by Kim Nash
For my first song, I channelled my inner Audrey Hepburn and chose ‘Moon River’, something gentle to ease them in, and I practically hid behind the piano. I spent the first verse looking at the keys, nervous but lost in the melody. When I had the courage to look up, there were smiles all around me. Two of the ladies who were sat at the front were humming and swaying along with me, and then a few more joined in along the way. One little old lady was making up her own words and singing, but she was still joining in and enjoying herself and that was all that mattered. My heart lifted and filled with joy to know that I had made these people smile. When I finished the last note, there was a gentle clap from most of the audience but my posse in the front row gave me a rapturous applause. I was thrilled to bits.
I was feeling a little more confident now so I decided to go with ‘Unforgettable’. I noticed that another of the ladies from the front row had got up and I presumed that she didn’t like it and I was horrified that she was leaving the room, but then to my surprise she sauntered over to one of the gentlemen who was sitting by the window and whispered to him. He got up to join her and to my great surprise, they started to waltz on the carpet beside where I was playing. Others started to applaud them, and another couple got up and joined them. This was delightful. Their faces were an absolute picture; they looked so happy. This was better than an evening watching Strictly anytime! I relaxed and could feel my voice sounding more confident and stronger. I was really getting into my stride.
‘Getting to Know You’ was my next choice for something a little more upbeat and this time there was foot-tapping aplenty and the sounds of hands clapping along warmed the cockles of my heart. Seeing something pink and white heading towards my face, I reached out and realised, to my absolute horror, that I had caught a pair of false teeth in my hands. I looked over and one of the old ladies in the front row was laughing her head off! I screamed and dropped them, which made her cackle some more. Hayley came over and apologised, saying that she should perhaps have warned me that Betty had a habit of laughing so much that her teeth flew out.
There was so much laughter in the room at this point that was a pure delight to hear, we decided to calm ourselves down with another more mellow song, so I introduced ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and thought that might do the trick. I should have known better really when one of the residents came in swinging a brolly around and starting doing what I can only describe as twerking. I could not stop laughing. I thought I was going to have a coronary, let alone these old folks. They clearly knew how to enjoy themselves. Tears of laughter streamed down my face as I tried so very hard to compose myself and carry on singing.
Hayley announced that it was definitely time for a cup of tea and I went round the room talking to the residents in the break, balancing my cup and saucer while chatting. It was so lovely to be thanked by them and told they were having such a lovely time.
I didn’t realise how much of myself I’d lost over the years of working at Ronington’s. Work was all I’d got into the habit of doing. When I was younger, singing used to be like a drug to me. If I didn’t sing, I missed it. I felt so light and happy singing again and I’d almost forgotten just how much I loved it and how it made me feel. Beth had been right all along. She knew me so well.
The ringing of the dinner bell signified that the second half was about to start and I prepared myself as the residents took their seats. Ethel and Beryl from the front row, who I’d met properly in the interval, got up and danced along to ‘Twist and Shout’, even though we had to help Beryl back up again when she twisted down and only shouted because she couldn’t get back up again and roared hilariously. We shared the microphone for the chorus of ‘Que Sera, Sera’ when they became my backing singers.
I’m sure Abba wouldn’t have been too insulted when my backing singers sang ‘Fandango’ instead of ‘Fernando’, and Lord only knows what they were singing when we did ‘Jambalaya’ by The Carpenters, but what they lacked in tone and the correct words, they made up for in enthusiasm and volume.
At least half of the residents were out of their seats and having a dance and the others who could raise their arms up in the air, were waving along, when I sang ‘Sweet Caroline’, which was my pièce de résistance, and totally brought the house down with nearly everyone singing along. They loved the choices I’d made to the play list and I was so happy that they were the right ones for the occasion. Their joy was intoxicating. My face literally ached from smiling so much. Who would have thought that I, who hadn’t sung publicly for literally years, would have spent one of the most enjoyable afternoons of my life, entertaining old folks in this way?
Cries of ‘More! More!’ came from my audience. I looked to Hayley and she held two fingers up at me. As she was smiling, I hoped she meant that I could play another two songs rather than anything else, so I fired up ‘Daydream Believer’ and we ended with ‘Love Changes Everything’, which I played on the piano to rapturous applause. I thought I’d better calm them all down a bit before I buggered off leaving the care workers with a whole load of people with high blood pressure and irregular heartbeats.
‘Oh Maddy, what a joy to see my darlings having so much fun. You picked exactly the right type of tracks. Everyone knew them all and even though they got a tad over excited, you seemed to know when to tone it down a bit. And I thought I was going to wet myself when Betty’s teeth flew out at you. I really should have warned you that might happen.’
‘I’m so happy that you are so pleased. It’s meant the world to me to come and do this today. I was really nervous but when I saw those smiles, I knew it was the right thing to do.’
I couldn’t stop grinning as the residents came and took my hands in theirs and thanked me for a wonderful time, and they sang and kicked their legs and danced their way back down the corridors to their rooms with the carers. What a picture to treasure in my mind. What memories I’d made this afternoon.
‘Will you come back, Maddy, please? We’ll have you anytime. It has truly been a wonderful afternoon. You’d be doing us a huge favour. We don’t have a huge budget for entertainment, but if you could come back some time, I know they’d love it. And perhaps we can invite their families along too so they can see the pleasure they got. In fact, I’d definitely like to book you for our Summer Fayre. We’ll be doing a family day and it would be wonderful to have you at that. Now let me get you your payment. I’m sorry it’s not much.’
‘Me doing you a favour, Hayley? Seriously, experiencing this afternoon, has done me the biggest favour ever. It’s been delightful. I’d come just for the fun of it, I don’t want payment. Thank you so much for having me. I’ll give you a call when I’ve got my diary and put another date and your summer event in. After this afternoon, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’
As I drove away from Meadow View Care Home, the sun came out from behind a fluffy cotton wool cloud and I realised that this afternoon had given me another one of the most uplifting experiences of my life. It made me think that the life I’d been living had been one of having the best of possessions and I wanted to be a better person in the future, making memories that filled your heart with joy. My whole thought process had changed and I just wanted to be the best that I could be.
Chapter Ten
On Sunday morning, I was lying in bed contemplating life, when a ping signified the arrival of a text and my heart annoyingly skipped a beat when I saw who it was from.
Morning Mad. On the farm, there are a number of allotment plots that we rent out. The couple who left the barn on Friday had one and Beth has allocated it to you to keep it ticking over. She asked me to tell you so you wouldn’t kill her and to tell you that it needs a bit of tender loving care. Please come and pick up keys when you can. Alex x
An allotment! What the flipping heck was I supposed to do with an allotment? I wouldn’t even know where to start.
The sound of another text pinged through.
PS. Beth said that you wouldn’t know where to start so has got you some books to help
you and said that Ivan Jenkins in the village is your man if you get stuck.
I grinned. Not much chance of getting out of this one then, it seemed. I loved that Alex was using his childhood nickname for me. Most people called me Maddy or Mads, but Alex was the only one who said I was mad so should be called Mad. Ivan Jenkins had lived in the village as long as I’d been alive and rumour had it could normally be found in the Dog and Duck most afternoons after a hard day’s work down on the fields. I made a mental note to pop in and have a chat with him when I had some free time.
Why Beth had chosen this route for me I had absolutely no idea, but I was sure it’d become obvious in time. I was actually starting to quite like these little challenges she’d been putting my way and wondering what was next. She never ceased to surprise me. Everything so far had given me quite a lot of anxiety to start with, but it soon disappeared and was never as bad as I thought it was going to be. Somehow I managed to find an inner strength to cope and it was actually fun pushing outside of my comfort zone. Maybe she was just making her point.
I texted Alex back to say I’d pop in for the books and the keys later that morning (no time like the present) before I went to Sunday lunch at Mum’s, if that was ok and was just a tad disappointed when I got a short sharp ‘fine’ in return. I was spending more and more time at Mum’s; I didn’t want to be at the flat, it felt cold and emptier every time I was there, and I was loving being back in the village. The apartment complex was only a twenty-minute drive away but at times it seemed like it was much further.
Giddywell Grange’s farmhouse kitchen was one of my favourite places in the world and was the whole hub of the house. There was a huge pine table in the centre of the room where we’d eaten many meals and spent hours poring over our homework and studying for our exams. When Aunty Jen was alive, there was always the smell of freshly baked bread from the moment you walked through the door and our treat when we got home from school each day was a piece of warm, fresh bread and butter. Aunty Jen’s bread was the best I’ve ever tasted. Perhaps that was something else I could do with my time these days. I hadn’t baked for years. Perhaps I could bake some cakes for the next time I saw Stuart and the Darbys. Perhaps if the allotment took off, I could share some of the produce from there too. I noticed that I was actually finding things to do with my time these days and I was looking forward to getting up each day and having a new adventure discovering what Beth’s life was all about.
Alex hadn’t even noticed that I’d walked in and I watched him as he sat at the head of the table, paperwork spread across it in a haphazard manner. He pushed his glasses up as they slid down to the end of his perfectly shaped nose and he was frowning. Our eyes met as he looked up and he stood to greet me. As we moved towards each other, he reached over and kissed my cheek. Inhaling his scent, I tried to pinpoint what it was but then realised it was just Alex. A mixture of deodorant, aftershave and a smell that was – just Alex. A smell I would never forget in a million years.
‘How are you doing?’ he asked. ‘How’s unemployment?’
‘It’s not so bad, to be honest, thanks to your lovely sister. She’s got me running round on these little missions of hers but I’ve nothing else to do so I’m pleased to have something to focus on.’
‘Ah yes, the allotment. The books! I nearly forgot why you’d come.’ He reached up to the top shelf of the vintage Welsh dresser at the far end of the kitchen, to which Beth had given the shabby chic treatment in her youth, and the back of his t-shirt rode up and showed me the waistband of what I’d like to think were snug-fitting boxers. It suddenly felt rather warm.
‘Here you go Mad, are you stopping for a cuppa, or do you have to get off?’ I always felt tongue-tied around him, so declined his offer and asked if he knew where on the farm the allotments were.
‘Come on, I’ll show you.’ He grabbed a pair of wellies from the boot rack in the porch and pulled an anorak off the coat pegs. I hadn’t seen him in an anorak since we were growing up and the memories of us playing around the farm made me smile. He looked dead cute. We headed behind one of the barns at the far end of the farm; a place I never really knew existed.
In my mind, based on what I’d seen on TV, I thought of allotments as being places of beauty, full of stunning blooms, blossoming fruit trees and rows and rows of thriving vegetable patches, so I presumed that seeing my allotment plot for the first time would be really exciting. I was looking forward to imagining what it would look like all planted up with a small herb garden, some lovely flowers and maybe a strawberry plant or potato tub or two.
As we walked through the allotment gate, I passed perfect rows of vegetables, beautifully neat weed-free plots, garden sheds that looked more like Swiss chalets and summerhouses and I was really getting quite excited.
Sadly the reality was very different so I was bitterly disappointed when we got to the very end of the field, and the only thing left to look at was a rectangular, large piece of scruffy, overgrown land, that could only be described as derelict. It looked like it needed levelling with a bulldozer and was arid and almost empty, except for a flimsy shed at the far end that looked as though it would topple over if you blew on it.
‘Tell me that’s not mine!’
‘Now I know what you’re thinking,’Alex grinned. ‘But with a little hard work and determination, this plot will soon be looking like the others, and be something that you can be dead proud of and show off to your friends and family and they can all reap the benefits from your home grown fruit and veg.’
The thought of what lay ahead, and just how much hard work would have to be done here, made me literally want to weep.
‘And I can help you for the odd hour or two when I have a chance. Maybe?’ he questioned.
For a moment my mind drifted as I imagined me and Alex working wonders together on a plot of land, which was full of flourishing fruit and veg, Alex looking hot and sweaty as he leant on his hoe and wiped his perspiring brow.
I was aware of my own increasing heartbeat and pulled myself together. This was Alex, for goodness’ sake. I needed to calm the hell down.
‘How long are you over here for, Alex?’ I asked, willing him to say he was back for good and trying to change the subject.
‘I suppose I’ll have to go back sooner rather than later to sort some things out, but who knows what the future holds? It’s great being back, to be honest. I’ve missed this old place.’ He looked deep into my eyes and I gulped, not knowing what to say. Eventually, I was the first to break eye contact and looked over at the plot again, hoping that it would look totally different.
‘Is this a joke, Alex? Go on, please tell me it’s a joke,’ I asked. ‘I’ve never been a gardener in my life. I don’t have the patience for gardening. And this looks like an army of people wouldn’t be able to clear it in a lifetime.’
‘No joke, sweets. It’s all yours. And Beth tells me that a little gentle gardening in your time off from doggy daycare will do you the world of good and put some colour back into your cheeks. And maybe it’ll help you to chill a bit and not be so impatient.’ He held his hands up in surrender. ‘Her words, not mine. Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m heading back to the house, and will be putting the kettle on shortly. If you’d like to join me, you’d be most welcome. In the meantime, I’ll leave you to appreciate your, erm, kingdom then.’
He stomped off across the farmyard, leaving me staring at my ‘erm, kingdom.’ I’d done a bit of research on the internet last night and it seemed that this was a good time of year to be attacking an allotment and it definitely looked like this one needed attacking – with a bulldozer. I wasn’t sure what the couple who’d had it beforehand had been doing with it. Bugger all, by the look of it. I decided that I’d pop into the pub later and see if Ivan was around and ask for his advice in exchange for a pint or two.
I pulled a notebook and pen from my coat pocket and made a list of what was there. Picking up a bamboo cane from the ground, I gingerly prodded at the shed door t
rying to open it, which was rather difficult as it was practically hanging off with only one hinge joined to the structure. I poked my way through some major cobwebs (all too aware of what is also around when there are cobwebs) and shuddered before making a note of the tools that I could see propped up against the work surface. There were actually quite a few and I took a picture on my phone of some of them, as they looked more like torturing tools than something that you’d garden with. I’d definitely be needing some help from Ivan to find out what they were used for. A rusty old wheelbarrow, which looked like it had seen better days, sat in the corner containing loads of plant pots which looked like they might come in handy at some point. When I walked back outside, I noticed a small greenhouse at the side of the shed, with a couple of broken panes of glass but a metal shelf rack inside with yet more plant pots and what I seemed to remember were seed trays. They might come in handy too. I jotted that in my book too to tell Ivan. I was absolutely needing some advice.
I headed back over to the farmyard. Uncle Tom and Alex were sat looking at some figures and Uncle Tom was scratching his head but looked up as I walked in.
‘We were just talking about you, Maddy. I have a little proposition for you. As you know, it’s important for us here to have someone who lives in for doggy daycare and I just happen to have an empty barn conversion. You said to me the other day that you weren’t feeling particularly fond of your apartment and more than that, that you didn’t think that you could afford to keep it. How about you move in? Your rent could be a nominal amount and part of your employment package. You’d also be close at hand to help out looking after Beth, which again would be really helpful, and you’d be right back in the heart of the village. It’s a win-win situation for us all. You don’t have to decide now, but please would you just think about it.’
‘You mean the barn conversion that I’ve loved ever since you renovated it?’ I laughed. ‘And in the village that I used to hate, but now long to live back in? I don’t need to think about it. It’s a yes from me, Uncle Tom.’ I paced across the kitchen and flung my arms around him and kissed his cheek. ‘Thank you.’