My next door neighbour and I sat outside tonight and had a few drinks. It wasn’t raining for once and she loves the kids and they her. We looked out on my forest of green tomatoes, some as big as a lemon and imagined them should there be some sun at any point this season. We talked art supplies as we do. She makes beautiful water colour paintings. At 58 they think she may have the beginnings of dementia. I took her some blackberries round this morning that I’d freshly picked. I love her to bits.
We were talking about keighley and how all the people are a bit odd. I think that’s why I love it here. I went to TKMax the other Monday morning. Anna rang me and I just happened to look in a mirror. I said your mother is wearing a yellow checked shirt with orange Native American design leggings, navy spotty wellies and a bees rain mac. I fit in here just fine.
When I first moved here one of the first people to introduce herself is a larger than life, beautiful lady who laughs so loudly you can hear her from a vast distance. It turned out her granddaughter went to school with my Anna. She introduced me to people and the idiosyncrasies of the bin men and the best places to walk the dogs. This Spring I took her courgettes, tomato and pepper plants because she loves to grow things.
Another neighbour knocked on my door one day and asked if I would ring her daughter for her. She was going crazy as her internet was down and she couldn’t use her phone. This had been going on for a few days and she felt isolated. She always looks very smart and made up and she sat there on my sofa at about 11:30 and said ‘’I knew I shouldn’t have had a drink’’. She was simply stressed. ( read my previous post about wifi around here). We got it sorted and she tried to offer me money for a 2 minute call on my free minutes. I said don’t be daft. I put my wellies on later and she’d put a tenner in them.
There are three little storage sheds next to our bins and someone told me when I first moved in that they belonged to various neighbours. In Spring I put my little wooden cold frame on the roof of the one nearest me and another neighbour came round and asked if I would like the shed as they don’t use it. We share it now.
I walk the dogs with a local conservative councillor. She doesn’t care I’ve lost a couple of teeth or my roots are showing. We talk about anything and everything. We put the world to rights as we walk and all 8 dogs get to share some doggy love as we walk the most beautiful parkland I have ever seen.
I smile as I write but I really do love this place. I wouldn’t want to bring children up here for obvious reasons. But as a woman approaching 60 this is the best town in the world to be able to just be yourself.