(10/13) Friends at Thrush Green Read Online Free Page B
Author: Miss Read
Tags: Fiction, Literary, General, Westerns
cuckoo's cry, at first so welcome at the beginning of the month, now annoyed its listeners with its monotonous persistence. The rooks chattered and squabbled in the tall trees overshadowing Percy Hodge's farm, and he was already making plans for a rook shoot with a few of his cronies. Percy was partial to rook pie.
Prudent housewives were spring-cleaning and hanging out quilts and blankets to air on their clothes-lines. Those who ran to winter curtains, as well as summer ones, were folding the former and storing them away, and admiring the crisp freshness of the summer alternatives at their windows.
Paint brushes were at work, inside and out, and wallpaper patterns, bed covers, curtain materials and floor coverings were being earnestly studied in many a home. It was not surprising that amid this hopeful bustle another topic arose to engage Thrush Green's attention.
It seemed that the small communal room at the old people's homes, Rectory Cottages, would have to be enlarged. Edward Young, the architect, had had the foresight to see that this might happen, and luckily had put the room at one end of the buildings where it could be extended if need be.
There had been some doubt as to whether the old people would use this communal sitting-room to any great extent. Jane and Bill Cartwright, the wardens, had been of the opinion that the residents might well prefer to stay in their own comfortable quarters most of the time. But, as it happened, the general sitting-room was a popular feature of the complex, and it was decided to enlarge it by adding a good-sized conservatory-type of building at one end. This would give not only more room, but added light, facilities for growing plants, and a pleasant sunny spot when the Cotswold winds made it too blustery and chilly to sit outside.
The trustees had met, and had gone through the usual preliminaries of discussion, argument and anxious perusal of their finances. With everyone's consent, Edward Young had been given the task of designing the extension and he was now busy preparing plans for approval.
It was a job he relished. It was generally felt that his original plans had worked well, and that Rectory Cottages were an enormous improvement on the former small rectory which had been such an eyesore on the green.
He had been given plenty of gratuitous advice by the inhabitants of Thrush Green whilst his original buildings had been in the making. For an impatient man he had been remarkably forbearing, although he grew quite heated with his brother-in-law Doctor John Lovell when the latter pointed out that certain outdoor steps were a hazard to old people, particularly in slippery weather. As it happened, it was poor Jane Cartwright who was the first to come a cropper, and she had been unable to attend to her duties as warden until the broken leg had mended. John Lovell, to give him his due, nobly refrained from saying: 'I told you so!'
It was quite apparent that funds would have to be raised for this new venture, and already plans were afoot for the usual Mammoth Jumble Sale, a Mammoth Summer Fête, a Mammoth Bazaar nearer Christmas and innumerable sponsored activities such as walks, swimming contests, and even an hour's silence to be kept at Thrush Green school, all in this good cause.
Ella Bembridge had been entrusted with the job of buying and making the necessary curtains and soft furnishings, and was busy co-opting various like-minded ladies to form a working party when the time came.
As the birds flew back and forth in the trees and hedgerows, building their nests and making plans for the future, so did the residents of Lulling and Thrush Green plan their own affairs, in this May world bright with hope and new life.
On the last Wednesday of the month, Isobel Shoosmith finished her domestic preparations for Dorothy's and Agnes's visit. Despite their protestations, she had persuaded the two ladies to stay at her house for a week, and the spare-room stood ready for them,
Prudent housewives were spring-cleaning and hanging out quilts and blankets to air on their clothes-lines. Those who ran to winter curtains, as well as summer ones, were folding the former and storing them away, and admiring the crisp freshness of the summer alternatives at their windows.
Paint brushes were at work, inside and out, and wallpaper patterns, bed covers, curtain materials and floor coverings were being earnestly studied in many a home. It was not surprising that amid this hopeful bustle another topic arose to engage Thrush Green's attention.
It seemed that the small communal room at the old people's homes, Rectory Cottages, would have to be enlarged. Edward Young, the architect, had had the foresight to see that this might happen, and luckily had put the room at one end of the buildings where it could be extended if need be.
There had been some doubt as to whether the old people would use this communal sitting-room to any great extent. Jane and Bill Cartwright, the wardens, had been of the opinion that the residents might well prefer to stay in their own comfortable quarters most of the time. But, as it happened, the general sitting-room was a popular feature of the complex, and it was decided to enlarge it by adding a good-sized conservatory-type of building at one end. This would give not only more room, but added light, facilities for growing plants, and a pleasant sunny spot when the Cotswold winds made it too blustery and chilly to sit outside.
The trustees had met, and had gone through the usual preliminaries of discussion, argument and anxious perusal of their finances. With everyone's consent, Edward Young had been given the task of designing the extension and he was now busy preparing plans for approval.
It was a job he relished. It was generally felt that his original plans had worked well, and that Rectory Cottages were an enormous improvement on the former small rectory which had been such an eyesore on the green.
He had been given plenty of gratuitous advice by the inhabitants of Thrush Green whilst his original buildings had been in the making. For an impatient man he had been remarkably forbearing, although he grew quite heated with his brother-in-law Doctor John Lovell when the latter pointed out that certain outdoor steps were a hazard to old people, particularly in slippery weather. As it happened, it was poor Jane Cartwright who was the first to come a cropper, and she had been unable to attend to her duties as warden until the broken leg had mended. John Lovell, to give him his due, nobly refrained from saying: 'I told you so!'
It was quite apparent that funds would have to be raised for this new venture, and already plans were afoot for the usual Mammoth Jumble Sale, a Mammoth Summer Fête, a Mammoth Bazaar nearer Christmas and innumerable sponsored activities such as walks, swimming contests, and even an hour's silence to be kept at Thrush Green school, all in this good cause.
Ella Bembridge had been entrusted with the job of buying and making the necessary curtains and soft furnishings, and was busy co-opting various like-minded ladies to form a working party when the time came.
As the birds flew back and forth in the trees and hedgerows, building their nests and making plans for the future, so did the residents of Lulling and Thrush Green plan their own affairs, in this May world bright with hope and new life.
On the last Wednesday of the month, Isobel Shoosmith finished her domestic preparations for Dorothy's and Agnes's visit. Despite their protestations, she had persuaded the two ladies to stay at her house for a week, and the spare-room stood ready for them,