Jenny

This morning I had to wait as the local bus dropped off the ladies who had been shopping at Morrisons. The driver is a good man. All the bags and trolleys are stored in the baggage hold, he helps each lady by hauling them out and making sure the girls are safe and secure. 

I noticed Jenny; we have history! Four or five years ago I was in the valley on my quad bike with Flossie my Parson Russell. I was listening to the river, it calms me. Suddenly I was aware of a figure slowly approaching, it was Jenny. She had taken her usual walk to Porthtowan, was on her way back when she fell just before she reached a footbridge. She had cracked her head against a rock and passed out. When she came to there was nobody around but she struggled to her feet and headed home. 

Jenny was unaware how much blood she had lost but it was a significant amount, most of it was on the ground but her hair and clothes were soaked. Head wounds always bleed a lot, making them seem more significant than they usually are. In this case it was obvious that there was a problem as blood was pulsing from her wound. Here’s where the fun began. I sat her down on a wall, applied pressure to the wound then wrapped Flossie’s dog towels around her head. She looked like an Afghan terrorist who had just been smacked around the nut. Somehow I got her on the quad seat and climbed on in front of her, there isn’t much room so we were cosy, Flossie was jealous her Dad had company. There is no phone signal in the valley, bugger. On the way to our house Jenny kept passing out but would come to when I reached behind and gripped or groped her thigh muscle. The looks we got were really funny, shocked villagers. 

The Ambulance crew were, as ever, magnificent and took her to A&E, where they discovered she had severed her temporal artery. If she had not been discovered and helped her outlook was grim.   While the medics were getting her ready to move I asked her if she remembered me squeezing her thigh, she replied, “Yes.” “I bet that hasn’t happened in a while.” Cue a burst of hysterical laughter. A few days later, bruised and sore she presented us with a bunch of flowers. Manners. Sadly Jenny is now becoming frail but remains stoical and funny.

The EXTRA had to be taken. A couple are moving from rented accommodation. Their only transport is being used to go to the tip. Here we have a Volvo skip. I did ask permission, it made for smiles and a giggle.