THE HONKEYMOON CAFE

A ring with an inscription prompts some research into the past  and an unrequited affair that ended during WW2.  The way it ended and its consequences had left a scar that had never healed. A few years ago I acquired a set of herb drawers, mid-Victorian, the twelve drawers in ranks according to size, the largest at the bottom. One Sunday morning I prepared the kitchen table and brought in the draws ready for their rehabilitation. A spot on the corner of my kitchen had become vacant since an old Kenwood Chef had eventually expired and its replacement was better hidden until needed. Retrieving the drawers from the old washhouse and dusting them down I was delighted to be reminded of what a charming piece it was. All the mouldings were intact and each draw had its original brass knob, the lettering had faded but parts of ‘Cinnamon’, ‘Dill’ and ‘Peppercorns’ were still legible. A damp cloth was all I needed to reveal the many coats of paint wherever there was sufficient wear to ex...

Terry and Jill discover more about Terry’s past sparked by what they saw  on the film in Terry’s collection.   Terry’s hobby has become a successful business.  Would that alone have led eventually to a family reunion? Now where was I? Oh yes, I was telling you about Terry Marshall our local film buff. From an early age his passion had been the moving image and had amassed quite a collection of old cinematic films, particularly when VHS had arrived in the eighties and people no longer wanted the old technology or the many cans of film. For a while Terry was the senior projectionist at our nearest cinema but has since moved on to greater things.  Terry’s girlfriend, Gill, shared his passion for old films in general but was fascinated by his collection of amateur movies dating back to before the wars. Someone had filmed a carnival with gaily coloured floats, bands, vintage cars and people lining the street and waving flags. Terry was more interested in the cars but...

Terry Marshall is a keen collector of old family movies.  While watching a street carnival with his girlfriend, Jill,  Terry recognises his mother and himself in a pushchair. Jill points out the man with his arm  around her and holding what she thinks must be his brother.  Terry tells her he has no brother, but is he right? One of the regulars in our local, Terry Marshal as I have mentioned is a film buff. He claims his fascination was born watching his father use the living room wall on which to project their holiday slides, a regular occurrence whenever there were visitors, a torment many of us have suffered. Presented with a Fisher Price Movie Viewer one Christmas, coupled with the increased use of visual aids in his school, particularly a projector, and his fascination for the moving image was cemented for life. At the time there was a limited supply of full length movies for the amateur enthusiast. Laurel and Hardy ‘shorts’ were amongst the most popular. It shou...

A new development on the edge of the village becomes the focus of one person’s ire.  Determined her dog walking routine would prevail, if only to annoy the newcomers,  she could have had no idea how much that would benefit them. During the eighties a development of ‘executive homes’ called Mill Rise was granted planning permission on the site of an old brickworks to the north of the village. Some of the development backs onto the edge of the village and consequently there was a fair bit of protest. Any change is liable to bring some objection, especially if it disturbs our routine and Liz Winton was in the vanguard as it was her routine it disturbed most. It was where she used to walk her Dante, a manic Cocker Spaniel. Apparently it was called Dante because as a small pup it was very cute, aren’t they all, and already exhibiting its manic nature it made her, and everyone else, laugh and go ‘Ah’ as people do. Liz being an academic who liked to take every opportunity to advertis...