A friend is moving into a new house, in the countryside not far from Hay, and last week she invited me down to have a look at the progress they've made. At the moment it's uninhabitable, as they completely change what it's like inside, and they've also done away with the many terraces and paths on the steep slope in front of the house. Apparently the lady who sold the house to them is very unhappy about this, but they plan to make the garden much easier to maintain, with more natural planting. There are some apple trees that will form the basis of an orchard, and I helped to plant wild flower seeds along the drive while I was there. Islay didn't come with us - she sat near the car at the top of the hill and surveyed us from a distance. They have plans to extend the house with a turf-roofed room, too, like the house that Maureen Richardson lives in at Brilley, just across the river.
The house backs onto woods, and they have seen deer there, and red kites and peregrines, and there's a raven's nest not far away - and all of this really quite close to Hay. There are foxes and rabbits, as well, of course. And the views of the Wye Valley are stunning.
The house has some sad history, though. Many years ago, a girl was abused by her father there, and made pregnant, and he shut her in one of the bedrooms until the baby was born - and the boy was never quite right in the head. They're all dead now, but my friend said that her dog didn't like her to be alone in the room, and tried to pull her out. They're going to get a friend to do some chanting there, and Father Richard to go up to bless it.
When I was chatting to Tim the Gardener, later, he said that he thought he remembered going to a wild party at the same house, over twenty years ago!
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8 comments:
I think this lady should check her facts,gossip can hurt.
Interesting fodder here for my lawyer. Maybe you should check facts before you blog them.
Oh dear, I was making some attempt to disguise the actual location of the property, but I wasn't aware I'd said anything hurtful. If there's anything inaccurate here, please let me know and I'll amend it.
You just print what ever comes into your head,gossip and rumour,get a life
I agree - get a life - have you thought about spending time helping a charitable organisation - far mre useful than idle gossip
I already have more life than I know what to do with! And I'm on the committee of Fairtrade Hay, as you will see if you look down the side bar.
Yikes...but it's your story and you can tell it like you want
Well, I told it as it was told to me, after I was told that all the people involved were now dead - and I didn't identify the cottage by name, or any of the people by name.
I can't contact the people who seem to be upset by my repeating the story, because they haven't identified themselves, so I can't make any corrections if the story was inaccurate.
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