UNEARTHING the Past

Bye, Harrison, have a nice time in your shed.’

Judy smiled to herself as she put on her shoes. Her husband’s real name was Brian, but he reminded her of Harrison Ford – not because of his looks or his acting talent, which was limited to say the least, but because, like Harrison Ford, Brian’s hobby was carpentry.

‘Bye, Judy, have a nice day. I look forward to hearing all about it when you get back.’

‘And I look forward to NOT hearing about the carpentry!’

It wasn’t that Judy wasn’t interested in her husband’s hobby, it was that Brian wasn’t a particularly chatty person. He was quite happy to listen to Judy go into every detail about her day – from the leaf-shaped chocolate powder on her cappuccino, to the new jasmine-scented soap in the ladies up at Hartwell House where she volunteered. Whereas Brian just told Judy one or two things about his day – that he’d carved an owl out of a tree stump, for example.

‘So, have you got any ideas for how we could raise funds for Hartwell House?’ Judy asked Brian as she picked up her bag.

‘You could turn the garden into flats. That would raise funds,’ said Brian dryly.

‘Brian!’ said Judy, shocked, even though she could tell he was joking. ‘You know how difficult it is at the moment, with all the repairs that need doing. We need constructive suggestions if we’re going to keep the house