Rosie Saw Santa  True story….. (Like every  Rosie story tinged with Warhol)

Diary entry. Morning 30th October 2014. sun rise gave a second shot  at  9.25am

Dear Em.

Absolutely no sunrise!  Sky grey from ear to ear. But I felt lit up somehow! Put on some make up. Always pink lipstick. You know that!  It always cheers me up. Flung a red (yes red) scarf round my neck to brighten the black skirt down to my heels with the black jacket up to my chin. Put my glasses on top of my head from ear to ear (for  dropping them down over  my eyes so I can see things close in the  camera lens if necessary)……. and so…… I went  out  at 9.20 looking for magic against my better judgement.

I knew I was doing the right thing though. The birds on the lines squawked at me and lined up on the lichen  roofs  one by one along route. Shifting along with me to their own songs moving to every house I passed, telling me in their way to watch out. Oh dear!
By the time it was 9.25, I had walked may be floated through the donkey path and I could see the portal that changes with the light at the top of the hill. It did look magical  in the sun which had just started to shine; with leaves nearly all down  it  played with the camera as it does just here.

No tipping needed. It was leaving out things just for me! Even the slow sign; less noticeable today; was doing its job. No cars yet. I knew I was onto something….. Just then in less than half a minute…

….. I saw Father Christmas trudging down in his last year’s red. He stopped to survey the scaffolding which has been holding up one of the pretty houses for a while, right by a post van now. Santa’s sack (at the moment a back pack containing his sandwiches for the day…. I know this! ) would now be picking up sat nav vibes and address lists from the red post office van for his Christmas work ( no doubt).  Santa D continued his walk. I aimed the camera,lowered my specs!

But I couldn’t see enough detail through the lens….. I had to snap him blind!  I had put the wrong specs on top of my head. I  hoped I got him! To make sure (in my blind state) I had to get more. So now I’m acting like a bloody witch… meaning desperate, dithering, a little possessed…. And the blooming cars start going past and hide him with every click…… and then within more seconds Mr C is by the Tolsey  and disappears round the corner.

With him  hopefully still  walking through the narrow passage I  quick footed after him from my side of the road, saw him  and pointed the camera at and through  the space between the two buildings … (stop! cars please stop!) hoping the camera knew  what it was meant to be doing.  As I fiddled for distance I hoped he was still there and I pressed the button …….. I snapped blind I tell you!…… hoping, hoping ….. And here he is….

Father Christmas surveying the chimney pots

And it’s not even Halloween.

Half a minute later by the pretty shops  each with their funny miserable looking Orange Pumpkin sitting  awkward and  resigned settled sadly to doing no magic knowing they are strapped…… in reverse (that’s taking magic away rather than putting it in!) you could almost  blame them that anyone  lingering in their light right then, would be  missing kind Old Santa in their midst (Actually Derek). So many Orange globes trying to do their job  killing the magic ( although probably selling  the chocolates well enough).

That isn’t the end of the story…… so much more….. (I actually heard  a humming in the coffee shop when the lady asked me ‘ Did I want to , drink in or out?’ And it wasn’t my ‘ umming and arring’ as  I fumbled for change…. and  discovering  I did  not have  enough  on me to pay to sit( just a silly card ) ,so  eventually I said I would  take the coffee ‘ out’ to the seat mid hill…. upwards. I could survey the horizon from there  as I do to clear the mist  from time to time: today with coffee.

It was just like  earlier  when  I had fiddled for change at the  post office…. there was me still dropping everything not really seeing anything close because of the wrong glasses…..  I know you won’t  believe me Em ….. I actually felt like a bloody witch twice! …………must write  about the cafe thing next somehow, Put the words  somewhere, following on from this….. Unless it slips away…. don’t let it!……remember the cafe with the  man (a daddy) and baby humming  while I was dropping money, me dithering, yet feeling so happy that I had seen Father Christmas and snapped him!

Love Rosie
Diary Rosie today 2014 10 30 (by Gill McGrath © letters to EM