"Mr Pratt Calling From Cardiff Zoo..."
I had a phone call first thing this morning.
The voice was manly and very Welsh but strangely familiar:
" Mr Pratt here, calling from Cardiff Zoo. Am I speaking with the lady of the house?"
Cardiff Zoo? IS there a Cardiff Zoo? I've no idea, but the excited Welsh voice continued:
" Madam! Begging your pardon, but you need to look in your garden..."
Hmm. My husband ( bright, and wider awake) grinned across the bedroom, waving today's paper, but I was already dragging back the curtains...
" See, Madam? There's a llama in your garden, under a willow tree. It escaped yesterday. I'm on my way...We'll be with you soon"
THEN it dawned; today's date. My son in Cornwall was upholding a simple family tradition.
In his childhood, it'd been me who spotted a donkey in our garden each year; this year, he'd added a little sophistication, a touch of the exotic.
I love family traditions, I love the whole blessed comforting rigmarole...
The voice was manly and very Welsh but strangely familiar:
" Mr Pratt here, calling from Cardiff Zoo. Am I speaking with the lady of the house?"
Cardiff Zoo? IS there a Cardiff Zoo? I've no idea, but the excited Welsh voice continued:
" Madam! Begging your pardon, but you need to look in your garden..."
Hmm. My husband ( bright, and wider awake) grinned across the bedroom, waving today's paper, but I was already dragging back the curtains...
" See, Madam? There's a llama in your garden, under a willow tree. It escaped yesterday. I'm on my way...We'll be with you soon"
THEN it dawned; today's date. My son in Cornwall was upholding a simple family tradition.
In his childhood, it'd been me who spotted a donkey in our garden each year; this year, he'd added a little sophistication, a touch of the exotic.
I love family traditions, I love the whole blessed comforting rigmarole...
posted by Jan at 4:52 pm
14 Comments:
Ha, hope you got the llama under control eventually, Jan.
Awww ... that makes me smile with tears in my eyes for some reason. :)
Ha Ha that's great, I love his embellishment. These little things really define families don't they!
"A Llama in the Garden" sounds like the title of your next story. Or maybe it's the title of an H. E. Bates story! Like "An Elephant in a Rhubarb Tree."
Very touching how children grow up but remember to invoke the past in some charming way--and the whole wonderful net of family traditions, passed down and embellished.
Lovely, lovely, lovely. Family traditions keep us bonded no matter how far away we are!
I was just glad april 1 wasa sunday this year - too many jokers at work for my liking :O)
Clare:
Yes, took a lot of tethering though...
CB:
Family stuff does that often, doesn't it...all a bit confusing!
Apprentice:
Embellish.Lovely word.
Reminds me of cymbals clashing, tambourines too and I've no idea why...
Marly:
I love quirky titles...tell me some more please!
Minx:
I hope you're enjoying your face painting in Cornwall, the treasure hunts too..
How's St Ives this lovely Spring day?
Are you actually living IN St Ives, Minx?
Dinzie:
You'll have to stay home next year till noon has passed...take some more of your brilliant photographs!
HA! There's a hint for folk to look up your wonderful NZ Blog, Dinzie!
yes I know Mirimar well ... They will have had some great autumn weather...Glad the liked Welly ...
Let me know what you think when you see the pictures :O)
This comment has been removed by the author.
Do you know that story? I didn't make it up. It really is the title of an H. E. Bates story, only I realize now that I got it wrong.
It should be: "An Elephant's Nest in a Rhubarb Tree." It's the title of a collection of stories, too. You'd like it.
***
2nd try! Maybe it'll be right this time.
they have the Panoram spaghetti tree on youtube!
Dinzie:
I think I'm right in saying that it's the area where "Lord of the Rings " was shot; my friends sipped coffee every morning in the cafe where the cast had elevenses...( or don't you call that " morning tea" in your neck of the woods?!)
Marly:
Thanks for that Marly. Shall look it up.
Apprentice:
Panorama caused a stir with THAT! I think it was when the British weren't so "into" pasta...some people were absolutely convinced the report was genuine!
Hi Jan, love reading your writing journals, especially when there are snippets refering to forgotten family memories i.e. FLASH! Love your picture of yourself and Ray on holiday. Keep up the good work. from cousin Susan.x.
Susan:
Thankyou and it was lovely to see Sarah's message yesterday as well as your own today.
Ive had my blog 6 months now and it's good fun, although it has a major drawback: I sit down at the computer supposedly for 10 mins and suddenly an hour has passed!!
Hope you're enjoying your EAster holiday XX
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