Chapter 5

The day I left town to stop at my aunt’s farm was cold, grey, and wet definitely not the start of the long summer holiday as it was meant to be. My dad was working all day, as he seemed to be doing more and more recently, so my mom walked me to the railway station; my rucksack was so heavy I could hardly walk upright.

So, my mates would be having a summer of football and cricket in the park, of swimming in the lido and I was off to shovel up horse shit and paint fences. All I could think about in my head was the fact it was not fair and also how much fun I would have had with Mrs Brown that summer!

As we walked down the road past Mrs Brown’s shop, I stole a glance to see if I could see my amazing older lover. I could see her serving a customer and she did not notice me leave.

I wondered how long it would be before I saw her again. I would really miss her. I had just started down the road of sexual knowledge and this break in my education would drive me insane. I guessed that it would be a summer full of self-abuse, just Madam Palm and her five daughters to keep me happy.

We got to the station and picked up my ticket. Then Mom got a coffee for herself and a coke for me, from the little station café.

The train pulled into the station on time and after a quick kiss and a hug from my mom, during which she handed me an envelope that my dad had given her containing some money and a letter. What I found out later was a note to warn me to behave myself, to work hard and to try to enjoy the experience.

I jumped on board the train. After a few waves goodbye, I settled back into my seat in an empty carriage and grabbed a paperback novel from my backpack before I heaved it up onto the luggage rack.

My aunt Sue lived a few hours from our town and the journey was very slow as the train stopped at every station along the way. I had almost finished the book by the time I arrived at Aunt Sue’s stop.

The train arrived in the sleepy village of Little Hampton at around four-thirty, only half an hour late. That was not bad for British rail in those days. I grabbed my backpack and stepped off the train. It looked as if I was the only person getting off at this station, and it seemed very remote. To be fair it looked a bit scary.

I could not see anyone that looked like Auntie Sue; admittedly, it had been a while since I had seen her and for the life of me, I could not remember what she looked like. I had explained this to my mom before we went to catch the train, but she insisted that Sue would find me as long as I did not leave the station.

As it was, I was the only person at the station so she could not mistake me for anyone else that was for sure.

My mom had shown me some snapshots she had taken a couple of years earlier just to jog my memory, but they were not brilliant, and I was not sure I would recognise her from them to be fair.

I wandered around the station, there was not that much of it. There was a small musty waiting room with two vending machines in.

I slotted some coins into the drinks machine, decided on a Coke and a Texan bar, and then settled back on one of the wooden benches that lined the station platform, to pass the time away while I waited for Sue to arrive.

Several more trains pulled in and the platform got a little busier. I just sat and read and watched the world go by, it was getting dark and I had just finished the book when Sue turned up, and there was no mistaking her.

She was dressed in her horse-riding gear: tight vanilla-coloured jodhpurs, brown riding boots and a tight denim shirt. She was not what I had expected at all.

I tried to work it out in my mind when it was that I had last seen her, and I guessed at around eight years ago. Sue was my mother’s younger half-sister, mom was twenty years old when she had me, and Sue was five years her junior making her thirty. She was a stunner, with long curly dirty blonde hair in a ponytail and a friendly smile.

Her thighs looked strong and meaty in the tight riding pants and her shirt did little to hide a fair pair of tits. I stood up as she neared me, and she called out my name. I guess she was having some difficulty recognising me.

“Hi, Auntie Sue,” I called out and she called a greeting back, before giving me a big hug.

“Wow you have grown since I last saw you!” She smiled, “But I guess that was a good ten years ago!”

I was nearly as tall as she was, but she was wider in the beam. Her tits felt really good pressed against me; she immediately apologised for her lateness and explained there had been some bother at the stables. She grabbed my pack as we exchanged small talk while we wandered out of the station and headed off to her truck.

Sue drove a four by four-utility vehicle; I guess she needed it on the stables for lugging stuff about. The drive over to her place was very uncomfortable; we had little to say to each other really, as we hardly knew each other and the sight of Sue’s boobs jiggling around beside me was making me feel very horny.

The drive led us out into the country, through a small village and eventually, we turned into a small lane that led toward a large farm.

My mom had told me that Sue had always been a horsy type of person and she had bought the stables some years ago when she had been married. Her old man had left her for his secretary after a long affair and she was struggling to keep on top of things on her own.

The place, according to Mom, took some looking after and Sue could not afford to pay for full-time staff. She did employ some of the local girls, but they were all part-timers.

The farmyard was a real mess, and there was obviously lots of work to be done. Sue parked the Range Rover by the door to the impressive-looking farmhouse and we both jumped out. Sue led us into the kitchen; I was soon being shown to my room and then given a guided tour of the rest of the huge farmhouse. It was a great house.

“Okay Zak please make yourself at home,” Sue said and gave me a smile that told me she was happy to see me.

“Thanks, Aunty Sue” I replied.

Sue told me to grab a shower while she cooked tea and then we could have a chat about what work needed to be done. The meal was one of my favourites: fish fingers, egg and chips followed by banoffee pie. Looking back, I guess my folks had told her about my likes and dislikes.

I wolfed it down as I was starving. Sue gave a potted history of the farm and explained that the local gentry used the stables as well as local posh folks and that they paid her to do all of the donkey work.

She had lost a few customers as they felt it was looking run down and half the stables could not be used.

She, basically, wanted help to tidy the place up and go get more stables serviceable. There was a long list of jobs that she had drawn up and, when she showed it to me, it looked quite daunting.

There was enough work to keep me busy for the whole of the summer break and then some I thought to myself.

Oh well, I thought at least it would make the summer fly by until am back in Mary’s arms and more importantly her bed I offered to do the washing up when Sue told me she was off to shower. As I did the chores my mind wandered, thinking of her up there in the nude, covered in soapy suds and her hands stroking her big meaty tits. Time seemed to fly past and before long I heard her feet on the stairs as she came down to the living room.

Aunty Sue was dressed in a pair of pink pyjamas and her hair was up in a ponytail. She looked as sexy as hell and I knew I would have to be careful not to stare. As we watched TV and chatted, I watched her boobs - braless boobs - shimmer and shake below her pyjama top.

At around ten o’clock Aunty Sue told me we should get an early night as things started early at the stables; I have to admit the evening was over too soon for my liking.

Sue told me since I had had a long day, she would not wake me up too early and that I was free to join her when I was up and ready. After a quick wank, while thinking of Mary Brown and her huge titties, I slept like the proverbial log. The journey had obviously taken more out of me than I had thought.

I woke around eight o’clock with the sun peeking into my window. I showered dressed and then went down to the kitchen. Auntie Sue had obviously been and gone; There was a note on the dining table telling me to help myself to anything I fancied.

I let out a little laugh if Sue knew what I really wanted to help myself so I would no doubt be on the next train home with a flea in my ear.

I breakfasted on toast, cereal, and orange juice before heading out into the stable yard to find her.

I saw Sue as she was shovelling horse muck from a stable onto the back of a trailer. Her tight jeans accentuated her big sexy bum. When I got near, she turned to face me. Her tight white t-shirt was stretched over her big firm tits and I soon felt a stirring in my groin. She smiled at me.

“Good morning,” she said as I approached, “Did you sleep well?

“Good morning, Aunty Sue” I replied and returned her smile, “Yes I slept like a log, how about you?”

“Oh yes I was out for the count as soon as my head hit the pillow” she giggled.

“So where do you want me to start?” I asked looking around.

I was soon put to work on a block of stables that Sue had yet to get into a usable state. There were twelve stables in each block, these twelve were full of old rubbish, and it was my job to get them ready for the horses. Once they were all rented out, they would make a big difference to Sue’s income or so she told me.

The first thing I did was get a fire going to burn the crap that was filling them. Old fruit crates seemed to be stacked from floor to roof, old sacks and all sorts of other assorted shit. Once I got the fire roaring and a steady rhythm going the first stable block was quickly emptied. The work was easy and to be fair it was not as bad as I thought it would be.

I had gotten halfway along the block by the time Sue came hunting for me. She was well impressed by my work rate and told me that if I kept it up, she would take me out for a treat the next weekend. We stopped for dinner, which was cheese and onion sandwiches, crisps, and ice-cold Coke. As we ate, Auntie Sue told me of her plans for the stables.

Once the extra twelve stables were nearly ready to take horses, she would start to advertise them, and the rents would help to raise money for her other plans. There were a half dozen stable blocks on the farm each with twelve individual stables; thus, she could if they were all clean and serviceable, host sixty more horses.

Currently, only thirty tables were in use and the income was not great. Some fences needed work on plus an orchard that needed sorting out. Plus there was general tidying up to be done everywhere you looked.

She explained that most of the farm’s fields were rented out to other farmers, as she did not have either the time or ability to utilise them.

The horses were her bread and butter. Only renting out half of the stables meant the difference between breaking even and making a profit. She also wanted to set out some more riding paddocks with jumps etc. It was a huge job I thought and hoped she had not set herself too big a task.

Once the other stables were ready and the place looked well-kept, she would be able to up the rents, saying that there was a load of work to be done before that. I felt rather sad for her, as it was obvious that she was struggling. I decided there and then as I chewed on my cheese and onion butty that I would work my arse off to make this sexy woman’s life a little easier.

The afternoon was spent moving more and more boxes. Once all stables were empty, I found a broom and started to sweep up, shovelling the rubbish into the trailer. The day was hot, and I was soon sweating like a pig, I stripped off my shirt and hung it from a bridle hook. I was soon engrossed in my work.

I was eager to show Sue that I was no little kid. I was so engrossed that I did not hear the lady walk up behind me. The wolf whistle broke my concentration. I turned to see a tall slim woman, dressed for riding, standing in the doorway. She smiled as I turned to face her.

“Well, hello there, your Auntie Sue told me you were a cute young man, but she did not tell me you were such a handsome one as well!” she said as she smiled at me, her eyes moving up and down my body. Her accent was very upper-class. Very posh.

“Oh, Erm, I am not sure about that,” I stuttered, a little embarrassed.

“My name is Lady Elizabeth Harding, but please just call me Lizzy,” she said in her upper-class voice.

Her eyes wandered up and down my body.

“Your aunt said you might be free to help me load some stuff into the stable I rent.”

“Of course, whatever you need!” I replied.

I followed Lizzy to the stable, admiring her cute little bum covered in tight jodhpurs. Her big smart brand-new Range Rover car was parked outside, and the back was loaded down with heavy-looking feedbags. Lizzy’s stable was in a block of two-story stables and I prayed that the feed did not have to go upstairs.

She showed me where the food was stored in the corner of the stable block well away from the stalls that the horses were kept in. I started to shift the sacks, scooping them up onto my shoulder and walking the ten yards from the car to the shelf. They were both heavy and awkward and trust me, they took some lifting. As I shifted the two dozen sacks, Lizzy watched me intently.

“The lovely men at the country shop always load them for me,” she said with a wink. I got the feeling that Lady Elizabeth always got what she wanted out of life.

By the time I was done, I was sweating even more; rivulets ran down my body and my arms and back ached like they had never ached before. I leaned back against the wall and sucked in some air; my lungs were bursting.

“It looks like you could do with a drink” she purred.

Lizzy tossed me a bottle of cold water from the back of her 4x4, which I swigged down greedily. As I did so she pulled the stable door closed and slipped the catch, before turning toward me. Her finger flicked out and ran over my right nipple, stroking it and pressing it at the same time.

I gasped and was a little taken aback. I gasped, even more, when she leaned forward and sucked it gently into her warm mouth, her tongue circling it, making it grow. She bit it gently making me start, and that made her laugh.

“Right, young man, if you fancy some fun come upstairs with me and if not, the door is over there,” she said looking right at my eyes. My heart was pounding even more now but for different reasons.

I watched as Lizzy walked upstairs and I slowly followed her up to the loft. When we both reached the top, she turned to face me and started to unbutton her blouse. She tossed it to one side and kicked off her boots. The jodhpurs soon hit the floor and she was standing there in just a lacy black thong and bra, looking like a million dollars. Her tits were quite small compared to Mary Brown’s but still looked like a nice handful.

My jeans hit the floor in double quick time. Lizzy moved cat-like in front of me and dropped to her knees, her hands stroking down my thighs. My cock was already standing to attention, making a tent in my boxers.

“It looks like you are ready for action,” she said as she gazed at the tent in my shorts. Her hand slid over my erection, only the thin fabric of my boxers covering it.

I felt Elizabeth’s hand slip into the gap at the front of my shorts and her fingers wrapped around my throbbing cock. She stroked it firmly up and down tugging my foreskin over my bell end.

“Oh, that feels nice” she sighed as she stroked me, I was so turned on; I was sure I was going to spurt my goo all over her hand any minute.

Her soft fist slid up and down my cock. The feeling of pleasure was immeasurable, and my breathing soon got into a rhythm with her strokes. The room was so quiet my deep breathing and gasping was almost embarrassing. I was sure I was about to shoot my load when Lizzy’s hand slipped off my cock.

“So nice and hard ... and so big!” she purred.

I looked down and watched as Elizabeth slipped her hands into the waistband of my boxer shorts and slowly slid them down my thighs. My cock was red, angry, and throbbing; I kicked the boxers off my feet and waited for Lizzy to take my cock back in her hand.

Her head moved close to my dick and she spat on it, using the spit to lubricate my hard cock. I watched as she spat several times on my red hard cock, covering it in saliva, making it slick before slowly wanking me. She had one hand on my shaft and the other hand cradled my ball bag. She must have realised I was watching her as she slowly massaged my cock and balls because she looked up at me.

“This is a beautiful big cock you have here. It has been such a long time since I jerked off a teenage boy,” she said with a sexy giggle.

She cupped the palm of her hand over my rock-hard prick and squeezed it gently, then slowly stroked along it from bottom to top. I swelled and throbbed under her touch.

“Oh, baby,” Elizabeth, growled. “That does feel nice.”

“You’re telling me!” I groaned as her hands lovingly massaged my cock and balls.

The feeling was amazing; no matter how much you masturbate or have sex the feeling of a woman’s hand on your penis is still one of the best feelings in the world - perhaps just edged by a nice slow blowjob.

She leaned forward and blew gently on the exposed helmet of my cock. My cock jumped and twitched in her hand. She blew another breath of warm air over the tip of my cock and I was sure I was about to blow a wad of cum into her face. The feeling was so intense, so erotic. Her soft hands stroked and massaged me as she blew across the very sensitive tip of my mushroom-shaped helmet for a few minutes.

“Mmmm your cock feels so good in my hand” she sighed as she worked on my throbbing dick.

Then she rubbed the sticky end of my cock over her ruby-red lips, making them shine with a coating of my pre cum. I gasped with anticipation and that made Lizzy giggle.

Her fingers traced the lines of the veins that we more than evident along the shaft.

Liz’s face had a look of concentration on it as she attended to my cock. Her hand was wrapped around my cock, stroking up and down on it. Slow measured strokes, firm and soft at the same time.

Every time her hand reached the broad unsheathed helmet, she smeared the pre-cum that was now leaking from the pee hole. Her thumb massaged the clear slimy fluid over my helmet. My cock was shiny with a mixture of pre-cum and spit.

I watched as she moved her head forward just a touch. I could feel the feather-like touch of her lips. Lizzy sucked the very top of my cock for a few seconds before plunging her lips down my shaft and engulfing me in one fell swoop.

I sighed at the feeling of her lips around my shaft.

I watched as she plunged her mouth up and down my cock, in and out of her hot willing mouth it went. Deeper each time until I felt her head but my stomach as she sucked up and down my erection.

I could feel her tongue lapping at the underside of my shaft as she sucked on me. I grabbed the back of her head as she sucked me, and my hips started to pump my cock in and out of her orifice.

She bobbed her head up and down slowly. She took me deeper and deeper into her mouth.

“Oh Lizzy that feels so good” I growled,” I think I am going to cum!”

She didn’t break her stride, didn’t slow down, she just kept sucking my cock.

I knew I was getting close, my balls started to tighten, and I had the familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach. I thought about warning her but decided she looked like she would not mind me spewing my love juice into her throat.

I cried out aloud and almost immediately shot string after string of hot cum into Elizabeth’s mouth.

Her hands started to massage my balls as if trying to squeeze more of my h0t sticky spunk out of my nuts. I heard the slurping of her mouth on my cock, and it seemed to engulf the room. My cock started to go soft and Elizabeth let it drop from her mouth. I looked down at her. She was rocking on her knees, giggling to herself.

“Oh, I do love the taste of fresh cum, and young boys’ cum is so much tastier,” she said with a dirty laugh.

Her fingers toyed with my cock and balls, her lips brushed my hips and kissed up and down my thighs. My cock was soon swelling with excitement.

“My but you young ones do have a great power of recovery!” she said as she licked along my shaft.

Elizabeth giggled and ran her tongue up along its centre ridge from my balls to the tip of my cock. She circled it lapping at the underside of it as her fingers cupped and stroked my ball sack. She bathed my penis with her tongue kissing and licking up its entire length. When she reached the tip, she sucked it into her warm moist mouth and pressed her nose into the bush of pubic hair at its base.

Looking down at my cock being totally devoured was all too much, I decided to take control, so I started to thrust into her mouth, slowly at first but soon my excitement and urgency started to take over.

It was lust that made me drive my hips, building up a rhythm as I fucked her mouth. Elizabeth slipped her hands behind me and started to fondle my ass, at first gently but as I drove my cock harder into her mouth her hands started to grab at me and her nails digging into my buttocks turned me on no end.

They scraped up and down the skin of my buttocks. I tensed my bum cheeks and heard her groan. Lizzy responded by digging her nails deep into my flesh.

I let out a groan and Lizzy giggled.

I reached down and slipped my hand behind her head, grabbing a handful of hair. I started to drive my hips faster. She did not try to stop me, so I guessed she was enjoying it. The harder I drove my cock into her mouth the more Lizzie drove her nails into my arse, I could feel her lips and tongue working on my knob.

All I could hear in the room was my own grunting and Elizabeth slurping and gurgling. Every so often there was a deep groan or grunt from me, but mostly the cacophony was just coming from Lizzy.

I looked down, watching as she sucked and slurped on my dick. The sight was so erotic, so sexually charged. This posh bird could really suck cock. Her mouth was sliding up and down my knob, sucking, licking, and kissing. Her eyes looked up and met mine. As I watched, she slipped my cock from her warm wet mouth and started to lick and kiss all around my balls.

Her tongue travelled up and down the valleys on either side of my groin, my balls brushing off her velvety smooth cheeks. I felt her take my balls into her mouth sucking on them and lapping at them with her tongue. My legs felt like jelly and I was close to shooting another load when Lizzie let my bollocks drop from her mouth. She stood up and planted a big kiss on my lips.

“So, Zak dear, are you a virgin or do you know what goes where?” her voice deep and full of passion, her eyes full of need.

“Oh, I know what goes where alright Lizzy,” I told her as I grabbed her hips turned her around and pushed her forward.

“Oh, I do love a boy who knows what he wants and how to get it!” she giggled

Lizzie leaned against the handrail that ran around the top of the stairwell. I dropped to my knees my face inches from her arse. Slipping my fingers into the waistband of her silky thong I slid it down her thighs and watched as she lifted her feet to kick it away.

I pulled her legs open and started to lick and kiss her thighs and buttocks. My fingers searched for her opening. She did not shave, and her cunt was hairy and wet. I thrust two fingers straight up her, making her groan like a cheap tart. At the same time, I used my left hand to open her buttocks and started to rim her arse hole with my tongue, licking and lapping at it. She tasted good. I ran the tip of my tongue around and around her little asshole before licking at it. Her butt pushed back at me and her hole opened enough for me to slip my tongue into her a little.

“Oh Gosh, what a dirty boy you are!” Lizzy groaned, and her body shuddered with pleasure. She reached back and one of her hands pressed me harder into her ass, so it was obvious she was enjoying it as much as I was...

As I finger fucked her, my tongue lapped at her arse. She was driving her bum back at me, urging me to lick deeper. I pulled my fingers from her and used both hands to open her butt cheeks wide. Her ass was pink and smooth, and I licked around it in broad sweeps.

Each lap of my tongue made Elizabeth squirm and pant. Her legs opened wider allowing me better access and I was soon tongue fucking her asshole. She tasted clean if a little musty, but the taste and smell were so erotic I was in heaven.

I was really getting into it when I heard Lizzie calling for my cock. I stood up and shuffled forward, my cock in my hand. I ran the wet slimy tip down the crack of her arse and heard her gasp. She pulled her bum away from me. I edged forward and ran it up and down her bum crack again teasing her.

“Please, Zak not in my arse!” she called out, her voice a little edgy.” There are some things a lady just does not do!”

I thought about doing it just for the devilment but decided against it. I moved her into position before sliding straight into her tight wet cunt in one long stroke. God, she was tight, and her muscle control was amazing. I could feel little pulses all along the length of my rod. I stayed still getting used to the contours and tightness of her wet pussy. My hands reached around and grabbed her tits through the cups of her bra; they were quite a handful.

I reached up and unclipped her bra. Unable to remove it, I just put a hand under one cup and started to squeeze and stroke her tits, tweaking her nipples and tugging on them. The posh tart was now groaning and starting to move her ass, urging me to fuck her. I started with slow gentle strokes. The tightness and naughtiness of the situation soon had me moving faster and harder against her.

I had one hand on her hips pulling her back onto me; the slapping of my stomach onto her big sexy butt was so erotic. I started to build a steady pace, giving Elizabeth long slow strokes of my erection. It was obvious it was to Elizabeth’s liking as she was moaning and groaning loudly calling for me to fuck her cunt, to fuck her harder. She was swearing and calling out for me to fuck her, saying fuck in a posh way making it sound like feck not fuck.

Her twat was pulsing around my cock and she was as wet as a winter’s day. I could feel her pussy clamping down on my knob and her body was shaking. I started to fuck her hard, driving deep into her. I was not making love to her; I was fucking her, using her body to please myself and, boy, did it feel good! My cock was thrusting deep into her and my hands were mauling her tits. My fingers found her tiny nipples and I tweaked them, tugged them rolled them around between my fingers.

Her orgasm took me by surprise. She grunted once or twice and then, with a huge shudder, she screamed loudly. Immediately I felt my cock and balls being drowned as she gushed what seemed like gallons of cum over me. The stuff was dripping onto the floor and my legs were awash with it. I was not ready to cum just yet, so I kept my pace, kept driving deep into her pussy, fucking her with long hard strokes deeper and deeper, harder, and harder.

“Oh, for a fuck lad you certainly know how to please a girl” she moaned as I plunged my cock into her tight cunt over and over again.

The noise I made as I slapped off her arse was amazing; the squelching as I fucked her sopping wet pussy was so erotic. By now, I had both hands on her hips pulling her onto my erection. Lizzy kept tossing her head back and growling with excitement as I fucked her long and hard.

“Oh, my that feels good” she purred as I jackhammered my cock into her tight little hole.

Every now and then, I pulled my cock out of her and thrust it back in. This seemed to make Elizabeth groan with passion. My hands cupped and stroked her tits. Her nipples were like bullets, and when I pinched them, between my fingertips, Lizzy squealed with excitement.

I was now fucking her wildly, slamming my penis in and out of her, alternating my pace, sometimes thrusting deep and fast, sometimes slowly. The pleasure I was feeling was amazing. I knew that I was getting close to my ultimate goal.

“Cum in me ... Fill me with your hot spunk” Lizzy growled.

My thighs and stomach were wet with a sheen of our combined sweat and Elizabeth’s cum; I was slipping in and out of her with ease. I felt the familiar sensation start to bubble up in the pit of my stomach, my balls started to tighten, and with a grunt of jubilation, I drove deep into her pussy and filled her with the contents of my bollocks. A few more strokes were all I could manage before my cock started to wilt and soften.

My own orgasm seemed to set Lizzy off again. I felt her pussy muscles clamp down onto my shrivelling cock and another gush of warm cum poured out of her, washing down over my cock and balls. The groan she emitted was almost animal-like. Almost at once, her body went limp and she leant against the handrail for support. My ears were full of the sound of my own heartbeat, so much so that I hardly heard the sigh of satisfaction that issued from Liz’s lips. Her voice was almost inaudible, but I was sure she was muttering something.

My cock slipped from her, I stepped back and sat on a pile of horse blankets struggling to get my breath back. Elizabeth slipped to her knees, still leaning against the handrail, panting, and groaning. She looked over her shoulder at me, her face a picture of contentment.

“Well, young man, you sure do have hidden talents!” she said, still struggling to get her breath back.

“Thank you. I do my best!” I said, smiling over at her, admiring the sheen of sex that seemed to cover her body.

“You had better get dressed and get back to your chores before your auntie comes looking for you,” she said as she picked up her thong. I watched as she used her thong to clean up her pussy, cleaning up the cum that was dripping from her.

I dressed quickly and after a quick peck on the cheek, I went back to sweeping out the stables. My body ached; my legs felt like jelly, but my smile was as broad as a Cheshire cat...

Perhaps the next six weeks would not be as bad as I first thought...