Fatuity

I've said before, in my old age I do need some spritely young people around to cheer myself up! My current aide in this area is Yasamin, and I've asked her to introduce herself here.
Hello? I'm really not sure how to introduce myself here, haha. My name is Yasamin, and I'm Edward's aide. Edward tells me to tell more about myself, but he also thinks I should be "more positive" and the two don't really mesh. I've lived here since I was eleven and it's not been the most enjoyable experience. They're very old fashioned up here. I'm working because I've been trying to earn money to move to London. I've done nurse training so I like to think I'm okay at helping people.

Mostly Edward seems to want someone to make a cup of tea for, and I'm okay with that! We talk a lot about philosophy and religion, and he's pretty knowledgable about Islam for an old Christian pastor. I also spend a lot of time playing with Penny and painting her fingernails. She gets along with my brother a bit better though, they have the same interest in elves and goblins and faeries, though Penny tells me she doesn't believe in them at all, not for one minute. Tom is a lot more-- is gullible the word? He's got a bit of an imagination on him, is all.

And I don't have anything else to say, so I'll just hand this back over to Edward.

The kids went on a trip to the church today, I think to learn about Anglicanism and religion and the like. Hopefully not in an indoctrinating way. I would hate to think that the children are being molded by the school-- but from what Penny says, they're very nice. She told me that they have a lot of good, caring teachers and a guy who makes sure they're safe at playtime. So she's a lot better than she was over the summer. Not sure if she's made any friends in-school yet, other than Tom, but we'll see!

Mumbo Jumbo

We went to church the other day in the town two over, and it was quite impressive how small it was! A lovely old steeple too, more's the pity that it's not being used! The people there are quite nice, and asked me to maybe do a guest sermon at some point. Well, I don't see why not! They told me a lot of people have been moving over to that strange Orthodox church recently. Anyway, the Anglican church we went to was simply lovely. Penny and I went and had a cream tea before we caught the bus back to Malkirk. The towns in this area are precariously laid out, but quite nice to be honest! Pen and I managed to avoid burning a Sunday lunch, and had a grand old time.

I walked her to the youth club at the Orthodox church and they went apple picking. There are mountains of apples in our house at the moment! Penny has made me promise to help her make apple pies! I haven't got a clue how to cook, but I suppose that's something that I can ask Yasamin... Oh yes! I haven't talked about Yasamin yet! She's my aid, and a nice young lady. Her family moved up here to get away from the city, and her parents seem to love it. She's saving up to try and get away though. Yasamin has a younger brother called Thomas, and we've set him and Penny up on one of those 'play date's that happen quite a bit in fiction as far as I'm aware.

So I'd say we're settling in well! I'll try and get Yasamin to introduce herself next time!

Hooey

"That's just a lot of old hooey, Grandad!" Penny doesn't believe in faeries. At all. She is also the only child I've ever met who would use the phrase "hooey"! Pen loves adventure stories from the fifties, and our older neighbours have a plethora of Enid Blyton books and Nancy Drew. She spends a lot more time reading than most of the children around here, not that that's a bad thing! I had a talk with her therapist, a Miss Smith from the next town over, and apparently she needs more socialization. Which means it's a good thing we went on that nature walk! And that brings me back to my first point. Penny doesn't believe in faeries! I'm sure it's okay for a little girl to have a skeptical mind but even I believed in faeries when I was a child, and my father sought that I wouldn't be cut out for that nonsense!

The nature walk was lovely, though I did wheeze quite a lot-- a gammy leg and a pair of old lungs aren't the best for such excursions! Lucy is pretty darn good at naming birds and trees and the like. She has a lot of experience with animals! Pen ran ahead with the two boys and a couple of other kids. She seemed to have a grand old time, though when we came to one of the Lesser Malkirk Circles she seemed a bit perturbed. I tried to be empathetic, but I really wasn't sure what was wrong! I tried to make her feel better and I told her a story about how the Lesser Malkirk Circles were meeting places for faeries.

Her response? "That's just a lot of old hooey, Grandad!" Shocking stuff! Poor Pen was nervy until we left the forest. Ah, well!

Giddiness

Pen is getting along here quite well, methinks. She's been "babysitting" the two youths from next door on a regular basis whilst their mother and I have a cup of tea and a chat. They have a large hilly, marshy field out of the back of their house which is perfect for children who wish to play such un-PC games as "Cowboys and Indians" outside of the prying eyes of fusty adults. Pen was acting rather huffy about having to look after the two youngsters, but she really rather enjoyed it I think.

I had a good talk with Lucy, the neighbour I mentioned in my last entry, as the children played. About 7 years ago she moved here with her second husband, desperate to get away from London, just to start over again. She's a charity worker, and invited me to the High Tea that is being put on for a charity mission into Africa! As well as that, she's a cat lover and so volunteers in a local shelter. She loves dogs as well, and often brings sick ones home and attempts to nurse them back to life. Lucy has also been teaching children about birds and the like-- they go on weekly nature walks, and invited Penny and myself on their next excursion. She also invited us to her church, though I politely declined-- I'm already obligated to the Anglican church two towns over!

Penny has been doing fairly well at school, despite her frustraiton and the remedial status of many of her classes. The teachers are kind, and really quite involved in the development of the children. They give out some very engaging assignments and incorporate local folklore into their lessons (including a future class trip out to the Malkirk Circle-- I'll go into more detail about that later!) I get good, well written status updates about Pen's progress every few days. I do think Pen enjoys being at school, though it's only been a week. When the work starts getting harder, I wouldn't count on that continuing!

Bunk

The title today being in reference to Penny's new set of bunk-beds. She says they're necessary for sleepovers, but I'm fairly certain they're a reference to one of the shows she watches on the telly. We've moved into our house at Malkirk! It's a lovely little thing, with enough bedrooms for Pen to get one of her own. She's going through some phases involving "stuff" I'm not too familiar with. Hopefully soon she'll make some friends with which she can discuss ponies. I haven't had a companion with which to discuss my interests since I last had contact with an old editor friend, Marcus. It's half the reason I have the government hire me assistants-- the company.

Anyway, the move went rather more smoothly than I was expecting, though I doubt that my finances shall recover any time soon. We're in a little copse of 6 or so houses, about a ten minute walk from the main town. Everyone seems very friendly. Our neighbour is a 40-or-so-year-old woman with two children under the age of six, both of them boys. She told me over a cup of tea that she has an older son who was a bit of a tearaway, and went off the rails at an early age, so she moved to Malkirk for a new start. Our neighbours on the other side are a lovely old couple, almost my age! They've been in Malkirk for over 50 years-- the town had them hooked, they said.

Penny has been hanging around with the two boys next door, but she says she's sick of playing with "little kids" because she is, after all, "a grown-up." She starts school next week, which I hope won't be too much of a shock to her. The kids across the street from us go to the same primary school, and are willing to escort her. Pen has her uniform laid out already, the sweet dear. She's as ready to get back into a regular schedule as I am. We made some cuppa soup earlier, and she went to bed early. I'm going to bed much later than usual, but I still have multiple forms and applications to finish. At least I know that I'll have a handicap assistant by Saturday. I'm sure I'll be able to get her to introduce herself at some point.

Malkirk is a lovely place, and I'm sure I'll fill this blog with more detail once I get a chance to explore it.

Soft Soap

We've just been able to get BT to install the more technological aspects of the house, and it's all quite patchy even now. There are still many people in this town without phones, which even an old fogey like me was surprised about! There will be better entries later, but for now I will leave you with the words of Sir Walter de la Mare:

Silver

Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in silver feathered sleep
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.

Quibbles

Whilst going through some of the boxes for the move, I found an invaluable store of old photographs of the family. My dear Adrianne, the girl who helps around the house, helped me take the photos and put the images on this blog. I did need quite a lot of help setting it up, so I can only hope my next aid is as good with computers!!

 My two daughters, Gemiliah and Allie. Gemeliah was the older, a chirpy and outgoing little girl. She was always a bit pushy and loved being the center of attention. Allie was always the quiet one, and rather melancholy. Not many friends, but she had a rich enough imagination that it didn't bother her too badly!

 Another one of Allie. She desperately wanted to be an explorer when she was little. She became a nurse, but we were so proud of her anyway. Allie was Penny's mum, and they share brooding ways, but they're both very talented artists!

 And here's another picture of Gemma, proud of herself as always. She was always a bit of a show off, and went into business. I was never sure if I entirely approved, but I was always very proud of her anyway.

 My youngest son, Tom, playing with a dumper truck. He got my mother in law's hair, and ability to cook.

 Second youngest son, Dylan, running around in the snow. He was the most rambunctious one of the lot.

 One of the first children we adopted, Estella. A bit teary, we only had her for a couple of years before her parents wanted her back. I got letters from her, though, all the way up to 1997.

 The young ball and chain. I do miss her, so much.

Me and Tom just before a camping trip, I do believe.

A quick guide to some of the family, I suppose.