Stargirl of the Edge

Ch 23 - Good Times

The Easter weekend was milder than the previous week and mainly cloudy with a few scattered showers.  On Saturday, Dennis took the opportunity of going out for a few rounds of golf. He was an enthusiastic golfer and had played at most of the golf clubs in Cheshire. Liz was out and about as usual, dropping into various houses to visit friends, Olivia stayed in her room, using the internet, reading and doing the occasional sketch.

On Easter Sunday they returned to church, and in the afternoon, all three went for a walk on the Edge with Jessie. The National Trust car park was almost full but they managed to find a space. They walked by the fields, past the Golden Stone along the footpath through the woods to Stormy Point, the sloping rocky area on the east side of the Edge. There were many people, and many dogs, who would stop and sniff each other while their owners smiled. Being a dog owner was very sociable. When there were lots of visitors, Alderley Edge had a happy, cheerful atmosphere.

They returned via a different path, passing by Druids Circle, the mysterious circle of rocks, and then back to the car park where they each enjoyed a delicious ice cream cone from the ice cream van that was always there on busy days. They all agreed it was the most delicious ice cream in the world.

That evening Liz cooked a combined English-Chinese banquet for the family. After doing the washing up, she went on Facebook, keeping up to date with friends, whilst enjoying a glass of white wine. Dennis retired to his study upstairs to read while Olivia stretched out on the couch and watched television, and at the same time, checking her laptop and iPhone.

It was cloudy on Easter Monday, but they went out together in the Jaguar to visit Tatton Hall, the beautiful house and estate in north east Cheshire. It had once belonged to a rich family but, they had been unable to maintain the enormous property with its very high running costs. They donated it to the National Trust, the charity that takes care of all kinds of houses, gardens, castles, coastlines, hills and, of course, Alderley Edge.

Though the weather wasn’t ideal, they made the best of the visit, walking through the house and garden, including the restored Japanese garden. Olivia took photos using her iPhone, material for possible drawings or paintings. That evening Olivia wanted to go home but Liz insisted on calling in to visit one of her friends near Wilmslow. They lived in a very impressive house with five bedrooms and bathrooms, a huge garden and a large kitchen. Whilst the two women chatted in the kitchen discussing the latest gossip, Dennis sat in the living room with her friend’s husband talking about golf and the economy. Olivia sat out in the garden and passed the time with their two teenage children, sitting on the swing that hung from the tree or walking out by the pond to look at the goldfish. When raindrops started to fall, they came inside, but Olivia just wanted to go home and eventually they did.

Liz had so many friends scattered all over the local area, and beyond, she would often call in for a chat, then move on to the next one, until a whole day was taken up just with visiting friends and having a ‘chin wag’, a lively conversation, over tea and coffee. If Olivia was with her she found it annoying but passed the time using her iPhone.

Liz’s network of friends had been built up partly being involved in charity fundraising, which brought her into contact with all kinds of wealthy and influential people.

There was a lot of affluence in this area but there was also a strong commitment to raising funds for good causes, whether hospitals for sick children, research into curing serious diseases or supporting local community projects.

It seemed that in Cheshire, this part at least, everyone drove a big car and lived in a big house. These Cheshire dream homes were a far cry from the smaller houses in poorer parts of the city or the tiny apartments in the high rise blocks of Hong Kong. Olivia’s cousins lived in one of these flats. As Olivia entered the guest bathroom, she realised it was bigger than the entire flat where her cousins in Hong Kong lived.

As well as the affluent friends, Liz would also visit people like ‘Hippy’ Dave, the long-haired guy who drove a three wheeled truck and lived on a trailer park.  She kept in touch with her unmarried school friend who was a nurse and lived in a tiny house in a poor area of the city, and always visited an elderly lady, aunt of a friend to see how she was.

Dennis settled back into life at home and seemed to be enjoying it very much. He tried to spend more time with Olivia and they would often sit together in his study, chatting and looking at her schoolbooks, but as the days passed by, he was drawn away by golf and business appointments, many in London.

On Saturday 14th April they went to a birthday party at a house on the south side of Wilmslow. It was another of those Cheshire dream homes, with shiny expensive cars parked at the front, lots of rooms and huge gardens all around it. The rear of the house faced towards the south west. The green fields of Cheshire extended to the horizon.

For some reason the party felt somehow unreal to Olivia. She had a sense of déjà vu, as if she had seen it before in her subconscious and was now re-living it. The weather was perfect. It was a sunny afternoon without a cloud in the sky. Music from an expensive stereo system drifted over the huge lawn along with the aromas of exotic foods. A gentle breeze blew through the trees. It seemed to whisper a poem or song: 

Good times! Everything’s fine. Life’s a dream. 

She didn’t know any of the people there but was introduced to the twin boys who were celebrating their sixteenth birthday. 

Afternoon turned to evening, and just after eight, the setting sun was as magnificent as any sunset seen over a tropical ocean. 

The sky grew darker and the father of the boys took out two white paper Chinese lanterns from a plastic package and assembled them, following the instructions. He lit the flame inside the first one. At first it wouldn’t catch light. There was a strong smell of flammable liquid. Then the flame grew bright and he did the same with the other one. He handed the lanterns to the boys and they held them above their heads. Everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and they let go of the lanterns. Carried on the gentle wind from the west, they floated higher and further away, the orange flames flickering inside, before disappearing into the sky a few miles to the east in the direction of the Pennine hills.

Noticing that Olivia was half-Chinese, they asked her about Chinese lanterns in China. She told them they were usually the lucky Chinese colour of red, not white. She didn’t mention that they were used when people died, not when they had their birthdays. Still, when traditions are adopted by other cultures, meanings and symbolism can change, but a part of her thought it was strange to see white lanterns celebrating a birthday.

The sight of those two lanterns floating into the sky would stay with Olivia.  They had a beautiful symbolism, even if it was contradictory, even if the symbolism had two opposite meanings.

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