The world from my window

On a cold May day that seems more like March, Mr Grigg saunters up to the playing field in rolled-up shorts and fake Crocs. You would think his team had won the cup rather than the general election. Fortunately for The Enchanted Village, he is wearing a T-shirt and an old fleece. With Mr Loggins giving him coaching tips from the sidelines, he walks away from the coconut shy with two coconuts from three balls, narrowly missing the six-year-old ball girl behind the net. As a consolation, she is given a share of his winnings, and then Mr Grigg promptly backs the winner in the snail race, which crosses the line first despite an obvious handicap. On the way home, with me and Pelly Sheepwash in thick coats and gloves, Mr Grigg declares he might just have to light the fire this evening. Mr Loggins then wails: "At least you've got a fire." Mr Loggins, you may remember, has just demolished the Love Shack to make way for a new house made of logs which might be finished som...

Election day in The Enchanted Village and things are deadly quiet. People wearing blue rosettes are stalking the village. I am invited in for coffee by my district councillor who tells me it doesn't matter what my politics are and do I take sugar. I have sort of nailed my colours to the mast this time around, making a statement in a sea of blue. I am voting tactically, even if the Prime Minister says I shouldn't, because to do anything else around here would be a waste of a vote In the Grigg household, there is a good-natured split, with posters for two political parties up in the window. The blue and orange - complimentary colours - look good against the purple door and profusion of wallflowers and pink and black tulips. Although I have a sneaking admiration for the man up the road who has Labour posters all over his house and garden, in a village that is a sea of blue. When I saw him in the pub, I walked across the bar to congratulate him. 'I thought you were going to...