by James M Sandbrook
The greatest love story that I have ever read is not Romeo and Juliet, or the movie Love Story, or other stories, fictional, or mythical or a great historical work by some great writer. It is the story of James Harriot and his charming wife Helen.
I have read all the All Creatures Great And Small books (Currently reading Vet In Harness) and I will relate this to you my memory, so it may be bit off here and there.
Harriot went to Helen’s home to help with a sick calf.
He was totally smitten with her, but he being a poor man with not much to offer her I am sure it always made him feel not good enough for her.
While trying to impress her father he made a fool of himself.
He always wanted to impress her (or hopefully be noticed by her anyway) and often she was with her rich boyfriend with his flash car and dignified ways.
And poor James was always getting into some sort of silly trouble when she was around.
He had rough vets clothes, an old car and a humble life, she could get all the public attention and glamour that she ever wanted by marrying into the family of her boyfriend.
I remember that she was always looking at James, and he at her, kind of longingly I think.
Both trying to go about life in their own ways whenever they bumped into each other, and that happened often, and it was obvious unless someone stepped in they were going to go in different directions. They new they wanted each other forever but were just going onwards in the direction that life was taking them.
She was called a “Street Stopper” or “Car Stopper” something like that, she stopped traffic because she was so good looking and poor James was just a simple small country vet.
I remember following their struggling romance (If you could call it that) with something like sadness and I was always “willing” James to do something extraordinary to get what to me was obviously “His Girl” and I even grew a personal dislike for Helen’s rich boyfriend.
James was a humble guy, not the sort to cause trouble or the sort to steel another guys girl even if it tore his poor heart apart seeing her with another guy.
I remember that at some fair with lots of people there James had to do some veterinary work and he saw Helen with her boyfriend and he looked at her, she looked and him and they smiled politely, and somehow while doing his work he got splattered with blood and as usual (reminds me so much of me being clumsy and things going wrong) made a mess of the situation.
But she always seemed to take his foolishness as kind of funny or she sympathized with him.
Whatever the case I always felt that she understood.
I love these books because they are so real life,
so real and James does not mind putting down in paper all his silly things that he did in his life for the world to laugh at and easily understand because we too all make such foolish mistakes.
It got to the stage that I was always just “longing” for them to get together so I could rest easy knowing that our poor humble decent hero was safe in the loving arms of the love of his life.
To me it just had to happen and if it didn’t there was no justice in the world 🙂
And then at a dance they saw each other.
The same smiles, the same looks, and me with the same sadness wondering if this could go on forever.
Reminds me of Taylor Swifts song Enchanted,
“There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles, same old tired, lonely place, walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy vanished when I saw your face”
Around her Harriot was ever so clumsy, feeling that he wasn’t up to her class but living with his broken heart.
Then he got a call-out to a home I think to deliver some puppies, something like that, at 1 in the morning or so while at the party.
And in the foyer (coat room or somewhere like that) he bumped into Helen who was going back to the party.
They swapped pleasantries and looked at each other.
He went to leave and I think it happened like this, he reached to turn the light off and she did as well and their hands touched and that was it,
the closeness was too much, and being alone – I think that was it, and helplessly, totally helplessly they fell into each others arms – once there nothing was going to tear them apart.
Helen went off with James to deliver puppies.
Their first date was a bit of a disaster, her father also didn’t like James, but those kinds of obstacles will never stop two people who are really in love.
They married and were ever so happy in their humble home above the veterinary surgery and it wasn’t his small pay,
but their love for one another that held them together and I have always felt that this story is more wonderful than any other story I have read as far as genuine love and commitment is concerned.
All through the James Harriot books I always think how much of a clumsy man he is and then I always feel so much at home with the stories because he reminds me so much of myself, silly, clumsy at times, getting to places at the wrong time etc.
I think that is why the books are best sellers because they remind us so much of ourselves.
They are very high on my list of favourites.
I do recommend them but they are rather graphic about a vets job and the language can be somewhat colourful too from the old farmers.
I read and then reread them every so many years.
They always seem to take me back to who I am and that I am not perfect but trying, trying to be as honest as I can, wanting to be a good person just like James Harriot but in my own way.
Believe in love, not money, not fame, not anything but the real thing.
All the best from
James M Sandbrook.