Back home on the Lush Places roundabout

By maddie - November 05, 2013

We've only been home in Dorset a week and my feet haven't touched the ground.

There's been the surprise party, a midweek grouse or two, a book club meeting, a village fete meeting, a big band spectacular, afternoon tea and a re-run of the harvest supper video, trips into Bridport, Beaminster and Sherborne - three lovely Dorset towns - and a meeting of The Bridport Press to discuss an exciting new venture.

There have been haircuts and dental appointments, a car to service and a falling out with and then a falling back in with a village stalwart when she and I realised we were talking at crossed purposes.

There has been freelance work to do, two business meetings and an outrageous, laugh-a-minute Sunday lunch with two old friends.

There have been family and friends to catch up with, children to hug and animals to stroke. There have been waves and smiles and kisses. There has been a fantastic local reaction to A Year in Lush Places, the novella based on the Dorset part of this blog, as well as non-plussed feedback.

And a cuddle and a kiss from Posh Totty at a chance meeting in a car park and an offer of an evening get-together over a glass of wine. No mention of being duffed up at all.

There have been packing cases to collect and sort through, a house to tidy up and enough washing to hang on the Siegfried Line if only we had one. But with no washing line or tumble drier there's laundry everywhere and boxes upon boxes still to unpack from the store after taking our house back from the woman who rented it while we were away on our big Greek gap year.

I miss that Greek washing line, that Corfu drying weather.

But do you know the best thing so far? On our first morning back in England, I was so excited, I crept out of the house at a quarter to seven and went for a walk on my own.