(aka Bike) Part 850 by Angharad |
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“Hey it’s true, you do have a flippin’ castle, can we go and see it?” Danny seemed suddenly impressed.
“I’m afraid not,” answered Simon, “we’d never get up there in this weather, besides, the staff have to make it ready for us.”
“What does that mean?” asked Danny, still enthused with the idea of going to a castle.
“It means that several of the rooms which we would use are sealed up during the winter and they take days to air out and heat–it’s a big old place and it gets quite cold in the winter.”
“Kewl,” said Danny.
“I think it’s colder than that,” said Simon oblivious to teen speak.
“It’s also up in Scotland,” added Trish.
“Yeah, well that ain’t far is it, I mean it’s still in England, innit?”
“No you nit wit,” said Trish loudly, “Scotland is a different country to England, everyone knows that.”
Danny blushed and glowered looking to someone to say she was lying again, which she hadn’t done.
“I’m afraid Trish is correct, Danny,” I spoke to try and defuse things, “and she knows because she’s been there. We stayed there in the summer.” A cold chill ran through my whole body as I recalled the occasion and the fact that we nearly all died.
“Did they fight battles there an’ things?” asked Billy.
“Oh yes, until quite recent times, I believe.”
“Cor, what wiv swords and shields an’ fings?”
“In the olden days yes, but in more recent times it would have been with guns.”
“What, canons and fings?”
“And things, yes.” Like automatic weapons and shotguns. I shivered. “Look are we going to go and play in the snow before it all disappears?” I deftly changed the subject.
The answer was a pretty unanimous agreement, so I made them all help with the clearing up of the breakfast things. Then I sent the girls off to dress for the weather before looking at what clothes the boys had available. They didn’t really have much for keeping out the wet and were too big to borrow from the girls and too small to borrow from Simon or even me.
I sat them on the bed. “You are both going to get cold very quickly as soon as the wet goes through your jeans and jackets. As soon as you start to feel cold, you must say and we’ll come home, okay?”
They both agreed, I still wasn’t happy, but they did have a change of clothing for when we came back, so they’d soon warm up. I went to check the girls and they had their ski jackets and pants on with waterproof gloves and hats. Their wellies would keep their feet dry but not very warm.
I offered my spare gaiters to Danny, but they were too big–I was wearing walking boots and gaiters rather than wellingtons. My wellingtons were the right size for Danny, but not my green Hunters, they were too big, even with thick socks, so he had to borrow my pink flowery ones, which made Trish snigger. Billy managed to get into Stella’s yellow butterfly ones, which again made the girls snigger. My cold stare cut it short.
I was still worried the boys were going to get cold, but they insisted they were okay. So, while Simon got the two sledges out of the garage, I made up some flasks of hot chocolate and packed some biscuits as well. A small first aid kit completed the rucksack and I strapped it closed. I checked we had a mobile phone with us and we set off. Boy it was cold.
The sun came out for a bit and warmed us a little as we walked to the nearest suitable slope, about a mile away. Simon took the ruckie, I carried the phone, the boys pulled the sledges and Meems and Trish held my hands while Livvie walked holding Simon’s hand. It was treacherous under foot and within a hundred paces, Meems had slipped and only holding onto me stopped her going down.
Of course the boys were trying to slide on the sledges on the slightest slope–they had very little idea. In their hooded fleeces with girl’s wellies, they looked like girls and that amused Trish no end. I tried to caution her against laughing too much, as it would raise the subject in the boy’s minds too, and that wasn’t desirable. It would also create an us and them climate beyond one we already had, plus the boys would be looking for revenge if the girls made them look silly.
Half an hour’s difficult walking got us to the field with the slope and we let the boys have the first go on the toboggans. They were very reluctant to let the girls have a go, but I insisted and Simon growled at them, so they got off quite quickly.
I took a few photos of all of them sledging down the hill, with my little camera, and Trish took one of Simon and I standing in the snow. She also got one of Simon kissing me, although I’m so wrapped up in hats and scarves, you can’t really see who it is.
The boys became thoroughly soaked, their fleeces not being designed for lying in the snow, when they made angels: you lie in the snow on your back and move you arms up towards your head and then down towards your legs. I think they look more like giant moths, but what do I know.
When the snowball fight started, I withdrew with the girls to a safe distance and watched Simon and the two boys battle it out with a group of other boys. For some reason one of the other group threw one at us and it was on track for Mima until I stepped forward and intercepted it–it hit me on the bum.
One of the other group tried to sneak up on us, by walking under some fir trees. He threw and retreated under the trees. Even I can hit a tree, so I let fly with two snowballs in quick succession which went over his head and he laughed, until the avalanche of snow from the disturbed branches hit him. He was almost buried. The girls laughed themselves silly.
We left the boys to it, and started to walk home with our sledges. In fact, Mima, who hadn’t had a ride down the hill–she’s a bit too small for it–sat on the sledge and I pulled her home. She kept saying Mush which I believe is a corruption of the French, Marche.
Livvie and Trish took over as dog team and they ran off pulling the sledge with them with Mima giggling until they hit a hard lump and she fell off–I spent the next ten minutes comforting her before we could go on and she walked holding my hand again.
Back home, I’d just stripped the girls off and shoved all their stuff in the washing machine, when the phone rang. “Hi, Babes, we have a situation.”
“What’s happening Simon?”
“Some nice little swine in the other team shoved a stone inside a snowball and it hit Danny in the face.”
“Is he alright?” My stomach flipped over.
“The paramedics are looking at him now. They want him to go to hospital.”
“What happened?”
“It hit him in the eye.”
“Oh shit, do we have to notify anyone?” I would have to look at the forms we had with them.
“I dunno, but the police are talking to the little shite, who I think did it.”
“I don’t believe this, Simon, they’ve only been with us a day or so.”
“I know–I gotta go, talk to ya later.”
“What’s happened?” asked Stella
“Danny’s been hit in the eye by a snowball with a rock in it.”
“Not nice,” she said.
“No, very not nice.” I agreed and she nodded. While we’d probably agree it couldn’t happen to a nicer person, why did it have to happen on our watch? Oh boy, my luck is continuing to hold–and most of it is a bad as the weather.
Comments
Great episode!
It always takes some idiot to spoil a fun time. Interesting about Danny and Billy looking like 2 girls. Now they have some pictures to back it up. I bet they can be used to help keep Danny and Billy in line if they start hassling Trish.
If any thing happens to Danny's eye, I bet a little blue light will fix it. What a nice winter's scene. I wonder where this will be going now?
Hugs,
Trish-Ann
~There is no reality, only perception~
Hugs,
Trish Ann
~There is no reality, only perception~
I guess the old saying holds true
no good deed goes unpunished.
Going to need a little blue light special on that eye? Hope not but certainly a possibility.
I got to note something
I have a terrible feeling the last few days that the boys are being awfully slandered here . I mean you draw them as ignorant , selfish and rowdy ( which isn't necessarily a bad thing but you draw them as if they lack any delicateness in them).
I think the choice of portraying the boys speak as you do shows a lot of it. While the girls speak ( except for meems) is fluent and mature for there age the boys one is opposite to it (and that's include Leon), considering there age I think you overreact with the way you show the boys intellectual : There nine and ten for god sake! they should know a thing or two more then Trish and Livvie {as bright as she is!} yet you make them seem more like meems ( in speech, behavior and knowledge).
This thoroughly pisses me off as this seems like a trend : " Oh look at those young boys they act like toddlers and pretty stupid!", I would like to see one story that shows that there is intelligent mature young man/boys out there .
I know this sounds like a rant ( because it partly is) but I do hope that you will make the boys a better figure of there gender at that age as such figure ( at least a good one) can contribute a lot to the entire family.
Lily
Bear in mind their background...
They've just exited a children's home, so have spent the last x years in the company of other children, with less adult attention than children in a stable home would have. The drive out to Tom's house is probably the furthest they've travelled in years, so you can excuse their geographical ignorance. It's a sad fact of life that, on average, the educational performance of CLA (Children Looked After) lags behind non looked after children. They probably want to cultivate the "cool guy" image, which sadly doesn't encompass high educational attainment. And the children that remain in children's homes (as opposed to being fostered or adopted) generally have several "areas of developmental need", usually including "Emotional / Behavioural needs", which makes them very challenging (unpleasant relationships with foster parents, absconding from placements, placements that only last one day - I've seen them all on CareFirst...)
--Ben
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Fair enough but
I am not just talking about this incident it seem that far to many of this kind of story (and several times in this one ) boys and males seem to be portrayed as less mature/emotinal mature then females and that's annoys me to no end.
It Is A Biological Fact
It is a biological fact that boys that age tend to lag behind in emotional maturity. They tend to do things that are daring and reckless without thinking about the consequences until it is too late. I guess it is something programmed into their brains. You must remember that these two are the same ones who bullied Trish when she was still Patrick. That in itself shows they weren't all that bright in the first place. Bullies tend to harm other people to cover up their own issues. They want to try to make themselves feel like they are somehow better, so they pick on someone smaller and weaker. The only thing they accomplish is looking like idiots in the end.
Ummm...
That propensity continues as they get older...
That said, most girls that age also do things without thinking - just different things - that can be quite dangerous...
As to how these kids will manage? I'm hoping that Trish can help Danny - when he comes back as the injured soldier... And that when Patrick is discovered, Danny will actually be greatful. Time will tell.
Thanks,
Annette
thats a chauvinist claim
I want you to show me a written copy of the "Biological fact" as you call it.You probably never ever been in some form of a teacher /guide position with young boys and girls . If you do you will notice that while the difference between girls and boys seem like one that as big as the Nile they are actually quite similar.
You want to convince me to drop the issue by saying that those two boys bullied Trish so I shouldn't care about them: Well I care about the concept of it . It happens to much in this kind of stories that boys are degraded and treated as somewhat inferior to girls .
To sum up I've seen a lot of mature,immature,smart,dumb,clever,naive,cruel and reckless people in my short life and from my experience it seem that their percentage in different groups of the same as ,such as gender, is the same.
Not Anti-Boy
It is a fact of life that institutionalised boys in the UK tend to be rough and ready, rude and mouthy. It can also be true for girls who have to live in such places too. Living in a children's home where they have no proper family life can be pretty soul destroying, and it tends to be a case of everyone for him/herself and the devil take the hindmost. So one could not expect any child in such an environment to speak with a posh accent or to have the manners of a little gentleman; such a child would not survive for long without having the stuffing knocked out of him.
For all I know it might be different in the US, but the picture Angharad paints of the two boys is probably fairly accurate when you consider that they have probably lived most of their lives in an institution.
Gabi.
Gabi.
But there is still the fact
That the boys seem to have zero knowledge of the world. I mean most 10 year old in my country know that Scotland isn't in England but in the UK and our education system isn't that good.
There is also the fact that it seem that in this story the rough and rude only seem to apply to boys (with exception of one girl) . There is no good boys/smart boys in this story and that make it seem anti-boy ( add to that the sometime less then sympathetic approach to male in this story/comment to it).
Look I am not saying it's deliberate but it seem like a trend of female in modern societies to cancel out the male existence by saying they are emotionally inferior and not as mature as males ( look several comments above yours and you will see an example) , and the fact is that they aren't. You may say lots of things on young boys but you can't say that they're are less mature then girls their age .
As a Scot…
…who lives in England, I can confirm what Angharad has written about the English view of Scotland. The majority of English, men and women, boys and girls, living in England think that because Scotland is joined by a land border, it is part of England and they have the same attitude to Wales and the Welsh. Ask Angharad, she's Welsh. Scotland and Wales are indeed part of the United Kingdom, but there is a strong opinion among the English is that the United Kingdom is England! Even though Scotland and Wales now have their own parliaments, this has not altered the opinion of most native English people.
You Americans are much more conscious of your national origins than the average native English person. Many is the time I have had to correct someone who referred to me as being English, by telling them I am Scots, to which they reply, “Well, it’s the same thing, isn’t it?†Doh!
Christmas and Hogmanay hugs,
Hilary, a Scot and very proud of it.
P.S. My daughter and I are currently visiting Granny and Grampa in Scotland where we shall welcome in the New Year in the traditional Scots manner. Slainte mhath.
H.
Greetings Quote: "That the
Greetings
Quote:
"That the boys seem to have zero knowledge of the world. I mean most 10 year old in my country know that Scotland isn't in England but in the UK and our education system isn't that good."
End Quote
I have heard it said that many in USA hardly know facts like Europe is not a country, but a continent, with about 45 countries!
The confusion between England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and United Kingdom is frequent. Then there is the British Isles a different entity.
When I was younger I certainly knew where England and Wales were, my family moved from Wales to England and there were frequent visits back. When I discovered the other countries, I would not be sure, but geography was a interest during secondary school years (age over 11).
Brian
Might be true but I am not from the US
I am from Israel :). And in here we start geography at grade 2
Re: Might be true but I am not from the US
Greetings
According to the Mappa Mundi the centre of the world is Jerusalem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mappa_mundi
That is located in Hereford Cathedral about 40kms from my home and I have seen it.
Brian
Cathy Kept The Peace
Betwen the boys and girls. Hopefully, Danny will come to apreciate the girl's tender attention, and that cad will get switches for his actions. Father Christmas would give a lump of coal, switches, to bad boys and girls.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
It's a shame
is it not, That something like snow which promises so much fun, Can be so dangerous!! Danny's injury just goes to prove that even with all the precautions Cathy took that accidents can and will happen !! The question now though is just how serious is the damage to Danny's eye...And will Cathy bring the blue light out of retirement?
Kirri
Blue Light ? You betcha
I doubt these boys have ever been given unconditional love. Danny is also the one with 'Maiden' as his last name ? Hmmmm
But any way, if Cathy does use her blue light to prevent that kid from becoming blind in one eye, it may very well be a revelation for him to find there is selfless compassion in his otherwise cold and isolated world that seem to have abandoned him at such a young age.
Kim
I wonder if Cathy uses the
I wonder if Cathy uses the "blue light special" if will happen to bring out the real person in Danny. I mean for all we know, he really is a girl inside and has tried to hide the fact by being a bully to others such as Trish/Patrick. Jan
Ah adventures in the snow!
Ah yes, the best times were when the children and I slipped outside in our pajamas and boots, for a two minute snow ball fight. These were the best and did not last long at all.
We also used to go up on the slopes of Mt Hood in the winter and use inner tubes to go down the hill. It was actually quite dangerous, but fun too.
Merry Christmas.
Khadijah Gwen
bullying
in my experience by being bullied by not just boys but all of my classmates in the 4th 5th 6th and 7th grades was from several different directions
1 wealth
2 size
3 being further educated than the rest of the class
4 being abused at home
5 myself being transgendered [unknown but suspected thru-out my life]
i was not submissive but passive
the education system as well as child services could have stopped most of my problems. child services could have removed my sister and myself from the abuse at home, the school system could have tested me and placed me in a level equal to my peers.
the beatings and abuse at home and being boored in school could have been dealt with by the proper authorities but they didn't they told my sister and myself that it was all a part of growing up
both girls and boys can and will be bullies if the oportunity arrises
angharad i have read most of your works some more than once and i enjoy the stories very much
[email protected]
Dressing for snow.
I was particularly interested in the way Cathy worried that the boys' jeans and fleeces would be inadequate for fun in the snow. When I was their age (1940/50s) we all wore shorts all the time, Summer and Winter. The only extra clothing for sledging were wellies with long socks turned over the tops to stop chafing our bare calves and ex-army balaclava helmets and wool gloves. We certainly got very cold and what we called 'hot-aches' was a painful return to circulation in our extremities. It's amazing that somehow we never felt the cold until we got back indoors.
Never the less we were always disappointed when the footpath we slid down (conveniently dimly lit by street lamps for evening sledging) was gritted, so that the miners who used it to get to the pit could get home again after their shift.
Of course, it's needless to say that, as a relatively wealthy family, we had our own cardboard box to live in and there were more than sufficient scraps thrown out by the wealthy coal owners for a scrumptious Christmas feast. You young 'uns don't know you're born!
Good episode, Angharad. Pity about young Danny's injury but perhaps some good could come out of it.
Robi
Gathering kids.
I promised you a comment approximately every fifty or so chapters (or posts as you describe them.)
This is a fabulous fantasy and I can see exactly where your heart lies.
I'd call it 'Sticky love' cos Cathy finds it hard to let go.
Still enjoying the read.
I actually finished the series this morning on the works computers but I'd rather not post comments there cos it might cause problems. Tha management in my company are Transphobic, Homophobic, Gerontophobic, Mysogynist and just plain Psychopathic about anything humane.
I don't post from my works desk for this very reason.
Loved the story and I'm trawling back through what I read this morning to post some pertinent comments.
Love & Hugs,
Beverly.
geography
I'm in the USA, and I know for a fact, here in the good ole USA,there are alot of folks that havent a clue where some states are located. As far as the UK was concerned, I knew that Scotland & Wales were not actually England proper, but, didnt realize you all didnt think of yourselves as a single enity as had I origonally believed, I knew there was language differences as in USA where a word out here in Oregon might have an entirely different one in Boston, or, down in the southern states.
When I was in England, I was usually around diplomatic & hi-society, so outside some intonation differences, never thought much of it, same while I was out & about in London proper. Several yrs after, I met a young lady from Manchester online and the 1st major shock was just how much dialect differences there was amungst you all,
Oregon it self is larger(98,386 square miles) than the UK combined(93,026)(BTW not much) and we are not the largest state in USA, By contrast France is about twice the size of us combined(211,207), and would be the 3rd largest state in USA behind Alaska(656,425) & Texas(268,601). by contrast California(163,707) is USA's 3rd largest state and is only about 2/3rds the size of france.
When double checking my facts I was shocked that France was that huge
And while I didnt really pay it much mind, I thought of Scotland, N.Ireland,Wales,& England more as I would consider a state in the USA VS United Kingdom and quite liberally often interchanged UK with England and thought I was being inclusive with all. I didn't realize the nationalist difference till in reading this story in some of the comments & another story by CYCLIST(Something to declare) here on Top shelf.
and Here I am whom considers oneself quite educated & well traveled, perhaps so, but seems i still get to learn new things
(smiles)
United Kingdom
A very complicated area of the globe. Henry VIII's act of Union between England and Wales was only repealed in 1968. I've put even more Welsh into one of my other stories....
England vs Britain
I'll show my ignorance here, all the people under the Queen are British? And all the people in England proper are English? Correct?
I remember drawing maps of Britain and Ireland (don't remember the Isle of Man), it always reminded me of a Genie coming out of a Lamp.
About the boys vs. girls debate. I hear some quibbling about gender vs nurture. These boys are a result of nurture, they have had to defend themselves from what would be strange to the rest of us. I don't presume to judge, but in this case their background is probably more important than their gender.
England vs Britain
It's really, really much more complicated.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the Principality of Wales on the big island - Great Britain, and the Province of Northern Ireland on the second biggest one, Ireland. The rest of Ireland is the independent Republic of Ireland, Eire. The six counties of Northern Ireland are two-thirds of Ulster; the other three counties are in Eire. The Queen is not just the head of state of the UK, she is also the head of state of the Isle of Man, which is in the middle of the Irish Sea, and the Channel Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, and Sark (all 2 square miles of it!). These islands are not in the European Union, although the UK and Eire are.
England, Wales, both parts of Ireland and the other islands are common law countries, although the Republic has a different constitution. Scotland has a legal system deriving from Roman Law, which is similar to the majority of countries in mainland Europe. Scotland's parliament has more powers than the Welsh Assembly, but this may change. There's a big push for independence in Scotland right now, I think the Welsh are more sceptical, but quite a few people in the north of England wouldn't mind joining an independent Scotland. Cornwall just has a county council, but generally thinks of itself as separate to England. English is the majority language, but there are at least 600,000 Welsh speakers, and there three sorts of Gaelic - Scottish, Irish, and Manx (just - it almost died out), as well as Cornish (which did die out, but has been revived). Scots and Ulster Scots are recognised community languages as well.
Distant Sunshine
Britain versus England
That sounds like a real grudge match to me.
To answer your questions: No and No.
The Queen is titular head of the Commonwealth and the majority of Commonwealth citizens would not call themselves British.
Not all of the "British Isles" is part of the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom is united in name and by various Acts: the union to some extent is more honoured in the breach...
There are those who think of themselves as 'English' living all over the world, even when they are citizens and passport-holders of the country in which they dwell.
A lot of the English (as in: they see themselves as the rightful occupants of England) do not view the rest (of the occupants of England) as English (and that's not simply hating the obvious immigrants).
I can pass as 'English' whatever that might mean. But in fact my known lineage is Scottish and 'English' with a dash of French. But I have some evidence to believe a dash of Huguenot also, and a splash of Viking/Norse (blood group-based probability). The following are at least probable; Norman, German, Italian, Greek ...
... In other words like most "English" I am a mongrel.
In the sixties, I lived for a while in Earls Court in West London. In those days it was a warren of bed-sits, and there were so many Australians in those bed-sits, Earls Court was often referred to as "Kangaroo Valley". Private Eye once had a cartoon showing an Australian arguing with an Englishman in a bar: "I have the right to live here. My ancestors stole sheep in this country."
Quite a lot of them came and stayed. I sometimes wonder what - besides the original 'Englishness' - those ex-Australians put into the gene pool? And what nationality do they think they have?
Xi
It seems the most brillant students ARE girls, here too
I know these comments started 6yrs ago, but being from the US I still say England when I know it's UK or GB. Most of us over here don't realize or understand the Political/Governmental connections between Wales, Scotland, and England.
Just a while ago a vote was taken in Scotland to see if they would separate from the United Kingdom.( it lost )
In Canada, Quebec has a large contingent who want separation from the rest of Canada.
Kids here can't find Ohio on a map ! ( boys and girls both).
Some of us boys are really smart, but skate along, not wanting to appear nerdish(sissyish), I can vouch for that.
It's easier to sound like a dolt, then be one .
Duh, soze how bout bak to biken. What's wrong wid sticken a rock in a snowsball anyway ?
Cefin
It seems the most brillant students ARE girls, here too
I know these comments started 6yrs ago, but being from the US I still say England when I know it's UK or GB. Most of us over here don't realize or understand the Political/Governmental connections between Wales, Scotland, and England.
Just a while ago a vote was taken in Scotland to see if they would separate from the United Kingdom.( it lost )
In Canada, Quebec has a large contingent who want separation from the rest of Canada.
Kids here can't find Ohio on a map ! ( boys and girls both).
Some of us boys are really smart, but skate along, not wanting to appear nerdish(sissyish), I can vouch for that.
It's easier to sound like a dolt, then be one .
Duh, soze how bout bak to biken. What's wrong wid sticken a rock in a snowsball anyway ?
Cefin
Of course we boys do stupid.
Of course we boys do stupid. dangerous things, it's fun ! at 64, I still do stupid things, my response being, 'I'm a guy, can't help it.
Do you think that homeless boys will speak like the landed gentry ? If they were, the wouldn't be in a home for orphans !!!!
Cefin