The Friendly Old Lady

I've been reading all your stories for a long time so thank you for sharing your experiences.

Here's one of mine, short but interesting I hope:

I was on holiday from University and visiting my Uncle's farm in Lancashire in the UK. Bare in mind that it is next to a very small rural village where everyone knows everyone and no one can keep a secret lol.

Anyway, I'd gone for a walk on my Uncle's land and bumped into an old dear I'd known for years, we chatted for a while about general topics and then continued on our way.

I slowly made my way back to the farm just enjoying the weather. When I got back to the farmhouse my Uncle was there so I put the kettle on and made us a cup of tea.

We sat down and started to demolish a plate of biscuits while chatting in a general way. I mentioned my walk, described where I'd been and that I'd bumped into 'Agnes' whose hens had apparently stopped laying, whose grandson was a real 'catch' (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and that her gout had been playing up.

My Uncle who is the archetypal, stoical farmer by this point was surprising me a great deal as his jaw had literally dropped open, I asked him what was wrong. His reply, and this is verbatim, I promise: "Well I'm surprised her gout is playing up as we buried her two weeks ago Wednesday, just gone".

We talked and talked about this but after a while we believed each other and my Uncle even showed me her obituary from the local paper.

There was nothing scary about the encounter, nothing portentous, nor did the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

I hope you all find this interesting and thank you for taking the time to read it.