“Fine with me. Fuck off out of here justnow, give me five minutes peace will you.” At least we agree on something.
I wrap up for the weather. Layers ofclothing, waterproof trousers, hat, gloves, and scarf. Suitably warm andtrussed up, I make my way outside. A winter wonderland awaits me. It is not thepicture postcard winter wonderland you see depicted in romantic movies. It iswild and untamed.
There is a high windand it’s picking the top layer of snow upwards and dispersing it all around soyou’re not quite sure whether the wind has caused the snow to appear in theatmosphere or whether it is actually snowing. I’m going to be exposed to theelements today. Thankfully the snowblower is a ride-on but without a cab to sitin, I am going to be frozen and windswept in equal measure.
The temptation is there to start her upand get on with the job (before I lose my nerve!) but I must be patient. If Ido anything without him giving me authorisation, it will not go down well. Isurvey the area I am about to tackle. It looks untouched; virgin white snow asfar as the eye can see. However, I know the secret it holds.
At the far end of the lane only yesterdaymorning, we strategically deposited some rocks and sticks, ready for the blowerto gobble up today. We were forecast a heavy dumping of snow yesterdayafternoon and all through the night. Mother nature hadn’t let us down. Ourofferings were covered in a thick blanket of snow.
Like the proverbial bad penny, he turnsup. “Good luck to you today, lad, you’re gonna need it!” If you didn’t knowhim, you’d have thought that was a genuine message of concern, but it was ofcourse loaded with sarcasm. We both knew there was no way he’d attempt to clearthe snow today. It was too wild for him, but he was more than happy for me tobrave it. I’m quite sure he’ll be tucked up in the croft, nice and cosy, hisfavourite amber nectar warming him from the inside out.
“Right stupid; out of the way, give mesome space will you. I need to get her fired up.” I am only too happy to getout of his way. He does various safety checks to ensure everything is as itshould be. It is quite amusing to watch as he talks his way through it all. Irefrain from smiling. God forbid he looks up and sees a smile, he would knowstraight away he was being mocked! After his checks have been completed, hesits astride the snowblower and starts the motor up then proceeds to jump offimmediately. Without so much as a glance in my direction, he stomps off,shouting as he goes; “Don’t you bloody dilly-dally! Get this lot clearedquick-smart or so help me, you’ll see what’s coming to you!”
Thank you sincerely! That was just themotivation I needed to see this through. What was I thinking even waveringslightly on this? If there was ever someone who deserved their comeuppance, itwas him. The weather was not going to beat me, I had renewed vigour and wasgoing to battle the elements and get this done. And no ‘sir’ Iwouldn’t dilly-dally. You see how quickly I can get through this field with thesweet thought of knocking you down a peg or two at the end of it!
I jump aboard and setabout clearing the field. I picture my siblings and mother in my head as Imentally say, ‘I am doing this for you, for all of us!’ but I snap back toreality when the wind picks up. This was no easy task and was taking all myfocus and concentration to plough on. I am convinced now that a snowstorm hasset in, there is far too much snow in the atmosphere now to simply put it downto being the wind whipping it up. I cannot stop, I have to see this through.
With grit and determination, I keep goingand am rewarded as halfway through, the storm starts to ease off. Visibilityhas increased and instead of seeing snow and very little else, I can now seethe pathway ahead and my goal – the far corner where I know what is lying inwait. On and on I go cutting through the snow; the uniformity of it starting tohave almost a meditative quality to it which I enjoy as it has the effect ofcalming me right down.
A noise breaks the silence and stirs mefrom my reverie. It was the unmistakable sound of a large stone being swallowedup. It didn’t appear to have done any damage as the snowblower continued on.Then again, another clatter and bang as another large stone is devoured. Andagain, and again she goes, swallowing up the debris and coughing andspluttering and choking with the effort until finally she could take no more.With a last gasp, she simply gave up and came to a standstill; unwilling tohoover up another inch of the white powder. I left the engine idling. I sit insmug contemplation – phase one of the plan is complete.
Now for phase two. I dig deep withinmyself and summon the courage to call out to him. “Father! Father! I need yourhelp!” I wait patiently but nothing. I try again another couple of times, butagain, nothing. I realise he is tucked up indoors. Of course, why would he beout in this? There is nothing else for it, I’m going to have to go inside toretrieve him. This (strangely) breaks my nerve a little. It makes no sensebecause one way or another I know I’ll get him to come out, but I think it’sbecause it wasn’t part of the plan which we’d discussed and rehearsed at greatlength. Also, I need to ensure he doesn’t go out alone to fix it or once again,game over! I shake the nerves off (as they will not serve me well) and walk asnonchalantly as possible in the direction of the croft.
He surprises me. I expect him to benestled into his comfy chair in the dining room, glass of Scotch in
