Janis’s husband, a merchant captain, is away at sea. They have recently moved the family home away from London to settle, with their 3-year-old daughter, into a remote cottage on the North Cornish coast. Then one day Janis discovers a hidden cove when exploring the coast, but soon after comes the arrival of a long distant friend called Fran whose presence begins to disturb Janis...
This first series of West Country Tales were genuine tales told by people of their experiences, unlike the 2nd series in 1983 which were stories written by authors. The first series has all but the first episode (The Sabbatical), remarkably in tact, but of the 2nd series only 3 survive, with the others missing.
This first series of West Country Tales were genuine tales told by people of their experiences, unlike the 2nd series in 1983 which were stories written by authors. The first series has all but the first episode (The Sabbatical), remarkably in tact, but of the 2nd series only 3 survive, with the others missing.
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TVTranscript
00:30From the very first, I loved the cottage.
00:53This was the one I wanted.
00:56But I ignored all suggestions that I might feel lonely here with Andrew away at sea one
01:00month out of every two.
01:03The whitewashed walls, the quaint windows, and the thatched roof were so different from
01:09the semi-detached we'd left behind in London.
01:12We were in the middle of the countryside, and the Atlantic was less than a mile away.
01:26I knew I'd be isolated here, but not lonely.
01:31And of course I'd have Kelly, our daughter, and Andy, the cross-eyed pregnant collie that
01:37Andrew had bought for me, to protect me, he said.
01:51How good those first days were.
01:54I left the car in the garage, and made up my mind to become a walker again.
02:03we went to the village.
02:09I'd expected the villagers to treat us with reserve.
02:12We were foreigners from London, after all.
02:22But Kelly soon broke down any barriers.
02:31In the afternoons we explored, making the most of the fine autumn weather.
02:53The woodland paths smelt fresh and clean.
02:57Kelly called them green tunnels.
03:02She saw her first seagull, and like me, she loved the sea and the empty beaches.
03:25In the evenings I would light a fire in my small sitting-room, and with Kelly asleep
03:30upstairs and the dog in her place on the hearth-rug, I would write to Andrew, a daily chronicle
03:36of small events.
03:43Writing to him was so easy then.
03:51It was peaceful, ordinary days.
03:54But without adult company, my life was beginning to shrink to the scope and focus of a three-year-old.
04:05Eventually I asked a neighbour, Mrs. Gims, if she would do a bit of cleaning and babysitting
04:10for me.
04:12She and Kelly quickly took to each other.
04:16And that gave me some time of my own.
04:26One day, picking my way along a clifftop, I noticed a track, half overgrown with grass.
04:32A narrow path, but definitely a path.
04:45I followed its gradual descent, Andy bounding ahead, excited by the country smells.
04:54In the distance I could hear the waves breaking on the shore.
05:00Then as I rounded a bend, I found myself at the entrance to a hidden cove.
05:07Tiny cliffs rearing up on each side seemed to cut it off from the rest of the world.
05:22The waves made lace ruffles along the edge of a beach, peppered with large stones.
05:31Grateful for my newfound freedom, I reached the beach and revelled in the solitude of
05:37it all.
05:48I felt a child's delight in seeing my shadow stretching ahead of me, knife-sharp against
05:54the yellow sand as I followed Andy to the edge of the sea.
06:19The exhilaration was intoxicating.
06:23I was bursting with energy.
06:26I started to climb the rocks, making my way towards a ledge I'd spotted.
06:34When I got there, I was quite breathless.
06:39I couldn't wait to bring Andrew here.
06:44I could just see him climbing up to the ledge with Kelly on his shoulders.
06:50I sat there, happily absorbed in my thoughts as I watched the sea gently breaking on the
06:55rocks below me, and occasionally the sun formed a rainbow in the sky.
07:01I lost all count of time.
07:17Then although the sun still shone, I began to feel quite chilly.
07:23I found myself thinking longingly of home.
07:31Carefully I made my way down to the beach again.
07:34Then above the wind, I thought I heard something.
07:42It seemed to come from the cliff face, but there was no sign of anything.
07:53Puzzled, I called Andy to me and moved on, but hadn't gone far before I heard it again.
08:05This time, unmistakably, a cry.
08:10I was scared, and half walking, half running, made my way back to the path.
08:17It must have been a gull, I told myself.
08:20Gulls can sound extraordinarily human sometimes, but I was fighting panic every step of the way.
08:27It was a relief to reach the road again, to be back in the world of people and familiar places.
08:40By the time I got home, I was almost ready to laugh at my stupidity.
08:55As soon as I walked in, I smelt the cigarette smoke.
08:59Then I saw a carpet bag on the floor, and knew with a sinking heart that Fran had come.
09:09I hoped I'd never see her again.
09:11We'd parted on bad terms, but Fran always turns up.
09:18She was in the garden with Kelly, and there was no sign of Mrs. Kim.
09:24I assumed that Fran had sent her home.
09:30Stealing myself to seem welcoming, I went out to join them.
09:35I was resented the way my daughter abandons me as soon as Fran appears.
09:40Fran cares nothing for children, she's told me so.
09:44But she has quite a way with them when she sets out to please, and she was certainly sparing no pains to please Kelly.
09:52Is that a little boy?
09:54Is that funny?
10:04Later, she told me she'd just come back from wandering around India,
10:10and thought she would come and see how I was making out in Cornwall.
10:17I realised that I knew very little about Fran, though my life is an open book to her.
10:32She seemed amused at the idea of my living here, but she made herself immediately at home.
10:40Hi, darling.
10:45She had already settled into my chair.
10:54There you go.
10:58Her presence, although she had drifted into one of her deep, silent moods,
11:04changed the normally happy atmosphere of the room.
11:11Is it nice to be back?
11:13I offered tea and conventional conversation, but then I'm a conventional person.
11:19Her reticence had made me chatter on, but eventually I gave up the struggle.
11:26All the time I was wondering, why had she come?
11:30All the time I was wondering, why had she come?
11:34What did she want?
11:37The dog obviously distrusted her.
11:44Fran has no real place in my life.
11:47I met her first at a party in London.
11:49She introduced herself as a Freddon's cousin or a cousin's friend, some such tenuous connection.
12:00After our first meeting, she was always dropping in.
12:03I hoped that after my marriage, the visits would stop, but Fran continued to drop in.
12:09Andrew didn't seem to mind. He said she was interesting.
12:12He used to tease me about her, but I knew she wasn't his type.
12:24It was obvious that she intended to stay for a while.
12:28She'd made my pretty spare room her own.
12:31It was filled with her clutter, including strange clothing and bits and pieces she'd brought back from India.
12:40Nothing gave a clue to her real background.
12:45She remained remote and secret.
12:49In my house, but not of it.
12:59I've never known anybody who felt really comfortable with Fran.
13:03There's something alien about her.
13:05I disliked her, yet, as always, I couldn't bring myself to ask how long she was staying.
13:13So the days went by.
13:18The rhythms of her life were quite different from mine.
13:21She would still be asleep when we went to the village in the mornings.
13:25Most of the time, she'd wander off on her own.
13:28I never asked where.
13:39Some nights, long after I'd gone to bed,
13:42the melancholy sound of her guitar would keep me awake.
13:56Often, I'd want to get up and tell her to stop.
13:59But something more than laziness kept me back.
14:02Oh, no.
14:18Oh, no.
14:21One day, I came back from the village to find Andrew's photograph smashed on the floor.
14:28It must have been the wind, Fran had suggested.
14:32But the windows were all shut.
14:36More than ever, I wanted to be rid of her.
14:46Then, at last, a letter arrived from Andrew.
14:53As I took it to my favourite seat in the garden, I felt light-hearted for the first time in days.
15:03Andrew!
15:06Andrew!
15:10Andrew has a wonderful sense of humour.
15:13His letters always make me laugh.
15:18Then he told me...
15:20And I found myself trying to keep back the tears.
15:23His leave had been postponed.
15:25We would now have to wait seven weeks to see each other.
15:29I felt desolate and very alone.
15:33From the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement in an upstairs window.
15:38I looked up to see Fran moving away.
15:42From her expression, I was sure that my news was already known to her.
15:49Disturbed and depressed, I decided to prepare a picnic tea for Kelly and myself
15:54and get away from the cottage.
16:00Go! Go!
16:04Then Fran said she would come with us.
16:07I felt bitterly resentful of her intrusion, but powerless to do anything about it.
16:16She led the way.
16:18With us, but always remote, unaware.
16:23We came to the beginning of the path to my secret cove.
16:28Fran said she was sure she'd been there before.
16:31I didn't want to go there again, especially with her.
16:35The path was too steep, I told her, but Fran took no notice.
16:39Kelly was crying. She wanted to walk with Fran.
16:42I pulled her out of her pushchair and let them go ahead.
16:46My jealousy had become an obsession. I recognized that.
16:50But I couldn't control it.
16:52I had to constantly suppress an overwhelming feeling
16:56that Fran was trying to take over my child.
17:05I was afraid.
17:07I was afraid of what would happen.
17:10I was afraid of taking over my child.
17:28I felt unwanted and very alone.
17:34Fran went ahead without so much as a glance over her shoulder.
17:41I dropped further and further behind,
17:44hampered as I was with pushchair, picnic and the teddy.
17:48I tried, but I couldn't keep up.
18:11When I looked down to the beach,
18:13there was Kelly running around a rock pool.
18:16At first I didn't see Fran.
18:18Then I spotted her, standing motionless, looking out to sea.
18:22How dared she leave my daughter alone!
18:27Aware of danger, I left the pushchair
18:30and hurried the rest of the way to the beach.
18:34All this time, Fran stood staring out at the ocean.
18:38How sad she looked.
18:40Despite everything, I wanted to go to her to help.
18:44But I knew she wouldn't let me.
18:47I was afraid.
18:49I didn't want to be alone.
18:51I didn't want to be alone.
18:53I didn't want to be alone.
18:55I didn't want to be alone.
18:57I didn't want to be alone.
18:59I didn't want to be alone.
19:01I knew she wouldn't let me.
19:11So, instead, I took Kelly down to the sea and we played together.
19:16It was fun, and I'm ashamed to admit I almost forgot about Fran.
19:31Come on!
19:52When we joined her again,
19:54she was holding a piece of driftwood in her hands.
20:01It might have come from a wreck, she told us.
20:04This part of the coast was famous for shipwrecks.
20:08The desolate cries of seagulls
20:10filled the uncomfortable silence between us.
20:13Then Fran said that there's a legend
20:15that seagulls are the souls of dead children.
20:19Children.
20:21I remembered the strange cries I'd heard
20:24and felt a chill run down my spine.
20:27I knew she was trying to frighten me,
20:30but I was determined not to show it.
20:33Then, without another word,
20:35she marched off across the beach.
20:38It frustrated me to see that Kelly was in her arms again.
20:42The mood of the beach had quite changed,
20:45and I was possessed by the most primitive of emotions,
20:49fear and anger.
20:53Now I was ready to tell Fran to clear out of our lives.
20:57But while she held Kelly, I dared not speak.
21:05I wanted desperately to hit her with that plank,
21:09but I knew I wouldn't.
21:22Fran continued her efforts to unnerve me
21:25as we struggled back to the clifftop.
21:28She insisted on telling me a story about the cove.
21:32According to her, more than a hundred years ago,
21:36a packet boat bound for America
21:39had gone adrift in fog one October evening
21:42and was wrecked on the rocks.
21:45It was a shipwreck,
21:48Among the people struggling in the water
21:51was a young woman who managed to reach the shore
21:55with her child in her arms.
21:58She had just set the child down on a ledge of rock
22:02when a strong wave swept her off her feet
22:06and she was drawn back into the sea.
22:09She was rescued and brought ashore unconscious,
22:14but no one heard the little girl crying in the darkness
22:18and the waves washed her from the ledge.
22:28I was thankful to reach the clifftop.
22:32I felt safer there.
22:35But Fran still held Kelly.
22:44She made no pretense now of friendliness
22:48as I pulled Kelly away and dropped her in her pushchair.
23:07Inside, I was shaking.
23:10Outwardly, I tried to put on a brave front.
23:16Fran said nothing.
23:18She sat beside us looking at Kelly
23:21with an expression which was hard to describe
23:24but which chilled me.
23:29It seemed that what was between us must explode.
23:41My child.
23:43Her child? What did you mean?
23:46Horrifying possibilities crowded into my mind.
23:54I wanted her to stay, to explain.
23:58I called, but the words stuck in my throat.
24:02She walked on to the edge of the cliff and down the path out of sight.
24:11I rushed after her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
24:18Into empty space, I screamed out all my hatred.
24:23You bitch!
24:25I hate you!
24:30Then I saw her at the water's edge.
24:34How could she have got there alone?
24:38How could she have got there in so short a time?
24:43For a moment, tears of rage filled my eyes,
24:46but when I could see clearly again,
24:49she'd gone.
24:51There was nowhere for her to go,
24:54but she had gone.
25:01Confused, dazed, I turned away,
25:04then stared, unable to believe my eyes.
25:07Kelly's teddy bear was rolling towards the cliff edge as though blown by the wind,
25:11but as it dropped over the edge, I suddenly realised there was no wind.
25:15Panic began to take control.
25:17My limbs seized, my throat constricted.
25:22Horrified, I watched as Kelly clambered out of her pushchair.
25:27She wasn't looking at me.
25:29She was smiling as though someone she knew was calling her.
25:34Then she began to run.
25:38I don't know how I got to her,
25:41but I thanked God as I clung to her.
25:44My knees felt as if they must give way as I tried to get to the pushchair.
25:50But as I reached for it,
25:53it pulled away from me.
25:58For one frozen moment,
26:00I stood,
26:02watching after it.
26:15I knew we must get away from this place.
26:18I began to run as though all the powers of darkness were behind me.
26:23I knew in my heart that Kelly had been meant to fall.
26:28As I went, running and stumbling along the road,
26:32I had only one goal in life, to be home.
26:36Home was safety.
26:41At last, the familiar shape of the cottage was in sight.
26:49I leaned against the door.
26:52We were safe.
26:57Then I heard Kelly call,
27:00''Teddy.''
27:04I thought it must be going out of my mind.
27:07It was there.
27:09The teddy and the pushchair were there.
27:16Andrew's photograph was there,
27:19whole again.
27:21Then I knew.
27:23My eyes were drawn to the mirror.
27:28To her.
27:32No sound.
27:34Then, slowly, she faded away.
27:43We are on our own now.
27:47We are on our own now.
27:50But fear has moved in with me.
27:54And the night is still to come.
28:16THE END
28:46© BF-WATCH TV 2021
29:17The next week's West Country tale is of a strange beast and the terror it causes.
29:23That's next Friday evening at 10.15.