Spotted Pigs and Green Tomatoes by Rosie Boycott Read Free Book Online Page B

when my back was turned. There's nothing unique in this story: women of my age were seduced into believing
     that they could have it all and do it all too, and even if I could put the clock back I wonder how differently I would have
     lived as a mother. But I mourn those lost times of my daughter's childhood and, as I turn to leave the fishy world behind
     the plate-glass window, I wish she was with me, laughing and eager, bouncing with delight, the red woollen bobble of her hat
     swinging jauntily across her back.
    Twenty-one shops have entered the competition, almost all the small shops along the three main streets which branch off from
     the market square. The main street, Silver Street, which is home to the pharmacy, the hardware store, the cheese shop, Mr
     Rendell the greengrocer, Mr Bonner the butcher and Aaron Driver at the wine shop, runs alongside the wall of the minster.
     Roughly halfway along Silver Street, you come to the minster, set back behind a wall on a slope above the road. Inthe fifteenth century, when the minster was built, there were four resident priests, under the patronage of William Wad­ham,
     whose descendants founded Wadham College, Oxford. Six hundred years ago, the church was part of the diocese of Wells, and
     the builders of the minster apparently wanted to create a microcosm of the magnificent cathedral. It doesn't look much like
     Wells, but it is a beautiful church, built out of the honey-coloured local Ham stone, with a stately central tower which tonight
     is hung with a Christmas star.
    Harriman's, the men's outfitters, has erected a tiny but near­perfect display, sandwiched between men's Sloggi underpants,
     a couple of tartan shirts and pairs of brushed-cotton pyjamas. A silver backdrop shows off a small mouse made of a brown woolly
     material, perched cross-legged on an outsize reel of thread. He's reading a book and sports a pair of fine wire glasses. Behind
     him, a giant pair of scissors proclaims his trade: The Tailor of Gloucester. Infront of the mouse, leaning against a large silver thimble, is a white card with the words: 'And from then began the luck
     of the Tailor of Gloucester: he grew quite stout and he grew quite rich. He made the most wonderful waistcoats for all the
     rich merchants of Gloucester and for all the gentlemen of the country round.'
    Next door, Town and Country Hardware has gone for an elaborate Winnie the Pooh display, complete with a house and Pooh himself,
     stuck by his bum midway out of the window. A home-made Christopher Robin is tugging on his arms, Eeyore is tugging on Robin,
     Tigger on Eeyore. It's brilliant.
    Walking onwards, we pass Snow White, Cinderella, the Queen of Hearts, a depiction of The Secret Garden, Puss in Boots and a fabulous set for Treasure Island which has been erected in the windows of the St Margaret's Hospice shop. John and Mary Rendell have set up a Paddington Bear
     display in the front window of their greengrocer's. Paddington has a jar of fine-cut Chivers marmalade beside him, but no
     sandwiches. As we pass by the first time, John tells us not to judge the window until Paddington has been equipped with supplies.
     Sure enough, on our way back, there's a plate of buttered brown bread triangles, liberally covered with marmalade, right by
     the bear's left paw.
    Back at the Meeting House, we count up the points and decide that the Little Mermaid display at the dentist's is the winner. Winnie the Pooh is second and Treasure Island third. The Tailor of Gloucester and an excellent Alice in Wonderland window in the RNLI charity shop both receive highly commended certificates. Wayne points out that in a small market town like
     Ilminster, the windows actually serve a different function from displays in larger towns or cities. 'Everyone knows exactly
     where they're going, don't they,' he says. 'I mean, you know where the butcher is, the baker and the greengrocer are. The
     window doesn't make that much difference. '
    True, but