Hey there!
This week I have answers to some questions, and of course some photos.
There won't be a newsletter next Thursday because I'll be in Paris with my son who is flying in from New York. We will meet at St. Pancras International and take the train under the English Channel to gay Paree!
I haven't seen my son since Christmas and I have never been to Paris, so I'm excited. I'll be back with pics the following week. ?
More photos from around the village
Have you wondered what the police station in Upton St. Mary's looks like? As you can see, it is rather nondescript which is why I don't describe it, but it is featured frequently across the series.
“‘I really should check the church out for myself, one of these days,” he mused as he pushed open the doors of the police station and held them for the pup to pass through. “Not today, though. Today I’ve got my own matters to attend to.'” Grave in the Garage.
And here is the defibrillator.
“Until the dexterous young man arrived in the village, the organ had stood dormant since the death of the previous church organist in 1989. Few members of Annabelle’s parish even knew the pipes were there until they blasted into life one Sunday morning. It caused quite a stir. Postmistress Mrs. Turner nearly fainted, and Mr. Briggs, the local baker, thought he was having another heart attack. They both had to be attended by paramedic Joe Tucker as Annabelle hovered close by, mentally making a note to raise the idea of a defibrillator at the next parish council meeting.” Grave in the Garage.
Around twelve years ago when I first visited this village I had my petrol pumped into my rental car at this garage. I remember thinking at the time that this must be the last full service garage in the country. Several years later, it became the inspiration behind Mildred's garage.
“Though the world had changed and most vehicles were now, as Alfred had said, computers on wheels, Mildred’s was still a comforting first port of call for many when a knocking started, a tire ran flat, or a simple oil change was needed. In many respects, much of the garage’s popularity was down to its old-fashioned values. People knew they would get a job well done for a fair price at Mildred’s—and more often than not, with plenty of courtesy and a cup of tea thrown in. She or her mechanics would even pump petrol whilst drivers sat in the comfort of their cars, a luxury long since abandoned just about everywhere else in England.” Grave in the Garage.
This is the bench described in The Case of the Forsaken Child in which Graham sits in the Chiddlinghurst graveyard.
“A few yards away there was a bench. He went over and sat on it, still clutching the balloon. He tied it to the arm of the bench, and it floated incongruously above him, its bright, shiny, garish colours contrasting with the bleakness of late winter. A tiny robin sat in a tree, its red breast startling against the greys and browns of winter. It stared at him for a moment, its bright eyes shining before it effortlessly flew away across the graveyard to alight on Katie’s headstone.” The Case of the Forsaken Child.
Where you close?
This is the real-life cottage that inspired Annabelle's. It's a little bigger than I imagine Annabelle's to be, but it has the fence and the path up to the front door, a thatched roof, and white window frames. Does this one most closely match your imagining or was one of the others in last week's email closer?
Don't forget that I'll be in Paris next week so no newsletter but I'll be back the week after. In the meantime, there are always books. ?
Happy reading!
