I am now on my way to England to visit my daughter, and see what she was up to, before going on to Denmark to see my son and his family. He had gotten married in the meantime to a  Danish girl called Nina, and they decided to live in her home country, as with the affirmative action the new government was implementing, white youngsters had little chance of employment.
After about eight months in Holland, and being alone on the farm most of the time, I decided that the loneliness did not suit me, so it was wuth quite a sadness for the animals I loved that I quitted!
As the youngsters who go over to England or Europe for two years don't stay at one place to long, wanting to see most of the country, Trienkie was now working as parlourmaid  in a big country house for an old lord and his younger wife in the Cotswolds.
I took a bus to Oxford, and then on to the small village called Chipping Norton, where Trienkie fetched me with the staff car.
The people were all very nice, and I was astonished at how responsible my girl had become. She had to help in the house, take breakfast to the family and guests to their rooms, and serve lunch and dinner dressed up in black and white.
I had a conversation with the lady of the house, and when I told her that I loved painting, and can do colourwashing of walls, she asked if I would not be interested, after my visit in Denmark, to stay for a while and help her with the old part of the house, and also the circular stairs, that needed a new look.

My visit to Denmark was lovely, and although the couple was so young, they were doing fine and was ecstatically happy. They married so young as Jan, my son could then get a job in Denmark. They had bought a house, and I laughed when I saw how Jan mowed the would- be lawn that looked like a young man's first beard, small patches here and there. The baby, Renè was very lovely, and spoiled by all.I had a lovely time, and the time flew by, and before I knew it, I was busy painting, first the Lady asked me to do the breakfast trays before we started on the walls. She was wonderful, did all the finer work like painting the windows and so on. My job was lovely, as I had to work from eight to one, then I could have the staff car if it wasn't needed, with a flat and a small salary thrown in. I suited me for a while, as every day that passed brought a little more peace into my sole, and I realised that I was indeed busy coming to terms that from now on I would be alone!

It wasn't long before I was pulled into the household more and more, specially to help with the five Shi Tsu doggies who was ruling their mistress with an iron fist! One day the Butler asked me whether I knew how to cut a dog's nails, and of course I said, ya, what, no prob! The dog was limping as a result of only one overgrown nail, and I confidently took the task upon me, me having cut a lot of kiddies's nails, and I had a good look, decided on where and how, and snipped! The next moment a thick stream of blood was spouting all over the butler who had to keep her still, an all I could do of course was gasped, while the poor butler had a complete nervous breakdown! He was to take the dog to the vet, but having had too much work, he decided to ask me, and now he had to explain to the Lady what had happened! Luckily she phoned from London to say that they were staying a few days longer in their town house, and by the time they came back, the nail was fine! I enjoyed a lot of the happenings on the farm, but the most hillarious was the Lady calling the butler. She had a very deep voice, and she would call: 'Thomas'!, in this deep throated and quite hoarse voice, and Thomas would rush up and say, very respectfully and in this soft and ladylike voice: 'Yes,melaty?' It was a happy bunch, and the Lady asked me to stay on after the painting, annd see to some of the things that Thomas found too much, like taking the doggies to the parlour, and cooking for the two of them at night, as the cook took an evening job at Tesco to earn extra money for a new car.

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