The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (039) New Years Day

 

January

The Vicar, Arielle Nicholas, was the first to arrive for Lunch at Cliff Haven, she was always early, but she was quite comfortable with that, as she had been a regular visitor to the house since Molly and Danny had moved in, and she had met their houseguests a couple of times.   

But she had only been there about ten minutes when the rest of the guests arrived through the door.

The first one through the door was Katie Harrison, followed by Nikki who was clearly her mother’s daughter, just younger, and with more vibrancy in her hair, then came a  slim six-foot, young man with blue eyes and shoulder length straw colored hair, who she assumed was Sam Archer and then her heart skipped a beat as his equally gorgeous brother walked in, she wasn’t sure of his name, he was a more athletic build, and an inch or two shorter than Sam with shorter darker blonde hair and he was nearer her age, but he walked in less confidently than his younger brother with his eyes fixed on the floor, and they were all followed in by the gentle giant George Wood.

 

After introductions were made a period of general chitchat followed for about half an hour until Molly announced that lunch was served.

Molly had the buffet table set up in the dining room and once they had filed in and helped themselves, they could settle on any one of the many sofas in the reception rooms or conservatory.

As luck would have it for Arielle, she ended up sitting next to who she now knew to be Harry Archer, or maybe it was divine intervention, but he was a very shy man and she had to make all the running, conversation wise.

“Molly was showing me the snow globes that you made, they’re very lovely” she said. 

“Well Sam’s the creative artistic guy, I’m more the hands on, practical one.” Harry said, Arielle liked the sound of “Hands on.” And felt herself blush.

Harry noticed her colour up and it seemed to relax him strangely, making a vicar blush, even if he didn’t know why, but he went on to explain the process at length, which she seemed interested in, but after that they found more common ground, classic movies. 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (038) New Years Eve

 

New Years Eve was a very relaxed affair at Beacon Farm, once the animals were tended to, and the evening began with homemade pizza.

There were six of them for pizza, Katie Harrison, her daughter Nikki, the Archer brothers, the gentle giant George Wood, and shepherdess, Hazel Stock.

The pizza was excellent, washed down with a liberal quantity of wine, apart from Hazel who didn’t drink.

As the evening wore on the Trivial Pursuit appeared to universal acclaim, and they split up into three teams, the Harrison’s, the Archer’s, and George and Hazel, the latter naming themselves Woodstock to a chorus of laughter.

After about two hours, and with Harrison’s winning, Nikki fell asleep on the sofa beside Sam and took no further part, which left Katie at a distinct disadvantage because Nikki had been answering most of the questions.

Just after midnight Hazel called it a day and went off to her bed leaving all three teams needing only one cheese, and that was how it remained at 2 o’clock.

“I think we had better declare it a draw” George said.

“Good idea” Sam said, “Honour’s even.”

“Happy days” Katie slurred and took a drink, most of which went down her chin.

“Now it’s bedtime” she said wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

 

It was a very different New Years Eve at Cliff Haven, where Molly and Danny spent much of the day preparing the food for the Buffet Lunch on the next day, while his brother Sam, took his wife Emma, and their three boys, on a long yomp up to Beacon Rock to give Molly some space to get on and to wear the boys out. 

It was called Beacon Rock, because a beacon was built on the rock to warn of the impending arrival of the Spanish Armada, but it was never lit, due to the fact, that the weather was so bad that the sentry’s couldn’t see past the end of the island let alone a fleet of ships

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (037) The Archers Arrival

 

Two days later Katie Harrison took her daughter up to Lucia's in St Pierre, she was so pleased that Nikki was showing an interest in the opposite sex that she wanted to make sure she made the most of herself, hair, brows, and nails.

The problem was that Nikki, was not that kind of girl, and she was very resistant to being dolled up, and the whole of the journey was taken up discussing what she would tolerate, in the end they compromised on hair and a Manicure.

 

It was much more relaxed and jovial on the return journey, and they were almost home when their conversation was broken by the telephone ringing, and Katie cursed at the interruption before answering it.

“Hello?” she said flatly.

“Hello Katie,” Molly said.

“Hello Molly” she said in a much lighter frame of mind, and chuckled then she continued.

“You’re on hands free, what can we do for you?”

“George said Sam Archer is coming to stay with you” she said.

“Yes, that’s right, and his brother” Nikki replied.

“Excellent, I’d really like to see him again, to thank him for his wonderful work, we’re having an informal lunch on New Year’s Day, you’re all invited, and when I say lunch, I mean a buffet” she paused briefly “so if it fits in with your plans, we’d love to see you all.” 

“Ok we’ll let you know” Katie said, “Talk later, bye.”

 

It was a couple of hours later when Katie returned the call.

“Hi Molly, we would love to come, should we bring anything?”

“Only yourselves,” she replied, “come about one, bye.”

 

Sam and Harry Archer left their flat in Sharpington early on Thursday morning.

“Why do I have to come?” Harry whined.

“Because if you don’t, you’ll just spend the weekend watching the “Sound of Music” or “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” or something equally boring.”

“I like old movies” he said defensively.

Sam was ten years younger than his thirty-six-year-old brother, but he was the boss, Harry was very placid and easy-going and was happy for Sam, to call the shots.

They had been in business together since Sam left university and they were a perfect team at Archer’s Ornamental.

They specialized in handmade snow globes but also made decorative lights from recycled wine bottles, many of them were bespoke but they also mass-produced items for the tourist season, and Christmas decorations for Emmaline’s Christmas Emporium in Sharpington.

Sam was the creative one of the pair and did all the carving, modelling, and painting.

Harry was the practical one who did all the technical stuff, 3D Printing, acrylic injection moulding, and impact moulding.

He also managed their small staff of 6 people who assembled finished and packed the completed articles.

Their sister’s Clarissa and Pandora, who did the ordering, invoicing, and accounts remotely 4 days a week, from their parent’s home in Pepperstock Green, where they were also part time carers for their invalid mother, while both of them did one day a week at the factory.

They lost their father Henry during the pandemic and their mother Dorcas was still suffering the effects of long-covid, having been a hairs breath away from dying herself.

Sam and Harry had spent an extended Christmas in Pepperstock Green and did alternate weekends with their mum to give their sisters some respite, so they were a close family.

 

They threw their overnight bags in the boot and set off to Pipershaven, with Harry behind the wheel.

It was a glorious December day, cold and crisp, bright blue sky, and dead calm sea, and once the ferry was out in open water Sam and Harry stood by the rail and got their first proper look at the Pepperstock Bay Islands.

If anyone had seen them standing there, they would have immediately assumed they were brothers.

Sam was the baby of the Archer family, around six-foot, slim build, blue eyes, and shoulder length straw coloured hair.

Harry was an inch or two shorter with a more athletic build and shorter darker blonde hair.

 

At about the same time on Beacon Farm Nikki’s head was full of self-doubt, because not only had they never met, but they had also not shared pictures of themselves.

Her doubts were two-fold, firstly would he be as nice in the flesh as he was in their communications, and second would he be disappointed with her.

 

They drove off the ferry and Sam was getting overly excited.

“This isn’t like you” Harry said.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a bit impulsive” he pointed out.

“I know” Sam agreed “It just seems right.”

They drove out of the docks and through St Pierre past the Bellevue Hospital, and the Beaumont Hotel, and Halfway Lane, and then turned right onto Beacon Farm Road.

When they entered the yard, they instantly spotted an attractive sandy haired woman beside the kitchen door.

“Is that her?” Harry asked.

“I’m hoping it’s her mum” he replied.

 

“Nikki! they’re here” Katie called through the kitchen door.

“Oh God, here we go” Nikki said to herself.

“Well, what’s the verdict?” she asked.

“Gorgeous” Katie replied.

“Which one?” she asked nervously.

“Both of them”

“Thank you, God,” Nikki said, and her mum laughed.

“I know, I’m so shallow” she retorted and pulled a face.

She sneaked a look between the curtain and the window frame and saw two blonde men walk towards the farmhouse one confident with shoulder length straw coloured hair the other more hesitant, his eyes fixed on the ground, she assumed the latter to be his brother Harry so the other must be Sam.

“Hello Mrs. Harrison” he said.

“Call me Katie” she replied.

“And you must be ….”

“Sam” Nikki said as she appeared from the kitchen and smiled.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (036) Outings

 

It was a lovely sunny day, so they were up bright and early, and left Cliff Haven soon after, Danny and Sam took the boys on the Water Taxi to the neighboring island of St Giles, which is the smallest of the two Bay Islands, 6 miles long and 4 miles wide.

Following the formal end of the Roman occupation of Britain at the beginning of the 5th Century AD, the islands were largely unoccupied until the arrival of the Norman’s after their victory over King Harold at Hastings, when a minor nobleman, Gilbert du Beaumont, claimed the islands for himself, and took up residence on the larger Island which he promptly named after himself. 

He named the smaller island St Giles du Cabot in honour of his cousin and childhood friend who died of his wounds after the battle.

It was a rugged inhospitable and largely uninhabitable island surrounded by treacherous rocks. 

For hundreds of years following the dissolution of the monasteries a hardy community of Monks eked out a meagre existence before they had to share their seclusion when work on a lighthouse at Cabot point began in the middle of the 19th Century.

By the 21st Century, three quarters of the island is a Wildlife Sanctuary, there is a small Meteorological Station, a small Hotel, the Seaview, and the Monks, who now ran St Giles’s religious retreat, which meant there was a population of between 50 and a 150 people, depending on the time of year. 

There is no Church on the Island but for those of a religious bent were always welcome at the St Giles Chapel.

 

The port of Cabot Town, in the southwest corner, is actually just a hamlet, and is also not really a port, it’s just a jetty for the car ferry and a small quayside, where the Water Taxi moored.  

The fresh water on St Giles came from Hastings Lake, which was surrounded by woods, both courtesy of the Monks, who cleared the lake of silt and debris, then planted and managed the woodland.

Over the centuries the lake and woods had become an excellent source of sustenance in their lives.

 

There were two beaches on the eastern side of the island, Smuggler’s Beach is on the northeast coast below the cliffs, but no one knows why it got the name as there was no evidence to suggest it was ever used for smuggling.

The only other beach was Broad Beach Sands, a wide and deep expanse of yellow sand at the narrowest part of the island.

The whole southern end of the island below Broad Beach was the Wildlife Sanctuary and was out of bounds to residents and visitors alike and a permanent presence of wardens on the island keep the over inquisitive at bay.

However, visitors still had the beaches, bird watching and fishing in Hastings Lake to amuse them and the Seaview Hotel was the place they stayed.

 

Meanwhile, Molly and Emma went horse riding, Molly hadn’t ridden since leaving Colorado, and after speaking to her “go to” source of all things Beaumont Island, Katie Harrison, she recommended Woodside Farm, and gave her a phone number and directions.

The journey up to the farm was simple enough, straight through the village and take the second left onto Halfway Lane and then the first left onto Woodside Farm.

 

Woodside was the largest of the five farms on the island covering the whole of the southeast corner, a large wedge-shaped parcel of land bordered by Halfway Lane to the north, Spanish River and the Eagles Crag in the west and the rugged coastline from Manor Cliff Beach to Armada Head to the east.

The Beaumont family had once owned the whole island but after three successive heirs were killed in action during the Great War the accumulated death duties forced the only surviving Beamont, George, to sell off the estate in 1920, auctioning off the buildings, the port, and parcels of land.

Fortunately, the sale managed to raise enough to pay off the taxman, while being able to keep Woodside Farm and retain a Beaumont family presence on the island.

More than 100 years later the farm is run by the last remaining members of the family, George’s grandsons, fraternal twins, Joshua, and Ben.

 

When they arrived at the farm and parked the car they were greeted by the Beaumont brothers.

“Hello Molly pleased to meet you” Josh said and shook her hand “It’s true, you are the image of your mum.”

“You knew her?” she asked.

“She used to babysit us when we were small” Ben added “For her pains.”

“Thank you for this” Molly said.

“Our pleasure, Katie speaks very highly of you.”

“She’s very kind” Molly said. “This is Emma by the way”

Just then they were joined by their respective girlfriends Olivia and Tanya Shaw, who owned and operated The Shaw Brothers Ferry Company, and it was the Shaw girls who were going to ride with them.

 

Phil Holgate started the engines of the Water Taxi, and the boys got very excited.

The 40ft Downshire Duchy 22 Motor Launch, Ocean Breeze, did thrice daily crossings from Spaniards Creek to Cabot Town on St Giles.

It was a very calm crossing and Danny really enjoyed their boy’s day out, spending time with his brother and nephews was incredibly special.

Danny liked St Giles Island, and he would go again soon, but with Molly next time, they'd have to pick a day when the weather was good, maybe in the spring.

 

Molly had also had a good day and thoroughly enjoyed the riding and the company in equal measure and felt sure that the Beaumont’s and Shaw’s would become firm friends and that they would visit Woodside Farm again.

Both parties got back to the Cottage in Spaniards Creek at the same time, the boat party were cold but invigorated, and the girls were tired and sore after an enjoyable ride.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (035) Inviting the Archers

 

Although the thaw had set in, there was still a significant amount of snow laying on the ground the next day, but George got word from his friend in St Pierre that the port was open again, so Danny and Molly had a quick tidy round in preparation of their visitor’s belated arrival and it was to prove to be their most peaceful morning for the remainder of the year.

 

The day after that was the last day on the island for Gwen’s sister Ruth Weaver who was returning to Mornington and on Beacon farm Nicola Harrison was enjoying a relatively quiet day following a hectic couple of days rescuing sheep stuck in the snow with fellow Shepherdess, Hayley Stock.

Relaxation for Nikki normally consisted of her enjoying her hobby which involved her art, and up until recently that was precisely what it was, and she used to share it on different forums, just to get feedback, which is where one of her pieces  was spotted by bestselling crime fiction writer, Danny Nightingale, who had been searching for a suitable image as cover art for his latest book.

She was thrilled, as she was a major fan, and it was nice to get paid for her work, and although she had been contracted to provide art for the next two books, she had no desire to become a professional artist.

Firstly, because she liked being a shepherd, she liked farming, but mainly because if her hobby became her job, she would need to find another hobby.

She had developed other interests however, as part of her art Nikki often flew a drone above the landscape to film inaccessible places, and wildlife, she used it originally to assist her mum to locate stray sheep, but the aid to her art was an unexpected bonus.

But then in the middle of November that bonus paid dividends when Danny Nightingale approached her to film Cliff Haven from every conceivable angle, without Molly realizing, as part of a special Christmas present.

For her birthday he had commissioned a special present for her by Sam Archer, a craftsman who lived and worked in Sharpington, a hand-crafted snow globe, containing a detailed model of her former Colorado home, Lakeside, which she loved, so for the Christmas gift he contacted Sam again.

As it was Nikki who gathered all the footage together Danny suggested she emailed Sam directly, which she did at the end of November, and following that first contact, Nikki and Sam corresponded extensively, but they hadn’t met.

They got on really well, and had a lot in common, even though he was almost three years older.

The correspondence became more frequent over Christmas while Downshire and the Island were blanketed by snow, even when she was up on the hills rescuing sheep, which was why late on Boxing Day, on the spur of the moment she invited him to the farm for New Years.

But the moment she pressed send, panic set in, had she been too hasty, would he feel the same, or would he prefer to keep her at arm’s length, and every minute that went by without reply the more paranoid she became.

In the meantime, she spoke to her mum to make sure she was cool with it, and she was over the moon that Nikki was interested in someone, and two hours later she got a reply.

“Love to come to the island, but…” it began.

“Oh, here we go” she thought, and took a deep breath before reading on.

“… would it be alright if I drag Harry over there with me? he’s a bit of a coach potato.”

She let out the breath she was holding and smiled.

“Of course, no problem”

“Mum!!” she called.

“Yes love”

“We’ve got another guest for New Years.”

 

After coming off the hill at the end of the day Nikki sat in the quiet of her room, as she warmed her hands on a large mug of hot chocolate, and thought about what happened the previous day, and applauded herself for her out of character boldness in inviting Sam for the New Year weekend, and she felt very smug indeed as she slipped beneath the duvet.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (034) Boxing Day

 

Boxing day at Cliff Haven was a very casual affair which started late and involved Molly and Danny wearing their pyjamas and watching TV all day.

Their visitors were finally arriving the next day so they were taking advantage of the peace and quiet and enjoying their own company while they could.

 

Gwen Loots was having an even busier day with her children and her sister, culminating with her going out on a date with Phil Holgate, as her sister Ruth was staying for Christmas, so she was babysitting the children, but after spending three hours getting ready, she was suffering a crisis of confidence.

“I’m going to call him and cancel” Gwen said.

“Why?” Ruth asked, “He’s totally smitten with you.”

“It was probably just the wine” she retorted.

“He snogged your face off” Ruth pointed out.

“That was probably the wine too” she retorted forlornly.

“Don’t be silly” Ruth said sternly “Put your coat on.”

Five minutes later there was a knock on the door and when she opened it Gwen stepped straight out and headed up the path.

“Have a great time Gwennie” Ruth called after her, but she didn’t reply, and Phil gave her a look.

“She’s having a wobble” Ruth whispered, and he nodded sagely.

“A large glass of wine and some comforting words will do the trick” he said, “See you later.”

“That should do the trick” Ruth said and laughed.

“Have a nice evening.”

Once inside she refilled her glass, and resumed her seat on the sofa, she was so pleased that Gwen had a date, with a nice guy, it was only a couple of drinks at the Philips Folly pub, but it was a beginning.

At some point during the evening Ruth fell asleep, she loved her nieces, but they were wearing her out, she woke up just after eleven o’clock, and only then because she needed to pee.

After spending a penny, she returned to her seat and watched TV, but was really ready to go to bed.

About ten minutes later the front door opened and Gwen tottered into the lounge with a broad smile on her face.

“So, did he snog your face off again?” Ruth asked as Gwen plopped down on the sofa.

“He did,” she said smiling “three times.”

 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (033) Christmas Lore

 

Even with the early start and the girls waking her up at stupid o’clock, and spending most of the morning in the kitchen preparing the lunch, Gwen thought it was a lovely day.

The next day would be more likely to be a morning constitutional, to wear the children out, in preparation of a lazy afternoon curled up on the sofa beside the roaring log fire watching Disney films on TV, there might even be an afternoon snooze involved.

But Christmas day wasn’t over yet, and she had to admit that Ruth was right about inviting Phil round for dinner, he had been good company and brilliant with the girls.

However, it was soon time for the girls to get ready for bed.

“PJ time girls” Gwen said.

“Aw, do we have to, its Christmas” Maisie said.

“It’ll still be Christmas when you’re in your PJ’s” Phil pointed out.

“OK” she said, “Come on Elsie.”

“Kay” Elsie said, and they both ran out and up the stairs.

“I think that’s my cue to make a move” Phil said and stood up.

“Thank you very much for your hospitality and the lovely dinner.”

“You’re welcome” Gwen said, and also stood.

“But you’ll need to wait until the girls come back, they’ll want to say goodbye.”

“Of course,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to upset them.”

“They won’t be long” she said and right on cue the girls came running back in the room wearing dressing gowns over their PJ’s and slippers on their feet.

“Say goodbye girls, Phil has to go.”

“Ohhh,” they chorused but gave him a hug anyway.

Meanwhile Ruth drained her glass and looked up.

“Look!” she exclaimed pointing above Gwen and Phil’s heads.

“Mistletoe”

“So?” Gwen retorted.

“You’re under the mistletoe” Ruth reiterated “And you know what that means.”

“We don’t have to kiss” Gwen responded.

“It would be bad luck not to” Phil said.

“It would be against the law not to” Ruth added superciliously.

“It would not” Gwen said decisively.

“I’m telling you its Christmas law” Ruth said.

“Well, it is Christmas, so I think we must” Phil said.

So, Gwen stood on tip toe to face him and puckered up and gave him a Christmas kiss, it wasn’t a full on pash, but it was more than just in deference to the season and when they stopped, they were red faced and the girls were giggling.

“I’ll show you out” Gwen said, and Phil said goodbye to Ruth and the girls.

On the doorstep Phil turned to face her but before he could speak, she kissed him and as her lips touched his it was evident that it was so much more than a ritualistic Christmas kiss or drunken lust.

The kiss lasted for a full five minutes and might easily have gone on for another five had Maisie not opened the lounge door to see what was going on.

So, because of the interruption they had to curtail things and when she went back inside, they had a date arranged for the next day.