Winscombe, Somerset.

Reading takes us to many wonderful landscapes, allowing us to see things in our mind’s eye. It also allows us to meet characters and relate to them. The words we read, make us feel happy, sad, excited, tender, scared or even angry.

In that regard, I have travelled to English countryside many times before. In my own mind’s eye, I was Bathsheba, the impulsive and irrational character, in Thomas Hardy’s novel, ‘Far from Maddening Crowd.’ Following ‘The Enigma of Arrival’ in landscapes of Engalnd turned out to be a dull and boring experience, not because the countryside were not picturesque,  but because it was loveless.

I was fortunate to get an opportunity to travel to Winscombe; a small countryside village in North Somerset, England. I considered it to be one of the best experiences of my life.  After reading about the descriptions of rolling green hills, bushes, trees, shrubbery and barns; the sheep, cattle and horses, English gardens, having a chance to actually  see it,  to be physically present in that environment was a joyful expereince.

View of Winscombe village from high ground.

A walk in the farm clicking my camera.

The environment, the weather and the people immediately touched my heart. Meeting  Mrs. Gwen and her daughter Ruth and their family members allowed me to gain an insight about family relationships, parenting, marriage and personal development and happiness.

Mrs. Gwen's beautiful garden. We feasted on lamb kebabs, six grain bread, English muffins and fruits from her garden. The end result was an instant weight gain.

Ruth's farm land.

They were independent, hard working and a close-knit family. Mrs Gwen, in her mid eighties, lives alone with her husband. She is independent and active, attends her garden and manages her house alone. She is current and update with the latest technologies and books. She is not bitter, but happy with her companion. They occupied themselves with their different hobbies. Seeing them, I realized that one should not continue to be in a relationship for the sake of being in a relationship, but should rather be committed to each other, if you are respected, appreciated and loved, if the relationship makes you happy. I secretly decided that I would not allow myself to get old in a resentful relationship, as I have seen how ugly and painful it is for those involve in such relationships.

Just like Mrs. Gwen, her daughter, Ruth is an amazing woman, who lives about twenty minutes away from her mother’s beautiful house. She is a lawyer by profession, a businesswoman and a great mother too. She owns hundreds of acres of farmland and livestock’s, cattle’s and sheep and a few horses. I was surprised to see her four children, age between 16-24 working in the farm for a wage.  The youngest son was doing A ‘levels then, the others were in university.

Ruth’s family believes in a television less household. They engaged in activities that bind them together, yet they find time for their own individual interests. Her sixteen-year-old son, the youngest in the family, worked every other evening, in an additional job, as a part-timer, earning extra few pounds and free meat, helping out in the Butchers Store.

I believe no family would be perfect, they may also have certain issues that may not be very favorable that were invisible to me during my stay. Even so, it was wonderful to see responsible, respecting, and hard working young adults, finding time to entertain themselves from what is available in their environment, engaged in leisure activities such as caving, biking and photography. Their mother and grandmother, strong personalities with strict rules, guiding them to be better human beings in every possible aspect of life.

Reminded me of teenage years and Mills & Boon novels

Ruth with one of her horse and dog.

she eps graze on the meadows.