New Décor at Butterglove House

There has been a little disruption at Butterglove House over the past week. Nothing bad, before you worry – we’ve merely had a new carpet laid in the living room. Cecile and I agreed that it was about time – the previous one had seen better days, but there were reasons that it had taken so long to seek a replacement.

One reason was that Cecile wanted something that “harmonised with the wallpaper” but it had to be hard-wearing given the amount of foot traffic we get in that room. We agreed that we’d approach Septimus Persis to make us a suitable carpet once we had enough funds. And that was the second reason.

It may not be obvious, but we’re not particularly wealthy. I'm not saying we’re exactly poor, but we have to budget carefully. True, we live in one of the larger houses in Mellowdene, but you have to realise that the house has been in the family for generations and that Merlin and I are simply the current owners. We share maintenance and utility costs, but that’s about it with regard to the property itself. Everything else we buy has to come from our remaining earnings or via barter.

A decent hand-made carpet is a significant cost and neither Cecile nor I would ever consider making such an investment until we had sufficient funds. Of course, songwriters don’t often have a guaranteed income. That’s why the unexpected influx of money last year was such a delightful surprise. When Rodentine toothpaste moved into television advertising, the initial windfall when they decided to revive our jingle put a significant sum into our bank account, with additional smaller sums paid every few months.

Jackson Butterglove and Christian Snow-Warren at the bank

When taken together with the royalties from the Lionel Grand album, Cecile and I were finally in a position to agree. We could buy the carpet we wanted.

Septimus has been working on it for months, and he even incorporated the small rabbit motif in the design. Periodically he called us to see his progress and it was a pleasure to witness his skill. Last month, when he told us it was ready, we agreed a date when it could be fitted.

Septimus delivers the carpet

Two members of HHG Enterprises would help with the fitting. HHG is a small company that performs a variety of physical work in Mellowdene and is available for hire; the council uses them to help maintain the roads so they were more than capable of assisting Septimus.

Perkin Harvey and Richard Grunt are watched unloading the carpet

One of the HHG workers was Rickie Grunt (the other was Perkin Harvey). When Septimus, Rickie and Perkin arrived, they had two children in tow – Nolly Persis and Hughie Grunt. They supposedly came along to watch their fathers work, but everyone knew that they had tagged along to see Brendan.

With most of our furniture against set against the wall, there wasn’t a great deal to move. The carpet didn’t extend far enough to affect my piano, but I hovered protectively in the vicinity anyway. It didn’t take too long for Perkin and Rickie to roll up the old carpet, and afterwards they slowly brushed the floor beneath, being careful not to raise too much dust – clearly they’d been briefed by Septimus beforehand.

I think Cecile must have been watching as, no sooner as they had done this, she called to them.

“Gentlemen,” she said, “there’s some freshly brewed tea in the kitchen if you want to join Septimus. If you would like to enjoy some refreshments before you put the new carpet down?”

Perkin mock saluted. “That would be just the job, eh Rick?”

“Not half, Perk,” replied his workmate. “Thanks, Cecile.”

o 0 O 0 o

I followed them a few minutes later. Perkin was enjoying a slice of cake, whilst Septimus, Rickie and Cecile were discussing our boys.

“I didn’t expect Kittie Camp to have such an effect on Hugh,” said Rickie Grunt. “He used to spend all his spare time modelling clay, but his interests have truly grown after his experiences there.”

“And not to mention meeting different people outside of school,” said Septimus. “Before Camp, Nolly only used to play with other cats.”

Perkin wiped his mouth. “You think he’s benefited? I was thinking of letting my Austin go to Camp next year.”

“Definitely,” said Septimus. “It’s widened his perspective, and he seems more excited about life.”

“Brendan’s the same,” said Cecile, “although I wouldn’t have thought that possible. He’s never been afraid to show his feelings, but that seems to apply to a wider range of activities now.”

“I’ll tell you something, Mrs Butterglove…,” said Septimus.

“Cecile.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you. Ever since Nolly started playing with Brendan, I’ve noticed a change in the quality of his schoolwork.”

“Brendan’s not distracting him, I hope.”

“No. It’s a good thing. Eve Wildwood - his teacher - told us that Nolly’s taking more interest in his story writing lessons and showing more imagination. I put that down to some of the games I’ve seen the boys playing.”

Rickie Grunt laughed. “It’s true. It’s hilarious watching them sometimes.”

I had to smile. I was used to some of the inventive games Brendan played with Lucky Snow-Warren and Coco Chocolate. It appeared there were two more converts to the fanciful role-play games of my elder son. I noticed Cecile was proudly smiling too.

It was lovely to share anecdotes about our growing boys. For a short time, all thoughts of the new carpet went out of our heads. That was until we were distracted by a medley of laughter coming from the living room.

With a shared curiosity we left the kitchen.

o 0 O 0 o

Beverley was laughing so much, tears were in her eyes. Russell’s giggles came in fits and starts – maybe he was a little confused - but he found it funny anyway.

In the centre of the living room, the old carpet had become a creature of the imagination – a giant worm, snake or wingless dragon - I don't know what it was – with Brendan as the head, Nolly as the tail, and Hughie as the rider. Brendan was making subdued growling noises, Hughie was chuckling as his carpet steed wobbled beneath him, and Nolly was making some sort of noise but as only his legs were visible, nobody was quite sure what that noise represented.

“Brendan Butterglove!” said Cecile, “What are you doing?”

“Hi mum,” coughed Brendan. “Nolly and me are a sea serpent. Hughie is brave Hugh Yard-Arm the Sailor and he’s taming us.”

“Yard-Arm?” chortled Beverley.

“Well, Mr Serpent,” said Cecile, “that’s all well and good. But I think that’s enough for now. You can help brush up the dust you’ve spread, and then I think we should leave Mr Persis and his friends to put down the new carpet.”

“Okay mum.”

As they disentangled themselves – Nolly blinking and sneezing throughout – Cecile took me to one side.

“Jack,” she said, “do you think we can trust Brendan if we put up the new curtains?”

I did a double take. “What new curtains?”

o 0 O 0 o

We haven’t had curtains at the main living room window for about four or five years. This wasn’t due to cost. It was due to a very young and over exuberant Brendan who insisted on regularly climbing the curtains. It was an early role he adopted as a "jungle man". When the curtain rail detached from the wall, we decided to do without curtains until Brendan was older and had more sense.

As the window isn’t overlooked, there was never a rush to replace the curtains. Now that we were getting a replacement carpet, Cecile had obviously decided now was the time to remedy the curtain issue. She explained.

“When I mentioned to Sybil Clearwater that we were getting Septimus to make us a new carpet, she suggested that she make us some curtains. You remember I made a birthday cake for her daughter last year?”

Cecile and Beverley bump into Sybil, Sherman & Stephanie at the Pink Post Office

I nodded.

“Well, she said that she wanted to return the favour - that she wouldn’t charge for labour, and material would be either free or for more expensive materials a fraction of her cost price. It seemed more than generous so I said I'd make a small cake for her husband in a couple of months.”

I smiled and took her hand. “And when were you going to tell me this?”

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “It was going to be a surprise when Sybil brought them tomorrow. Her brother-in-law Reuben is coming to fix them up. But you haven’t answered my question. About Brendan.”

“Whether we can trust him?” I glanced over to see my boy working alongside his chums and the HHG team. “I think so. He’s not a jungle man any more. He’s a sea serpent.”

o 0 O 0 o

The agreement between Cecile and Sybil Clearwater reminds me that I should explain how trade works in Mellowdene.

An element of barter for goods and services still goes on. Our citizens are honest enough to fulfil any promissory work notes that they sign. Helping to dig out some potatoes or doing a few hours of strawberry picking will pay for some farm or orchard produce. This is a fairly obvious example, but other exchanges go on too. There was a case where tutelage of a child to help improve their schoolwork was rewarded with a set of homemade crockery. I've used barter a few times. A stack of manuscript paper was given to me when I wrote a song for someone's anniversary. I believe such exchanges have an additional benefit as they help bond the community. I'd hate to see it die out.

This said, I am practical enough to see that it isn't always a solution. If Chris Snow-Warren writes a poem for someone on the south coast of Sylvania, the recipient is unlikely to travel all the way to Mellowdene to paint his back door! We have to resort to cash. Like many Sylvanian communities we adhere to the sylva currency standard. The Mellowdene bank has contacts all over the land, and we have a good manager with Hugo Trunk. He keeps an eye on all the balances and transactions of our residents and ensures he is available to advise.

But back to the décor.

o 0 O 0 o

Septimus, Rickie and Perkin were most efficient. The new carpet was put in place, and they even put the old one into our attic in case we needed it again. Sybil Clearwater and Reuben McHedge came as promised, and the new curtains were erected within an hour. We even have a new fireside rug! It was a gift from Septimus Persis secretly thanking Brendan for the improvement in Nolly’s schoolwork.

Cecile is delighted with the décor changes to our living room, and I’m quite pleased too – it hasn’t unduly affected the room’s acoustics. Well, one has to be practical!

o 0 O 0 o