The Lonely Digger

When my 4 year old grandaughter Izzy was staying with us on holiday last year, we walked together to a small, disused quarry at the top of my land in the corner of which is an old, abandoned digger. Upon seeing it, Izzy commented: “Poor digger! It looks so lonely”.
This gave me the idea for my second children’s book, The Lonely Digger.

I completed it last month and have already received a contract from the publishers in America. I hope it will be published by the summer but I am still waiting for publication date for The Wise Old Boar but I think this is imminent. In the meantime I have begun my third children’s book Princess The Pony. This is based on the adventres of a shetland foal which belongs to our French baker Jean Pierre. He has stables near Guajar Fondon.

Here is a synopsis of The Lonely Digger. Illusrations from all three books can be seen on my web site. www.margaretmerry.com.

The Lonely Digger
Abandoned by her owner, after years of faithful service, in a deserted quarry, Lola the digger yearns for some companionship. One day, she is discovered by some children, but her pleasure in their company is short-lived when they flee in terror after a group of hunters warn of a dangerous wolf on the prowl. 

Lola gives refuge to a succession of mountain and woodland creatures, including the wolf himself, plus a fox and her cubs; a wild boar and her piglets; a pair of robins and their nestlings; a lost faun and a lynx, but none is able to remain long enough to become her friend and so she resigns herself to loneliness.

The quarry and surrounding land are sold, and the new owner has a young son, David, who himself is friendless in his new environment. Not only is he lonely, like Lola, but also he has been passionate about mechanical diggers all his life. When he chances upon Lola, he is overjoyed. His father suggests that they clean her up and give her a coat of paint. The children from the village hear about it, and so come to lend a hand. The quarry becomes their playground, and the digger their favourite plaything. With so many new friends, David and Lola are no longer lonely.

SPRING SUNSHINE

Because of the fine, warm weather, everyone was out and about this weekend in Guájar Alto, and there were parties of ramblers, cyclists and other visitors filling the bars and bringing some welcome trade.

The villagers decided to have a picnic at a recreation spot along the river Toba, where there are barbecue facilities, tables and seats. It is shaded by tall pines, and there are steep banks carpeted with wild flowers. Lots of people turned up, and there was a good atmosphere with everyone enjoying themselves.

Migas was cooked in big pots, and served with fried peppers and barbecued sardines. Migas was traditionally breadcrumbs fried in garlic, but nowadays you can buy a bread based preparation, resembling couscous, in packets. Most people have heard about the healthy Mediterranean diet (fish, olive oil, fruit and vegetables) but in former times the diet was very poor, and consisted mainly of bread, hence the migas.

This being the orange season, there were bowls of orange salad, mixed with wild thyme, onions, vinegar and seasoning. Local wine was handed around, as usual on these occasions, and the merits of each compared and discussed very seriously.

Communal picnics have been the custom in our village for generations, and in the town hall archives there are photographs from bygone times of these events. Nothing very much changes here.