I met a...

couple today, on the bread walk, lovely they were.  I’m writing this in Welsh as they were from South Wales and in the time we stood talking, well to be more exact... they stood talking I knew their life story.  Been married 49 years, living in the same house which cost £2,500, no children.  He loves books doesn’t know how to operate the television.  He goes to bed at 6.30pm to read.  He gets up at 2.30am.  She is happy to be in control of what she watches on the telly, with him safely asleep in bed.  He showed me his purse, which she calls a wallet, he said.  Every day she gives him pocket money, which he spends on books.

They holiday in Ludlow four times a year, although they love it here, she loves living where they do in their pit house.  Not in a row, but stepped he told me. Even if they won the lottery, which incidentally they don’t do, as they are happy and content and want for nothing.  Their house is worth about £100,000, they have no mortgage so even if they wanted to move to Ludlow they wouldn’t have enough to buy here.  Although they holiday here four times a year they wouldn’t want to leave their home of 49 years.  They have both worked hard all their lives and are happy.  Their little dog which yapped a lot at the start of the conversation, settled down sniffing around the river Teme 

as they got into full chat gear.  He had obviously been party to their MO many times before so decided to save his strength.  They were just off up onto Whitcliffe common where they sit and look at the castle and the dog always has his dinner there.  They meet a lady who in all the years they have been coming to Ludlow they see twice in the week they are here.

Four times actually, we book the same cottage, February, May, August and October.  We meet in the coffee shop, we have never been to her home and we don’t invite her to our holiday cottage... that’s how we like it.  She told us to give her £10 as a cottage in the village is being raffled, so the ten pounds buys us a ticket,  What would we do if we won?  We have enough money and no need for any extra.

We are happy.

I got a big hug as we parted from Mo, Maureen if she’s been up to no good, you understand?

As I walked away I felt strangely uplifted.  Such a joy to hear from positive people 100% content with their lot.

Wish there were a lot more of them about...