We had made enquiries to find out who cut the hedges around the field. The previous owner said that a local chap trimmed the hedges in exchange for a small donation. Various names had been mentioned by the villagers we questioned, but no-one had a definitive answer.
On our return home we passed a hedge cutter parked outside one of the village pubs. I interrupted a conversation between two farmers and asked if the tractor and it’s driver were available for hire. The surly farmer grunted an affirmative.
A few hours later he pulled up outside our house and applied a short back and sides to our hedgerow. He was unable to cut the hedge on the road opposite due to the unhelpful parking of our neighbours.
A note exchanged hands in recompense for his work. In our parting words I discovered that the farmer was the person that had previously been employed by our predecessors. I was not sure we would be using his services again due to our stilted conversations and his reluctance to provide any contact details.
Three adverse events occurred this week with different rates of severity. Katie was bedridden with an illness for several days and Katie’s step-grandfather passed away after a short illness. In-between these events I had my first car accident since the age of seventeen. It was only a minor incident; oversteer on a tight corner at low speed spinning the car around and sliding into the kerb. The rear alloy wheel was dented, but the visible damage was minor.
