Arthur and Annabelle’s home has been built from the
local stone, cold in the winter, yet cool in the summer months. The cottage is
of an average size. It is thatched from front to back on the roof, and there
upon the thatch is a weather vane which turns when the wind blows giving the
family a forecast of which way the wind is coming from. This was made by
Annabelle’s father as a wedding present when they first set up home over
sixteen years ago. A shire horse tethered to a post whilst the blacksmith
hammers away on the anvil to make a new shoe. They are both depicted on the
arrow, which then is welded to a post beneath; two balls are the pivotal point that
holds everything together, the north, the south, the east and the west that
turns and turns in the blowing winds. Michael Crawford must have taken ages to
forge all the shapes especially the balls. He had also decided that the colour
should be black so that it would stand the tests of time with all the seasons,
spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Inside their cottage which is sparsely decorated.
There were high oak beams stretching from one end of the cottage to the other
in the attic, and the living spaces downstairs. The walls have been white
washed to bring and air of lightness and brightness that would otherwise would
have been dim, gloomy and dark, the sun gleaming outside their cottage is
coming in through the windows lifting the shadows away. Also inside their
cottage hangs their precious plates, pictures of horses, the beautiful
landscape that surrounds their village and far off places, one such precious
plate that belongs to Annabelle and Arthur is of a church that they were married
in. Their memories of all the family gathering at the happy event. The blossom
blossoming on the trees outside of the church in the month of April pink and
white so like Annabelle’s dress that she wore. Below these precious plates is a
shelf that Arthur had put up so that Annabelle could place her crockery, cups,
saucer, plates and jugs. Hooks can be seen under the bottom of the shelf for
her pots and pans for cooking, not many but enough for their sized family.
(c) Teresa Joseph Franklin
All Rights Reserved
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