Page 38 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
‘Do you?’ Seb raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a lazy grin. ‘You think it’s good?’
‘Fine. My mind was elsewhere. Sorry.’
‘Is everything alright?’
‘Fine,’ Archie said again. He wasn’t about to divulge the morning’s events to Seb. ‘Start again. I’m listening.’
Seb launched into a repeat of what he’d been saying before, which now that Archie was listening, turned out to not be good.
‘That’s awful. So the council will only allow the festival area to be in the park, not where we had the camping last year?’
‘See? Not good. We thought we’d be able to expand by having the extra field off you, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to now. Still, if it’s the same as last year, it’s brilliant. It’s a shame not to build on it, that’s all.’
‘And this has come from Helena?’ Archie asked. Helena was the licensing officer for the council who had been tricky to deal with at first, but once Seb won her over, was a real champion for the first Croftwood Festival.
‘Not directly, she’s been keeping me up-to-date on the mutterings from above.’
‘I can’t imagine anyone from above having much say in it if Helena’s willing to sign it off. She’s very fair, does everything by the book.’
‘Morning!’ Nora stuck her head around the door, accompanied by Tatty who must have snuck out to greet her when she heard the car pull up.
Archie was thrilled to see her. She looked beautiful. Her hair was piled in haphazard manner on the top of her head, odd bits of it falling out here and there, and she was wearing denim dungarees and a pair of boots that were obviously old favourites. ‘Morning,’ he said, getting up and kissing her on the cheek, but taking her other cheek briefly into his hand.
‘Hello, Nora. How are you?’ Seb also got up, an amused look on his face as he looked from Nora to Archie.
‘What?’ Archie said.
‘Nothing,’ Seb said, giving him a knowing look that was lost on Archie. He offered Nora the chair he’d been sitting in, which was widely known to be the best spot in the office.
‘Thanks Seb,’ she said, sinking into the chair while Tatty settled herself in front of the fire at Nora’s feet.
Archie made tea for them all and they began talking about the plans for the lake, Seb interjecting with questions around safety and protocols, some of which Nora knew the answers to and some which needed some research. As they chatted, Seb scribbled on a notepad and by the end of the meeting had produced a timeline for them.
‘First things first. Arch, we need to check the estate plans as we may be able to reinstate that entrance without needing permission,’ said Seb. ‘In which case, all we need is to get planning permission for the lake to become a swimming lake and to check that the council are happy with the access.’
‘All we need? Do you think it’ll be that straightforward?’ Archie said.
‘No, I doubt it. This is the council we’re talking about, but if we come from the angle that it’s providing an amenity that will benefit the local community, show that there’s demand around here for something like this, spin it as if we’re doing them a favour, I think that’s the way to go.’
‘That sounds like a good start,’ Nora said. ‘I’ll do some market research into the most local competitors. I think that would be useful for us in terms of how to price it and to get a feel for how they’re operating it day-to-day. The places I’ve been before have been heritage lidos and sea pools which run similarly to traditional swimming pools. We’re not going to have the lake open twelve hours a day or anything like that, and having had a quick look, most other lakes don’t do that either.’
‘Brilliant. So Nora, you’re on market research. Arch, you’re on landscaping and finding the estate plans. Presumably they’re in this pile somewhere.’ Seb gestured to the ridiculous heaps of paper on the desk opposite Archie’s. ‘And I’ll liaise with the council. Right I’m off. Leave you lovebirds to it,’ he added with a grin.
‘Why did he say that?’ Archie said, going over to Nora and pulling her out of the chair so that he could kiss her.
‘I think he noticed that we’re desperate to do this,’ Nora said, kissing him back. ‘It’s written all over your face.’
‘It’s not,’ Archie said, grinning. ‘It’s written all overyourface.’
16
NORA WAS IN Stoke to oversee the firing, or more accurately, the end of the firing, of her latest pieces for a department store in London. Her latest collection was statement vases. Each was unique in its shape and decoration and yet unmistakably Hart Pottery. This was the first batch to be glazed in the new kiln after two successful bisque firings, and numerous test firings, so it was a nerve-racking time. Neil, the kiln technician, seemed confident it would be okay, and Nora clung onto that, trying not to spiral into what-ifs. Her chief concern being, what if the glaze didn’t perform as it should? It was all very well making bespoke pieces; you could pass off the odd imperfection as artistic intent, but not if they looked totally rubbish.
To keep the nerves at bay, Val had ushered her into the kitchen, tempting her with a lemon drizzle cake that was covered in crunchy sugar topping. It worked.
‘Neil will come and get you as soon as they’re ready to come out,’ Val said soothingly. ‘Come on, what have you been up to lately? How’s the lord?’
Thinking about Archie was a welcome distraction. ‘He’s fine. We’re seeing each other.’
