Meant to be

It seems that it was indeed meant to be that we should come to Lluest.

This is a follow on from my previous post; the comment about Jeanine McMullen piqued my curiosity and I did google the good lady. According to a thread I found on another website she lives somewhere here in Llanddeusant. That is about the biggest coincidence that could have happened. Our postal address here is actually Llandduesant. How spooky is that?

I read her books and before that I listened to the Radio 4 programme "A Small Country Living." Jeanine McMullen was a big inspiration to me, removing to a smallholding and making a life for herself. I realised I wanted to do something like that. It made no difference to me that her books were all about the 70's and that things probably would have changed. And as Adrian was of the same mind we went for it.

When we acquired Merlin our greyhound, I recalled that she'd had a greyhound or perhaps Whippet that it was also called Merlin and when we agreed on the name, I remarked that Merlin was part and parcel of our hunt for a new life. By that time we were well and truly looking for something, we knew not what, but we both knew we would find some sort of place we could go and Merlin's very bizarre arrival was sort of an omen to me. Some time I will have to tell you about that, it was really very strange.

Anyway time went on and I forgot all about Jeanine McMullen and the books and then we found this place in Wales and I was again reminded about it all again when I noticed a big old ash tree near the side of the barn.

Just like in the book, "Wind in the Ash Tree." It all fell in place, we sold the house in Suffolk in 6 weeks to the very first people that looked at it, and exactly 6 weeks after the sale we moved here.

And now to find that the lady that inspired me so much actually lives in the same parish as the one we have found ourselves in seems to me to be the final piece of our puzzle if you like, we have come the full circle and ended up right where we belong.

If I can find out an address, I will write a letter to her and thank her for getting us to the right place. I wouldn't expect a reply, not my style but I feel tht I owe the lady a lot.