soot 6 May 2009
The fire tender came back yesterday and doused the ruined house down – it looks so sad now, just a blackened shell. The house next to it is in tatters too. We got to talking about firemen, of course, as well as to them as often as possible – they are hot and heroes so it’s a perfect combo for us ladies. Miss Maggie Steed told us a great story over breakfast about her teenage boycat, Billy, disappearing up the chimney. She really didn’t know what to do about it and rang the fire brigade who said they’d come out, even though she was just looking for advice and didn’t want to be taking up their precious time. They arrived in the tender and 6 of them got out, and were like Bruce Willis and his mates in ARMAGEDDON, walking large and slow-mo towards her while announcing ‘we’re the cat lovers’. They could find no sign of the cat and he wasn’t making a sound but as they were there they gave Maggie’s house the once over, firewise. Well, yes, you can imagine talk of giving her chimney a good seeing to or clearing out her flue and so on (sorry, but they take your comedy card away if you don’t get those ones in). Moments after they’d gone one of the lads returned carrying a very bewildered ginger cat – not Miss Steed’s as it turned out. And about 20 minutes after that again Billy appeared out of the chimney none the worse for wear – yes, you’ve guessed it – Maggie Steed’s sooty pussy…These are the days when I realise that I may never actually grow up…
I think I may have handled every variety of leaf available in the hedgerows between here and Moretonhampstead, where I walk to get Wifi on the days I’m not filming. Everything is tender and new – some are velvety and others silky. Just glorious. There are various birds nesting in the trees and you can just about hear the tweeting of the chicks in their nests. And I’ve met quite a few bumblebees out and about – they’re my favourite of the flying insects. All in all a healthy and calming time. However it’s winding down now and I’ll be back briefly to Dublin at the weekend to check if the builders have come back and finished the feckin house – yes, ongoing, my dears, ongoing…then we go into the studio in London to complete the series and that’s lot more like regular work because we all go home to our separate abodes each night. We’ll pine for Devon till the next time (and hopefully there will be a next time)
The vote is in for ROOFS rather than rooves as the plural of roof…controversial…
