Slivery light and gentle thoughts......

Lady Eleanora was standing in the bright moonlight, stroking the twin of the blue stone that was shining so brilliantly in Harriet's crib. 'All goodness and joy to you Little One, always look to the light to keep you safe and guide your way', and with that she carefully placed the shimmering stone in a basket of moss and started on her way home.

Eleanora loved walking in the the moonlight, the clarity of the sound and the beauty of the river as it glinted and flowed over the rocks, even the pine trees seemed to whisper in the soft, silvery light. As you can imagine, she was very beautiful. She was the most rare of creatures - the kindness and wisdom of her spirit illuminated all that she did. She had lived a long time ( even by gnome standards), and her knowledge of the great mysteries was legendary - as was her generous and humorous nature. To soon have a new apprentice had put a lift in her step and a flutter in her heart. She had been waiting for Archibold to visit and was thrilled to have been able to advise him on the best course of action for the future happiness of the Dwellers of the Forest.

'What times we live in' she thought 'so many humans now, we are indeed lucky to live so far north and still have the space and freedom to live as we will'. Because she had lived for a long time, and because she had worked with the mysterious qualities of light for most of her life, Eleanora could seem almost see-through as she walked by - all apart from her eyes of course. A gnome could lose their way gazing into her eyes, such pools of deep violet blue full of starlight and sparkle, and it was well known that no one could tell a lie if they were looking into her eyes.

Eleanora stopped by one of her favourite great trees and carefully sat down to have a little think. Gently she started to sing, weaving a dance of harmony and peace in the air with the beauty of her voice, 'Not long before the changes begin' she thought and fell silent as she sat for a long time looking up at the stars and the great moon full with enigmatic radiance - and wondered about all manner of things above and below and all around.

The thought of change and a soft bed.......

'Oh Horty, if you could have seen them, I'd forgotten how beautiful they are, almost a bit scary how wild and fiercely free they can be.' Archibold was lying safely tucked up in bed under his lovely soft eiderdown, telling Hortensia all about his meeting with the gnomes of the Great Trees of the North. 'Lady Eleanora, well, she has this way of looking at you with her deep blue eyes - and you start to feel as though you are gazing into the stars - most peculiar, I almost forgot who or where I was.'

Hortensia was combing out her long chestnut hair and thinking. 'Tell me again what she said about baby Harriet, what did she mean?' Archibold sighed, 'it will be hard for us, but when she is about ten or so, she is to go and live with them and experience their life in the far North and learn about the Light Mysteries. We will miss dreadfully her of course, but what an honour and blessing for our family.' Archibold saw the anxiety in Hortensia's eyes and quickly added 'We will just have to go on holiday there as often as we can whilst she is staying with them.'

Hortensia thought of the shimmering blue stone tucked safely into the side of Harriet's crib, a token in honour of a promise and a pledge for the future. 'Allowing children to follow their destiny was sometimes a challenge' she thought, 'Oh Archie, our Little Darling is so small now and already her path ahead is unfolding before us, we must cherish every minute we have with her.' Archibold smiled at her 'Of course we will, we already are! Remember what they told me though Hortensia - such promise for the future for all of us and the forest - and such a possibility of hope.'

Hortensia slipped on her bed socks, climbed up into the bed and blew the candle out. 'Times are changing Archie, times are changing, thank goodness for all the goodness around us!' And with that the two gnomes snuggled deeper into their soft bed and drifted into a most excellent night's sleep.

As they slept, baby Harriet woke up and gurgled with delight a - her little crib was lit up with violet and  blue light, the blue stone was glowing and filling the air all around Harriet with the most beautiful swirls of soft colours - she smiled and chuckled and gently touching the swirling light, fell back into a peaceful sleep too.

A cup of mint tea and a grand homecoming....

'Tum tum, tiddle pom, tara tara pom' Archibold was walking at a fast trot, he was nearly home and the thought of all his good news was making him feel positively jaunty as he entered his home forest. 'Not long to Persimmon Heights and a nice sit down with a cup of tea' he thought. He carefully felt inside his waistcoat pocket, for there, safely wrapped in a cabbage leaf was a most beautiful and rare, sky blue stone - a gift from Eleanora for baby Harriet. 'Just wait till Hortensia hears the news - hope after all, there is hope after all and such a present for Harriet - well what a time of it I've had', and with that he burst into a song and jumped over a bush with the sheer joy of his feelings.

By the time he reached half way home, he was accompanied by a large escort party of very excited gnomes. Everyone knew that Archibold was daring and brave and that if he had felt a calling to follow a path - that he would follow it come what may  - which sometimes was a very long way indeed.

As he climbed the last hill he saw Hortensia waiting by the gate with Harriet in her arms and Aunt Mildred and Uncle Humperdinck, Stephanotis and Isabel all waving their hats and calling his name. Suddenly Archibold stopped in his tracks, for there in front of him by the side of the tree, was a most unusual sight. Gingerly sitting on a collection of small wooden stools joined together with planks and covered with several of Aunt Mildred's table cloths pinned together, and of course trying to look as small as possible - was the gaunt but distinctly elegant form of The Old Lady.

'She has come for tea, we wanted her to hear the news at the same time of as us', Hortensia tried to tell Archibold everything that had happened since he had been away - all at once, 'she is very kind and so polite, hard to believe she is human'. So there we are, all the gnomes perched around the old lady, some of the younger ones even climbed up onto the higher branches so that she would have some company at eye level and they all settled down for a proper tea. Aunt Mildred and Hortensia had made lots of cakes for The Old Lady to eat. Each cake barely made a human mouthful, but the taste was so alluring, particularly the beetroot loaf, that she gratifyingly ate eight.

Archibold was in a bit of a daze, but after several cups of mint tea and six cucumber sandwiches, he settled down for a quick snooze before sharing his adventures.

Wildness and crumbly cheese.......

Well what a day of it he had had! Archibold was sitting down at last sheltering from the rain, snug and dry under an ancient pine tree. He leaned back against the trunk and felt the comfort of it's support as he gazed across the water and listened to the rain dripping all around him. He carefully unwrapped a piece of cheese (rather crumbly now from his long journey) and some of the biscuits that Hortensia had carefully wrapped in a handkerchief and stored in one of his waistcoat pockets. He had already eaten all of the humbugs and several slices of seedy cake to take away the taste of the six crab apples that he had eaten for his lunch.

'I'll have to be going back soon', he thought 'the rain looks like it might be settling in and I have to find somewhere to safely spend the night'. Much as he adored a good adventure, Archibold felt under pressure on this journey, he hadn't been so far north for many years (gnome years that is - which are far longer than human ones) and even so far away from any metropolis - humans had made many changes that made his journey more perilous and time consuming. Most of all he wanted to find a solution to the great challenge that faced them all, he trusted the call and the path, but his feet were leading him far away from his forest home. 'Must be getting older' he thought, 'not Archie The Bold anymore but Archie Who Wants to be Dry At Home'. The truth was, he did miss his home and most of all Hortensia and baby Harriet, 'what I wouldn't do for a warm bowl of Hortensia's sorrel soup' he thought.

Just then he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. Now, for someone or something to be able to creep up on a gnome without them noticing - is indeed most unusual and more than a little bit scary. 'My Dear Archibold, so many years and your beard is still so soft and fair, how are you, how are you? We caught scent of you early but you moved on so fast  that it has taken us a while to find you.' Archibold stumbled to his feet, cheese and biscuit crumbs all over his front, he turned around to face a crowd of the wildest looking gnomes most of us have ever seen. Some were tall and broad, some short, some old and wizened - some ethereal and young, but all, all of them had golden red hair and clear blue eyes.

'Oh my, Oh my' Archibold swept off his green travelling hat and bowed low, for as he greeted them he recognised the beautiful and wild gnomes of the Great Trees of the North.

Sage and Menthol.....

Stephanotis was looking at his feet, it was all very well Aunt Mildred making him a new pot of her special  foot balm - but even in his extra thick socks (knitted by Hortensia of course) and best boots, he could still smell the strong whiff of menthol and eucalyptus. ' Everyone will know who I am' he thought, 'and I will have to be careful that I don't give away my whereabouts away when out and about'. The truth was the strong smell had already worked to his advantage twice. Firstly his feet didn't ache anymore and secondly, his arbitration between two squirrels about nut storage, had been resolved in record time - obviously the squirrels weren't too impressed with the smell either.

Aunt Mildred herself was thinking deeply, she was sitting in her mint glade in front of her house  ruminating on the the ever present problem that faced them all. Drinking a cup of fresh mint tea surrounded by a mint forest is a special experience - and Aunt Mildred had dressed appropriately in a sky blue cape with pink pom poms around the edge.

Archimedes had suggested that the best way forward that he could remember from The Archive of Memories, was to present the Old Lady's son with an alternative vision to that of his proposed theme park. The new version would have to present fame and glory and of course, and a good financial income - all from the son being known as a great and just man - 'not that easy an idea for a human to find appealing' thought Aunt Mildred.

Several of the younger gnomes had been set on revenge and retaliation, but Archimedes had gently smiled and firmly insisted that his suggestion was the only one that had worked in similar situations. 'You want him to be passionate for the good of all - revenge will never lead to permanent good, evil will simply be suppressed and eventually re-appear - no, the man is not bad - simply greedy and very young.' The kindly rebuke had hung in the air and the younger gnomes had stilled their fear as they had looked into the fierce blue of his eyes as he held each of their gaze.

Aunt Mildred had sent out scouts (including Archibold) on reconnaissance missions and the best ideas that they had heard about were due to be presented at the next meeting. 'What would make a human want to change his mind when so set upon his own idea?' Aunt Mildred decided that the moment had come to smoke her pipe and as the scent of sage drifted through the mint, she closed her eyes and began to dream.

A harvest of delights and some serious thinking....

Well, such a to do - time had flown by as the gnomes rushed to gather in the last of their precious harvests before the Autumn gales and cold weather settled in. Archibold in particular, had taken to standing in the pantry with a huge grin on his face as he rejoiced at the display in front of him. Shelves and baskets full of drying fruit and oven dried berries, hanging circles of smoked cheeses and delectable mushrooms, little discs of dried crab apples and pear - oh what a mouth watering array - Archibold was almost beside himself as he patted the sacks of barley and flours. 'Oh my, oh my, hazelnut cake with blackberry jam, oh I do love winter.' Archibold gave a little skip and tucking a biscuit into is waistcoat pocket, carefully shut the door on his emporium of delights.

Hortensia also loved Autumn and she was spending as much time as possible outside. She especially loved the changing colours of the leaves, the different smells and most of all the radiance of a blue sky on a fine Autumn morning. She always took a basket with her, ready to gather late greens, mushrooms and herbs for drying. Aunt Mildred had brought in a bountiful harvest of green walnuts (Archibold had made a boat for baby Harriet out of one of the shells, he was never too busy to make new toys or play with his Darling Daughter), Hortensia was planning to make a tasty pickle of the walnuts as a winter treat.

Throughout all their grateful gathering and storing, the gnomes were very aware of the pressing challenge in front of them. They had only a few days left to propose any ideas for the resolution of the dilemma that they all faced. The next Gathering of the Venerables was fast approaching and a decision would have to be made and 'A Grand Plan' set into motion. Serious times were ahead, and the gnomes were all listening to the whispers carried on the wind and to the rhythms of the earth below their feet for guidance and the right timing for the way ahead.

A cup of tea and some rose hips........

The Old Lady was sitting up in bed feeling a bit peculiar, she had made herself a cup of tea and was trying to decide if she had been ill with a fever in the night. That was the only logical explanation for the most vivid and extraordinary dreams that she had remembered from the night before.

'Nothing for it, I'll have to get up and do the crossword, that will sort things out.' She leapt out of bed, briskly dressed and went downstairs. She thought she was doing rather well until she looked in the mirror on her way to collect the paper off the front step - and realised that she had forgotten to brush her hair. Carefully making herself a strong cup of coffee and she settled down with the crossword and began to think about answering the clues. As her eyes strayed to the patio doors, she started and found herself staring out of the windows.  ' Oh my Dears, you are real, how wonderful, how wonderful!' - for there on the lawn, carefully spelt out in baby rose hips were the words ' THANK YOU'.

The Old Lady sat down in her chair and began to recall the extraordinary events of the previous evening, she was sure now that something amazing and most unusual had happened, she also felt relieved to know from their response that she had agreed to continue her relationship with her new friends.

' I agreed to help them, something about helping them with a grand plan I seem to recall.' For you see, the Old Lady was still feeling confused and a bit as though she was still in a dream. 'Perhaps a little doze in my chair and things will become clearer'. As she settled into a gentle sleep, Mildred and Hortensia carefully removed the rose hips and left a gift of a small basket of late blackberries on the patio step.