Page 48 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

Ryan looked around. ‘Of course, if you haven’t got any bathroom facilities, we might have a long walk to our flat in the morning.’

Flora rolled her eyes. ‘Apparently, bathroom facilities will be provided in time,’ she said, through gritted teeth.

Katy looked at her suspiciously. ‘If it’s out in the open or using the stream, then forget it,’ she said. ‘I love you but not that much.’

Flora laughed. ‘It’s not that. We’re waiting on delivery. It’s a portable thing, you see, on wheels.’

‘That all sounds very vague,’ said Katy.

‘That’s because it’s being donated by Dodgy Del,’ said Flora, with a gulp.

‘Oh no!’ said Katy, beginning to shake her head. ‘It’ll be a bucket and a sponge!’

‘The sponge will cost them extra,’ added Ryan, also shaking his head. ‘I can’t believe you trusted my cousin.’

‘We couldn’t say no,’ Flora told him. ‘He felt bad about knocking down the stable block and so promised us a Portaloo or some such in return.’

‘And you believed him?’ Ryan threw his hands up in despair.

Flora found herself agreeing with her friend’s pessimism, still fearing the worst.

* * *

The following day, and with great uncertainty, Flora waited in the courtyard for Dodgy Del to arrive.

‘What if it’s really bad?’ murmured Nico.

‘Then we hide it in that empty barn and he’ll never know,’ Flora told him, looking up at the sound of a large vehicle making its way down the potholed lane towards the farmhouse.

She took a deep breath as she saw Dodgy Del’s battered truck coming around the corner. But what was being trailed behind it came as a huge shock.

It appeared to be an extremely upmarket portacabin. Painted in a dark green on the outside, with gold fleur-de-lis accents, it looked surprisingly classy. When Del parked up and they were allowed to peer inside, they were even more shocked to see the walls and furnishings decorated in deep purple, with both the toilet cubicles, washbasins and shower cubicle all having gold taps and fittings as well.

‘There’s another one arriving later for the ladies,’ said Del.

‘It’s even got a chandelier,’ said Flora, wondering if she was seeing things as she glanced upwards.

They both turned to look at Del in shock.

‘It’s incredible,’ said Nico, in a stunned tone.

Del gave them a winning smile. ‘Told you, didn’t I?’

‘Where did you get it from?’ asked Nico.

Del touched the side of his nose. ‘Can’t say any more,’ he said, with a wink. ‘But let’s just say it’s almost majestic, innit?’

Nico and Flora looked back at the gold toilets once more.

‘A royal throne indeed,’ muttered Nico, before he burst out laughing.

And Flora couldn’t help but join in.

29

Now that one of the tents was fully set up and Dodgy Del had provided the bathroom facilities, it was ready for the trial run. Flora just hoped it would run smoothly.

‘So that’s the drinking water labelled,’ she said, finishing securing a sign next to the tap on the outside wall of the old stables. ‘It’s fresh water from an underground source and safe to drink, as well as use for washing up.’