Thursday, 3 shopping days to Christmas
The snow ploughs came into the village in the early hours of next morning and two of them trundled down the Underhill Lane past the Medcalf house. The first plough formed a bow wave by the side of the road, the second truck was a salt spreader with a small plough stuck on the front. It stopped in front of the Grange and, by reversing up and manoeuvring back and forth managed to break up the bow wave across the Medcalf drive.
Matt, the driver on this truck, could see the house owner and two well-wrapped women, one of them a girl, shovelling and sweeping a channel in the gravel drive from the garage. Matt cleared a path on their drive far enough to join theirs. Unfortunately, on the last reverse, despite a late shout from the house owner, Matt clipped the street lamp opposite the drive. Matt got out of his cab to inspect the damage.
All three current members of the Medcalf household had been out since first light, using shovels and brooms to clear a channel from the garage to the road so that Daniel could get his car out on the off-chance that the ploughs would eventually appear. The sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky. The temperature was just above freezing, bright, crisp and cold.
Daniel had noticed that the first truck pushing the plough down their lane was painted with the Sands Corporation logo and marked as 'motorway maintenance'. The village was a long way from the motorway, including twenty-odd miles of narrow twisting country lanes. Perhaps it was coincidence, but it seemed odd that his tiny lane was cleared while others of his neighbours weren't touched. Perhaps Lady Barbara was calling in some favours, or it was Sir Philip, looking after his wife, even though their relationship was strained? This follow-up gritter lorry was marked with the same livery, and the driver wore the Sands' logo on his yellow fluorescent jacket.
"Bugger," Matt exclaimed, as he examined the damage. The old cast iron post was bent slightly, but still alight, so no damage to the electrics, but the glass or plastic lamp cover was hanging down from its mountings and swaying. It appeared to be held by the rubber seal and could fall down at any time in a heavy wind. He climbed up onto the top of the grit box, but the lamp was still well out of reach, even using the handle of his broom used to brush off the top of the hopper. He got down again and was searching with a torch around the back of the column.
Daniel had walked over from where he was clearing his drive after the impact. Marina and Sophie followed at a distance, staying on the drive of the Grange.
"You all right?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah, aye didn't see t'blasted thing. Can't see no County Council asset number on it neither."
"It's not the County's lamp, all the ones along here belong to the parish council."
"Yeah? I dunno how to get hold o' them, cos we normally deals with tha ... er County."
"I know them actually, I used to be on the local parish council and still am on the County. The contractor I know closes down for Christmas and so does the parish council, until the third of January, I think."
"Don't like tha look of that diffuser, it could come dahn any time." Matt scratched his head. "Not back 'til t'January, you say?"
"It's only a small village, these lights were installed in the early 1960s. Pretty solid cast iron, they normally only need the odd bulb changing."
"I might have ta pop back with t'cherry picker and either get that diffuser dahn, or else wire it oop. Cain't get dahn 'ere today, though, it'll 'ave ta be Boxin' Day or t'day after."
"Not many people come down this lane, I'll let the other residents know about it so they can go careful past it."
"Well, aye better be off'n catch up with me mate. 'Ave a good day then, sir."
"You too, and thanks for clearing the lane. I would have thought you were a bit off your normal patch, though aren't you?"
Daniel pointed to the Sands' logo on his tunic and repeated on the door of the cab.
"Aye, we're all over't place these past couple o' days. It's all 'ands t'pumps when it's weather like this, tha know. We just go where we're sent."
"Yes, you're probably right. Anyway, we do appreciate clearing the road and the entrance to the drive was a big help. Make sure you and your family have a Merry Christmas." He slipped him a tightly rolled note, a tenner.
"Thank you sir, and the same goes for your missus and daughter, too. Ta ta mate!" And he drove off in a spray of salt crystals to catch up with his colleague.
Between them, Daniel and the two women managed to clear a wide channel from the garage through to the end of the drive. Daniel or Sophie would have to reverse out into the road to get out, but one of the passengers could walk out to the road and ensure that the road was clear and safe to reverse on to.
During an early lunch, by which time they had built up a good appetite, Marina broached the subject that, now that the roads were cleared, she really should make her way back home.
"Oh, no, Marina, do you have to?" Sophie looked so crestfallen, "I had just got used to having you here with us."
Marina looked at Daniel, who smiled at her gently by way of reply.
"I can't stay here imposing on you any longer," she said.
"You are no imposition, Marina, we've loved having you here, haven't we Daddy?" Sophie was quick to say and looked to her father for support.
"Of course we have," Daniel agreed without hesitation, "And this morning's forecast did say we were due for more snow later and another heavy frost tonight."
"That's one reason why I need to get back, as far as I know, the pipes in my flat might all be frozen and burst in my absence," she said, "Besides, I desperately need a change of clothing!"
"Oh, of course you do," Sophie exclaimed, "I am just being completely selfish and hadn't thought of that. I could drive you home in my Mini, now the roads are clear."
Marina said, "I wouldn't hear of it, Sophie, it is still far too dangerous out there for your little car. I can walk to the bus stop, hopefully the buses are now running, and catch a train back to Portsmouth from Worthing."
This time it was Daniel who spoke up. "Oh no, that is not going to work, either of you. I insist that I drive Marina home, then we can check that everything's OK at your flat. If not, Marina, then you could collect any clothing that you require and we'll bring you back to the Grange. For one thing it'll save us coming back to collect you when we go up to Ginny's on Christmas Eve."
"That's a great idea, Daddy!" Sophie exclaimed, "We could kill two birds with one stone by shopping in Portsmouth for presents for Ginny and Giles, my nanny and others, rather than go into Chichester or Brighton. I'm all behind with my shopping, what with college and followed by all this snow."
"That's settled then," Daniel laughed, "I could kill two birds too, I need to see someone in Southampton for a couple of hours, so once we are happy your flat's OK, Marina, I can drop you off at the shops and then pick you up ... what do you think, Sophie, say three or four hours later give you time enough to shop?"
"You don't have to drop us off at the shops, Daniel, from the flat we can walk to them in ten minutes," Marina smiled.
"Right," decided Daniel, "You girls get changed, then. Will you be ready to go in twenty minutes?" Marina and Sophie looked at one another and nodded, "OK, I'll go to my office then, and make a couple of phone calls."
The weather was still cold once they ventured outside in the car but the local roads were quite manageable, Daniel negotiated the country lanes, going around numerous vehicles that were still abandoned by the roadside. The plough trucks had managed to get around them too, so it was a simple operation for Daniel and his sleek and powerful saloon car. The main trunk roads when they got there, though, were completely clear of snow and any abandoned vehicles appear to have been towed away earlier in the day.
On the journey, Marina and Sophie chattered away amiably, with Daniel only contributing the odd comment. Sophie had insisted that Marina sat in the front while the teenager sat in the back. He noticed the two plough trucks, with their ploughs hoisted well off the ground, trundling along the motorway, only a few miles away from their depot.
"It is chilly here in the flat, though, Marina," Sophie commented pointedly after entering Marina's flat, "Don't you think so, Daddy?"
"A little chilly," Daniel confirmed.
"It is only cool in here because I switched the timer off and adjusted the thermostat for the heater to only come on if the temperature dropped down to ten degrees," explained Marina, "it helps keep the gas bills down. It may not be so comfortable to live in but hopefully it is plenty high enough to stop the pipes from freezing up."
Marina noticed that the red light was flashing on the phone in the hallway. On the menu she noticed that there were several from Tracey's mobile and one from her sister Alex's house.
She offered her guests a tea or coffee, apologising for the lack of milk. Daniel declined as there would be coffee at his meeting, but Sophie accepted a cup of black tea. Marina took the phone with her into her tiny galley kitchen, where she returned calls to the two callers, leaving a voice mail on Alex's landline, saying she would call her later. Tracey answered her mobile and Marina told her in a whisper that she had been staying with Daniel and his daughter Sophie since the night of the snow.
"What!?" Tracey exploded at the other end of the line, "you stayed with them in that lovely old house?"
"Yes, well, it was snowing and I -"
"Did he recognise you from when you knew him before?"
"Yes, he did, I think."
"Did he take you in his arms and passionately kiss you straight away?"
Marina thought she could hear some giggling in the background. Tracey was probably with some of her old school friends who were clearly only hearing just one side of their conversation.
"No, but then I threw him by pretending I had never met him before and that he'd obviously confused me with someone else."
"That ploy didn't work for long then?"
