roving Angels, which had been in existence for about two years and was similar to the Street Angels, Street Pastors and other groups that had sprung up all across the UK in the previous 20 or 25 years.

They had made a really positive impact on crime and antisocial behaviour in Finchbottom and Purplemere town centres over the first two years, particularly in the general vicinity of the bars and clubs.

Providing a calming presence on the streets late at night in situations where a police uniform might have the opposite effect.

In the first two years of the Roving Angels, they had contributed to a 29% fall in public place violence on the weekends.

It all began when Christian Churches in the area came together with the Police and the Borough Council’s to establish the Angels.

But it took people of Faith to make it work as with so many things in life.

Clare had been doing it for two years so had not been with them since the beginning.

 

But one of her favourite good deeds was to help out on the Santa Express, which was something to behold, and she loved it because it reminded her of her childhood.

The Santa Express was in reality the Finchbottom Flyer, a 4-6-2 standard gauge four-cylinder steam locomotive built at the Northchapel Works in 1933, liveried in the black and gold of the DCRN, Downshire County Railway Network.

It was a great work horse of the DCRN from 1933 until 1962. 

After it was taken out of service it was stored at the Northchapel Works and remained there for twenty-five years, until it and several other engines and assorted rolling stock were acquired by the Downshire Railway Preservation Society, with the financial support and patronage of Baron St George of Mornington, who was a man with a strong sense of history and his stewardship of the Mornington Estate wasn’t restricted just to the land and properties within the Estate, they also ensured the protection of historically significant buildings and landmarks under threat from modernizers.

Although steam railway engines didn’t really fall within the Estates normal parameters his Lordship made an unprecedented exception.

The acquisition of the Flyer was made in 1988 and the restoration  was completed in 1992. 

The maiden journey for fare paying customers was on the August Bank Holiday in 1993 and ran from Sharping St Mary to Sharpinghead and then onto Sharpington.

It wasn’t until seven years later when the Sharpington spur line was completed, they had access to the main Finchbottom line and were able to go County wide.

It was two years earlier than that when the Flyer had its first outing as the Santa Express which ran from Sharping St Mary station to a secret location where Santa was waiting in his village and grotto.

It was actually the old herb drying sheds which had been preserved and renovated and dressed for the season.

The train picked up children and their parent’s late afternoon so that they arrived at the grotto in darkness in order to make the most of the spectacular lights.

It ran every day from the first of December up until Christmas and there were always plenty of Elves aboard to ensure the children didn’t escape from the carriages.

Clare Gammon was one of those Elves, it was one of the high points of her year, she well remembered her parents taking her when she was a young girl and she liked to see other kids as excited as she used to be at their age.

 

On Wednesday afternoon she drove to Sharping St Mary and when she got there the kids were going crazy with excitement and she found the excitement was quite infectious.

But her job on the trip was to make sure none of the over excited little darlings fell off the train.

There were always plenty of helpers, many of whom she already knew, but there was often a new face or two, and that Wednesday was no difference, but one helper fell into both categories.

She had just got aboard the carriage and closed the door when a voice behind her said

“My God its Miss Piggy”

Only one person had ever called her Miss Piggy, and that was Michael Cooper, but she hadn’t seen him since they were at school together when they were 14, because he moved out of the village, she didn’t know where to.

She turned around to face the speaker,

“It is you” he said and laughed, and the schoolgirl crush she had on him as a 14-year-old girl flooded over her again, even though the tall man with broad shoulders and hands like shovels, short brown hair, neatly trimmed beard, and hazel eyes, was so different from the boy she worshipped, only his infectious laugh was the same.

“Michael!” she exclaimed

“The very same” he replied

“Not the same” she corrected him “but definitely you”

She had never believed in love at first sight or in soul mates, she thought them rather fanciful notions, the stuff of romantic fiction and sentimental movies.

That was until she met the grown-up incarnation of Michael Cooper when she was instantly smitten, but she doubted he would feel the same.

“What are you doing here?” she asked

“The same as you”

“That’s not what I meant” she said, but then became aware that the sounds of bedlam were emanating from her carriage

“I’d better go” she said regretfully  

“I would love to catch up though” she called over her shoulder

“Me too” he shouted after her

 

She did catch sight of him a couple of times after that, the first time was when one of the Elves, Lily Farmer managed to trap him between the carriages armed with a bunch of mistletoe and only when she had satisfied herself in the pagan ritual did, she let him go.

Irrationally, having witnessed the kiss, she was not at all happy about it, but she did enjoy seeing him again.

Now if the kids were excited on the way to the grotto, then judging by the decibel level, they were even more so on the way back to the station.

The second time she saw him was when they disembarked after the return journey, and the children and their parents made their way home, when her own cousin Eleanor kissed him and said goodbye.

Sadly, she never got to speak to him again, not that day at any rate.

 

She drove back to Willow rerunning the day’s events in her head and just as she pulled onto her drive, her phone rang, so she came to a halt and answered it.

“Hello!”

“Hi Clare” her cousin Eleanor said

“Guess who asked me for your number today?”

CRIMBLE LOVING

 

I’ve waited all year to bestow

A kiss beneath the mistletoe

A kiss to leave you all agog

Not just a cheap drunken snog

A kiss to leave you all aglow

A passionate kiss to let you know

That I hold a flaming torch for you

I hope you feel the same way too

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (048) The Garden Center Girls

 

Dulcet St Mary was where the Dulcet Garden Centre was located, which was where Jane Price and Mandy Hubble first met, and was also where Jane fell head over heels in love, with Mandy.

Jane had worked at the Garden Centre since she left school but

Mandy joined as a new hire in October, and was also new to Dulcet St Mary, and actually lived in the same mews as Jane.

She was a year younger than Jane, but like her she was socially awkward, and lacked confidence.

As a result, they just smiled at each other for the first month, but at least sat at the same table for lunch, and by December they progressed beyond monosyllabic conversations, and in the week before Christmas they arranged to go Christmas shopping together in Abbottsford.

Jane was a little concerned there might be an awkward silence on the drive over, or at some point during the day as they had never spent more than half an hour in each other’s company before that day.

She needn’t have worried as Mandy chattered away for the whole journey, as she was so full of excitement.

 

Jane had a lovely day, and she was pretty sure that Mandy had too, so when they were heading back to the car park, walking past the library, hands full of bags and chatting, Jane formulated her plan.

Just after the library they turned left by the art gallery and down a cobbled alley which led to the carpark, then they put all their bags in the car and set off back to the Dulcets.

 

Mandy was anxious to go and show her mum her purchases, but Jane had other ideas.

So, when she parked outside her cottage and they had retrieved all the bags, Jane locked the car and rushed up the path to her front door.

“Come on Mandy” Jane called “come in for a minute”

“Ok I’m coming” Mandy called back “Just for five minutes though”

“Alright come in and close the door” she said and went inside.

Mandy followed her in with bags in each hand and closed the door behind her as instructed, but when she pushed the sitting room door open, she found Jane standing in front of her holding up a sprig of mistletoe, and before she could react Jane took her by surprise and kissed her,

“I didn’t think we were doing presents until next week”

Mandy said, dropped her bags and kissed her back. 

 

Mandy had stayed much longer than five minutes when they shared a soft, gentle, and affectionate farewell kiss, before Jane opened the door and Mandy went home to share her news with her mum.

CRIMBLE LOVE

 

It has taken the festive season

To give me the perfect reason

To hold this sprig of mistletoe

And kiss you softly in the snow

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (047) Christmas Reboot

 

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martins and was where the Bentleys lived.

Ken and Louisa Bentley were married, though not to each other, Louisa was married to Ken’s cousin David, and they began their affair the previous Christmas and lasted until Halloween.

At first, they thought that the attraction was the naughtiness factor, the sneaking around, the guilty pleasure, but it turned out to be more than that, they actually had feelings for each other, and it was the love that was enhancing their anticipation and satisfaction.

So, it was falling in love that forced them to mutually end the affair and they had successfully avoided each other for almost two months before.

However, that all changed when the same annual Christmas gathering that brought them together came round again, and their resolve to keep out of each other’s orbits was undermined when circumstances conspired against them.

Every year the Bentley clan gathered on the middle weekend in December at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, and they travelled from all over the Country and beyond to be there.

Normally this wasn’t a problem, but this year his wife Tamsin was up in Northchapel at her company’s corporate office until Friday afternoon after which she would be driving down alone, while Louisa’s husband was in Brussels and he was getting a midday flight,  so they insisted that Ken and Louisa drive down together on Friday morning.

 

As they left home it had just started to snow and as they drove onto the Pepperstock Expressway he said

“I don’t think we should weaken our resolve this weekend”

“I agree” Louisa said

“Good”

“It would be so easy to slip” she said,

“Very easy” he agreed

 

By the time they reached the hotel the snow was already laying quite thickly and after checking in they found that they were the only Bentley’s to have arrived and wouldn’t be joined by the rest of the clan any time soon, as they had all been held up by the snow by some degree or other.

Tamsin was still at the Doll's House in Northchapel because the major roads south had been closed and Louisa’s husband was stuck at Brussels airport.

So, they were in a quandary, should they spend an uneventful day alone in their rooms being bored or spend it together and risk giving in to their hearts.

They decided on the latter but reinforced their earlier pledge to not revisit their previous behaviours and kept themselves busy for the rest of the day, a light lunch followed by the jacuzzi and swimming, and finished with coffee and cake in the conservatory.

The pleasurable afternoon went without a hitch, and they parted after having agreed to dine together that evening.

 

The Restaurant at the Regents had a very good reputation, but neither of them had eaten there before, because the usual form was to go out to The Scented Garden in Abbottsford as it was the compromise choice because everyone in the clan liked Chinese.

So, they decided to take advantage of the situation and indulged themselves with the wonderful cuisine and a very superior wine list, however along with wine came the flirting, and the more intoxicated they became the more their true feelings came out.

So, their earlier pledge made in the cold light of day and complete sobriety seemed unlikely to hold.

When they left the restaurant, he said

“I think I should escort you to your room”

“I think you should escort me into my room” she said and kissed him

 

As they lay cuddling in the afterglow feeling very pleased with themselves Ken said 

“I’ve missed us”

“Me too” Louisa murmured

 

Although the wine had broken down their resolve, it was love that got them into each other’s arms and their night of passion was not a reboot of their affair it would prove to be a life changing night and by the following Christmas they were very definitely a couple, and when they married it was forever.