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.

The message and a moving bush

The Old Lady was all of a flutter, there she was sitting on her bench as normal (a nice grey stone bench - weathered and warm in the sun) when she realsied that in front of her, carefully laid out on the lawn was a message!  "Come with me, come with me? Well yes of course, just hold on a moment and I'll get my stick and my cardigan and I'll be ready to go!"

The Old Lady was beside herself with excitement, nothing this radical had happened for many a decade - if ever. She felt positively radiant with anticpation, scarelcy daring to believe who she thought might have so carefully laid out the sweet chestnuts to spell such an alluring message. She gathered up her best pink cardigan, checked she had her spectacles in her pocket and with a jaunty step stood in front of the message on the lawn. Only it wasn't there any more....

'Oh my Dear, where have you gone, I was only away a moment'. As she felt the beginnings of panic, she realised that several feet away a bush seemed to be waving at her. Peering at it she realised the closer she came - the further away it moved. 'Good grief, I am being shown the way by a moving bush - what ever next?' For The Old Lady wasn't daft, in fact in throughout her life she had been a formidable crossword solver and a champion of good and neglected causes. She had an independence of brain and spirit that combined with an adventurous heart gave her an air of great kindness that wasn't to be taken for granted, but which could be depended on in a crisis.

Behind the bush, Hortensia and Aunt Mildred were wrestling with the wayward branches and trying to make sure that they were heading in the right direction at the right speed for their guest. Aunt Mildred had insisted on wearing her best cape for this unprecented Grand Occasion and was wary of any twigs that might snag on the grey silk edged with crimson lace. This meant the poor Hortensia was carrying most of the weight of the bush and was becoming increasingly hot and and dare we say it - more than a little frustrated and grumpy.

'So much fun, I havn't had an adventure since I don't know when.' The Old Lady was talking out loud to reassure her guides. If they were staying hidden, she reasoned, perhaps they were still frightened of her (she didn't know yet about the Aunt Mildred's best grey silk cape or the fact that all the assembled gnomes in the Sacred Clearing were dressed in their very, very best clothes). 'Don't you worry I am your friend, what an honour, what an honour and Oh, so much fun!'

Hortensia had stood on a holly leaf (which had made the bush unexpectedly jump and quiver) and was feeling a bit overwhelmed not to mention the pain in her sore foot, when suddenly Archibold was beside her. He  lifted the weight of the bush from her arms and taking her place continued to guide their Honoured Guest. 'Take your time Hortie Darling, you can easily catch up after a little rest, I'll take your place for a bit.' Aunt Mildred happily walked ahead of the strange procession - relishing the ingongrous joy of leading a human to a meeting at the Sacred Clearing.

A cheerful song and a little serious thinking.......

'Tiddle, tiddle pom pompom, soon have an escapade to challenge all previous escapades, must put in some proper thinking time Little Cherub, not to worry now - all will be well!" Little Cherub (Baby Harriet) was safely nestled inside her Father's waistcoat and wasn't in the least bit worried. Being carried around inside his waistcoat was one of her favourite places to be, warm and safe and next to Archibold's strong heart. 'Why don't we gather some fresh mushrooms for supper and perhaps a little salad of nettle tops, the last of the dandelion leaves and fresh watercress - what a treat, what a treat....and just the thing after the shock we have all had.'

Archibold had left the meeting as soon as possible, most of his really good ideas came to him when he was out and about, and he had a lot to think about. All current plans and ideas were on hold and all the gnomes were thinking through The Venerables' recommendations. How to persuade the Old Lady's son to be a good and even great human - renowned for his heroic and great deeds and how he used his energies and enthusiasm for the good of all - human and gnome and creatures and forest alike?

Archimedes had reminded them all, that the best outcomes to past challenges to harmony had come through suggestion of the rewards of good - with no focus or punishment for previous behaviour. 'Very challenging indeed to believe in someone when you are frightened about their power to destroy your world' thought Archibold. 'Still, The Venerables have never been wrong yet - and they would know.' He chuckled as remembered some of the younger more hot headed gnomes ideas.....

'Tiddley pom pom pom, home we go Precious, your Mamma will have the tea on and soon we can all enjoy a sit down and a good supper.' And with that Archibold set off a fast lope to Persimmon Heights and a well deserved cup of tea - peppermint of course!