The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (054) Appreciating Anna

 

After leaving the hospital Duncan drove into St Pierre and parked the car.

He didn’t get into town very often so he thought as he was passing, he would pop in and do a little personal shopping, and just mooch around with no time restraints, which just never happened for him, so he was going to make the most of it and make the most of it he did, he even got his hair cut.

 

It was three in the afternoon by the time he’d finished so he thought a coffee or two would just finish the afternoon perfectly, so he headed for his favourite Coffee House, Gilbert’s, overlooking the harbour.

It was named after the minor Norman nobleman, Gilbert du Beaumont, who claimed the Bay Islands for himself, after the Battle of Hastings.

It was his favourite for several reasons, A, he liked the fact that the name was a nod to the island’s history, B, because they did great coffee, C, it had a great view across the harbour and, D, it was run by his ex-wife Caroline.

 

He and Caroline were married for fifteen years before they divorced, and they were separated for two years before that.

It was not an acrimonious parting, and there was no ill feeling, in fact they were still friends, and there was still love between them, though not a romantic love.

Caroline had also remained very involved in her children’s lives and was still on very good terms with the rest of the family.

The breakdown of the marriage was not a lack of love, it simply came down to the fact that she did not come from a farming background, Duncan had thought she would grow to love it, but she never really did.

The only thing that irked him at the time of the divorce was that she reverted to her maiden name of Wells.

 

Duncan walked into Gilbert’s, and straight up to the counter where Sally Watson was standing.

“Hello Sally”

“Hi Duncan, do you want your usual?”

“Yes please”

“Ok sit down and I’ll bring it over” she said

“Thanks Sal”

By the time he’d sat down and made himself comfortable Sally had arrived with his drink and put it on the table in front of him.

“Thank you, no Caroline today?”

“No, she’s on the mainland at the coffee roasters” Sally replied

 

Duncan was on his second mug and was lost in thought as he gazed through the window when a voice said

“Do you mind if I join you?”

He turned around to find he was being addressed by his audiologist.

“Oh hello, please do” he replied gesturing to an empty chair.

“Can I get a coffee?”

“A Latte please” she replied, and he gestured to Sally who nodded in response.

“What do I call you by the way? Doctor, nurse, clinician, audiologist?”

“Anna will suffice” she replied and laughed

“So, are you playing hooky?”

“No not at all,” She replied indignantly

“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much” he countered, and she laughed

“My last appointment of the day was cancelled, so I thought I’d come and get a coffee and enjoy the view”

“It is a great view” he agreed

“Have you been here before?” Duncan asked

“Many times, I discovered it on my second or third visit, so about two years” she replied, “and you?”

“Oh yes, I used to be married to the owner”

“You were married to Caroline?”

“I was”

“And you come here often?”

“I do”

“So, are you trying to win her back?”

“Do you mean am I still carrying a torch for her?”

“Yes”

“Goodness me no”, he said emphatically “That’s done and done, and no going back, so I’m certainly not looking to win her back”

“So, you’re on good terms?”

“Oh yes, there was never any ill feeling between us, and we’re still good friends, plus we have two children together, so it all feels quite natural” He explained

“And then there is this” he added gesturing to the vista

 

They sat and talked for about an hour when she looked at the clock and said

“I’d better get back to the hospital”

She got up and he got to his feet to face her

“If you’re at a loose end this evening, perhaps we could have dinner” he suggested

“That would be lovely” she replied “But unfortunately I already have plans and I’m on the midday ferry tomorrow”

“That’s a shame” he responded

“Maybe next month” she suggested

“I’ll look forward to it” he said and shook her hand

 

The next day Anna’s last patient was at 11.30, so she got the bus from the hospital into town as she normally did.

Anna always left her car in Pipershaven and travelled as a foot passenger to the island.

Depending on the amount of time she had available determined whether or not to stop at Gilbert’s, however that day it wasn’t just a coffee she was interested in. 

She lied to Duncan the day before about having plans, she really wanted to have dinner with him, but she wanted to talk to Caroline first.

 

Anna walked into Gilbert’s and found her behind the counter “Hi Anna” she said “Latte?”

“Yes please” she replied and sat on the nearest stool and a minute later Caroline put a mug in front of her. 

“I saw your husband at the hospital yesterday” she said “As a patient”

“I always thought Duncan had selective hearing” Caroline said and laughed

“Then I bumped into him in here later” Anna added “And we had coffee together”

“Yes, he likes the place” she said “It was Duncan who suggested this location you know”

“He invited me to dinner” Anna said

“That was kind of h…” Caroline began “Oooh you like him”

“I said no” Anna said

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you first” she said

“I wanted to know you were ok about it”

“Me?”

“Yes”

“Of course, I’m ok about it” Caroline said “Duncan and I are good friends and that’s all”

“That’s what he said” Anna said

“You should have dinner with him” she said “He’s a good and kind man” 

“What happened between you two?” Anna asked

“We fell out of love, it’s as simple as that” Caroline said before she went to serve another customer.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (053) Gilbert’s

 

February

On the first day of February Duncan Wilson had an appointment, so he had a lazy start to the day at the farm and got showered and shaved at a leisurely pace.

 

Roman Water Farm is the second largest of the five farms on the island covering the area from Beaumont head in the north to Bellevue Woods in the south, the rugged coast to the west and Saxvirdan in the east, and the land was farmed by the Wilson’s and following, his parents, Martin and Louise’s retirement, Duncan Wilson took over the mantle of running the farm.

The farm had at its centre a large farmhouse, parts of which dated back six centuries which had been added to over the years to accommodate the growing Wilson clan until it was now comprised of six upstairs bedrooms and an equal number of rooms on the ground floor, where Duncan lived with his parents and two children Derek and Emily.

There were also two smaller dwellings, his brother James, wife Kate and children Nicole and Phil, lived in the larger one, and his widowed sister Debbie and her daughter Jodie lived in the cottage.

There were also stables, barns, hen houses, and assorted outbuildings.

At the age of fifty-five divorcee Duncan was finding that his hearing wasn’t as sharp as it used to be, so he got a referral from his GP to Audiology and in February he had an appointment at Bellevue.

 

Bellevue Cottage Hospital was originally built by the army during the Great War when Beaumont Manor was commandeered by the Medical Corp for convalescing officers before returning them to the front, but as the war went on, they found they needed to expand beyond convalescence.

After the armistice it remained War Office property but fell into disuse between the wars but was quickly brought back into service following the outbreak of World War Two.

The island played a much more active role between 1940 and 1945 with a radar station at Spaniards Point and two anti-aircraft batteries, and barrage balloons outside St Pierre and Spaniards Creek and the hospital saw more action as a result.

Two years after the end of the war the military left the island, leaving the fully equipped hospital mothballed, but intact, behind them and the Manor house became the Beaumont Manor Hotel.

The hospital would have remained in mothballs indefinitely had it not been for an outbreak of poliomyelitis on the mainland during 1949 and again in 1950, which meant that the powers that be, decided to get the hospital running again, if only in the short term, but a polio outbreak, coupled with high numbers of TB patients, meant that the short term lasted into the 1960’s when it was decided to update and improve the main buildings and add on a large extension.     

The hospital and the attached medical centre catered well for the islanders’ basic needs, but for more important treatments and surgeries, patients needed to travel to the mainland, which they would need to do by ferry, water taxi or some other vessel or in extreme cases a helicopter.

 

Because there were only around 3000 residents on the island there were no permanent diagnostic clinicians at Bellevue, instead for things like, Audiology, ENT, Diabetes, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Chiropody, and similar specialisms, along with blood donation, cervical smears, and inoculations they held monthly clinics.   

 

So, the first week of every month fifty-three-year-old Anna Turnbull held an Audiology clinic, for two or three days, depending on the volume of patients.

She was based at the Pepperstock and District Hospital outside Pipershaven, but she only worked there for one week in four as she ran clinics at other hospitals the rest of the time.

Anna was originally from Shallowfield, but when she was married her marital home was in Dulcet St Mary, but for the two years following her divorce she rented a flat near the hospital, until she decided where she wanted to put down roots again.

The nature of her job meant she travelled around Downshire to a great extent, but she hadn’t found it, the only place that had taken her fancy was Beaumont Island, which was totally impractical, but she liked visiting the island, nonetheless.

 

Duncan left the farm in his Range Rover at 10.30 and drove to Bellevue Hospital and was sitting in the waiting area with 10 minutes to spare until his appointment, so he picked up a magazine to fill the time, until a door opened and an attractive 50 something stepped out and said confidently.

“Mr. Wilson!”

“That’s me” he said and stood up and they exchanged a smile.

She wore no makeup, and her brown hair with contrasting streaks, was loosely tied at her nape, but not in a ponytail.

She wore a green patterned, long-sleeved sweater, black trousers, black sensible shoes and grey ankle socks adorned with pink butterflies, and that was the least cute thing about her.

In truth he was looking at her cute behind as she walked away which filled her trousers very snugly.

 

Anna Turnbull wasn’t a medical doctor, and she didn’t have a doctorate degree, but she didn’t need one to practice, but was a fully licensed healthcare professional, specializing in diagnosing, treating and administering to those with hearing loss, tinnitus and other types of hearing problems.

 

“Take a seat” she said motioning him to sit at the end of her desk, and he watched as she sat in front of her computer.

Once seated she fired questions at him, name, address, age, marital status, and typed in his responses and he looked at her very satisfying profile as she typed, and how her sweater fitted her contours, her flat stomach and well-defined bust.  

She wasn’t stunningly beautiful or even pretty, except when she smiled, but she was attractive, her green eyes were mesmerizing, but her nose was slightly too big and her lips too full, but he liked her.

“What do you do for a living Mr Wilson?”

“Please call me Duncan, only the tax man calls me Mr Wilson.”

He replied “I’m a farmer”

“Do you use machinery Duncan?”

“Yes, every day pretty much, but I always wear ear defenders”

“That’s good” she responded

“That’s good to hear even” he said, and she smiled

Every time she got up his eyes followed her, and his skin tingled when she pressed against him as she examined his ears and when she stood in front of him to place the headphones over his ears, her pert breasts were right in front of him only inches from his face and his heart skipped a beat.

He thought she must have been able to read his thoughts because she stepped back momentarily, paused, and stepped forward again even closer, so close in fact that he could have puckered his lips and kissed them with the merest of effort.

When she returned to her chair, she seemed to do so more slowly, giving him more time to appreciate the perfectly formed cheeks.

When she had completed all the tests, she stood in front of him again for a final treat and removed the headphones, then she turned the monitor towards him and sat down, then she muttered. 

“Come on, open”

“I’m glad I’m not the only person that talks to a computer” he said, and she laughed, and it illuminated her face.

When she had composed herself, she said

“Well, you do have some slight age-related loss, but you also have some nerve damage on the left”

As she spoke, she was indicating with her finger the graph on the screen.

“Which is nothing to be concerned with at this stage, but hearing aids will help” she explained

“Is that something you would be happy with?”

“Oh yes I'm not a vain man” he replied

“Unfortunately, it will take about six months due to the backlog”

“That's fine” he said “I'm also very patient man”

“I will try to shorten the wait if I can” she said as she held open the door for him

“Thank you I would appreciate that” he said “Goodbye”

 

Anna smiled to herself as she closed the door, she knew he was looking at her, and she liked it, which is why she prolonged the consultation so she could give him more to look at.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (052) Romantic Weekend

Beth’s Coffee House was not a familiar haunt for Sophie Blourde and her friends, it was a bit “grown up”, but that Saturday as she sat in Beth’s, waiting for Angela White, the sexiest woman she’d ever seen, she felt like a grown up, but she also felt very small.

She was so excited about the date that she was an hour early and she was on her fourth coffee by the time Angela walked in and said

“Hi”

“Hhhhello” she stammered

“Same again?” she said,

“No” she replied

“Tea?” Angel asked

“No” she snapped

“Ok, so what do you want?” Angel said cheerfully

“Pictures” Sophie said abruptly

“Sorry?”

“Will you come to the pictures?” she blurted “With me”

“When?”

“Today, tonight” she replied with a crack in her voice

Angela liked Sophie very much, her innocence and naivety, and had looked forward to seeing her, she was a really good-looking girl and  very sweet.

Sophie was four years younger than her, and they were from different backgrounds and different parts of the island, but if Angela had any doubts that Sophie was the one for her, they evaporated away when she blurted out “Will you come to the pictures?” 

So regardless of the difference in age and the geography of their homes she said “yes” and that was how it all began, their first date to the Forum Cinema.

 

The last weekend of January was also significant for two other women on the island because on Saturday morning the Archer brothers returned to the island and Nikki Harrison and Arielle Nicholas were waiting in St Pierre to meet them off the ferry. 

Though they didn’t remain as a foursome once they were reunited, Harry took Arielle for an intermate lunch at the Orangery in the Beaumont Manor while Sam and Nikki decided on a walk on Manor Cliff Beach rather than go straight to Beacon Farm. 

It was late afternoon when Harry and the Vicar returned to Spaniards Creek.

The boys were only on the island until Monday morning, so they had to make the most of their time together. 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (051) Building Plans

 

Building regulations were very strict on the Island for new buildings but permission to renovate existing buildings was almost always granted, although building regulations applied, and everything has to be signed off by the building inspector .

When the old Beaumont Estate was sold off in 1920 there were more than the five farms that now existed, so all of the farms had houses, cottages and barns which became disused over the years, but in recent decades farmers had been renovating properties, either as tied properties for farm labourers or cottages to be let out to summer guests.

There were also a number of larger buildings, old barns, mills, stables, and stores, which were not readily restored either as there was no immediate benefit or the farmers didn’t have enough disposable income to invest, this was not an issue for Molly Barrington. 

 

Two days after their exploring, they had a clandestine meeting at Beacon farm, because at Molly’s behest George Wood, had gathered together the relevant group of people involved in the building renovations, Adam Jandrell who was Project managing proceedings, Franci Liebenberg who he called his right hand “man” and Architect Carolyn Livingston, who was recommended by Josh Beaumont.

 

“So, what are you thinking?” Molly asked

“Well, my thoughts would be to enlarge the cottages, and convert the stables into more cottages on the west side.” Carolyn replied

“On the other side I’d convert the barn and the brewery buildings into dwellings and the other two should stay commercial.”

“My thoughts exactly” Molly agreed

 

The remainder of the week was taken up with meetings, Face Timing and phone calls with the various players about the plans for the Spaniards Creek properties, and although she didn’t express it at the time Molly was shocked to find out that there was no mains sewerage in Spaniards Creek.

“But I saw the pipe’s when they were working on the Cottage” she said

“Yes, but they take the waste to a septic tank” Danny explained

“Ewww” Molly exclaimed

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (050) Renovation Exploration

 

Danny and Molly were looking forward to spending a quiet week at the Cottage, after their meeting with Max, they had no impending deadlines, so they could please themselves, the weather had certainly quietened down so they thought they might do some exploring. 

 

Back in the Autumn when Molly had offered a donation to repair and maintain St Clara’s Church, she spoke with the Solicitors, and asked them to find out as much as they could about St Clara’s, covenants, deeds, and such like, and what she found out was that the land on which the Church stood belonged to her, as did the vicarage, and a dozen cottages in Church Lane, and a number of other building down by the Spanish River at the northern end of the village.

When they saw the cottages on one of their explorations, they found them to be in a poor state of repair, much as Cliff Haven had been.

So, she asked George to contact the contractors they had used previously to get the buildings made weatherproof at the very least.

 

So, on Tuesday they decided to start their walk in that direction so they could see what progress they had made.

Four of the buildings, an old mill, a grain store, an old barn and the old brewery were located half a mile to the north of the village on the east bank of the Spanish River, between the water and the St Pierre Road, the other three, a stable block and two pairs of cottages, were on the west side.

From the village they followed the path over the road bridge and then went down the steps to the riverside path and walked past the moored houseboats, pleasure boats and barges, after which the path got a bit boggy and overgrown, but after about fifty yards they emerged onto clear ground where the contractors had been at work.

All the external work was completed, the groundwork had been done, all the overgrown shrubbery had been cleared, and three of the four buildings were fully protected against the elements, the roofs, soffits, guttering, double glazing, and external rendering were all completed, the remaining building was still a work in progress.

 

After spending some time walking around the buildings they continued on their walk, rejoining the St Pierre Road and followed it as far as Norman beach then they headed down Beacon Farm Road until they recrossed the river and headed back towards Spaniards Creek.

When they could see the moorings on the western side of the river, they knew they were very close to their goal.

Things were much further from completion than they were across the water, the Cottages were being reroofed as the old one was too far gone, and the stables now had a sound roof, new guttering and the windows and doors had been boarded to keep the elements out.    

Satisfied with what they had seen they continued along the path until they reached the road bridge, then they climbed the steps up to the village and made their way to the Galleon for a well-earned coffee. 

With the work well advanced they had reached the point where they needed to make some decisions. 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (049) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

 

The Forum theatre was an old cinema originally built in the twenties, and back then it was the only cinema on the island, and that was still the case a hundred years later.

Because of that in the seventies, when film had gone out of fashion across the rest of Downshire, and theatres closed, or suffered the indignity of becoming bingo halls, as many a fine picture house did, the Forum survived.

When the cinema revival happened, Islander David Lee, a local man made good, who like many had fond memories of the Forum, mainly associated with courting his wife, restored the theatre to its former glory, and he resisted approaches from the chains and remained independent.

The Forum was located on the town square, next to the Church and opposite Beth’s Coffee House, there were no shops around the square anymore, it was virtually all eateries, café and bars and the cinema and a small theatre, so it was a sort of leisure haven.

Hayley was early, which was typical of her, and not only by minutes, but she was ridiculously early, so she had time to kill.

As she walked past the war memorial for the umpteenth time, she spotted Jamie, who was also early, going into Beth’s.

“He’s keen” she thought to herself and put the memorial between her and Jamie.

She liked the fact that he was keen, that was sweet, but she didn’t want to give him the impression that she was too keen herself.

But after a minute or two she decided she didn’t care what kind of impression she gave him, she was going over now, early or not.

So, she walked around the memorial, and was on his blind side as she entered Beth’s and stopped in his peripheral vision and almost immediately, he turned around and seemed surprised to see her.

“Hi” she said smiling broadly. “You’re early.”

He stood up and said

“Hi” and gazed at her speechless as if transfixed, because she looked stunning in girl clothes, and then he suddenly realized he was staring.

“You look lovely”

“I scrubbed up well, didn’t I” she said.

“You can say that again” Jamie said and then blushed to his roots when he realized he’d said it out loud.

“Shall we go?” Hayley asked

“Good idea” he replied

He held the door open for her to go first and as soon as he joined her Hayley slipped her hand into his and they made their way slowly to the theatre.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (048) Surprising Sophie

Jamie White was meeting Hayley Stock in St Pierre on Sunday where they were going to the pictures.

George Wood was taking Katie to meet his sister in Saxvirdan so they said they would drop Hayley off in town on the way, and Jamie would then drive her home afterwards. 

 

Jamie’s younger sister Angela was also going to St Pierre, because there was someone she wanted to see, so she got a lift from her brother.

Angela first saw Sophie Blourde when she served them at the Beaumont Manor, when her parents took her and her siblings there for a meal at Christmas, and she fell head over heels, at first sight and she could tell by the way Sophie blushed when she caught Angela looking at her that she was interested.

When Sophie collected the plates there was a lingering exchange where their hands almost touched, but not quite, then the next time Angela caressed her hand with her thumb and brushed her fingertips against hers and Sophie blushed and got very flustered.

 

Sophie was four years younger than Angela, but she was smitten.

Angela knew what time the evening staff started at the Hotel because she had waitressed there herself when she was at college, she also knew that Sophie lived in Saxvirdan and got a bus to the Bellevue hospital and walked to the hotel.

So she made sure that she was on the path between the Hospital and the Hotel in order to “bump” into her, it was a bit stalky, she admitted that to herself, but she couldn't think of any other way, she couldn't have asked her out at the restaurant while she's taking orders.

“And for you madam?” Sophie could ask and Angel could reply “I’ll take you, any way you come”

And as they lived at opposite ends of the island “real” chance encounters just weren’t going to happen, so she had to stalk her prey.

It was an unseasonably mild day, peaceful and calm following the storms and the sun was shining.

Angela had elected to wear a short skirt, and black tights to show off her legs and slight heels to accentuate the shape of her calves, and a blouse with a shrug over the top.

 

Sophie was walking with her head down looking at her phone, and she almost jumped out of a skin when Angela said “hello Sophie”

“Oh eh um hello”

“Sorry did I startle you?” she said flicking her Raven hair off her shoulder.

“A bit” Sophie replied, with her cheeks Crimson red.

“Well perhaps I could buy you a coffee sometime by way of an apology” Angela suggested

“When you have a day off”

“I’m not working on Saturday” she blurted out

“Ok, Saturday it is” Angela said and took Sophie's phone from her hand, caressing Sophie’s hand as she did so and added a new contact and sent herself a text

“There now you have my number” Angela said trying to remain cool while wanting to jump for joy.

“I'll text you, time and place”

“Great” Sophie said and smiled,

“You’d better get to work now” Angela said

“Oh God yes” she said all flustered “bye”

Angela watched as she hurried away with her brunette hair dancing on the shoulders with every step, while her little buttocks were doing a different dance.

When Sophie glanced over her shoulder Angela knew she was hers.