The Villagers by Griffiths-Jones A.J

Author:Griffiths-Jones, A.J.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Creativia
Published: 2016-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

7. Jesus Crawford

Strictly speaking, Jesus Crawford was not a resident of the village. His house, a vast sprawling manor, lay on the outskirts of another community altogether but such was his involvement with the parish in which Olive and Geoff resided, there really was no question that he belonged. Of course Jesus was not his real name, but the origins of this moniker had so long been forgotten that he answered to no other and laughed alongside the children who giggled when it was called out. Even his wife, Gertrude, called him Jesus and the name did, by all accounts, suit him. It wasn't that he grew his hair long or preached religious sermons, nor did he have a group of twelve dedicated followers, but still the name was so befitting that his given name at birth was something of a distant memory. If pushed, most people would tell you that it was his sad watery eyes and long nimble fingers that caused Jesus Crawford to remind them of the Saviour. Behind closed doors, however, they would laugh and talk about his love of strappy sandals and vegetarian diet.

The Crawford's involvement with the village had come about some years before when they had happened upon a chance meeting with Reverend Todd at a local fund-raising event. Apparently the vicar had been finding it difficult to finance the multiple flower arrangements that usually adorned his church and bemoaned his woes to anyone within earshot. Luckily, for the Reverend, the Crawfords were extremely benevolent people and offered to donate a large array of floral bouquets every month, which they would deliver to the vicarage themselves on a weekly basis. Naturally the vicar was delighted with this offer and invited the couple to attend every social event on the village calendar. In time, the residents thought nothing of the Crawfords presence and gratefully accepted their kind donations to the church.

In truth, it was very easy for the villagers to warm to the couple. Jesus Crawford was a very athletic looking man, with toned limbs and a permanent tan which suggested he spent a great deal of time outdoors in his garden. He wasn't handsome at all really, but had a very kind face and sparkling eyes. His was the type of countenance that you would want to see after a tiring day at work or piece of bad fortune, and his soft mellow voice was enough to soothe any crying babe within minutes. He spoke with a slight lisp, another source of mimicry for the village youngsters, and they would take it in turns trying to engage Mr. Crawford in conversation to see how many times they could get him to say words beginning with the letter 'S'.

Gertrude Crawford, on the other hand, was physically the polar opposite of her husband. She was a very large woman, with loose folds of flesh that hung about her body like elephant hide, which she attempted to cover by wearing very colourful loose dresses but they

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