Village by the Ford                                         Page 4
       More extracts from this gentle, non-violent, but exciting and      
                                        sometimes dangerous family tale.
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THE PICTURES BELOW AND ELSEWHERE.
This is a novel like most others, without pictures, but being based on a true story, there are photographic records, some of which are shown here. Read the book to understand how they fit the story.

   1969 - part of the wilderness where the family live.
   
             Valley  looking   North
                                                          EXTRACT THREE.
(Young Stephen is almost four, quiet but rebellious, free to roam the valley largely unattended, careless of his own safety, not always ready to obey)
     At first Stephen had looked on avidly as the digger worked, watching from a distance, going off to play, and returning to watch some more. Obviously this interest would wane, but aware of the risks, Jan took him aside, and knelt down looking straight into the little lad's eye.
     "You must never go near the digger while it's working!" she warned. "Big machinery is dangerous. Dad can't hear anything when that engine is running, he could crush you with a wheel or the bucket and not even know it!"
     Stephen looked back at her, a certain resistance in his features, but he said nothing - no word of dissension, no nod of agreement, nor did he look away.
     Jan sighed, glancing down for inspiration. She noticed he followed her gaze. Sweeping with one palm a pile of dust and sand from the parched ground, she shaped it, placing a small pebble hardly bigger than a pea on top, and a tiny dead gorse twig across to represent arms. Simple though it was, the small figure could be taken for nothing other than a person. She looked up at Stephen, holding his gaze, then deliberately looked down again, reaching out to place her palm on the figure and press downwards, lifting the hand to reveal the flattened shape!
"Do you understand?" she asked, staring intently at the small lad.
     His face changed, serious, no longer rebelling. The light sandy brown hair nodded slightly twice, no sound emerging. Jan waited, but he didn't speak. After a long pause, she reached out, pulled him to her in a hug. He resisted for a moment, then clung to the warm body that had always represented comfort. After a while she held him away to speak again.
     "I'm going to be driving that digger sometimes, helping Dad. You must never come to me while I'm driving. Wait and signal to me from a distance. I shall be watching and come to you. Is that all right?"
     Stephen nodded more freely.
"Off you go and play then!" She turned him round, patted his bottom and he ran off, jumping in the air every now and again.                       -Extract ends-
Gotcha! Watch those talons!
LEFT
Buzzard jumps from favourite bench to my knee. Ouch!

                          RIGHT
Red Admirals abound along the river bank.
 On hemp agrimony.

 Butterflies and flowers everywhere.
This is the 1st book Village by the Ford                            Home page                                               Page 4 of 6
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3rd book   Wheel on the Hayle                        Email author  gordjan@btinternet.com                      Previous page
4th book   A Buzzard to Lunch   
5th book   Follow that Caravan                           Where to get it                     Top                                Next page