‘Wow! Really? I had no idea. He seems pretty low-key, not at all how I imagined a famous rock star to behave.’
‘Gabe is very low-key; prefers a quiet life and is enjoying being part of the community since he moved here full-time,’ said Anoushka. ‘He uses the recording studio up at Danskelfe Castle when he’s song writing.’
‘Wow, a recording studio. You really do have everything round here, don’t you?’ said Nick.
‘Pretty much,’ said Brogan.
‘Right, then,’ said Jimby, ‘has everyone got a drink?’
‘Actually, I hope you don’t mind, but Brogan and I haven’t eaten yet; we hoped to grab something here. Is that okay?’ asked Nick, waving the menu he was holding.
‘Course it is. We were going to get a few nibbles ordered before we got properly started, so feel free,’ said Jimby. ‘In fact, why don’t we do that now?’
* * *
With the food devoured– both Nick and Brogan tucked into hearty portions of Bea’s boozy beef with a side of herbed green beans and creamy boulangère potatoes – Jimby opened the meeting. ‘Right then, Zander texted me, saying he’d try to get here but he doubted it; said we should get started without him.’
‘I’m not surprised, what with a one-year-old and new-born twins to contend with,’ said Molly. ‘It’s a wonder he can even think about anything else.’
‘I saw Rhoda earlier today, she said she’s been nipping up there to give Livvie a hand,’ said Kitty. ‘She looks over the moon to be a step-grandma again.’ Rhoda had moved to the village a couple of years earlier to be near her stepdaughter and family.
‘She does, she looked ready to pop with happiness when I saw her the other day,’ said Vi, triggering a slew of ‘Ahhs’.
‘Right then, you lot, Lady Caro sends her apologies but said she’s happy to help with whatever she can. Ella and Joss send their apologies too, said something about not being keen to leave the farm on account of that suspicious-looking van. Apparently, Ella saw it on their lane last night, and was convinced there was someone snooping around their boarding kennels. For all everything’s locked up, it’s made them a bit twitchy about leaving the farm unattended.’ Jimby glanced round at them, his face serious for once.
‘Can’t say I blame them,’ said Molly who was busily scribbling down notes in her capacity as committee secretary.
‘Neither can I,’ said Lucy. ‘It’s why Freddie’s not here. We didn’t like to leave our property empty. We had someone really shifty in the shop today. He spent ages just skulking around but didn’t buy anything. Had his hood pulled right over his face, so I couldn’t get much of a look at him; made me feel really nervous.’
‘That doesn’t sound good, Luce,’ said Camm.
‘It made Freddie and me actually have a discussion about getting cameras fitted, which doesn’t feel right in a little village shop, but that man really freaked me out.’
Brogan gave a shiver as goosebumps prickled over her skin. ‘Something woke me in the middle of the night too, and there were tracks halfway down our lane this morning.’
‘Aye, and I’ve seen the van parked up a couple of times while I’ve been out ploughing the roads,’ said Camm. ‘There’s definitely something not right about it.’
‘Well, if that’s the case, we need to be extra vigilant. I think we should post on all local social media whenever we see the van or anyone acting suspiciously. That way, we’ll stand more of a chance of keeping track of it. Shame we have to resort to this out here, but needs must,’ Jimby said, shaking his head.
‘We could maybe text each other too,’ said Ollie. ‘Nothing’s happened yet, but I kind of get the feeling whoever it is, is casing the area, trying to get an idea of our habits.’
Kitty gave a shudder. ‘I don’t like it. Makes you think it’s only a matter of time before something happens,’ she said, her elfin face troubled.
‘I know what you mean,’ said Molly, ‘but at least we’re aware of them, and keeping an eye out’ll make it more difficult for them to get up to no good.’
‘True,’ said Brogan. Molly’s words offered a nugget of reassurance, though she still intended to check round at home, make sure everything was locked properly.
‘Right then, on a happier note, I’d like to welcome Nick as a new member of the committee.’ Various utterances of agreement followed. ‘Thank you very much for putting yourself forward, Nick, I think you’ll find we’re a friendly bunch, though our Molly can be a bit scary when she puts her mind to it.’ Jimby chuckled mischievously.
‘Funny bugger,’ said Molly, pulling a face at her cousin. She turned to Nick. ‘I’m only scary when I’m provoked.’
‘Fair enough,’ Nick said, laughing before casting his gaze around the table. ‘Thanks for having me, everyone.’ He was greeted with a sea of friendly smiles.
‘So, the reason we’re all here,’ said Jimby, rubbing his hands together, ‘is that I’ve been thinking about how Christmas can be an amazing time, but it can also be quite a lonely time for some folk roundabouts here.’ There was a collection of nods and murmurs of agreement.
Bert Hoggarth sprang into Brogan’s thoughts; he didn’t seem to have any family looking out for him. ‘What do you have in mind, Jimby?’
‘Well, I’ve been mulling a few things over actually. The first one is something that could run throughout the year, so it doesn’t really focus on Christmas, but I still think it’s something the committee should consider and, if we all like the sound of it, we can get the ball rolling.’ He paused, scanning their faces. ‘I know there’s a load of activities on offer in the village, what with all the groups that’ve been set up, you know, like the knitting group and the book group. But what I’ve be running over in my mind involves organising regular outings, you know, maybe a weekly trip to Middleton-le-Moors, a monthly one to York, garden centres, local stately homes. That kind of thing. There’s quite a few of the older members of our community who don’t seem to set foot outside this village, and I’m sure they’d like the chance to go further afield. I know we’re served by a bus and a train, but I think to go on a trip out with other folk from the village, so they wouldn’t be on their own, would go down well.’