A night in the new forest - years ago !.

Many years ago , too many to remember Lou and i decided to move to Bournemouth , i had been trying unsuccessfully to get a rise from my company , it was well overdue and i had qualified as the company structural engineer , it wasn’t forthcoming , Lou had been ill with appendicitis and we were generally ready to move on .

We sold our two up two down and moved temporarily with our earlybay to her sisters house in New Milton .

It wasn’t a happy time , i couldn’t get work initially , i tried for anything in the window game , surveying , fitting , fabricating , anything but to no avail , Lou managed to get a job at safeway and i had to sign on – bliss , not .

Lou’s sister thought i was a malingering git who preferred walking my dog " Lady" along the beach than looking for work , she is/was a very harsh person and it was getting me down , her husband and i were good mates and he did manage to keep the peace on the proviso i was looking for work , it wasn’t a long period just six weeks or so but all the same living with them and trying to fill my day became a ordeal i would never repeat .
One weekend when Lou was off i packed up the van , me Lou and lady the dog and set off for a couple of nights in the forest , i had had enough and was seriously considering moving back home , i wanted Lou’s thoughts away from her influential sister .

That night deep in the forest with a full moon and slight frost we ate supper , made a nightcap and settled down for the night , Lady our terrier cross lay snug at our feet as always , warm and ready to alert us to any intrusion .

At about 1 o’clock in the morning Lady let out a low growl , i woke and sleepily looked out of the window to see if i could tell what she was miffed about , i couldn’t see through the condensation so as i was awake i decided to have a jimmy , i quieted Lady , silently slid open the slider and gently eased out so as not to disturb Lou .

By the light of the moonlit forest and in a half sleep i began searching for Percy , i was stood there resplendent in underpants and socks when from the right i heard a sort of snort , and there just twenty foot away stood the most magnificent stag deer , his antlers made him look 12 feet tall , the glow of the moon behind him highlighted every rippling muscle in his imperial body and i was in his forest , i whispered to wake Lou “ Lou , Lou , look at this “ , Lou eased forward to the door and peered out , she let out a ahhh and smiled from ear to ear , the glow of the moon gave it a surreal feel , the stag stood majestically staring straight at us , Lou held Ladys collar tight so as not to scare him off , it was one of life’s magical moments , he stayed for a few minutes then serenely moved his neck to the left and disappeared casually and as if by magic back into the thick of the forest , Lou and i hugged and smiled and even Lady looked content , a kind of calm came over us , it was if we had been visited by a deity and had approval , a truly mystic magical surreal moment that has remained in our memory for over 26 years .

I stayed in the Bournemouth area , Rented a cottage ,started a small window business , employed people and got a part time job with a local homeopathist who did guided walks in the forest showing people the wild life fauna and flora and set up locations for documentary shoots for the bbc , eventually i realised living away from my roots at a early age was not for us , so sold the business and moved back home .

That night in the forest in our bay was truly a turning point in my life , we have moved on and been happy , we got the moving away thing out of our systems and not looked back , if i never had the bay to get away in that night who knows what life would have been like i had been so down .

 

it was just a ramble , but very true

 

I don't believe the bit that says "silently slid open the slider"!
;-£