by Caron Allan
Saturday 11 October – 11.30pm
A nice, quiet day with the children. Lill and I decided we would pop out for some supplies and took the children with us to a farm shop. It didn’t take long to get what we needed, and then, as it’s an open farm, we took the children around to look at the animals. There were some chickens, a few sheep, a couple of cows, and even a couple of knock-kneed donkeys – we had so much fun!
Rev Steve sent me a text message saying that he’d had over three hundred pounds’-worth of orders for handbags and purses, and he thanked me again for my help with his website and everything. I can only hope he has plenty of time to get sewing or he’ll run out of stock!
And then a phone call this afternoon – from Madison – would I like to pop over for dinner? I thought it was rather short notice, but she apologised for that, and tried very hard to persuade me. She’s having a few people round, including Mavis and Henrietta. I wasn’t too sure about going out this evening but Lill encouraged me to accept, though I was unsure right up to the last moment if I would actually go or not.
Sid and Matt went out to get fish and chips for all of them, and in the end I had to go to Madison’s just to escape the smell which was making me feel a little queasy.
But it was a pleasant enough evening with Madison and her little coven of ladies. A bit ordinary and dull – just what the doctor ordered!
Madison told me she has received and accepted a firm offer for the house. I was afraid I was going to lose her, but she is staying on, renting Mavis’s cottage at least for the next six months or so, which means that after all these years of dithering about. Mavis is finally moving in with Henrietta! Woo hoo!
It’s wonderful news, although I do wonder how poor Henrietta will cope after living alone for such a long time.
The only problem is, I still didn’t manage to interrogate Madison about the new people. I was just about to ask her when someone else butted in to make a completely irrelevant comment and the moment was gone in the flash of a change of topic and the moment was gone. So I will just have to wait and see.
Sunday 12 October – 8.25am
I can’t effing believe it!
(Still trying not to swear but sometimes can’t help myself. There are, of course, as we all know, times when saying a truly disgusting and vile word allows us to vent our emotions and it provides a certain amount of relief when we do so. For those times when I just can’t help myself, I try to adapt the word to something slightly less offensive ie effing.)
But as I was saying, I am astonished by the news I’ve had from Rev Steve. He just sent me a text saying “OMG (not at all a suitable exclamation for a clergyman, I should have thought!) orders now total over a thousand pounds – I am running out of stock and haven’t got enough time or materials to make up new stock. What should I do?”
My first reaction was, what’s he doing up so early at the weekend – then I remembered – he’s a vicar, it’s Sunday – it’s basically the busiest day of his week!
But a thousand pounds of orders! Bloody hell! (sorry Thomas darling, ignore Mummy). I have arranged an emergency meeting with him tomorrow, sandwiched neatly between the ladies’ crafts in the morning and the mother and baby in the afternoon. It’ll be more or less a working lunch. (How exciting!), and quite easy to fit it in around our preparations for Billy’s birthday the day after tomorrow.
Monday 13 October – 4.45pm
Am now a Businesswoman! Over ham sandwiches and builders’ tea, Stephen and I came to the following conclusions:
a) He needed capital to buy in sensible quantities of materials and equipment. And to rent premises as he has discovered there is a legal snag with the manse being used as business premises.
b) I have agreed a sum to invest as he needed the capital and didn’t have it himself. So I am now a partner in his business and we are going to share the profits. I don’t really mind if I don’t get any profit, or a repayment of the money I’m investing. I’m not boasting when I say I’m rolling in it and that I won’t even miss the twenty grand I’m ‘lending’ him.
c) He has decided to resign from the church. That was a bit of a surprise to me as I know he is very committed to his faith, but following a difficult meeting with his archbishop in which he felt the urge to be honest, it has been agreed that he will ‘resign’. Therefore at some point he will need to move out of the manse. I suppose at least this will give him more hours in the day to sew.
d) If he is going to go into this handbag thing as a serious business – and that is what he wants to do, now he’s seen there is a demand – there’s no way he can realistically produce enough bags to meet all his orders on his own, even working at it full-time. So we have started to draw up a list of possible people who might be interested in doing a little (as in loads) of sewing. Lill came to mind – she likes the bags, is very ‘crafty’, reliable and can already sew. Also with the unfortunate failure of the baking classes and her not wanting to run the course herself, and with Joan (and the rest of us) to help her at home with the cleaning and so on, Lill now has a bit more time on her hands, although whether that will till be the case when Thomas Sidney makes his appearance I’m not too sure.
e) So … I suggest we consider advertising for casual labour and see how it goes. I recommended opening up a little shop but Stephen was against this due to the expensive overheads of an actual shop as opposed to the virtual ‘nilverheads’ of an online shop.
When I left, he was so excited and he couldn’t thank me enough for all the help, even though I pointed out that it was his skill and creativity that had brought about this opportunity.
But yay! Feeling good. Am now a partner in a brand new and exciting business and responsible for everything to do with the business side – ordering, finances, bills, tax returns. Ooh dear, was that such a good idea?
Immediately went home and signed up for an online course in basic bookkeeping. I will need to be able to do this properly.
I have a few ideas for different bag-styles to suggest to Stephen should he wish to branch out a bit in the future. But the ones he’s doing now are absolutely stunning without any interference from me.
Same day – 11.15pm
Was about to go to bed (relatively new Husband feeling neglected and unloved) but a quick glance at my phone showed a voicemail message had been left.
When I played it back, it was just two minutes of silence. That has unnerved me.
Wednesday 15 October – 8.45pm
The days are just flying by. I never seem to have a moment to myself to just sit and write in my journal and ponder my thought s and worries. Not that I’m complaining – my life is so full now (mainly with doctor’s appointments, but all is well, so that’s good. Though am devastated that I have now put on a massive total of eight pounds (mainly squirty cream and marshmallows, LOL), however, doc says I’m in good health and so is baby Thomas) but I just find so much is happening that I keep losing track.
Had morning coffee with Lill and Henrietta at the pub this morning as I have missed our regular days. Henrietta seems to be coping reasonably well with her Beloved sharing her space. And Madison is moving into Mavis’ old cottage next Wednesday, and then there will be a few days’ cleaning and preparations for the new people who hope to move in about mid-November. (Still forgot to ask her about if anyone knows anything about them).
Stephen is already looking at properties in the village, preferably with a large room or dry, clean outbuildings that can be used as a ‘factory’. And he says Vanessa’s solicitor has been in touch and the divorce is now proceeding. He’s a bit sad about it but says it’s for the best all round.
Nothing more from the police. I rang Jeremy’s mother to see if she’s all right, and she said she’s not too bad.
Billy and Paddy are such little angels. Her birthday yesterday went off perfectly. It was fairly low-key, anyway, she is only three years old, after all. But I invited Sara to bring Miles and Millie, and there were a couple of other little on
es from the village. They all played nicely, but in spite of that I was still glad it was a lovely, mild day so they could all go out and run around in the garden for half an hour and run off a little of their excitement.
We bought her a few new toys and some clothes; to be honest, somewhat predictably she got a lot more fun out of unwrapping the gifts than the gifts themselves. But she is adorable!
And Paddy was so good – no tantrums or jealousy. He and Miles ran around in their dinosaur-cowboy outfits (four-and-a-half-year-olds admit no generic boundaries) and ate as much as a grown-up and seemed to have a brilliant time.
Sara stayed for the duration of the party in case we needed a hand. Think she is beginning to get used to our slightly odd set-up. I plied her with wine and discovered she and her partner have recently separated, that he was a bully and a womaniser and a miser. And he is doing nothing to contribute to Miles and Millie’s lives or comfort. Reading between the lines, she is barely making ends meet with her graphic design work – I had thought her a massively successful entrepreneur, but it seems that is not the case. I wonder if she can sew? Anyway her ex sounds absolutely horrid – how lucky I am to have two wonderful husbands!
Quick catch-up with Jess last night too, it’s been a week of socialising. Their youngest – who graduated from Uni in the summer with an indifferent degree in business studies and is still unemployed – has just made her a grandmother. As she’s only 49 she didn’t exactly thank him for it, and it sounds as though the relationship is already doomed. Again I was aware of how lucky I am and how much I have to be grateful for. So I sat back for a good long listen and said sympathetic things at the strategic moment whilst she let off steam. Very therapeutic for both of us.
Thursday 16 October – 5.30pm
Have had two more phone calls with no one there when I answered, just a long silence. The screen of the phone showed ‘number withheld’. And when I stopped answering, the caller left voicemail messages the same as the other day, just two minutes of silence. I can’t block the number as I need to know the number in order to block it! I blocked the number I used to call Monica on last year, but she obviously has a new number as I am still getting the calls.
I’m sure it’s her. I’m in a total state, which I know is ridiculous and pointless, but all I can think is, she’s killed Jeremy and Nadina and now she’s coming after me. Again. It’s all happening again, and I feel as though hysteria is slowly welling up in me and on the point of escaping, it’s bubbling just below the surface and I have to fight hard to remain outwardly calm and normal with all this ticking over in my mind.
Friday 17 October – 3.35pm
Two more missed calls/voicemail silences. I don’t know what to do. Every time the phone rings – any phone – I leap out of my skin. My edginess is percolating into everyone else so that now we are all on edge, and the children – for the first time since I’ve known them – are fretful and cranky. We all are. I don’t know what to do about it though. What can I do?
Mavis and Henrietta want to take the children trick-or-treating two weeks today, as it’s Hallowe’en. I’m not especially keen – it’s an American thing, isn’t it? I don’t really approve of the idea of children banging on doors and demanding sweets with menaces. But the old girls were so excited about it, I gave in and said it would be okay.
Am going with Stephen tomorrow to look at a cottage just down the lane from Mavis and Henrietta’s, to give him the benefit of a second opinion. He seems to think this place is perfect. I’ve transferred the money I’m investing into the newly-opened business bank account, so we’re all ready to go.
Meanwhile his soul’s not his own as he is frantically sewing all hours of the day and night whenever his duties allow. The interview with the Archbishop left him feeling depressed and humiliated, and my own preoccupation with my odd calls is not helping to maintain the excitement of the growing business, but at least he now has an approximate deadline to work towards, with the new incumbent due to take up the reins of the church on 1st January. That stills seems a long way off to me but Stephen says the time will soon come round and there is still so much to do. The new chap is going to pop in a couple of times to begin to familiarise himself with the quirks of the role.
And I’ve got to make a trip to the post office in the morning on Stephen’s behalf to post off some completed orders. Will deffo need Lill’s help, there seem to be dozens of packages.
Saturday 18 October – 9.20pm
It took over an hour to get through all the items for despatch at the post office this morning – even with Lill’s help! Am officially Public Enemy Number Uno for holding up six geriatrics who wanted to draw out their savings and buy a stamp. Apparently the post office is only open until 12-noon on Saturdays too, so the old folks were upset about that too. And the woman at the counter wasn’t any happier with us. You’d think a local post office would be glad of the business in these days of centralisation of services and with all the sub-post offices being closed down. But no! Looks like we’ll need to arrange a courier contract for our next big batch of mailings. Will do some research later. At least with a courier, they will come to us!
On the way back from the post office, Lill and I went into the pub and ordered our usuals. The publican moaned about how he might as well close the pub and open up a Coffeebucks for the amount of alcohol he sells. Another example of ingratitude to faithful customers!
Anyway, Lill had a worry she needed to unburden herself of.
It turns out that her daughter, the one who lives in Milton Keynes and who tried to steal my house by stealth a few weeks back, has finally decided that she will leave her husband after all. Of the children, only one of her brood still lives at home – a fifteen year-old daughter (horrid age!). Lill was concerned about where they are going to live and how she will cope. It seems the marriage has irretrievably broken down and the husband already has a new love in his life who is clamouring to move into what used to be the marital home (but which is now clearly the Martial home – LOL).
Anyway …
Oh, I do hope Lill isn’t planning on asking me to let Leanne come here – I really don’t like her enough to have her in the house for more than – I don’t know – half an hour? She’s not very easy to get rid of once she finds a toe-hold.
Am dreading this is what Lill is building up to – preparing the ground, as you might say. When she had finished telling me all about it, she just sat looking at me. I said something inane like, “how sad, oh look, it’s getting late, must dash.”
Now I feel terrible though!
This afternoon Stephen met me outside the cottage he is so excited about. The agent was quarter of an hour late, and as soon as he arrived, I took an intense dislike to him: smooth, smarmy, insincere, his smiling apology wouldn’t even have fooled Billy.
The cottage is really nice. Pleasant looking from outside, but I thought it looked a bit small. However, the owner has spent a good deal of cash and a lot of time to add on an extension.
We entered into a dim, narrow hallway. To the left was the ‘formal’ sitting-room, as Mr Smarm insisted on calling it, and rather adequate it was too. Ahead was a nice kitchen with a tiny dining-area just big enough for a table for two at most.
I could tell Stephen was completely smitten with the place. It looked as though I would have to be the brains instead of the heart for once. There was also a tiny cupboard in the hall which was revealed as the guest cloakroom
But the piece de resistance was the formal dining-room long enough to be the venue for the Last Supper. This was the main thrust of the extension. The room was about thirty feet long and, I would guess, about twelve feet wide, with two-thirds of the room formed by the extension. The roof and two of the walls were fully glazed, so the room was beautifully bright and airy.
Now I could see what it was that had gripped Stephen about this place. A couple of big table pushed together at one end would comfortably form a perfect work-bench for six people and there would still b
e room for storage, ironing boards and everything necessary for production.
Upstairs was fine, two beds and a bathroom, everything a single man lately employed by the Church would need to be able to call it home. Such a shame the place is only for lease.
We only needed to have a brief chat to agree it was just what he needed. Stephen is going to sign the papers as soon as the agent gets them ready and has handed over his deposit. So all sorted on the business front.
Yahoo, no scary phone calls today! Feeling more relaxed.
Monday 20 October – 10.45pm
Half term! Though technically today is a staff training day, and half term proper begins tomorrow. But it crept up on us so quickly! Has our lovely little boy really been going to school for a whole six weeks? I must admit there were times that first week when we never thought he’d get used to it.
Paddy can’t believe his luck though, at not having to go to school, and Billy – poor Billy – I think she thinks school is finished forever now. She will be so upset when he goes back again a week tomorrow. (And we’ll almost be into November by then – OMG this year has simply flown by – the weeks are draining away like bath water!)
So a leisurely breakfast, everyone in their PJs until mid-morning which felt like a lovely naughty treat.
And then my phone rang. And everything was spoiled. Matt saw the look on my face. He took my phone off me and shoved it in a drawer.
“Right, everyone, get dressed,” he ordered, “we’re going out.” For the next half hour or so there was total mayhem as everyone rushed around and I was trying to help the children dress as well as dressing myself, then obviously there’s hair to do, and make-up. But eventually we were all assembled outside in good order and squashing into Sid’s recently acquired massive and elderly estate car.