#WeekendWritingWarriors #SnippetSunday - The Matchmaker's mare - and some memories of Christmas just gone!

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Eight Sentence Sunday

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Hi folks, 

I hope everyone who celebrates it had a lovely Christmas and that the New Year will bring you much happiness, health and contentment. I've been away from here longer than I intended, so many apologies.

After a trip to my beloved homeland to visit family and friends, just before Christmas, we spent a day at a local 'stately home', Waddesdon Manor.  Every year they decorate the grounds with lights in the trees, and illuminated models. There is a Christmas Market, with lots of beautiful craftie things, and food, and the inside of the house has several rooms all decorated for Christmas to a special theme. The theme this year was Christmas music. Forgive me for going back in time, it's been less than two weeks but I know Christmas now seems like an age away already, and I wanted to share some pictures with you.

This is the entrance to what used to be the stable yard,but it is now shops and cafes, with outdoor seating. There were two enormous illuminated baubles in the yard, which were quite spectacular - one could wander in and out of them.

 There were many decorated rooms, each with a gigantic Christmas tree, to celebrate Christmas songs, from While Shepherds watched their flocks by night' to The Nutcracker. I immediately thought of ED - and his great Christmas SF romance, ALIEN CONTACT FOR A CHRISTMAS NUTCRACKER!

Anyway, back to today!

I'm continuing snippets from the draft of my current 'work in progress' unpublished fantasy romance 'The Matchmaker's Mare' which takes place in Wales. The  story is told from three p.o.vs. and two time-lines. Today's excerpt is again from Megan's P.O.V. 

Megan has inherited an old cottage and started a new life, and a new job at the veterinary surgery, Her nearest neighbour is Glyn, a single dad and his young son, Huw. A mysterious pony has appeared in Glyn's horse paddocks and even his experienced horse breaker, Evan, can't seem to handle her. Meanwhile, objects have been disappearing and reappearing at the cottage, and Megan isn't sure if she's imagining things.The next snippet finds her about to deliver some medication from the vets for Glyn's dog.


SNIPPET

The late afternoon sun shone golden through the lush canopy of trees lining the drive up to the house. as Megan  drew up at the gate to Hafod farm. She opened the gate and parked in front of the house and breathed in the warm, earthy-scented air. There was something about a balmy spring afternoon like this, which made one glad to be alive. A host of birds chirped as they made their way to their roosts for the night, and somewhere an owl hooted.

There didn’t seem to be anyone around, so, clutching the package of medication for Bob, she walked down to the paddocks.She stopped in her tracks and blinked. Glyn Phillips and the stable hand, Evan Griffiths stood as if mesmerised. The chestnut pony, which was supposed to be un-rideable, trotted sedately around the schooling area, with Glyn’s son, Huw, on her back.

She shaded her eyes against the glare of the sun to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. As she approached, Glyn turned and beckoned to her to come and stand beside him and she obliged, trying to hide her amazement as the boy cantered the pony up and down, made a few circles and figures of eight, and then took her over a series of small jumps situated along one side of the school. It hardly seemed like the same pony she’d watched unseat Evan a few weeks earlier.

 (This is only a rough draft to give the gist of the novel, and is subject to change and edits - and improvement on the creative punctuation which is needed  to adhere to the ten sentence rule!) Any feedback gratefully received.








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