Mike and Pauline were sitting in a coffee shop in Marlborough High Street
They had nearly finished their coffee and were considering ordering replacements
Mike was reading a book about Wiltshire which had frequent references to Marlborough deep in its pages.
The book dated from 1951 and it emitted an almost undetectable smell of damp
Mike thought that that it might have been positioned on a damp shelf and this accounted for the feel and smell of the book
The book had been in his possession for nearly a year and had travelled with him when he had visited Brazil
It was here that he had finally met Pauline
They had corresponded for over a year and occasionally were able to contact each other via the internet
But here she was sitting opposite him in a coffee shop in a Wiltshire market town
Although the day was quite mild Pauline was wearing a thick grey sweater and light blue jeans
She had not become familiar with the damp air of the county
Mike placed his book on the wooden coffee table
Here listen to this it is rather interesting
In your book?
Yes
It is about a man a native of this town who died far away
In Brazil?
No in London
That is not very far
It is far enough if you are a man of Wiltshire
Read it to me
Is it a long passage?
Not really
Shall we have another coffee before we start?
Pauline walked the short distance to the counter smiling quietly at a new-born baby in a pram as she did so
Mike watched her in one of the many mirrors that had been retained on the brown wall
He noticed quite quickly that Pauline was struggling to make herself understood even though her English was good
I understood some of her English but her accent confused me
Mike knew the woman and was aware that she had a deep accent
I knew her family they originated from the other side of the county
What is her name?
Susan
Do other people understand her?
Yes
Is it because I am from overseas?
No
A visitor from the other end of the country might have problems understanding her
But you understand her?
Yes
It is because this is your county?
Partly
Did you notice the difference in the regional accents when you travelled with me in Brazil?
To some extent
Pauline sipped her coffee
She was glad to be in England and felt refreshed
Her life felt less complicated as it had been in Brazil which seemed to her to be a trail of failed relationships
Mike was not trying to dominate her as many of her previous boyfriends had
He seemed uncomplicated
As she returned her wallet to her bag she caught a glance of her best friend Belen
A small hint of sadness passed by
Do you miss Brazil?
I miss Belen
Were you close?
I have known her since we were small
Mike did not continue with his questioning
When one pulls a fish from a polluted pond
Is this a kindness?
Or an invasion
A maroon bus stopped outside of the coffee shop
Where is the bus going to Mike?
To Salisbury I believe
I would like to visit Salisbury
Then we will quite soon
Will I like Salisbury?
Yes it is a stunning town
It has a great cathedral no?
Yes it has a great cathedral
With a high spire?
Yes it has a magnificent spire
How high is the spire?
I am not sure but it is the tallest in England
The bus moved away and a gasp of sunlight suddenly lit up the tables nearest to the window
Ah that was a celestial bus
There was no light and now there is light
A few years ago an unknown man lay dying in a hospital in the East End of London
He had no friends
No visitors
No letters
No-one even knew his name
He was just a fragment of jetsam thrown up from the London docks
One day when the chaplain came to see him the man seemed restless
He tried to speak
The chaplain bent over him saying
Do you want anything?
At first there was no answer and then suddenly the light of memory let up the mans dying face
He tried to speak
I do not understand you my son
The dying man’s slack lips moved and he quietly said
The Marlborough Downs in the rain
Then his light faded and he fell back and died
Michael closed his book
That was a sad story
It was a man of the fields forced from the land for a life at sea
Who was the man?
He was nameless
Are these Marlborough Downs special?
Yes very much
Your book is quite beautiful
The man was a native of Marlborough you see
He knew the area in all its moods
But died far away
He did not ask for fine weather with his dying breath
Only that he might see the Marlborough on a day such as this when the mists are low and damp
An older man who was sitting at an adjacent table smiled at Mike
I hope that you do not mind me interrupting you
No
And your wife
She is not my wife
I am his Brazilian visitor
Your English is good
I am of an English heritage
Many years ago English engineers came to my country to work on the railways
I am distantly related to them via my father
We speak both English and Portuguese in my house
I can see your European heritage in your face your eyes although Latin have a hint of an English day hidden in them
I stray though
Do you realise that Marlborough has a distinction from other towns?
I think I know what you are going to say
You are a local boy
Yes Marlborough born and bred
Marlborough is one of the coldest places in the southern counties
It lies in a large depression you know
We are amongst the highest downs in Wiltshire
Pauline pulled her sweater closer as she for some reason felt cooler than before
When one approaches the town from the highest point a sense of quiet serenity can be sensed
An elderly woman walked through the door
Richard are you boring these poor people?
I am sorry I was interrupting
Not a bit I welcomed your company
The man put on his light overcoat and with a precision placed a hat on his head
I must be going it was so nice to meet you both and do enjoy your visit my dear
Pauline had not thought about it at length but she was a visitor
She was an outsider in a Wiltshire town
Do you know what these are?
Pauline rolled up her sleeve exposing a number of small scars which were hardly visible to the naked eye
Your past those are the minute scars of your past
I tried to drown myself once but chose the shallowest pool
Do you think that the elderly man knew of my addiction?
He only saw your beauty
Will you be like the old man when you age?
Maybe
When I age I will be an old hag
I do not think so
I will Belen and I have agreed to be old hags when we age
Do you think that Belan is beautiful?
That is an impossible question
She has a scar you know on her back the result of an automobile accident
She hates the scar
It is an imperfection
That is why she does not use the beach
I am proud of my scars they speak to me
Of the past
My past seems so far away when I am sitting here
You are in a different country
When you first saw my photograph what did you think of me?
The same as I do now
That being
That you were beautiful
Did you lust after me?
Yes
Even though I was an image or hidden many miles away
A year before I met you I could often be found on strange floors sometimes slumped in my own vomit
I was an addict
You thought you were an addict
Why do you say that?
You had a problem but it was like walking in the sea
You were still in the shallows
I tried to drown myself in the shallows
Not many people drown in shallow waters
But you will be as wet if you emerge from a shallow pool
I agree
Mike passed his book to Pauline
Read this passage to me
Richard the Lion heart had a foster brother named Alexander Neckham who wrote a poem which he called
The Praise of Divine Wisdom
It contained a couplet which related to Marlborough
Great Merlin’s grave
Its name to Marlborough in Saxon gave
The towns motto contains the words
Where are sage Merlin’s bones?
I find these lines confusing Mike
Some do I did not understand them at once
In short the quotations obviously connect Marlborough Caste and Marlborough Mound
Marlborough Mound?
A similar earthwork to the one I showed you at Silbury
I am not aware of a castle in this town
It is long gone
It was in ruins even by Leyland’s time although rebuilt later
It later became an inn popular during the coaching days of this town
And then it became a school and is part of the college in the town
Did you go to this college?
No I just suffered a plain education as most boys born in this town endured
But you are so smart Mike
You have taken Brazilian girl away from the country of her birth and are showing her the beauty of your home town
I woke up this morning to the sound of the church bells
I get so used to them that I am deafened by familiarity
You showed me your home town
My home town is not beautiful
You have the beach
The beach is over an hour’s drive from my town
It is not part of my town
There are no beaches in Marlborough although like you we are around an hour from the sea
Pauline handed the book to Mike
That is a very wise book so poetical
Let us get ready the day is clearing we have some exploring to do
Will I need my coat?
You will need your coat remember Marlborough is a very cold town
For the second time that day Mike and Pauline had broken for refreshment
They were sitting at one of the many trestle tables that were conveniently placed in front of the Red Lion at Avebury
Unlike their visit to the lazy coffee shop earlier in the day they thought they deserved their break as they had walked from Broad Hinton
Pauline had taken a liking to the local beer exclaiming how superior it was to the cheap imported beer in Brazil
Pauline was reading a book about the stones which she had purchased at the National Trust shop nearby
Mike as he normally did was watching the traffic pass
He could see the road to his right disappearing towards Devizes and to Swindon in the opposite direction
Marigold’s house was now empty as it had been for a number of years but little else had changed since his childhood
If anything the area attracted more love
It lacked the madness of Stonehenge and one could touch the stones
Everything was free
In this book it says that farmers are unsentimental creatures
They are
Why do you say that?
How many horses do you see apart from those with leisure riders?
In the fields?
Yes
There were no horses in the fields
Just over a hundred years ago you would have seen many horses in the fields
Where did they go?
It all changed after the First World War
As well as men many horses died in the carnage
And when peace returned some things had changed
Tractors were widely available
And the horses were not used greatly after that
What happened to them?
As I said farmers are not sentimental
A lot of horses ended up in the abattoir
How dreadful
We treat horses well now but it was a harsh lesson
Belen taught me to ride when I was recovering
We would take a tired but friendly nag out and explore the green areas outside of the town
Without Belen I do not think I would be sitting here talking to you
For a while Mike and Pauline stayed silent
They watched a smartly dressed woman park her car and make her way to the nearest stone
She photographed it once with an expensive looking camera and then returned to her car and drove away
Two German children were playing tag sometimes near the busy road whilst their parents chatted with friends
Two bikers were inspecting each other’s machines
This day will not be repeated Pauline
Explain
This day is unique as yesterday was unique and as tomorrow will be unique
If we sit here tomorrow things will not be the same
It is different in Brazil especially if you go to the beach
You will drive along the same road and visit the same beach and quite often you will see the same people
And these people will be doing the same thing
That being
Pauline smiled at Mike and for a moment he witnessed the divorce she had set in place
She was on the beach again
Wishing that Belen has accompanied her
But Belen did not visit the beach because of her scar
He had sat on the beach with Pauline
But he felt like an outsider
To Pauline the beach was a natural place
She would visit it often
It was part of her culture
Tanning swimming having a good time
Things will be slightly different each day
Taken
What would happen if Belen ignored her scar and accompanied you to the beach?
I would like that
But your day would be different to the previous day and if Belen did not accompany you on the following day then that would differ also
I do not see a beach in Avebury
There are no beaches in Avebury
After they finished their beer Mike and Pauline decided to explore the stones again
This was not their first visit but each visit was different
The light of the day whilst being acceptable was not bright and the sun was struggling to make an appearance
The wind was from the south west and was a little damp although the day was very mild
Mike was carrying his coat and felt quite warm in his light sweater
Pauline had not released the zip of her coat and had only when they had broken for refreshment taken her collar down
Do you know that up to about two hundred years ago these stones were the pride of the local downs?
They could be found quite often in the area
But they were good building materials
If you look at the churches you will see the use of these stones I spotted one today where the base of its tower was made from these stones
But the church you said was much older
I agree but the original tower might have been faulty and repairs would have taken place
The use of these stones is everywhere
Look at the gateposts of the ancient cottages
Those that date from the seventeenth and the early eighteenth centuries were made of the stones or possibly hard chalk marl
When we return to the village you will observe that a large number of the used the local stones
But these were temples or so my book says
Possibly no one has totally confirmed their history
People have different views
But as with farmers builders are not sentimental creatures
Even today most care little or at least this is my view
Although this will not be spoiled vast areas of land are now covered with housing
You notice this when you travel on trains
Where does London start and end?
On the local railway the countryside only really starts in the Hungerford area
We are much more enlightened these days but it is a constant battle
You are a very passionate man
A man who travelled all the way to Brazil to bring me to his own country
To show me this and cold Marlborough
Are you missing your home?
No I miss the sunshine and the heat but there are other things that I do not miss
There seems to be room in your county
Parts of England are quite crowded
But not like Brazil the world is well aware of the major problems we face
There does not seem to be as many in England
There are many but you do not always see them
Things get done but our progress is slow at times
In Brazil a clumsy quick fix is sometimes used
Sometimes they work and that is good
But like the major sporting events quick fixes were used
And some of them are now coming apart believe me
But why are we speaking about my homeland in this beautiful place?
Apart from small conversations Mike and Pauline said little to each other
They followed the paths above the ditches and finally ended up walking up the West Kennet Avenue
When we reach the top if we turn left and then climb up another slope you will see Silbury Hill
But this time from afar
Mike laid his coat on the ground
Here sit on this
No it will spoil you coat
It is muddy already
Just sit on my coat and close your eyes
Then I will not see anything
But you will hear much
You will hear the history of the area
You will witness the visit of a King
You will hear the archaeologists at work
You will hear the builders and the farmers
But most of all you will hear the rhythm of the seasons
Marigold once told me that
At first I did not believe her
But as I grew older I began to see and hear it for myself
Pauline sat on the coat and closed her eyes
At first she felt nothing
She was on the floor of a bare flat
A man lay nearby
He was singing to himself
A hypodermic needle lay between them
She was fully clothed under a freezing shower
Belen had pinned her against the tiled wall
She was slapping her face and swearing at her
Belen was wearing her best dress which was soaking
She was walking along a beach
The beach was deserted
She was wearing Belen’s favourite dress
To her right was a shallow pool
She had memories of this pool
What have you seen Pauline?
My past I have seen my past
Possibly you are not yet ready
It took me years to feel the rhythms
Maybe it is too soon
But they will come to you
Pauline stood up
I am a little cold
It is your Latin blood
Remember I am a little English like you
Then soon you will not feel the damp and cold
Mike looked at the clouds building from the west
I think it will rain soon
In about an hour
We should return to cold Marlborough
That evening Pauline was trying to contact her friend on the internet
She was swearing quietly under her breath
Suddenly a connection was established and she returned to Brazil
They were speaking in their native language
Pauline suddenly clapped her hands together
The conversation continued for another hour and by the time it had ended Mike was deep in his book
Pauline sat on the arm of his chair
Guess what
What
Belen went to the beach today for the first time since the accident
What prompted her to do that?
My letter I sent Belen a letter describing this town
She said that I had changed so much that there was no reason that she should not change also
And she went to the beach
Her scar was unimportant as my addiction is unimportant now
Mike held Pauline’s hand
They kissed lightly
Time passes even in the countryside but you do not see it pass
You feel the passing of time that is all
Time was always going to pass for you and Belen
Wherever you are time passes at the same speed
Everything is relative
In the distance the church bells heralded a new day
Pauline went into the bedroom and readied herself for her sleep
Mike picked up his pad
He wrote
Time passes even in the countryside but you do not see it pass
You feel the passing of time that is all
Wherever you are time passes at the same speed
Everything is relative
He considered these words to be a good starting point for a story