There was a beautiful house in the middle of the countryside. It was a large stone-built house, as it was once the old quarrymens cottages. There was a peaceful sleepy atmosphere to the place. Inside was a large old inglenook fireplace, beautiful wooden floors, and Victorian sash-windows. Surrounding the place was land belonging to the house, a whole 4 acres, which housed rabbits, pheasants, fallow deer, long-tailed tits, wild cats, and foxes, to name but a few. It was magical at dawn and dusk, when the semi-silhouetted background of the trees shone through with the first, or last, rays of light. From the kitchen window as far as the eye could see, fields growing tall with their crops, and the occasional four-hooved visitor if the weather was bad. We had Tara, a gorgeous little rabbit who we saw go from tiny baby rabbit, to mother, in the space of 6 months. She used to come out quite openly, and accept the small vegetable scraps we left out for her, although she was never tame. Mr Fez (a pheasant), our resident 'big bird' also came regularly, to peck the seeds fallen from the bird feeders. It was spectacular.


[Tara, the wild house-rabbit, at a young age]


[Our view over the land that surrounded the house, in April 2005, at sunset]

But under this façade, lay another side to this beautiful idyll of ours. The house was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, but it was always cold. In the depths of winter, the heating was never enough to keep us warm, we were frequently without warm water, and had to endure cold baths. It was cold in other ways, too. The house was old, but had some bad blood in its past. The current owner, whom we were renting the house from, was given the house in a bloody divorce settlement, from a man whose mother had died in the house. I never felt any bad presences, spirits or ghosts, but the house did always have a bad 'feeling' to it. It was a drain on us both emotionally and financially, and by the time May swung around, we were ready to be out of that place for good.

I do miss the animals, the little rabbits bounding about, the virgin snow at 6am as deep as your knees, all just for me. But I don't miss sleeping in jumpers and coats, having cold baths, and waking to find the laundry room flooded. Nor the feeling of incredible sadness, that permeated us constantly whilst we lived there. It was a beautiful place, but sadly neglected by its owners. We were just interlopers at that place, and we'll never forget it - after all it was the first house we lived in together 'alone' - but it makes us all the more pleased that we have the home we have now. Not only is it ours, but it is warm, snug, and full of love. Our neighbour who lived in this house as a child, said that this house was always full of love. It can be felt all around and it is splendid.