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| PETERCHURCH-HEREFORDSHIRE ----ENGLAND |
How long ago is it?----Yes over twenty years ago,----this was the view from our window.
The spire of the village church, nestling between trees, deep in the heart of The Golden Valley.Through the window, beyond the garden, sheep grazed in the field,and the lazy drone of tractors filled the distance.
One beautiful morning with blue cloudless skies, not long after we arrived in Peterchurch, we drove along the valley, breathing in that unmistakeable Spring air. As we rounded the bend we caught our breath. There ,at the edge of the road stood The Pump House, a picturesque,18th century cottage ,surrounded by a golden haze of daffodils and birdsong.
Once inside there was tea and scones in the smiling company of Toni and her daughter Caroline. How I remember that day, the warmth of the welcome,and a friendship that has lasted over the years.
Later, in summer, there was tea in the garden, strawberry jam on the scones,and butterflies flitting between fragrant summer flowers.
Today, twenty years on I look through the window, and---- how different the scene!
ST PAUL'S BAY-MALTA
Now the colour green predominates no longer;here sky and sea merge into a never ending blueness, and a coastline strewn with stately palms replaces sunlit leafy lanes.Peterchurch spire vanishes to become the red roof of the village chapel dedicated to St Paul and the famous shipwreck that brought Christianity to Malta.
Summer brings the scarlet hibiscus and fragile oleander, no scented English roses.Dusk passes quickly here, -no longer lazy summer evenings on the lawn,- birds revelling in a last graceful flight,- here dark comes more suddenly often just after glorious sunsets.
Morning tea at the Pump House becomes cappucino at Silvio's the little cafe in the village piazza.
So unbelievably the years have passed,---and Life moves on! Different scenes, different faces, different worlds and present melts into past in one continuous flow.No ---- not different worlds,-just one beautiful,wonderful world that I am truly thankful for each day.
Maureen.
3 comments:
A big contrast but beautiful in their own way. Love your descriptions - really gives you a good picture of the whole scene - especially eating scones and strawberry jam - yummy!
Makes me very nostalgic. I'd like to lie on a lawn looking up at the trees and smell freshly cut grass. And have someone bring me scones and strawberry jam with my tea.
Hello Ginny - haven't seen you for a long time. Yes that would be pure luxury being served scones and strawberry jam on the lawn - mind you the freshly cut grass would probably set my hayfever off!
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