Martine could see that I was far away in my dreams and tapped me on the arm to attract
my attention.
    ‘Mike doesn’t go in much for starters. He likes to go straight for the main course. He’s a
hungry boy.’
    She was off again, but this time I was determined not to let her get the better of me.
    ‘So he has told me, Martine. I’m the opposite. Often, Teresa and I would spend so much
time on the starters t…

     ‘Was there ever a ferry here?’ I asked late one evening, as The Major, John and I enjoyed
a whisky.
    Heavy rain was lashing against the small window next to the front door. The darkness
outside was relieved only by an occasional flash of lightning, illuminating the sky over Nab
Scar.
    ‘There was,’ replied the Major. ‘The locals say there used to be a small boat on a rope
pulley to take people across the Rothay, ju…

His age was starting to show and I wondered how long he'd carry on running the place.
    ‘Life is like a holiday,’ he told me late one evening. ‘At the beginning, you think you
have all the time in the world; in the middle, you're having too much fun to worry about how
long you have left. Before you realise, you're at the end and your time is up.’
    ‘There’s a big difference, though,’ added John, who had stayed for…