Alice skipped along the road that led from the red windmill to the tall poplar trees that stood majestically next to the quiet river

The busy road was not very romantic but had to agree with Alice that the dreaming hot fields were quite timeless

Do you know what H E Bates said of Kent in his Pop and Ma Larkin books?

I didn’t know the exact passage but I knew that Alice would tell me

I expect it was something nice

Do keep still and tell me

Let us cross this road and walk through the shallow fields

I would not cross here otherwise we might be killed by a lorry

A lorry taking strawberries away from the farms

How poetic

How painful

You cannot die in the county of Kent

Everybody lives long lives here

I grabbed Alice’s bare shoulder

Keep still and when we have crossed this busy road safely then you can tell me what H E Bates said of the Garden of England

Soon a break in traffic allowed us to cross the road

We opened a low gate and began walking in the general direction of the river

The field was fallow and small dust devils were being created by the shallow breeze

Tell me about the H E Bates book you have

Alice pulled a pale green book from her canvas bag

Here it is

What is it called?

Look at the spine

When the Green Woods Laugh

It is one of the Pop and Ma Larkin novels that H E Bates created

I believe this was the final book of the trilogy

Yes he started off with The Darling Buds of May and followed it with A Breath of French Air this was the final book

Have you read the others?

Yes I have them both they are in the bookcase at Mummy’s

Have you read these books?

No

I suggest that you take time out and read all three books

You were saying that H E Bates considered everybody to be immortal

Not immortal but long lived

Please read the passage to me

It is on page thirty-one and there are two passages that you might find interesting

Got to remember that this county is almost an island
Two thirds of its boundaries are water
It’s an island on an island

Cornwall is the same and I would imagine that there are others 

I agree here is the second passage

Nobody dies here
People live for ever
Same as tortoises
Everything grows hell for leather
Cherries strawberries hops pears corn sheep
It is not called the Garden of England for nothing

I looked around everything seemed to be in bloom and so alive

Perhaps Alice was correct

You did feel immortal on a day such as this

I looked in the general direction of the pet cemetery which was partially hidden by the trees near the small road that led towards the railway line and the River Stour

Do you remember last year when we visited the pet cemetery over there?

Yes

And you cried when you found that rabbit dead in the road outside and insisted that we bury it in the cemetery away from the graves of the dogs and cats and other domestics

You asked me a question which I did not answer at the time

I remember

I asked you whether animals had souls

I thought about it for quite a while

A year

I thought about it for a year

And what as your conclusion?

Well up to about ten minutes ago I had not concluded my thoughts

You forgot about my question

I forgot about your question until the pet cemetery prompted my memory

And now you have the answer

Maybe

I am all ears

Look at the cloud that appears to be above the windmill

Yes the one that is shaped like a peach

What do you think will happen to that cloud?

It will float out to sea and pass over either Margate or Reculver

In a few hours that cloud will not be there and we will not know what has happened to it

It may fade over the sea or mix with a larger cloud as the air cools

I suppose it we followed it we would discover the answer but is like a soul of an animal it fades as our souls do and then journeys to a place unseen

Even though the Bible and other religious books give us an indication of our journey no one really knows

It is a great mystery

Your point being

That animals do have souls 

And it has taken a year for you to work that out

It is the fundamental question

And it did not take me a year just ten minutes

Although the day was humid a small afternoon breeze had developed which was blowing the dry dust of the field in every direction

I tell you what Alice let’s take the road as far as the river and then we can stroll along its banks

Why can we not continue in this direction?

Because the railway will cut us off

I do not fancy crossing its electric lines

If we are not hit by a train then I think we will be fried by the power lines

We are not as immortal as we like to think

Nothing will die on a day as glorious as this one

Things have died possibly creatures but for some of them this will be their last day

Alice and I walked towards the wide metal gate and were soon climbing over it in the shade of a massive oak tree

Look the silly farmer has locked this gate whereas it is so easy to climb over

I think that he has his reasons to do so

Everything has a reason

Bad people

Possibly

Even in the Garden of England bad people exist and they cause upset and misery for the gentlefolk of the fields

About twenty minutes later we found the road bridge that crossed the railway line to Canterbury

The line was quiet but I noticed a fine dust hanging in the air

Look at the dust

Did the train do that?

Yes it upset the equilibrium of the day

But you have said that trains are part of the countryside

They are but their passing does cause a disturbance

Let’s wait for the next one

It may be hours

No I think we will see one within twenty minutes

I could hear them as we crossed the fallow field

Alice was correct and soon a white and yellow train passed at speed as it travelled towards Canterbury

A spider whose web was attached to a nearby branch appeared to look at the train and then retreated knowing no damage had been done to its web

I wonder how many trains this bridge has witnessed?

That can be worked out

I will tell you the formula later

You have always said that you were the mathematician

And I do not want to wait a year for an answer

After the railway bridge the road widened out a little and Alice began walking in front of me with her bag carelessly slung over her shoulder

She was wearing a floral dress with large red roses printed on the white fabric

For some reason I did not think the dress was really suitable for the dusty fields of Kent as it seemed rather urban

Still it was a cool dress and as normal Alice was very practical in her choice

The River Stour was not far from the railway and we took a break at a public house which adjoined a mobile home site

For a day as hot as it was there were surprisingly few people around and we drank almost alone

When we were finished we made our way back to the river and started to walk in the general direction of Canterbury

The river was home to few boats but these soon faded as we walked further away from the bridge

In all this time we had passed no one

Listen to the silence of the summer

It almost shouts at us

The windmill was now slightly behind us and in the distance we knew that Canterbury Cathedral was hiding herself

She was there but was playing games as it often did on hot days

We walked for another mile but still could not see the cathedral

Let’s rest

Here?

No I was thinking of those meadows across the river

There is not a boat for us to cross the river

We will not need a boat to cross the river

Why do we not need a boat?

The river is narrow we can swim across and rest and dry in the meadow

I do not think this is a good idea Alice

Let us swim quite naked across the river and rest over there

And pray where will we leave our clothes and your H E Bates book

They will come with us

Or rather we will meet them on the opposite bank

I do not like the sound of this

Its easy just leave your clothes in my canvas bag and then we will zip it up and throw it on to the opposite bank

And then we will swim across

And if somebody comes along

How many people have we seen today?

And our soft shoes they will not fit into the bag

Alice removed her plimsolls and threw each in turn on to the opposite bank

See I have started our journey

I will swim across first it will take seconds and then once you have placed your clothes in the bag then you will throw it to me

Like Adam and Eve

I do not like the sound of this Alice

Very soon Alice stood naked in front of me and began to climb down the narrow bank into the river

Gosh it’s cold

Rivers are always cold no matter the weather

Save me if I begin to drown

Soon Alice was on the opposite bank

Come on get undressed and throw the bag to me and do not forget to zip it up

After looking both ways along the tow path I undressed and placed my clothes into Alice’s canvas bag

Now throw it

It’s your funeral Alice I do not think that the H E Bates book is going to appreciate this madness

I wrapped it securely in my frock

I cannot see that Pop and Ma Larkin would have done this

They would have borrowed a boat

Stop moaning and throw the bag across and do not forget your shoes afterwards

I threw the bag with a my power and it landed some yards behind Alice

She laughed and ran into the meadow to retrieve it

I then threw my shoes which landed erratically in the same area

When I said throw them across the river I did not mean throw them on to the sands of Margate

For some reason I thought that if I jumped as far as I could into the river that I would not be immersed in the cold water for that long and would be able to emerge on the other side less chilled

That was a mistake for I was soon in the murky depths of the river and although I found myself near to the bank I felt that I had been swimming in Artic waters

See what I have made

Alice had flattened a patch of grass near the reeds which afforded us a little privacy from the tow path on the opposite side of the river

It was not perfect but it would do

Let us lie here while the sun dries our bodies

And that is what we did

Nobody disturbed us and we slept lightly for a short while

I opened my eyes and saw the day moon almost hidden in the deep blue summer sky

What are you looking at?

The day moon

Where is it?

Over there at about two o’clock

It looks so rested

Like us

Do you remember last night?

In that room that we rented from Mr Polly Dolly

Do you remember the room?

With its high windows

Yes

And the moon

Last night was a hot sticky night so typical of this summer

We pulled the sheet down to our waists

Nothing stirred in that room save for the slight chill hidden in the light night breeze

It alerted our skin to the hidden beauties of the moon

The summer breeze still lightly chills our bodies even though we are no longer wet from the river

We did not sleep and watched the moon as it crossed the sky

Our room was flooded with light

Do you remember that Venus seemed trapped in the high branches of the trees?

Indeed she was setting a course for the moon

Alice turned over and rubbed her back

Grass grass everywhere
up my bum and in my hair

You chose the spot

Why is it that when grass looks so stable that you seem to become covered in it?

This part of the meadow has never seen a mower yet I am covered in grass

Do brush me down

Alice stood up and I brushed down what little grass there was from her body

I think the day moon is looking at me

I hope she likes what she sees

Last night when we were lying in our bed

I felt that I was a pilgrim in a Samuel Palmer painting

Do you think that he watched the same moon all those years ago in Shoreham?

He would have seen the same moon as we did as he lay next to his beloved

And like us he would have drifted into a gentle sleep in the moonlight

Sometimes things are so beautiful that one should experience them and not consider them further

I agree

She is up there waiting

Until the evening draws in and the night covers the sky

And then she will begin her nocturnal journey once more

Her night journey seems so distant in this the raw heat of the day

What always surprises me is how long the night is even during these dog days of summer

And how quickly she disappears when the dawn makes her entrance

We watch the moon quite often and then she vanishes like the assistant of a conjurer

In the distance we heard music and excited voices

I think the scouts might be getting nearer

I think that we should get dressed

Better they be educated later in life

With a little difficulty I started to dress but Alice walked towards the river

She was still naked

In the distance I could see the first of the scouts rounding the bend in the river

I threw Alice’s dress towards her and to my surprise she caught it

Now get dressed and quickly

By the time the scouts passed by we were sitting quietly and reading

They ignored us

What time is it?

About four

Do you want to walk to Canterbury?

Yes and no I would love to walk to Canterbury but I feel a little tired

The heat has taken its toll

Then we will return to the bridge as there is a bus stop there and when it arrives we will travel to Canterbury

And that was the way the our day ended we made our way back to the road and after about forty minutes the bus to Canterbury arrived and within the hour we were back in our hotel room

Shall we watch the moon tonight?

She will be well hidden and we will only catch glances of her through the rooftops

We do not have the advantages of Mr Polly Dolly’s house

Then we will sleep well as the room is air-conditioned

What shall we do tomorrow?

It is not for us to decide that now

The new day will suggest its meaning to us 

Alice picked up the Gideon’s Bible from the bedside table

She opened it and pulled out a small piece of paper

What does it say?

One Moon – Discussion at an Inn

What an odd thing to write

Does it mean much to you?

No not really

It might mean that a group retired to a pub to discuss the moon as we discussed the moon earlier in the day

It might be about H E Bates thoughts on immortality in this the Garden of England

Pardon

I thought that would get your attention

We did not really discuss the immortality mentioned in his book 

We can discuss it anytime

Whilst I understand what H E Bates meant I do not necessary agree with his meaning

Would he have written the same thing during the dark depths of winter?

We have both seen this county covered in snow

It is a difficult question 

Do you want to know something?

I think I guess what you are going to say

That being?

That you wrote the mysterious note and placed it in to the Gideon’s Bible when I was in the shower

I was thinking that we were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden today

But I thought you would be too tired to discuss the subject so I did something both rational and irrational and wrote the note

It was the first thing that entered my head and was quite random

Have a shower Alice and I will wait for you in this lovely bed

We will keep the drapes open and if we are lucky we will see the progress of the moon before we retire to our dreams

I lay back and was only vaguely aware of Alice climbing in beside me even though her skin was cool after her shower

The moon travelled over the county of Kent that night

Some witnessed its progress

But Alice and I were not amongst these lucky souls

Although in our dreams we were in those immortal fields watching the progress of the day moon in the summer sky during its slow but idyllic journey

Towards the Holy City