What Did Did

Did came by this morning with his chain saw and demolished my last elder, making logs from this and all my earlier fellings. In a few weeks they'll have grown tall again, fresher and stronger. As he attacked a spiky blackthorn sapling on the other side of my fence, I gestured at the large outgrowth of brambles and said I'd be starting on them later. "Just watch this," he said, and into the huge bush he strode, lashing from side to side with the saw until it was all mincemeat. I felt a huge grin spread across my face, and when he looked up and saw it he grinned too. Just another two fires and it will all be history. And the view that has opened up is peerless. In answer to my queries Did is now bringing a roller to flatten out the winter bumps on the lawn, 10 bags of well-rotted manure, and a lot of Round-up to polish off the weeds. His "can-do" attitude is enormously appealing. "There's a small city I'd like to wipe out," I told him, "are you able to get hold of any nuclear weapons?" "Just leave it with me," he replied calmly. It wouldn't surprise me.

I returned to my car in the Co-op car park the other day when suddenly a man appeared in front of me, threw his arms around me and hugged me as if I was the most precious thing on earth. It took me a moment to see who it was, so closely did he hold me. It was Steve the builder who was due last May to do some alterations in my kitchen, along with his son Alex, and then never turned up. My phone calls and text messages were left unanswered, and in the end I found another builder. Steve is a wonderful man who always came up trumps when we had problems in Wilby. Often he refused to charge for small jobs, and he dropped everything when we needed him urgently. What could have happened? I puzzled for a long time, and then forgot about him. And here he was, pushing my fringe back from my face and patting my shoulder affectionately while his wife beamed through her open door. "Steve!" I exclaimed. "You never came back!" He hung his head and eyed me ruefully. "I was overwhelmed with work," he said. "And then it got too embarrassing to ...." and his voice tailed off. It was soooo good to see him and know he was OK.

I sometimes wonder about serendipity. They say there is no such thing as a coincidence, but often when contemplating an empty week ahead, out of the blue will come delightful invitations that completely transform the prospect. It may be normal, but it can feel like a blessing.