(aka Bike) Part 1975 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad
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At dinner when Daddy arrived home, I pecked him on the cheek as I usually did pretending that the earlier meeting didn’t happen. He gave me a very curious expression–that was fine–I wanted to keep him off balance.
When Si and Sammi came home I followed him up to the bedroom and closed the door as he started to undress. “Oh, is my luck in tonight?” he asked trying to look sort of smouldering–but to my eye he looked half asleep.
“No, I’m waiting for my dinner.”
“Oh, so why the accompaniment?”
“Who did the survey for the visitor centre?”
“I’ve no idea–we left that to the university to arrange.”
“I want it done again.”
“What for–work is supposed to start sometime in the summer.”
“At the worst possible time for the resident wildlife.”
“Sorry about that, it was the best the contractors could do.”
“Well I want it surveyed again and I want the centre relocated.”
“But that would mean reapplication of the planning permission and so on.”
“Fine, in which case I wash my hands of it completely.”
“But you can’t, it’s your centre.”
“No it isn’t, if it were, I’d have control over it–but I don’t, so you can stick it.”
“Cathy, that is so juvenile. You can’t just walk away from things because you don’t like them.”
“Watch me. It isn’t compulsory that I direct this thing, the money has been spent. Appoint someone else.”
“But we did it for you?”
“You thought you did it for me, but the university have stolen it from under your nose, they control it, I’d just run classes and experiments there.”
“Isn’t that what you do?”
“In many ways, yes, but I was given to understand that the bank was paying for this to honour Billie, and to encourage the study of ecology.”
“Yes, it was given to you–your toy in recognition of your achievement and as a memorial to our lovely daughter.”
“Well, please continue to honour our child but leave me out of it.”
“Just because the building is in the wrong place?”
“Yes.”
“If I get them to resurvey it, will you reconsider?”
“I might, but only if I speak with the surveyor.”
“What’s that going to do, how much do you know about surveying?”
“What d’you think ecology is all about, Simon?”
“Studying things in their environment.”
“Which in the field is about surveying. If you build it where they want to, it’s going to damage the whole woodland.”
“But woodland recovers fairly quickly, doesn’t it?”
“Twenty to thirty years depending upon the damage, longer if it’s oak or beech climax forest–that could be fifty to a hundred.”
“And your site is better?”
“I think so–but then what do I know about anything?” I turned to open the door.
“What does Tom say?”
“He thinks it’s cut and dried–it is if they go ahead. I’ll sue him under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.”
“You’ll sue him?”
“Through Natural England.”
“Would they do such a thing–I mean he is a well respected scientist.”
“He’s an old fool but he’s too stubborn to admit it.”
“I think I might see where you get it from.”
“Ha bloody ha.”
“Of course I’m not a scientist or anything...”
“But you’ll get another surveyor in?”
“For you my darling wife, anything–of course you could always have got one in yourself.”
“But it needed one of the two commissioning bodies to make it kosher.”
“Don’t tell me you circumscribed the wood?”
“Yeah, I cut off its foresight, or something like that.”
He pulled on a pair of jeans and shook his head, “You are as mad as a hatter but I love you.”
“Yeah, see what living with you has done to me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Mad as a hatter, until you bought me all those hats, I was quite sane.”
“Hats?”
I pulled open my wardrobe–there were about ten hats in boxes or bags on the top shelf.
“I didn’t buy all those for you, did I?”
“You paid for most of them, I think Stella or I did the actual choosing.”
“What’s so mad about milliners anyway?”
“It was more the people who made men’s hats, they used mercury salts in the manufacture which in the long term damages nerve tissue–it’s one of the most poisonous substances on earth. That would induce forms of dementia over a period, hence, mad as a hatter.”
“Remind me not to play trivial pursuit with you.” He finished changing and put his arms around me. “I love you, Dr Dormouse,” he said and kissed me.
“I love you too, Mr Moneybags.”
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
“I’d have to divorce my first husband.”
“Go ahead, he can’t love you like I will.”
“D’you snore in bed?”
“Why does he–the cad–that must be grounds for divorce.”
“He does have his good points, though.”
“And what are those?
"He bought me all those hats.” I pointed to my wardrobe.
“He has good taste, anything else?”
“Yeah, he’s so busy with his work, if we had an affair he wouldn’t notice.”
“Could we start now?” he stroked my breasts and I nearly gave in until my tummy rumbled.
“I make it a policy to never have sex on an empty tummy.”
“I was going to suggest the bed, actually.”
Just then the door was knocked and I jumped about a foot in the air, “Come on you two, dinner’s ready.”
“Offspringus interruptus?” I suggested.
He nodded and we both chuckled.
“Come on then, I’m starving.” I led him out of the door by the hand and down the stairs into the kitchen.
“An’ whit hae ye been schemin’?” asked Tom.
“I thought you made a rule about not discussing work over the dinner table?” I fired back at ol’ fungus face.
“Sae ye’re no goin’ tae tell me?”
“No, unless you’d like to hear the finer points of love making and how sensitive a lover...”
“Cathy, that’s enough,” said Simon firmly. He looked at Tom who blushed as much as I did and he then picked up his plate and carried it back to his study.
“Siwwy Gwamps,” offered one commentator.
“Can you tell us more about making love, Mummy?” asked Trish and Stella got gravy all down her front.
“What was all that about?” asked Stella a we cleared the table, Jacquie was doing some coursework on the computer in my office.
“I want them to re-site the visitor centre in the woodland.”
“Or what?” prompted Stella. She obviously knew me better than I thought.
“Or I won’t set foot inside it.”
“Blackmail–that and poison, a woman’s greatest weapons, after sex that is.”
“It isn’t meant as blackmail, but there will be a problem with pollution before long and it isn’t the best place for it.”
“So that’s what you were doing earlier?”
“Yes; it was coming home from visiting the wood that I happened on the accident.”
“And you just happened to save her?”
“Yeah, just like that.”
“You sounded like Tommy Cooper then,” she said laughing as she switched on the dishwasher.
Comments
I wonder who the
“Offspringus interruptus†was. Bet that Stella will have a good laugh once Cathy, or Simon tells her about their chat.
May Your Light Forever Shine
She's getting stubborn.
Cathy's getting stubborn in her old age. And as for prefering sex to food well that's jus' plain wierd, especially at cathy's age.
Hope the dishwasher isn't booby trapped. I'm just getting paranoid about the cliffhangers.
Oh, by the way, we had a fab night in Cardiff last night. 30 to 3; Oh warra' night. Note the patriotic Welsh colours.
Still lovin' it though.
Bevs.
XX
So an underhanded surveyor?
Curious to see who that surveyor really represents.
Kim
Land Surveyors
I am a Land Surveyor here in Massachusetts. I don't know any of the laws over in the UK but I do understand what I have to follow here. Surveyors don't determine the location of any building sites here. We only measure anything we find at the site. It is the Engineers who determine if a site is feasible. However, I do know that here in MA that no construction can take place within 50 feet of any wetlands (and many communities make it 100 to 150 feet). The Engineering firm I worked for has a full time Wetland's specialist and all of us Surveyors also were given training to be able to deliniate wetlands as well. Myself, as a Surveyor would agree with Cathy's site inspection on the building site though. ESPECIALLY for a site showcasing the environment.
Another concideration would be that it looks like the site is well outside any sewer district and maybe water district. This would mean that they would need an on-site means of taking care of sewerage. Depending on the ground water level and soil types a septic system could take up quite a sizable area.
Blackmail?
If this is the Shekinah's doing (a post on yesterday's episode), then wouldn't Shekinah be blackmailing Cathy? The logic does sound reasonable though, but somehow I don't see the Shekinah being involved with either getting rid of the hostel, or with the doing's at the University. The Shekinah has never had to resort to blackmail in the past. She just explained things to Cathy when Cathy goes about things the wrong way.
As for the 'offspringus interuptus' it could have David or Stella, but a better choice would be Sammi or one of the other girls. My money is on Trish because of her statement at the dinner table about wanting to know more about making love.
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm
Cathy is the expert!
Perhaps people should listen to her. IMHO, she is a little childish in her actions though.
Why Build in the Wood ?
Given how little woodland we have left still in this overpopulated wee country, I wonder why anyone even considered to destroy more of what we have left for this Centre. Seems to me it sets a bad example, to put it mildly. A field adjacent would be far better.
Re Surveyors, like everyone else, they are mostly incompetent. (Briar's Law says "Incompetence is Universal" it is called that cos I discovered it!) It even applies to me when outside my narrow specialty.
Briar
I wonder...
I wonder who chose the individual who did the initial survey... I wonder if said individual (or those who chose the surveyor) had an agenda and/or any qualifications to suggest sites for such a location. There have been instances in the past where such sites have been intentionally sabotaged in order to either discredit those who sponsor it and/or to find a way to get some improvements to the property and then get it for some OTHER purpose.
Hoping none of that's the case, but it does sound like there's an issue that's NOT being talked about.
Thanks,
Annette
Never subscribe to a conspiracy...
that which can be ascribed to a cock-up!
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
There speaks...
... the voice of experience of the military, or the NHS. :)
Angharad
Sometimes...
...especially when dealing with such agencies or entities as you mention, it does feel like a conspiracy - that all the idiots in the world have gathered to conspire against us?
Love, Andrea Lena
Oh, I know...
Oh, I know... But a muck up isn't as interesting story line wise... Under most circumstances. :-) Folks just LOVE conspiracies... LOL Don't they?
I always knew
that Tom never stood a chance, Not when faced with Cathy.... Would have saved a lot of trouble if he had waved the white flg in the first place...
Kirri