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Big Words And Made Up Stories

My answer to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" was always the same. "I'm going to be a writer." Probably the last time I said that and believed it was around the age of 8. I'm now in my 50s and I am, most definitely, a writer. What happened in between? Let's have a look. Subscribe below (right) to keep up to date with Ruth’s latest blogs.


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Frolicking with the gardener

October 22, 2020

I don’t want to shock you, but I feel we know each other well enough for me to be honest with you.

Since lockdown began, I’ve been seeing other men.

It all started in April. Things were weird, the sun was out and I was facing a year of many challenges. So, when a rather handsome gardener appeared and started building a polytunnel on our veg patch, I found myself spending a lot of time with him. I took him over cups of coffee as he dug the foundations, offered him lunch as he hammered the base together and then invited him home for dinner once he had it all done. One thing led to another, as it will do.

Two manky old beds at the back of the house filled with aggressive and pointless spiky plants were transformed into beautiful flower borders.


This fine young man then turned his attentions to our back garden and started doing lots of little jobs we’d been meaning to get around to for years. He fixed the old pew and turned it into a herb garden. He built a pond out of an old boat. There seemed to be no end to his talents. Thanks to him, the family were enjoying a bumper crop of fruit and veg and a weed-free and well-ordered veg patch. Two manky old beds at the back of the house filled with aggressive and pointless spiky plants were transformed into beautiful flower borders.

Next, a handyman appeared. He too got going on any number of little jobs around the house and garden which my husband and I had had on the to do list for years. I offered him cups of tea and lunch and we even went out together a few times.

As autumn approached, the gardener cut down on his days and we got in a plumber, and a painter and decorator. They repainted the kitchen and changed everything around so that it made sense (it never has). Shamefaced, I showed them our downstairs bathroom, which has been in dire need of a jolly good makeover for many years. Nothing daunted, they ripped the whole lot out, repainted, put in a new loo and basin and even bought new towels and little candles to make it look really posh. Going to the toilet now is an absolute delight. Every time I exit the bathroom, I think of our plumber and it gives me a warm glow.

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This is not my bathroom. It is an image I found on Pixabay.

You’re probably wondering how my husband felt about all this. Fine, is the answer. Absolutely fine.

Since March, we’ve all started taking on new roles. My husband and I were planning to spend most of the year being caterers, but that is over for the foreseeable future. A friend of mine was running a thriving beauty business, but stymied by restrictions, she began her own little gardening company which is going very well. I started the year as a freelance writer and will end it as a novelist with a publishing deal.

One of our favourite films is, “The Madness of King George.” In it, there’s a great scene where the Duke of York (Julian Rhind-Tutt) tells his brother (Rupert Everett) that he’s just found out he’s the Bishop of Osnabruck. “Remarkable what one is, really,” he muses.

And so it is. Quite remarkable. We all have hidden talents, unplumbed depths, unconscious abilities. Sometimes, it takes a life-changing situation to bring them all to the surface.

This year has brought fear, uncertainty, apprehension and worry into all our lives. Some of us have had to make sweeping changes and most of us are living a new normal. Life has given us lemons, but we can use them to make a new and exciting kind of lemonade (if you’ll excuse the torturous metaphor).

Tonight, I’ve invited the gardener, the handyman, the plumber and the painter and decorator over for dinner. But it’s OK. We’re not breaking the Rule of Six. There will be five of us, as there are every evening. Six, if you count the kitten.

What’s your new normal?

In October 2020 Tags Frolicking with the gardener
← Creaky joints and naughty dogsI Never Thought I'd See the Day →

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Reviews Archive

  • November 2024
    • Nov 23, 2024 Stranger in a Strange Land
  • October 2024
    • Oct 3, 2024 On the Path with Carolyn
  • November 2023
    • Nov 17, 2023 Here Comes the Bride. Ruth reviews Joy Margett's latest book, The Bride.
    • Nov 13, 2023 A Peach of a Book: Charlie Peach’s Pumpkins and Other Stories
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    • Oct 21, 2023 Branching Out: An Advent Chat with Rachel Yarworth
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    • Nov 22, 2022 Contemplating Christmas – An Advent Resource. Ruth interviews Abby Ball
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    • Jul 11, 2022 The Pilgrim’s Path: The Prequel to The Healing by Joy Margetts
  • June 2022
    • Jun 29, 2022 Funny Ha Ha. Ruth on Sophie Neville's Funnily Enough
  • May 2022
    • May 30, 2022 The Magnificent Moustache and Beyond: A Collection of Children’s Stories
    • May 9, 2022 A Wander Round Warwickshire
  • April 2022
    • Apr 11, 2022 A Creator of Worlds: Maressa Mortimer’s “Burrowed”
    • Apr 5, 2022 A Nice Cup of Tea and a Good Read
  • March 2022
    • Mar 11, 2022 The Wounds of Time: A Tangled Web
  • February 2022
    • Feb 28, 2022 Beneath the Tamarisk Tree: Light and Shade
    • Feb 21, 2022 All Things New: Inspiring Stories from Matt McChlery
    • Feb 10, 2022 From Earth to Heaven
  • January 2022
    • Jan 24, 2022 Finding Truth and Identity: A Review of “Like Him” by Julia Stevens
  • November 2021
    • Nov 23, 2021 Sourcing the Good Stuff: Poppy Denby and the Crystal Crypt
  • August 2021
    • Aug 4, 2021 All Aboard for a Murder or Two: The Shetland Sea Murders by Marsali Taylor
  • July 2021
    • Jul 22, 2021 Terrific Tartan Noir: Unravelling
    • Jul 15, 2021 Scent of Water: One woman's journey through grief
  • May 2021
    • May 13, 2021 Leah + Rachel + Jacob + Esau (Gamora + Nebula)
  • April 2021
    • Apr 20, 2021 Two by Two: A Review of “Not Knowing but Still Going” by Jocelyn-Anne Harvey
  • March 2021
    • Mar 15, 2021 A chat with Joy Margetts

Ruth leigh BLOGS

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Andy Chamberlain interviews Ruth Leigh as part of the blog tour for The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge
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Happy Second Anniversary, Isabella!
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And She's Off!
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No More Eeros Anymore
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#shoplocal
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Shameful is the head that wears the crown
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Isabella Smugge says #challengeaccepted Part Two
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Isabella Smugge says #challengeaccepted Part One
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Trials, Tribulations and Hashtags
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Hashtag Heaven Winners Announced!
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Sep 24, 2021
Issy Rides Again
Sep 24, 2021
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Book Cover Reveal for The Trials of Isabella M Smugge
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Island Life
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Jun 24, 2021
From Pawnee to Bloomington: Indiana Stories
Jun 24, 2021
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In Which Ruth Wields a Lance
Jun 10, 2021
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Apr 21, 2021
A Tale of Two Extraordinary Gentlemen
Apr 21, 2021
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Apr 8, 2021
The Rational Elasticated Waist Movement
Apr 8, 2021
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Mar 25, 2021
Half the World is Saying This
Mar 25, 2021
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Feb 18, 2021
Jane and me
Feb 18, 2021
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In which Ruth writes a novel
Jan 31, 2021
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Jan 14, 2021
Intergenerational Language
Jan 14, 2021
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Dec 31, 2020
Leigh’s miscellany
Dec 31, 2020
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Nov 26, 2020
Imagine that!
Nov 26, 2020
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Nov 19, 2020
A window on the world
Nov 19, 2020
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Nov 13, 2020
The Times They Are A ‘Changing
Nov 13, 2020
Nov 13, 2020
Nov 5, 2020
It's a numbers game
Nov 5, 2020
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Oct 29, 2020
Creaky joints and naughty dogs
Oct 29, 2020
Oct 29, 2020
Oct 22, 2020
Frolicking with the gardener
Oct 22, 2020
Oct 22, 2020

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