By Reina Free
As usual I am walking along Kings Lane in the stillness of the early morning. Time to get things into the right order and proportion, to stand still, stop and stare. It is a week after the snowstorm and the lane has its casualties with leaf-covered branches breaking under the weight of the snow.
In the clear blue skies of morning with the sun shining, the snow-covered branches glisten like a trillion diamonds, unlike the trillions spent by the government that show little for the well being of the country. A deer jumps in the Arthur Stewart-Liberty Nature Reserve and in the sky great flocks of noisy rooks linger. In the holly bush two blackbirds argue whilst the chaffinches sing in harmony. Such a wonderful world.
In the first week of October we enjoyed a special treat – a ‘brief heatwave’ – soon followed by torrential rain. A new dewpond appeared in the field opposite Peter and Margaret’s cottage and two ducks now live there although the rain has muddied the water just like my own very recently cleaned pond. Kings Lane now has even more potholes and some are quite deep, although the council has painted white rings among them.
Where I live there is no gas and we warm the house with an oil-fired boiler. I also used to cook on an Aga… a real white demon spewing soot everywhere. Oil has become extraordinarily expensive and I fear in spite of the Government’s diplomatic talks with the producers and refiners it is going to remain expensive. We purchased a multi-fuel stove and what a wise decision that is proving to be. It warms the house and the orange yellow flames are very cheerful especially when the weather is wet and dreary.
Soon we will celebrate Christmas again. A happy time with family and friends, presents and special treats although it is a busy time, stressful, and so easy to be overwhelmed by it all. That is sad because after all it is a birthday party, the celebration of the birth of Jesus and we should not forget to invite him