Evidence-based analysis was not de rigueur onWhatever Happened to Lennie Green and Doug Newman?The participants were usually happy to spout whatever came into their heads, but still, it was a while before Mrs. Chambers wrote:
You’d best ask Brenda Billings about that. She’s up there every week, poking about.
To which Mrs. Billings replied,Don’t know what you mean by “poking about.” I’m up there giving the place a good clean and polish. Nothing more and nothing less.
I’ve seen the things on your mantelpiece, Brenda. And I’ve seen some of your charitable donations.
What are you saying, Betty?Mrs. Thrussell asked Mrs. Chambers.
If you’re making allegations, you’d better have evidence, Mr. Billings said.
That’s right, Mrs. Thorpe chimed in.Brenda’ll have you for libel.
Or Eric and Terry can have a straightener outside the King’s Head, Mr. Faulkner suggested.
Terry was Mr. Chambers, and disputes in Upper Iffley were generally decided by a fight outside the pub, a straightener. In this case it would be Messrs. Billings and Chambers on behalf of their wives.Once done, the matter would be considered settled, and regardless of the outcome, nothing more would be said. It was an interesting local spectacle, but Emma was not tempted by straighteners.
How does James Dixon make his money?she asked.
Everyone knew that and if she didn’t, she’d clearly not done her homework. There was a chorus of “cryptocurrency!”
Why does he live here and not in London?she asked.
Views were more mixed on this, ranging from:
Why would you live in London when you could live here?Exactly.
And,He fell in love.
Followed by,No, he didn’t, they hadn’t met when he moved back.
To,He fell in love with Langley Hall.Who wouldn’t?
Emma moved on.Why do you never see him in magazines and news columns, hobnobbing with celebrities?
That stumped them, until, eventually, BigDreams spoke up again.Not everyone is an extrovert and seeks the limelight, some people just quietly get on with it and don’t look for public acclaim.
That level of modesty didn’t sound much like James to me, the person who wrote that couldn’t have known him, but it was enough of an answer for Emma and she went on to her next question.
Has anyone invested in his business? Would you recommend it?
Oh yes, Mrs. Faulkner was the first to pipe up.We moved our savings there when he showed us the graphs.
Us as well, Mrs. Chambers said.
And me, said Mary Bishop.
We weren’t sure at first, said Mrs. Thrussell.But in the end, the Dixons are a village family and you trust someone you know.There was an emphatic series of “yeses” and “absolutelys” to this.
We’re going to be the richest village in England in a few years,Mrs. Thorpe said.
Has anyone ever tried to withdraw a crypto coin?Emma asked.
Well, that just goes to show what you know, Mary Bishop said.You’re not supposed to withdraw them for ages.
Think of it more like a retirement plan, Mrs. Faulkner said, which was exactly what James had said to me when I’d asked for my money back.
It’s more like growing an oak tree than watercress, Mary Bishop continued, but did Mary Bishop have time left to grow an oak tree? Rumor had it that her sixteenth-century cottage had been built around her.
