A Work of Fiction



Martin and his girlfriend Steff have moved into the cottage of their dreams in deepest, rural Wiltshire.
Read her diary and live the life.


Rundown and Romantic

Thursday 17 February 2011

New life for old

It started with a Christmas card. A beautiful painting of snowdrops from my sister in Surrey. I loved it so much I had it framed and placed in our bedroom, under the clock.

Soon after building work on the pigsty began, I fell ill. Joe had it first: a burning head, temperature, a listlessness that was so not him. But as he recovered, I came down with it. Missed all the fun outside. We still don't have the pig, but we do have the sty, yet I missed all of it.

Then February rolled in, bringing more rain, but tempered at least with a mildness that whispered of Spring. I remember sipping soup from my bed and staring up at the snowdrops on the wall and sniffing the wafts of warm air through the window. God, I wanted so much to feel better. But, as I recovered, another disaster happened. This time in the night. Bertie, our beloved dog, died in his sleep. We've all been so upset it's been impossible to write.

I want to talk about Bertie, but not now. Not today. We buried him next to the sty where we found snowdrops flowering. New life for old.

Miss you, Bertie.