WINDOW VIEWS - The Old Fields

They'd decided to buy the house all those years ago, chiefly because it had a gorgeous view over the old field, with it's still visible creases of medieval ridge and furrow. Dorothy hated seeing what was happening to it now. She felt physically hurt by the rapid change. At her age, she never wanted to let go of anything. Having to let go of her husband had been hard enough. The grief lingering still. But that landscape seen from her house, had always been there. It gave her two things, it brought memories of Harry closer, and a feeling of intimacy with the countryside  Their cottage was idyllic, part of a pretty dormitory village. In reality it had long since become subsumed by the ever expanding suburbs of the town. This was now overwhelming her cottage and the old fields like a beastly juggernaut, taking this precious scenic view with it.

Harry? Well thank god he'd not lived to see this enormous building site erected, and the levelling out of the entire ancient field. Of course she'd protested. In her seventies, for the first time out with placards, organising marches, collecting signatures, submitting petitions. The remains of the village centre were Grade 2 listed, unfortunately her house and the old field fell just outside the conservation area. The force of her campaign being to get that area extended to include it, but to no avail. The really ironic kick in the shins was that what was now being built were luxury retirement flats.

Having lost that fight, she readjusted her priorities. Much as she didn't want to leave her lovely little cottage, and the downsizing would indeed be painful and prolonged, it had to be done. The cottage was put up for sale, had sold quicker than everyone, including her daughter had warned her because it was such a depressed market. She'd plucked up courage and viewed the show flat the first day it opened. All the new apartments were to have either a village vista, or one of the remaining fields beyond. She insisted on buying a flat on the ground floor, positioned in the same orientation as her cottage, facing away from it. When the apartments were finished, she was there ready to move in. 'Perhaps this will see me out' she said to herself quietly. Sitting in her armchair, describing aloud the changed view, the weather and the rolling landscape, to the vase of cremated ashes resting in her lap.