The long walk

 Rene Magritte - Not to be Reproduced

Another Magpie Tale 
 .... just managed to publish this one before Tess uploads a new picture on Sunday. Happy blogging one and all. May your week be filled with words and inspiration

‘Follow me’ he said,

So, I did

And walked nervously into the valley of the unknown.

Smart suit, smart shoes, serious face refreshed

With a hint of aftershave,

Not too intense

Enough to say I had made an effort.

Important to create the right impression,

And what exactly is the right impression?

Right for them?

Right for me?

Hours spent on the application form

Dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘t’s.

Would I fit neatly into their boxes?

Boxes of ‘essential’ and preferable’

I hate ticking boxes

It curbs the creative soul.

Hard times, needs must, cash flow flowing … fast.

Second-hand suit, new shirt, squeaky shoes.

Anxious, nervous and sweaty palms,

Remember to breathe …1-2-3.

Interviews – not my favourite pursuit

Wish me luck!

What’s on your one-day list?

The beginnings of the allotment ... photo by me

'Guess what?'

'What?'

It was early.  It was one Saturday morning last year.  It had been a busy week and I wasn’t quite ready for guessing games when the postman arrived.

‘We’ve got it!’

‘Got what?’

‘Our allotment’

‘Oh’ I said trying not to sound too despondent. My expectations from the excited ‘Guess what?’ question had been a tad more hopeful. Two round the world tickets? A lottery win, which is unlikely as we rarely buy lottery tickets.

‘Hurrah, three years of waiting and we’ve finally got our allotment’.

‘I thought you were joking … about having an allotment, I mean.’

‘No, I’m serious.  Don’t you think it would be great to grow our own vegetables’.

'If it makes you happy, I’m happy’. 

The phrase ‘our allotment’ was unnerving me slightly.  I didn’t recall signing up to this project. There was a slight recollection of a conversation somewhere in the dim and distant past a few years ago … possibly over a glass of wine one evening. It may have been added to the ‘one day list’ after the second glass.  If so, I missed it.  Two glasses of wine can be fatal. 

Do you have a ‘one day list’ in your family? Most families have one, our list grows steadily over the year - one day we’ll do this and one day we’ll do that. 

And so it came to pass that one day, today, we have an allotment. We’re in the early days of the allotment project.  There’s a shed, newly planted fruit bushes, beans, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and an endless supply of weeds.  The digging of earth and the removal of endless stones create a great keep-fit programme.  I may even give up my gym membership as the season progresses. Who knows? But I do look forward to the summer evenings when we can sit by the shed and admire our handiwork with a glass of wine in hand … one day….