“I fancy something to eat” she said and the movement of her head caused the golden earrings to glint in the Christmas candlelight.
“Me too” he said
As they left their pews he glance up at the memorial plaques on the wall and one of them in particular
“Lt William Beaumont Killed in Action, Died February 1941 aged 19”
It struck a chord for two reason firstly because his brother was 19 when he lost him, though not in a war, his demise was due to drink driving, his own.
The other thing was that he felt a connection to William Beaumont because his grandfather knew him, in fact they served together in the Downshire’s and was actually present when he was killed and he always spoke well of him.
The reason it struck a chord on that day was that he had been taking stock of his life and had come to the conclusion that life was a participation kind of thing and he hadn’t participated fully and he had lived twice as long as William.
And that was why he had gone to church that day for guidance from on high while enjoying the peace and tranquility and he got an answer of sorts
“You know what to do”
And then by divine providence she was there in the church, Caroline Kimber.
“Now it’s up to you” he said to himself
She smiled when she saw him and sat beside him and they chatted as they had many times before, but on this occasion he was more overt in his converse which gave Caroline hope which was why she said
“I fancy something to eat”
They left the church and crossed the street to the corner café where they had often had lunch together.
They used to sit right in the window, never saying much, they just sat there in a comfortable silence, drinking tea and watching the world go by.
But he had decided that other people sitting in café’s should be watching him and Caroline go by.
So on that day as the Christmas shoppers bustled by George was oblivious to them because he had eyes only for Caroline and nor was he silent and as a result she was expectant and then he said
“I was wondering what you were doing for Christmas”
“Nothing, I have no plans” Caroline replied
“Nor do I” George said “so why don’t we plan to do nothing together”
“You mean spend Christmas…. Together”
“Yes”
“I would like that very much” she said
“Merry Christmas” he said and saluted her with his mug and she reciprocated.
Sunday 25 June 2017
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (91) Yuletide at the Claremont Hotel
(Part 01)
Shallowfield sat on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and was bordered on the other side by the Dancingdean forest and the town’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away from the area and it only just survived and the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s however things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism as a result of an increase in leisure time.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the previously derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a Hotel.
From then on Shallowfield went from strength to strength which was echoed by the fortunes of the Claremont Hotel.
It was once the home of a wealthy Downshire family but like so many similar great houses in the county it fell into disuse as the fortunes of the owners suffered after the Great War.
It had had many reincarnations since then, particularly in the years between the wars and had been used for many things over the post war years but it wasn’t until the 60s that it became The Claremont Hotel.
However things had got tough in the Hotel trade with the success of Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express and so places like the Claremont needed to offer something extra to attract the guests.
In the early summer a new manager was appointed, Matthew Millward, and he was an instant hit with the locals because he was young, tall, dark and handsome, physically fit, well-toned and had a reputation as a fair minded guy, which had very much preceded him.
He was 28 years old and his father owned the Millward Manor chain of hotels and he was grooming him to one day take over the reins of his worldwide hotel empire, the problem was that Matt had no head for business and he felt that he was more of an artistic soul.
Which could possibly have been ignored but for the fact that he had broken off his engagement with the granddaughter of his father’s oldest friend.
However that in itself wasn’t what had him exiled, it was Elaine’s attempted suicide, not that his action had caused her mental meltdown, it was rather more her mental instability being the deciding factor that forced him to end the engagement.
So it was decided to send Matt to the Claremont Hotel where he could do no real harm until the dust settled.
When he first found out he was being sent to Shallowfield, Matt was very unhappy, he was a city boy, born and bred, and he viewed being sent to the country as purgatory, but no one was more surprised than he was when he found that he actually loved it, it was a beautiful place, it was quiet and the air was clean and he felt immediately at home.
(Part 02)
When he first found out he was being sent to Shallowfield Matt was very unhappy, he was a city boy, born and bred, and he viewed being sent to the country as purgatory, but no one was more surprised than he was when he found that he actually loved it, it was a beautiful place, it was quiet and the air was clean and he felt immediately at home.
After the broken engagement and the resulting fall out Matthew Millward decided that he would not under any circumstances get himself romantically entangled while he was on punishment duty.
But there is a very apt saying which goes “never on your own doorstep” which he had clearly never heard because on his first day he fell head over heels for the Hospitality Manager, Sarah Poole, although in his defence the feeling was mutual.
Although apart from two very passionate kisses, the first initiated by her and the second by him, and the fact they were hopelessly in love with each other nothing else happened.
She was five foot eight with short red hair, in a pixie cut, mesmerizing green eyes and a cute figure with curves in all the right places and long slender legs.
Sarah was 26 years old and wasn’t looking for a relationship either because she was married, albeit to an alcoholic who hadn’t had shown her any marital attention for two years but she was still married to him nonetheless.
Sarah had worked at the hotel for since she left school, five years in housekeeping, five more in hospitality, and for two of those as Manager and she loved her job.
Despite the fact that Matthew was sent to the Claremont as a punishment and possessed no head for business he surprised his father as well as himself by doing a very acceptable job of managing the hotel and had grown the corporate side of the business and it was becoming a very popular venue for functions.
This was as a result in no small measure to his decision to promote the former Hospitality Manager Sarah Poole.
This was after Martin Tyrer tendered his resignation, he had been a loyal employee of the Millward Manor group for ten years and had been the Assistant Manager at the Claremont for 5 of those and when the Manager’s vacancy came up he believed he was a shoe in for the job.
So when Matthew Millward was parachuted in over his head it was just too much for him to take.
It left Matthew in a very difficult position as he needed someone who knew the place inside out and Sarah Poole was the only person that really fitted the bill so he offered her the job.
Matthews father was particularly pleased with him, there had been no reported mishaps and he had turned around the fortunes of the hotel, and so he invited him up to Abbottsford for the weekend for a celebratory meal but as he was conscious that his success was due more to Sarah Poole’s efforts than his own he dragged her along as well.
The following weekend he went on his own, the meal was very good and it was nice to see his parents but he didn’t stay the whole weekend as he was missing the quiet of Claremont.
And in truth he was a little embarrassed taking all the credit for the success at the Claremont plus he rather missed Sarah.
Matthew felt very pleased with himself for persuading Sarah to take the assistant Managers job although it was for purely selfish reasons.
Having Sarah as assistant manager, who was not only hard working and diligent but could also handle the guests very well, meant he could comfortably leave her in charge while he was doing what he did best, letting other people get on with it.
(Part 03)
Sarah Poole was five foot eight with long shapely legs, but in his leather chair she looked quite small, almost childlike, her head, with her pixie cut red hair was turned to the side and she had an angelic look on her face.
It was a pretty face that he was very familiar with, he saw it every day at work and every night in his dreams.
Matthew Millward’s arrival at the hotel had a massive impact on Sarah Poole, and not just the fact that she fell in love with him at first sight and the relationship that had developed between them after she had stolen a kiss on his first day.
She had been promoted from Hospitality Manager into the assistant manager’s position and she had been able to leave her alcoholic husband because she was living in the Gate Lodge.
And Matthew had decided that because she had done such a wonderful job, to such an extent that she was making him look good, coupled with the fact that he was in love with her, he decided she deserved a reward, and he knew just the thing, her own office.
Which he surprised her with in November after Sarah had a week off to move the remainder of her possessions from her former marital home in the village to her new home at the Gate Lodge and she was thrilled with it.
Although Sarah was living in the gate lodge and had started the process of divorcing her alcoholic husband, and had completely lost her heart to her boss, they had not progressed from sharing the occasional spine-tingling kiss.
She knew though that he was just being the gentleman and was waiting until she was ready, well by December she was.
It was on Christmas Eve when Sarah was sitting in her office opening the mail and she had a rather large parcel addressed to her personally, she opened it and found a gift wrapped present inside but she didn’t open it, she just read the card instead
“Have a very Merry Christmas Sarah, with love from a very grateful Guest”
“Well that’s lovely” she said to herself and then she remembered that she had a present to deliver as well.
After she had finished opening the mail she ordered what sounded like a very interesting sandwich from the kitchen which turned out to be rather boring so she drank the cup of tea that came with it and decided to go and deliver a present of her own.
Sarah stood in the hall holding a Christmas package when she knocked on the door of his suite.
When the door opened she found Matthew Millward standing there wearing a dressing gown.
“Happy Christmas Matthew” she said beaming a big smile and holding out the package.
“Wow Happy Christmas Sarah” he responded, “come in”
“Ok” she said still smiling broadly “but no impropriety”
“No impropriety” he agreed and Sarah stepped inside
“You didn’t have to get me a gift,” he said to her as she sat down on the sofa.
“I think I did though because last Christmas Ken was drunk for ten days in a row, we had no decorations, because he ripped them all down in a drunken rage, no tree for the same reason, no Christmas dinner because he spent all the housekeeping money on booze and there were no presents” she said and tears were beginning to form in her eyes
“This year, I have a new job, which I love, I have somewhere I can call home, which I love, I have my own office, which I also love, I have money in the bank and a bright future ahead and it’s all thanks to you”
He tried to interrupt but Sarah continued
“If you hadn’t helped me, believed in me, I wouldn’t be here now having the best Christmas I’ve ever had since I was child, and I will always be grateful for that, and the other things of course” she added and blushed as she stood up and produced a sprig of mistletoe.
“Doesn’t that constitute “impropriety”?” he asked
“No this doesn’t count” she explained
“We have to kiss, it’s the law”
“What law?” he asked
“Christmas law” Sarah replied
“Oh ok then” he conceded and they kissed and afterwards she said
“I don’t want to have to use mistletoe like this again”
“Ok I’ll try and remember for next year”
“No that’s not what I mean” She said and smiled “I want to be able to kiss you at any time I want, wherever I want, no matter who might be looking”
“Are you sure?” he asked
“Absolutely, it’s time for me to be happy” she replied and kissed him again.
After satisfying the Christmas ritual and establishing the new status of their relationship, she left his suite.
Matthew was leaving to spend Christmas in Abbottsford with his parents while she was on duty.
She had volunteered to give people with family the time off, but they would be spending New Year’s Eve together and the New Year would be their new beginning.
“Happy Christmas to me, I’ve got a boyfriend” she said as she walked down the hall smiling broadly.
Shallowfield sat on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and was bordered on the other side by the Dancingdean forest and the town’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away from the area and it only just survived and the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s however things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism as a result of an increase in leisure time.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the previously derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a Hotel.
From then on Shallowfield went from strength to strength which was echoed by the fortunes of the Claremont Hotel.
It was once the home of a wealthy Downshire family but like so many similar great houses in the county it fell into disuse as the fortunes of the owners suffered after the Great War.
It had had many reincarnations since then, particularly in the years between the wars and had been used for many things over the post war years but it wasn’t until the 60s that it became The Claremont Hotel.
However things had got tough in the Hotel trade with the success of Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express and so places like the Claremont needed to offer something extra to attract the guests.
In the early summer a new manager was appointed, Matthew Millward, and he was an instant hit with the locals because he was young, tall, dark and handsome, physically fit, well-toned and had a reputation as a fair minded guy, which had very much preceded him.
He was 28 years old and his father owned the Millward Manor chain of hotels and he was grooming him to one day take over the reins of his worldwide hotel empire, the problem was that Matt had no head for business and he felt that he was more of an artistic soul.
Which could possibly have been ignored but for the fact that he had broken off his engagement with the granddaughter of his father’s oldest friend.
However that in itself wasn’t what had him exiled, it was Elaine’s attempted suicide, not that his action had caused her mental meltdown, it was rather more her mental instability being the deciding factor that forced him to end the engagement.
So it was decided to send Matt to the Claremont Hotel where he could do no real harm until the dust settled.
When he first found out he was being sent to Shallowfield, Matt was very unhappy, he was a city boy, born and bred, and he viewed being sent to the country as purgatory, but no one was more surprised than he was when he found that he actually loved it, it was a beautiful place, it was quiet and the air was clean and he felt immediately at home.
(Part 02)
When he first found out he was being sent to Shallowfield Matt was very unhappy, he was a city boy, born and bred, and he viewed being sent to the country as purgatory, but no one was more surprised than he was when he found that he actually loved it, it was a beautiful place, it was quiet and the air was clean and he felt immediately at home.
After the broken engagement and the resulting fall out Matthew Millward decided that he would not under any circumstances get himself romantically entangled while he was on punishment duty.
But there is a very apt saying which goes “never on your own doorstep” which he had clearly never heard because on his first day he fell head over heels for the Hospitality Manager, Sarah Poole, although in his defence the feeling was mutual.
Although apart from two very passionate kisses, the first initiated by her and the second by him, and the fact they were hopelessly in love with each other nothing else happened.
She was five foot eight with short red hair, in a pixie cut, mesmerizing green eyes and a cute figure with curves in all the right places and long slender legs.
Sarah was 26 years old and wasn’t looking for a relationship either because she was married, albeit to an alcoholic who hadn’t had shown her any marital attention for two years but she was still married to him nonetheless.
Sarah had worked at the hotel for since she left school, five years in housekeeping, five more in hospitality, and for two of those as Manager and she loved her job.
Despite the fact that Matthew was sent to the Claremont as a punishment and possessed no head for business he surprised his father as well as himself by doing a very acceptable job of managing the hotel and had grown the corporate side of the business and it was becoming a very popular venue for functions.
This was as a result in no small measure to his decision to promote the former Hospitality Manager Sarah Poole.
This was after Martin Tyrer tendered his resignation, he had been a loyal employee of the Millward Manor group for ten years and had been the Assistant Manager at the Claremont for 5 of those and when the Manager’s vacancy came up he believed he was a shoe in for the job.
So when Matthew Millward was parachuted in over his head it was just too much for him to take.
It left Matthew in a very difficult position as he needed someone who knew the place inside out and Sarah Poole was the only person that really fitted the bill so he offered her the job.
Matthews father was particularly pleased with him, there had been no reported mishaps and he had turned around the fortunes of the hotel, and so he invited him up to Abbottsford for the weekend for a celebratory meal but as he was conscious that his success was due more to Sarah Poole’s efforts than his own he dragged her along as well.
The following weekend he went on his own, the meal was very good and it was nice to see his parents but he didn’t stay the whole weekend as he was missing the quiet of Claremont.
And in truth he was a little embarrassed taking all the credit for the success at the Claremont plus he rather missed Sarah.
Matthew felt very pleased with himself for persuading Sarah to take the assistant Managers job although it was for purely selfish reasons.
Having Sarah as assistant manager, who was not only hard working and diligent but could also handle the guests very well, meant he could comfortably leave her in charge while he was doing what he did best, letting other people get on with it.
(Part 03)
Sarah Poole was five foot eight with long shapely legs, but in his leather chair she looked quite small, almost childlike, her head, with her pixie cut red hair was turned to the side and she had an angelic look on her face.
It was a pretty face that he was very familiar with, he saw it every day at work and every night in his dreams.
Matthew Millward’s arrival at the hotel had a massive impact on Sarah Poole, and not just the fact that she fell in love with him at first sight and the relationship that had developed between them after she had stolen a kiss on his first day.
She had been promoted from Hospitality Manager into the assistant manager’s position and she had been able to leave her alcoholic husband because she was living in the Gate Lodge.
And Matthew had decided that because she had done such a wonderful job, to such an extent that she was making him look good, coupled with the fact that he was in love with her, he decided she deserved a reward, and he knew just the thing, her own office.
Which he surprised her with in November after Sarah had a week off to move the remainder of her possessions from her former marital home in the village to her new home at the Gate Lodge and she was thrilled with it.
Although Sarah was living in the gate lodge and had started the process of divorcing her alcoholic husband, and had completely lost her heart to her boss, they had not progressed from sharing the occasional spine-tingling kiss.
She knew though that he was just being the gentleman and was waiting until she was ready, well by December she was.
It was on Christmas Eve when Sarah was sitting in her office opening the mail and she had a rather large parcel addressed to her personally, she opened it and found a gift wrapped present inside but she didn’t open it, she just read the card instead
“Have a very Merry Christmas Sarah, with love from a very grateful Guest”
“Well that’s lovely” she said to herself and then she remembered that she had a present to deliver as well.
After she had finished opening the mail she ordered what sounded like a very interesting sandwich from the kitchen which turned out to be rather boring so she drank the cup of tea that came with it and decided to go and deliver a present of her own.
Sarah stood in the hall holding a Christmas package when she knocked on the door of his suite.
When the door opened she found Matthew Millward standing there wearing a dressing gown.
“Happy Christmas Matthew” she said beaming a big smile and holding out the package.
“Wow Happy Christmas Sarah” he responded, “come in”
“Ok” she said still smiling broadly “but no impropriety”
“No impropriety” he agreed and Sarah stepped inside
“You didn’t have to get me a gift,” he said to her as she sat down on the sofa.
“I think I did though because last Christmas Ken was drunk for ten days in a row, we had no decorations, because he ripped them all down in a drunken rage, no tree for the same reason, no Christmas dinner because he spent all the housekeeping money on booze and there were no presents” she said and tears were beginning to form in her eyes
“This year, I have a new job, which I love, I have somewhere I can call home, which I love, I have my own office, which I also love, I have money in the bank and a bright future ahead and it’s all thanks to you”
He tried to interrupt but Sarah continued
“If you hadn’t helped me, believed in me, I wouldn’t be here now having the best Christmas I’ve ever had since I was child, and I will always be grateful for that, and the other things of course” she added and blushed as she stood up and produced a sprig of mistletoe.
“Doesn’t that constitute “impropriety”?” he asked
“No this doesn’t count” she explained
“We have to kiss, it’s the law”
“What law?” he asked
“Christmas law” Sarah replied
“Oh ok then” he conceded and they kissed and afterwards she said
“I don’t want to have to use mistletoe like this again”
“Ok I’ll try and remember for next year”
“No that’s not what I mean” She said and smiled “I want to be able to kiss you at any time I want, wherever I want, no matter who might be looking”
“Are you sure?” he asked
“Absolutely, it’s time for me to be happy” she replied and kissed him again.
After satisfying the Christmas ritual and establishing the new status of their relationship, she left his suite.
Matthew was leaving to spend Christmas in Abbottsford with his parents while she was on duty.
She had volunteered to give people with family the time off, but they would be spending New Year’s Eve together and the New Year would be their new beginning.
“Happy Christmas to me, I’ve got a boyfriend” she said as she walked down the hall smiling broadly.
Saturday 24 June 2017
Downshire Diary – (90) Sunday Service
On his journey home from Church, William Grant found it quite remarkable just how many women of the village were wandering the streets and lanes of Dulcet St Mary long after the service had ended, despite the inclement weather.
But for 50 year old Brian, these ladies of mixed ages and physical dimensions all dressed in their Sunday best were all in his opinion second best to the lady he was on the way to see.
But as he passed the ladies, every one of them smiled pleasantly at him and he thought to himself as he returned their smiles
“You would not be smiling so politely at me if you knew how you failed to measure up”
When he reached his destination he opened the front door and went straight through to lounge where he found his widowed lover, Gillian Townsend, lying alluringly on the couch.
“Hello Darling” she said “Good service?”
“Yes very good” he replied
“Excellent” she said “now I would like a good Sunday service”
But for 50 year old Brian, these ladies of mixed ages and physical dimensions all dressed in their Sunday best were all in his opinion second best to the lady he was on the way to see.
But as he passed the ladies, every one of them smiled pleasantly at him and he thought to himself as he returned their smiles
“You would not be smiling so politely at me if you knew how you failed to measure up”
When he reached his destination he opened the front door and went straight through to lounge where he found his widowed lover, Gillian Townsend, lying alluringly on the couch.
“Hello Darling” she said “Good service?”
“Yes very good” he replied
“Excellent” she said “now I would like a good Sunday service”
Mornington-By-Mere – (90) In Funereal Finery
One of the inevitable side effects of getting older is that you seem to attend more and more funerals with every passing year, which is ironically just part of life, but for Peter St George funerals had always had a profoundly erotic effect upon him ever since the incident that occurred on the morning of his grandfather’s funeral in 1963 when he was just 15 years old.
They were all staying at Mornington Manor, the home of the St George clan, and it was a full house so he took the chance amidst the hustle and bustle to sneak into his 20 year old Cousin Julie’s bedroom while she was having a bath so he could go in her handbag and pinch a couple of cigarettes.
But she finished in the bathroom sooner than he anticipated, so not wishing to get in trouble for stealing he hid in the wardrobe instead.
He was hoping she had just forgotten something and wouldn’t be long and would return to the bathroom so he could escape, but she didn’t so he just waited and watched her.
She was sitting on the bed as she dried her long brown hair which was very boring and he thought about stepping out and confessing but then she stood up and he watched her as she turned her back to him and began drying her curvaceous body with a large bath sheet but she offered tantalizing glimpses of what was hidden from view, which was very sensual.
Peter carried on watching in fascination until the moment she turned around and threw the towel on to the bed and he saw the first naked woman of his life.
His eyes were like saucers as they were drawn first to her breasts, and their associated adornments, which were even more amazing than he had imagined, and then he moved onto the parts he hadn’t imagined at all.
Peter continued looking at her as she began to dress, first she put on her black suspender belt around her narrow waist and then pulled on a pair of black silk French drawers.
Cousin Julie did each item deliciously slowly just as if she knew she was playing to an appreciative audience.
Next she sat on the bed and pulled on the first of her seamed black stockings up her long slender leg and as she leant forward to fasten the suspender her breasts hung voluptuously down and then at the same slow deliberate pace she repeated the process for the second stocking.
Cousin Julie stood up after fastening the second suspender and seemed to look straight at him and smiled before she harnessed her large round breasts in a black lacy contraption.
And when she had finished fastening her bra he saw the image to which every woman would be subsequently compared for the rest of his life.
The addition of an under slip did not diminish his appreciation of her but when the dress went on he knew the show was over.
Peter had to continue to wait in the closet for another 25 minutes after she finished dressing while she applied her makeup and only when she finally went downstairs could he escape his hiding place.
As he got to the door he looked back towards the wardrobe and he could see the reason he thought she was looking at him and smiling because next to the wardrobe door was a full-length mirror.
That day stamped a mark on him that lasted a lifetime and now whenever he sees a woman in Funereal Finery he gets aroused.
He never forgot that day and try as he might he never found anyone to come anywhere near matching what had become his ideal.
But then on his 24th birthday he finally realised that they weren’t Julie.
So one year later after that realisation Peter and Julie were married at St Winifred’s church in Mornington and he had finally found his ideal woman.
They were all staying at Mornington Manor, the home of the St George clan, and it was a full house so he took the chance amidst the hustle and bustle to sneak into his 20 year old Cousin Julie’s bedroom while she was having a bath so he could go in her handbag and pinch a couple of cigarettes.
But she finished in the bathroom sooner than he anticipated, so not wishing to get in trouble for stealing he hid in the wardrobe instead.
He was hoping she had just forgotten something and wouldn’t be long and would return to the bathroom so he could escape, but she didn’t so he just waited and watched her.
She was sitting on the bed as she dried her long brown hair which was very boring and he thought about stepping out and confessing but then she stood up and he watched her as she turned her back to him and began drying her curvaceous body with a large bath sheet but she offered tantalizing glimpses of what was hidden from view, which was very sensual.
Peter carried on watching in fascination until the moment she turned around and threw the towel on to the bed and he saw the first naked woman of his life.
His eyes were like saucers as they were drawn first to her breasts, and their associated adornments, which were even more amazing than he had imagined, and then he moved onto the parts he hadn’t imagined at all.
Peter continued looking at her as she began to dress, first she put on her black suspender belt around her narrow waist and then pulled on a pair of black silk French drawers.
Cousin Julie did each item deliciously slowly just as if she knew she was playing to an appreciative audience.
Next she sat on the bed and pulled on the first of her seamed black stockings up her long slender leg and as she leant forward to fasten the suspender her breasts hung voluptuously down and then at the same slow deliberate pace she repeated the process for the second stocking.
Cousin Julie stood up after fastening the second suspender and seemed to look straight at him and smiled before she harnessed her large round breasts in a black lacy contraption.
And when she had finished fastening her bra he saw the image to which every woman would be subsequently compared for the rest of his life.
The addition of an under slip did not diminish his appreciation of her but when the dress went on he knew the show was over.
Peter had to continue to wait in the closet for another 25 minutes after she finished dressing while she applied her makeup and only when she finally went downstairs could he escape his hiding place.
As he got to the door he looked back towards the wardrobe and he could see the reason he thought she was looking at him and smiling because next to the wardrobe door was a full-length mirror.
That day stamped a mark on him that lasted a lifetime and now whenever he sees a woman in Funereal Finery he gets aroused.
He never forgot that day and try as he might he never found anyone to come anywhere near matching what had become his ideal.
But then on his 24th birthday he finally realised that they weren’t Julie.
So one year later after that realisation Peter and Julie were married at St Winifred’s church in Mornington and he had finally found his ideal woman.
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (90) Angel of the Night
When Angela met him in Beiderbecke’s, a moody Jazz Club in a seedy corner of Finchbottom, she was wearing her sexiest lingerie and behaved suggestively and without ambiguity.
She sought Dave out and attempted to shake him out of his torpor,
He went to the club for hot jazz she went there to disarm him with her directness and seduce and charm until the want of her made him ache.
Soon they left the club and were in his car traveling at pace to his house and all the while she was enticing and seducing and the moment he opened the front door he found out there was more to life than hot jazz.
She sought Dave out and attempted to shake him out of his torpor,
He went to the club for hot jazz she went there to disarm him with her directness and seduce and charm until the want of her made him ache.
Soon they left the club and were in his car traveling at pace to his house and all the while she was enticing and seducing and the moment he opened the front door he found out there was more to life than hot jazz.
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (90) After Graduation – Paul and Sharlene
(Part 01)
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 it’s in the Village of Shallowfield where our story takes place.
Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfields fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond, and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield.
Triplets, Dale, Manny and Paul Smith had just graduated from Abbottsford University and were spending the summer with their uncle Julius, who was the Vicar of St Jude’s church in Shallowfield, which was where they met the Nichols sisters.
They had been at their Uncles for less than a week when they walked up to the village green to attend the Village summer Fête, but even though they had only been there a few days they were not newcomers as they had spent every holiday there for as long as they could remember and had made a lot of friends among the younger members of the village population over the years.
The Fête was very well attended but despite not being strangers they didn’t really know many of the people in attendance but they thought they would take a look, show willing at least, so they went on a few of the side shows and drank a couple of pints in the beer tent and by late afternoon, a combination of too much beer on an empty stomach and the heat of the sun had left them all a little light headed so they decided to call it a day and headed back across the field in the direction of the Vicarage.
But they only got about half way across the field when they were two of the Nichols girls, Crissie and Sharlene and they turned in unison to see them tottering towards them across the grass, shoes in hand and ever so slightly tipsy.
The twin girls were not only sisters, but were also best friends, quite inseparable and Manny and Paul thought them very gorgeous, and had been in love with them foe three years, but alas when they fell for them the girls were only 15, even though they kept reminding them that they were actually 15 and three quarters.
Sadly that three quarters was not going to keep them off the sex offenders register if they did what red bloodied young men of 18 might think of doing.
But they were both lovely girls and he liked them a lot but they decided to keep them at arm’s length until they turned 16, unfortunately another opportunity never presented itself in the following three years so that seemed to be that, until that summer.
Crissie was the younger of the two by a few minutes, five foot two red hair and pale complexion and cutely freckled while Sharlene was an inch shorter with a strawberry blonde hair and alabaster skin.
They were both stunningly beautiful and wearing low cut summer dresses they looked even more so.
They tottered up alongside them, each taking an arm, Sharlene as always was flirting outrageously.
“Can we come back to the Vicarage Paul?” Sharlene said
“Then we could have another drink”
“It’s not like we’re drunk or anything” Crissie chipped in
“Can we?” Sharlene said again
“Please Manny?” Crissie added
“Ok” he said, “as long as you behave”
“What will you do if we don’t?” asked Sharlene
“Will you spank us?” Crissie said and giggled
“You’ll get us shot” Paul said
Being over six feet tall and being arm in arm with the two girls gave them a height advantage of more than a foot, affording them a wonderful view down the front of their low cut dresses, they knew they shouldn’t have looked but even for good Christian boys it was difficult to resist the temptation.
Dale who was the only one of the boys not to have a gorgeous girl on his arm looked on and smiled as his brothers struggled with the moral repercussions of ogling young girl’s breasts.
(Part 02)
Being over six feet tall and being arm in arm with the two girls gave them a height advantage of more than a foot, affording them a wonderful view down the front of their low cut dresses, they knew they shouldn’t have looked but even for good Christian boys it was difficult to resist the temptation.
Dale who was the only one of the boys not to have a gorgeous girl on his arm looked on and smiled as his brothers struggled with the moral repercussions of ogling young girl’s breasts.
Sharlene saw Paul looking down her top and giggled so he didn’t look away.
Then she compared she whispered to her sister about what Manny was doing and she blushed scarlet but made no attempt to prevent him from looking either.
When they reached the Vicarage Dale left his brothers and the giggling flirts outside while he went inside to get the drinks, which given the girls inebriation and his own light-headedness he decided not to fuel the flames with more alcohol, so when he joined the others on the patio, which was now in the shade and put a tray full of soft drinks on the table which on reflection was the wisest thing to do despite protests from the girls.
And then about ten minutes, Gail Nichols emerged through the garden gate and she was also wearing a summer dress, she was the older sister, and was the one that Dale had set his cap at, and thought she was equally gorgeous to her siblings, a few inches taller with a rounder curvier figure than her siblings, but for Dale she was perfection.
“Well no surprise to find Smith boys surrounded by pretty girls” She said
“Is that why you’ve joined us?” Dale said
“I’m not one of the pretty girls” she said coyly “I’ve just come to collect my sisters”
“But we’re having fun” Crissie protested
“I’m sure you sure but it’s time to go” Gail said
“Do you want a drink?” Dale asked
“Yes please” Sharlene replied eagerly
“Me too” giggled Crissie
“I wasn’t asking you two, you’ve had enough” Dale said “I was asking Gail”
“No thanks but another time when you’re not surrounded by pretty girls” she replied “mum and dad are waiting”
“As I said before you’re one of them” he said
“I’m not pretty,” she snorted
“No, you’re beautiful” he corrected her and she turned her head away coyly.
He imagined her coy denial about being one of the pretty girls was either false modesty or she was fishing for compliments.
Just at that moment the back gate swung open and Uncle Julius walked up the garden.
“Hello girls” he said jovially and there followed five minutes of light hearted chattering and then the girls went on their way.
The Smith boys watched them as the three girls tottered down the lawn and when they reached the gate all three turned and waved and Sharlene blew a kiss.
“They are sweet young things aren’t they?” the Vicar said
“Yes Uncle” Dale agreed but to himself he added “and I have a very sweet tooth”
For years he had fantasied about him and Gail and he looked forward to when he could turn the fantasy into reality as it turned out he didn’t have to wait too long, to his surprise it was the next day, that his fantasy was made manifest.
The day after the Smith boys entertained the Nichols sisters in the vicarage garden Manny and Paul went sailing up at Teardrop Lake while Dale remained at the vicarage catching up on his reading.
But by the time they had finished on the Lake for the day back at the Vicarage, Dale had put his book down for the day and was kissing Gail Nichols for the first time which turned out to be the first step on a life long journey.
But Dale wasn’t the only member of the Smith family to have a penchant for a Nichols girl but it was a week later before cupid hit the mark for a second time and Manny and Crissie became a couple but there was still more to come that summer.
(Part 03)
So Dale wasn’t the only member of the Smith family to have a penchant for a Nichols girl but it was a week later before cupid hit the mark for a second time and Manny and Crissie became a couple but there was still more to come that Summer because Paul had Sharlene in his sights.
It was two weeks after Dale and Gail got together and one week after Manny and Chrissie first kissed, when Paul woke up on Saturday morning with serious intent.
Dale and Manny were spending the day with their respective girlfriends so he had decided he need to stake his claim on Sharlene before someone else snapped her up.
As it was a nice day he left the Vicarage to take a walk up to Teardrop Lake, and he chose that destination as he had heard that Sharlene had been seen walking in that direction so he had to hurry before she disappeared.
He followed the Lane that ran parallel to the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield and beyond.
He headed past the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and then the lane joined the perimeter road which circled the lake and after a moment’s thought he took the northern side.
Teardrop Lake and the surrounding woodland was privately owned and divided into twelve parcels, each with one significant dwelling on it although there were a number of cottages dotted around the woods as well, some in use and some not.
It was both idyllic and peaceful, there was little or no noise pollution and although the lake was used there were no speed boats or jet skis, only rowing boats, canoes, dinghies and skiffs.
Manny and his brothers learned to sail on the Lake
But there was more to Teardrop than the lake, there were two follies, a Watch tower, and Olwen’s chapel as well as a waterfall, brooks, streams, a 16th Century Bridge and lovers leap.
Unlike the eager and self-confident Crissie Nichols, who had sought out Manny on the day of her birthday when she saw him pass by, even though she was attending her aunts wedding, her sister and best friend, Sharlene had not been able to do the same thing which was why she was spending the day alone up at the Lake.
She was a bit sulky because her sister were so happy since they had got their Smith boys but she was beginning to think the whole summer holiday would pass before she got Paul, if at all.
But little did she know when she decided to go up to the Folly by the Lake for some private sulking that the lovely Paul Smith would cross Sharlenes path.
There were two Folly’s in the area around the Lake the first one was built in the early 19th century by the local Nobleman, the Earl of Dancingdean who had it built for himself, in the style of a Castle Keep, on top of a hill and then had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone around could see his standard flying from the turret.
The second was erected by Ezekiel Cooper who lived on the opposite side of the Lake and was not of the nobility, he made his money in the cotton Mills of Lancashire.
And in response to the Earl’s construction he had built a gaudy Folly of his own in the Victorian Gothic style and like his noble adversary he had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone around could see his standard flying.
Over the intervening years however the forest had crept back to reclaim the hills and only a small clearing was maintained around each of the structures.
Paul had just started the climb up Northern Perimeter road and was just turning the corner when he caught sight of Sharlene ahead of him.
She was unmistakable, five foot one with strawberry blonde hair and alabaster skin.
She had her strawberry red hair tied up and was mostly hidden under a baseball cap.
She was shuffling and scuffing along the road and Paul thought she looked lost and lonely without her sidekick Crissie.
Crissie was the outgoing bubbly girl and Sharlene rather lived in her shadow.
Crissie was ultra-confident, self-assured and pretty and she knew it.
Sharlene was shy, socially awkward and full of self-doubt but she was every bit as pretty but had no idea of the fact.
Crissie was the driving force in their relationship, bold and bubbly.
Being with her made Sharlene feel more confident, daring to do things she would never do alone, living life on her coat tails and without her sister, Sharlene clearly floundered.
Which was evidenced but the rather pathetically forlorn creature who was ambling along ahead of him.
With his longer stride he would have closed the gap on her in a matter of minutes had it not been for the Hodgson’s, a middle aged couple who were friends with his Uncle who had emerged from the woods with their dog and wanted to chat.
As much as he wanted to tell them he had more important things to do than talk with them, he couldn’t so he responded to their converse as he watched Sharlene disappear over the brow of the hill in the distance.
(Part 04)
Once the Hodgson’s had gone on their way he set off up the road which climbed quite steeply up the hill then eased down the other side briefly, then he trudged up the next hill but there was no sign of Sharlene.
“Damn” he cursed before pressing on but by the time he reached the top his legs were feeling it a bit, so he took a breather and a drink, and thought about where she might have gone, it was possible she had gone into one of the houses but then he remembered her mentioning once how much she liked Lovers Leap, so that’s where he headed next.
Lovers leap was a rocky outcrop above the cliffs that were an extension of those that formed part of the northern side of Teardrop Lake and formed the natural border between the Teardrop estate and the Dancingdean Forest proper.
Lovers Leap was so called because it was where desperate and broken hearted lovers would leap to their deaths, although there was no evidence that anyone actually had, but it made a good story.
By the time he reached Lovers Leap he was panting worse than an old man and as he walked onto the rocky shelf that jutted out above the cliffs shelf his heart sank because there was no one there.
Paul paused for a drink and then he made the longer and gentler descent, thinking as he went, and he thought she might have gone to
Dancingdean Folly instead.
The Folly was built by the 8th Earl of Dancingdean who had it erected for himself, in the style of a Castle Keep.
He was always prone to delusions of Grandeur.
He had it erected on top of a hill and then had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone for miles around could see his standard flying high from the turret.
The scene was very different almost two hundred years later as the forest had begun encroaching on the cleared land.
Once Paul got close to the Folly he noticed Sharlene sitting on a towel in a shaft of sunlight wearing a bikini top and shorts so as he approached he called out to her.
“Hi Sharlene” he said and she almost jumped out of her skin
“Oh Hello” she said blushing as she tried to catch her breath.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said
“It’s ok, I was miles away” Sharlene said
“No Crissie today?” he asked, already knowing she was out with Manny.
“No” she sighed “she’s gone to Sharpington with your brother”
He thought she looked quite sad but hopefully from this chance meeting he might put a smile on those pale lips and some colour on her cheeks.
Sharlene was fresh faced and make up free and he thought she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.
“With your lovely pale skin you really need to stay in the shadows” he said and she blushed at the compliment
“If you sit there like that you’ll burn, suntan lotion would help, if you have some I could put it on for you”
“Yes please” she said eagerly “I have some in my bag”
The sunlight was warm but her risk of burning was nowhere near as high as he had made out, but he didn’t tell her that.
He knelt down on the blanket next to her and perused her as she rummaged in her bag.
Sharlene had her head turned to one side and was facing away from him as she searched for the lotion but when she had it she turned to face him and at the precise moment their eyes met he gave her a kiss, not much of a kiss, just a peck on the lips, but the moment lips touched lips she pushed him onto his back and gave him a proper kiss.
“That’s better” Sharlene said and blushed and giggled.
“Very nice” he agreed “But I think we could use more practice to be sure”
“Oh definitely” She concurred and kissed him again
So Sharlene and Paul spent the afternoon on a blanket in the clearing by Dancingdean Folly where they practiced their kissing and fell in love.
Five years after that momentous kiss Paul married Sharlene Nichols and their love remained throughout their 40 year marriage.
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 it’s in the Village of Shallowfield where our story takes place.
Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfields fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond, and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield.
Triplets, Dale, Manny and Paul Smith had just graduated from Abbottsford University and were spending the summer with their uncle Julius, who was the Vicar of St Jude’s church in Shallowfield, which was where they met the Nichols sisters.
They had been at their Uncles for less than a week when they walked up to the village green to attend the Village summer Fête, but even though they had only been there a few days they were not newcomers as they had spent every holiday there for as long as they could remember and had made a lot of friends among the younger members of the village population over the years.
The Fête was very well attended but despite not being strangers they didn’t really know many of the people in attendance but they thought they would take a look, show willing at least, so they went on a few of the side shows and drank a couple of pints in the beer tent and by late afternoon, a combination of too much beer on an empty stomach and the heat of the sun had left them all a little light headed so they decided to call it a day and headed back across the field in the direction of the Vicarage.
But they only got about half way across the field when they were two of the Nichols girls, Crissie and Sharlene and they turned in unison to see them tottering towards them across the grass, shoes in hand and ever so slightly tipsy.
The twin girls were not only sisters, but were also best friends, quite inseparable and Manny and Paul thought them very gorgeous, and had been in love with them foe three years, but alas when they fell for them the girls were only 15, even though they kept reminding them that they were actually 15 and three quarters.
Sadly that three quarters was not going to keep them off the sex offenders register if they did what red bloodied young men of 18 might think of doing.
But they were both lovely girls and he liked them a lot but they decided to keep them at arm’s length until they turned 16, unfortunately another opportunity never presented itself in the following three years so that seemed to be that, until that summer.
Crissie was the younger of the two by a few minutes, five foot two red hair and pale complexion and cutely freckled while Sharlene was an inch shorter with a strawberry blonde hair and alabaster skin.
They were both stunningly beautiful and wearing low cut summer dresses they looked even more so.
They tottered up alongside them, each taking an arm, Sharlene as always was flirting outrageously.
“Can we come back to the Vicarage Paul?” Sharlene said
“Then we could have another drink”
“It’s not like we’re drunk or anything” Crissie chipped in
“Can we?” Sharlene said again
“Please Manny?” Crissie added
“Ok” he said, “as long as you behave”
“What will you do if we don’t?” asked Sharlene
“Will you spank us?” Crissie said and giggled
“You’ll get us shot” Paul said
Being over six feet tall and being arm in arm with the two girls gave them a height advantage of more than a foot, affording them a wonderful view down the front of their low cut dresses, they knew they shouldn’t have looked but even for good Christian boys it was difficult to resist the temptation.
Dale who was the only one of the boys not to have a gorgeous girl on his arm looked on and smiled as his brothers struggled with the moral repercussions of ogling young girl’s breasts.
(Part 02)
Being over six feet tall and being arm in arm with the two girls gave them a height advantage of more than a foot, affording them a wonderful view down the front of their low cut dresses, they knew they shouldn’t have looked but even for good Christian boys it was difficult to resist the temptation.
Dale who was the only one of the boys not to have a gorgeous girl on his arm looked on and smiled as his brothers struggled with the moral repercussions of ogling young girl’s breasts.
Sharlene saw Paul looking down her top and giggled so he didn’t look away.
Then she compared she whispered to her sister about what Manny was doing and she blushed scarlet but made no attempt to prevent him from looking either.
When they reached the Vicarage Dale left his brothers and the giggling flirts outside while he went inside to get the drinks, which given the girls inebriation and his own light-headedness he decided not to fuel the flames with more alcohol, so when he joined the others on the patio, which was now in the shade and put a tray full of soft drinks on the table which on reflection was the wisest thing to do despite protests from the girls.
And then about ten minutes, Gail Nichols emerged through the garden gate and she was also wearing a summer dress, she was the older sister, and was the one that Dale had set his cap at, and thought she was equally gorgeous to her siblings, a few inches taller with a rounder curvier figure than her siblings, but for Dale she was perfection.
“Well no surprise to find Smith boys surrounded by pretty girls” She said
“Is that why you’ve joined us?” Dale said
“I’m not one of the pretty girls” she said coyly “I’ve just come to collect my sisters”
“But we’re having fun” Crissie protested
“I’m sure you sure but it’s time to go” Gail said
“Do you want a drink?” Dale asked
“Yes please” Sharlene replied eagerly
“Me too” giggled Crissie
“I wasn’t asking you two, you’ve had enough” Dale said “I was asking Gail”
“No thanks but another time when you’re not surrounded by pretty girls” she replied “mum and dad are waiting”
“As I said before you’re one of them” he said
“I’m not pretty,” she snorted
“No, you’re beautiful” he corrected her and she turned her head away coyly.
He imagined her coy denial about being one of the pretty girls was either false modesty or she was fishing for compliments.
Just at that moment the back gate swung open and Uncle Julius walked up the garden.
“Hello girls” he said jovially and there followed five minutes of light hearted chattering and then the girls went on their way.
The Smith boys watched them as the three girls tottered down the lawn and when they reached the gate all three turned and waved and Sharlene blew a kiss.
“They are sweet young things aren’t they?” the Vicar said
“Yes Uncle” Dale agreed but to himself he added “and I have a very sweet tooth”
For years he had fantasied about him and Gail and he looked forward to when he could turn the fantasy into reality as it turned out he didn’t have to wait too long, to his surprise it was the next day, that his fantasy was made manifest.
The day after the Smith boys entertained the Nichols sisters in the vicarage garden Manny and Paul went sailing up at Teardrop Lake while Dale remained at the vicarage catching up on his reading.
But by the time they had finished on the Lake for the day back at the Vicarage, Dale had put his book down for the day and was kissing Gail Nichols for the first time which turned out to be the first step on a life long journey.
But Dale wasn’t the only member of the Smith family to have a penchant for a Nichols girl but it was a week later before cupid hit the mark for a second time and Manny and Crissie became a couple but there was still more to come that summer.
(Part 03)
So Dale wasn’t the only member of the Smith family to have a penchant for a Nichols girl but it was a week later before cupid hit the mark for a second time and Manny and Crissie became a couple but there was still more to come that Summer because Paul had Sharlene in his sights.
It was two weeks after Dale and Gail got together and one week after Manny and Chrissie first kissed, when Paul woke up on Saturday morning with serious intent.
Dale and Manny were spending the day with their respective girlfriends so he had decided he need to stake his claim on Sharlene before someone else snapped her up.
As it was a nice day he left the Vicarage to take a walk up to Teardrop Lake, and he chose that destination as he had heard that Sharlene had been seen walking in that direction so he had to hurry before she disappeared.
He followed the Lane that ran parallel to the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield and beyond.
He headed past the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and then the lane joined the perimeter road which circled the lake and after a moment’s thought he took the northern side.
Teardrop Lake and the surrounding woodland was privately owned and divided into twelve parcels, each with one significant dwelling on it although there were a number of cottages dotted around the woods as well, some in use and some not.
It was both idyllic and peaceful, there was little or no noise pollution and although the lake was used there were no speed boats or jet skis, only rowing boats, canoes, dinghies and skiffs.
Manny and his brothers learned to sail on the Lake
But there was more to Teardrop than the lake, there were two follies, a Watch tower, and Olwen’s chapel as well as a waterfall, brooks, streams, a 16th Century Bridge and lovers leap.
Unlike the eager and self-confident Crissie Nichols, who had sought out Manny on the day of her birthday when she saw him pass by, even though she was attending her aunts wedding, her sister and best friend, Sharlene had not been able to do the same thing which was why she was spending the day alone up at the Lake.
She was a bit sulky because her sister were so happy since they had got their Smith boys but she was beginning to think the whole summer holiday would pass before she got Paul, if at all.
But little did she know when she decided to go up to the Folly by the Lake for some private sulking that the lovely Paul Smith would cross Sharlenes path.
There were two Folly’s in the area around the Lake the first one was built in the early 19th century by the local Nobleman, the Earl of Dancingdean who had it built for himself, in the style of a Castle Keep, on top of a hill and then had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone around could see his standard flying from the turret.
The second was erected by Ezekiel Cooper who lived on the opposite side of the Lake and was not of the nobility, he made his money in the cotton Mills of Lancashire.
And in response to the Earl’s construction he had built a gaudy Folly of his own in the Victorian Gothic style and like his noble adversary he had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone around could see his standard flying.
Over the intervening years however the forest had crept back to reclaim the hills and only a small clearing was maintained around each of the structures.
Paul had just started the climb up Northern Perimeter road and was just turning the corner when he caught sight of Sharlene ahead of him.
She was unmistakable, five foot one with strawberry blonde hair and alabaster skin.
She had her strawberry red hair tied up and was mostly hidden under a baseball cap.
She was shuffling and scuffing along the road and Paul thought she looked lost and lonely without her sidekick Crissie.
Crissie was the outgoing bubbly girl and Sharlene rather lived in her shadow.
Crissie was ultra-confident, self-assured and pretty and she knew it.
Sharlene was shy, socially awkward and full of self-doubt but she was every bit as pretty but had no idea of the fact.
Crissie was the driving force in their relationship, bold and bubbly.
Being with her made Sharlene feel more confident, daring to do things she would never do alone, living life on her coat tails and without her sister, Sharlene clearly floundered.
Which was evidenced but the rather pathetically forlorn creature who was ambling along ahead of him.
With his longer stride he would have closed the gap on her in a matter of minutes had it not been for the Hodgson’s, a middle aged couple who were friends with his Uncle who had emerged from the woods with their dog and wanted to chat.
As much as he wanted to tell them he had more important things to do than talk with them, he couldn’t so he responded to their converse as he watched Sharlene disappear over the brow of the hill in the distance.
(Part 04)
Once the Hodgson’s had gone on their way he set off up the road which climbed quite steeply up the hill then eased down the other side briefly, then he trudged up the next hill but there was no sign of Sharlene.
“Damn” he cursed before pressing on but by the time he reached the top his legs were feeling it a bit, so he took a breather and a drink, and thought about where she might have gone, it was possible she had gone into one of the houses but then he remembered her mentioning once how much she liked Lovers Leap, so that’s where he headed next.
Lovers leap was a rocky outcrop above the cliffs that were an extension of those that formed part of the northern side of Teardrop Lake and formed the natural border between the Teardrop estate and the Dancingdean Forest proper.
Lovers Leap was so called because it was where desperate and broken hearted lovers would leap to their deaths, although there was no evidence that anyone actually had, but it made a good story.
By the time he reached Lovers Leap he was panting worse than an old man and as he walked onto the rocky shelf that jutted out above the cliffs shelf his heart sank because there was no one there.
Paul paused for a drink and then he made the longer and gentler descent, thinking as he went, and he thought she might have gone to
Dancingdean Folly instead.
The Folly was built by the 8th Earl of Dancingdean who had it erected for himself, in the style of a Castle Keep.
He was always prone to delusions of Grandeur.
He had it erected on top of a hill and then had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone for miles around could see his standard flying high from the turret.
The scene was very different almost two hundred years later as the forest had begun encroaching on the cleared land.
Once Paul got close to the Folly he noticed Sharlene sitting on a towel in a shaft of sunlight wearing a bikini top and shorts so as he approached he called out to her.
“Hi Sharlene” he said and she almost jumped out of her skin
“Oh Hello” she said blushing as she tried to catch her breath.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said
“It’s ok, I was miles away” Sharlene said
“No Crissie today?” he asked, already knowing she was out with Manny.
“No” she sighed “she’s gone to Sharpington with your brother”
He thought she looked quite sad but hopefully from this chance meeting he might put a smile on those pale lips and some colour on her cheeks.
Sharlene was fresh faced and make up free and he thought she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.
“With your lovely pale skin you really need to stay in the shadows” he said and she blushed at the compliment
“If you sit there like that you’ll burn, suntan lotion would help, if you have some I could put it on for you”
“Yes please” she said eagerly “I have some in my bag”
The sunlight was warm but her risk of burning was nowhere near as high as he had made out, but he didn’t tell her that.
He knelt down on the blanket next to her and perused her as she rummaged in her bag.
Sharlene had her head turned to one side and was facing away from him as she searched for the lotion but when she had it she turned to face him and at the precise moment their eyes met he gave her a kiss, not much of a kiss, just a peck on the lips, but the moment lips touched lips she pushed him onto his back and gave him a proper kiss.
“That’s better” Sharlene said and blushed and giggled.
“Very nice” he agreed “But I think we could use more practice to be sure”
“Oh definitely” She concurred and kissed him again
So Sharlene and Paul spent the afternoon on a blanket in the clearing by Dancingdean Folly where they practiced their kissing and fell in love.
Five years after that momentous kiss Paul married Sharlene Nichols and their love remained throughout their 40 year marriage.
Friday 23 June 2017
Downshire Diary – (89) Alison and the Spa Guy
Alison Holmes went to the University of Downshire where she studied English at Abbottsford and it was for her, like many girls of her age, a life defining time.
She was in halls for the first year and she shared with three other girls Amy Coates, a tall big busted girl, Carole Bean a tall, beautiful and kindly girl and Claire Jarvis a quiet busty brunette.
All four of the girls were studying English in one form or another and apart from their studies they also had in common the fact they were all natives of the Finchbottom Vale.
Claire was from Purplemere, Carole from Childean, Alison from Finchbottom and Amy from Shallowfield.
The friendship that resulted from, on the face of it, 4 very different characters coming together, lasted for their lifetimes and as they got on so well the four of them decided very early on to rent a house between them for the second and third years.
Alison was a little bit on the OCD side of normal but she was a nice girl.
She was, by her own admission, a rather stick thin and plain looking girl with in her opinion three redeeming features, the most stunning eyes, good legs, she liked her legs, and straight shoulder length blonde hair.
Alison didn’t have a boyfriend when she went to university partly because of her OCD but mainly because she hadn’t met the right person until one night she met someone quite by chance.
She bumped into Eric Jespersen, in the park one night and they ended up having a rather prolonged kiss up against an old oak tree.
Eric was on his way back to his block after having been swimming and Alison had been to the library.
Afterwards Eric walked her to her block and they kissed in the shadows
“I hope we can do that again sometime,” she said
“I hope we can too” he replied
“You’re all muddy” Amy said as Alison entered the house
“I know I slipped over in the park” she replied
“You went through the park after dark?” Carole asked horrified
“You could have been attacked” Amy added
Alison said nothing, she just smiled, and went to have a bath.
She wasn’t sure if that kiss in the park would indeed lead to anything but she had hopes.but if nothing came of it she had at least snogged the gorgeous Dane in the woods.
And as the weeks went by it veryy much looked like that would be the full extent of it until fate took a hand again when they bumped into each other in the changing rooms at the University swimming pool and kissed again in one of the cubicles.
After that first time they met there regularly for two weeks until they finally progressed to an actual date which was only the first of many.
For Alison’s 20th birthday Eric took her to the Dancingdean Spa Hotel in Childean and she was in paradise, there were so many ways for someone with OCD to get clean.
Equally as their relationship had progressed there were also many places for them to get dirty and for three days there was a lot of both.
But that long weekend break to celebrate her birthday was in fact quite momentous because in between the treatments and intimacies their relationship had turned to true love.
She was in halls for the first year and she shared with three other girls Amy Coates, a tall big busted girl, Carole Bean a tall, beautiful and kindly girl and Claire Jarvis a quiet busty brunette.
All four of the girls were studying English in one form or another and apart from their studies they also had in common the fact they were all natives of the Finchbottom Vale.
Claire was from Purplemere, Carole from Childean, Alison from Finchbottom and Amy from Shallowfield.
The friendship that resulted from, on the face of it, 4 very different characters coming together, lasted for their lifetimes and as they got on so well the four of them decided very early on to rent a house between them for the second and third years.
Alison was a little bit on the OCD side of normal but she was a nice girl.
She was, by her own admission, a rather stick thin and plain looking girl with in her opinion three redeeming features, the most stunning eyes, good legs, she liked her legs, and straight shoulder length blonde hair.
Alison didn’t have a boyfriend when she went to university partly because of her OCD but mainly because she hadn’t met the right person until one night she met someone quite by chance.
She bumped into Eric Jespersen, in the park one night and they ended up having a rather prolonged kiss up against an old oak tree.
Eric was on his way back to his block after having been swimming and Alison had been to the library.
Afterwards Eric walked her to her block and they kissed in the shadows
“I hope we can do that again sometime,” she said
“I hope we can too” he replied
“You’re all muddy” Amy said as Alison entered the house
“I know I slipped over in the park” she replied
“You went through the park after dark?” Carole asked horrified
“You could have been attacked” Amy added
Alison said nothing, she just smiled, and went to have a bath.
She wasn’t sure if that kiss in the park would indeed lead to anything but she had hopes.but if nothing came of it she had at least snogged the gorgeous Dane in the woods.
And as the weeks went by it veryy much looked like that would be the full extent of it until fate took a hand again when they bumped into each other in the changing rooms at the University swimming pool and kissed again in one of the cubicles.
After that first time they met there regularly for two weeks until they finally progressed to an actual date which was only the first of many.
For Alison’s 20th birthday Eric took her to the Dancingdean Spa Hotel in Childean and she was in paradise, there were so many ways for someone with OCD to get clean.
Equally as their relationship had progressed there were also many places for them to get dirty and for three days there was a lot of both.
But that long weekend break to celebrate her birthday was in fact quite momentous because in between the treatments and intimacies their relationship had turned to true love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)