The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2986 by Angharad Copyright© 2016 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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The next morning, I downloaded the plans Dan had sent me. He’s much more computer capable than I am, so I quite literally got maps of the area with the proposed areas marked. I was impressed by his computer skills if not necessarily by his planning. I tried looking at them and visualising what the areas were like, but it was no good, I’d need a site visit.

Thankfully, I had my boots in the car, walking variety not the red stilettos, plus my cargo pants and a jacket. I told Diane I was going to visit the woodland reserve and waved the maps I’d printed off. “Playing hooky again, Professor? Nice day for a walk in the woods.”

“I think you forget I’m an ecologist, that sometimes means site visits before they coppice several acres of land and destroy what I’m trying to conserve.”

“Coppicing—isn’t that what the police do?”

“Quite an arresting joke for you. Now, here’s one for you—typing, isn’t it what secretaries do?”

“Shows how much you know about secretaries, Professor.”

“I’m not here for what I know about secretaries, that’s your job, mine’s ecology and as director of the trust that owns the wood, I’m doing a site visit.” With that I stormed out. Sometimes her digs were acceptable, today I wasn’t much in the mood for it.

It had not been a good morning. The scaffolders came to take the scaffolding down from David’s cottage and their lorry blocked me in in my own drive. They seemed in no hurry to shift their lorry, so I called Maureen and told her what I thought of them. I was still waiting ten minutes later and the girls were going to be late. Suddenly, a car pulled into the drive and some bloke jumped out and after apologising to me, he went up to the cottage and bawled out the driver of the lorry. He looked at me sullenly and moved his vehicle and we were able to leave.

I was tempted to go back home and demand he be sacked or executed or something, he was such a lout. From where he was standing on the ladder he could clearly see me waiting to get out from the parking space, but he made no attempt to move himself or his lorry, nor to apologise. I sent a text to Maureen telling her to pursue my annoyance.

The girls were told off in school even though they said they couldn’t get there sooner because the car was blocked. The headmistress didn’t seem to believe them. I didn’t want to fall out with Sister Maria, but I wasn’t prepared to allow her to reprimand my daughters for no fault of their own. I learned of this when Trish sent me a text to advise me of their plight.

I in turn sent an email to the headmistress explaining what had happened and that the fault was the intransigence of the lorry driver and that I was demanding action against him.

A short while afterwards, I got a text from Maureen to say he’d been sacked. You can’t get a decent execution in public these days—even in Saudi Arabia they seem to be heading off them—think about it. Unsurprisingly, it did little for my temper, but then, neither did my interaction with my secretary. Sometimes I find her sarcasm verging on impertinence.

Collecting my clothes from the car, I changed in the loo and drove out to the reserve and parked at the visitor centre thinking of Billie as I did so. I’d never forget her and I hoped she knew it.

I’d asked Diane to phone and tell them I was coming but sadly Dan was away at a meeting with one of the schools who were intending to use the centre for some practical lessons with their biology classes and also geography. In his place, I was shown the areas for coppicing by the man who would lead the work parties. He assured me that the management committee had agreed it was a good thing to do and that none of the target or protected species would be directly harmed. The area would be coppiced gently from the autumn onwards by hand, though with chain saws. The area was mainly hazel and birch with some ash but it was surrounded by further stands of hazel which wouldn’t be coppiced until some reasonable regrowth had occurred so food for dormice and other feeders on hazel nuts and acorns should be able to move a short distance to feed there.

I accepted the advice of the committee and gave my approval something I’d have been unsure about doing on paper even with Dan’s recommendation, someone I trust implicitly but this was new territory for me.

Regarding the reserve near Perth, I delegated the day to day running there to the nearby Perth University and would try and visit at least once a year, it’s just a bit of trek to reach. There they were more concerned about conserving red squirrels and pine martens while enabling nesting conditions for eagles or red kite.

I collected the girls on the way home telling Diane to email me anything urgent. Sister Maria told me she’d believed my girls but felt she had to impress upon them the need for punctuality. I kept respectfully quiet but declined to agree with her feeling her argument verged on pettiness, an area in which I have some expertise. I took them all for an ice cream on the way home and their irritation was quickly forgotten. I told them the man who’s caused the problem was no longer working for the scaffolding company and they all seemed to think he asked for it.

Arriving at home I sent the girls on ahead and looked to pick out my bag of clothing and laptop from the boot of the car—it usually sits under a net between the two seats in the boot. As I picked it out from the boot, I was roughly pushed into the boot managing to pull my feet and legs in after me to avoid them being shut in the door.

I could see the shadow of a man outside and he was yelling at me. I dragged myself over the back seat and opening the rear side door jumped out and faced my attacker.

“Think you’re so clever, don’t you? You’re gonna pay bitch.”

“Get off my property or I shall call the police.”

“I’d make that an ambulance, bitch, you’re gonna need one.”

With that he rushed at me and I grabbed him and used his momentum to hoick him over my hip and flung him onto the hard surface of the driveway. It winded him for a moment but it didn’t seem to teach him anything because he ran at me and I did the same again. Staggering at me he swung a fist and I ducked bringing my elbow up into his face followed by a side kick to his chest which propelled him earthwards again.

His final charge was witnessed by two police officers and David who arrived outside about the same time and once again he rushed at me, this time I sidestepped tripping him as I did so and he landed face first on some damp earth. Moments later he was in custody and swearing at me as they shoved him in the back of the car.

I explained about his actions that morning in making my girls late for school and me for work and my complaint to his boss who sacked him. His waiting for me to return home was unexpected as was his attack and all I did was defend myself without trying to hurt him too much. The two coppers thought that was funny seeing as he was bigger than me. Then one of them realised who I was and nodded, he motioned his colleague away and I heard him saying something about the dormouse woman.

I’d collected a few bruises but things could have been worse, far worse, so I picked up my bags and followed David back into the house.