Dear Readers:

P.S.  You will also notice pictures of some of my favorite VofD characters sprinkled liberally throughout--as well as, two new characters who will help drive the story arc for this new season that I propose.  The picture credit references for Episodes 1 - 3 will appear at the end of Episode 3.  The picture credit references for Episodes 4 - 8 will appear at the end of Episode 8.

P.S.  The "Dibley Revisited" characters are based on and expanded from the BBC's "The Vicar of Dibley" series and its charming  Christmas 2006  two episode special, "The Vicar of Dibley:  A Holy Wholly Happy Ending".  If you're like me, you'll want to own your own dvd copy and return to it again and again.

My "Dibley Revisited" story originally appeared on my blog "Something About Love" in two installments with full illustrations beginning at http://gratianads90.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/dibley-revisited-a-season-of-new-beginnings-episodes-0-3-part-1of-2-20512-gratiana-lovelace-post-122/  and http://gratianads90.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/dibley-revisited-a-season-of-new-beginnings-ch-4-8-end-21212-gratiana-lovelace-post-127/  So the embedded notations--such as [(2) right]-- refer to picture link references for each installment.  But as with all my stories, every time I revisit them, I tweak them.  So the version of "Dibley Revisited" you are reading here has some new tweaks in it.  Ha! 

P.S.  Oh and to the writers of the original Dibley series, Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer?  Blokes, if you're trolling the web and happen upon these story posts and like them, drop me a note.  Ha!  Or at least, please give us another season of "The Vicar of Dibley" on your own.  We fans love the show and miss it and its characters mightily.

"Dibley Revisited", Episode 1 -- Dibley Village Braces for Expansion                                                                                       

It is Monday afternoon, May 2nd, 2011 and Harry Kennedy is home for the week.  Married almost 4.5 years to the love of his life Geraldine Julie Andrews....Granger Kennedy, Geraldine and Harry live a blessed life by most standards.  Harry continues to be "a bit of a weekender in reverse", so they at least have five days together in Dibley village most weeks--with Harry going to town for meetings over the weekend.  And, they have no money problems since they are a two income family—with one of them being a very financially successful accountant.  However, to their sadness, Geraldine and Harry have not been able to have a child together, nor have they looked into adoption seriously yet.  And with Harry being four years younger than Geraldine, not having a child yet weighs more heavily on the 47 year old Geraldine's heart. 

After an early dinner, Geraldine and Harry cuddle spooning on the couch—with Harry on the inside of the couch laying behind Geraldine with his arms wrapped around her in a cocoon of love--before Geraldine has to head to her 7:00pm Dibley Village Council Meeting for the month.  Inevitably, Geraldine and Harry fall asleep lying comfortably and blissfully in each others' arms.   Then around 7:05pm, Geraldine's phone rings to remind her to head to her Dibley Village Council Meeting.  But, she still needs to freshen up first.  So, Geraldine turns up late getting to her Monday evening Dibley Village Council Meeting.  This lateness makes her a little perturbed because she is a consummate professional--and God is watching.   

Of course, Owen makes a lewd crack about the Vicar's lateness being caused by 'conjugal friction'—or something like that.  Owen does not endear himself to Geraldine with that remark—even though she has heard Owen's rude and lewd remarks a thousand times before.  In fact, Geraldine has been out of sorts lately and quite fatigued for a few months with a recurring flu that doesn't help her mood. But as always, Geraldine is a model priest--worrying about others more than she worries about herself.   Then, Geraldine has her nose put out of joint again when Owen suggests that maybe Harry 'knocked her up'—to use Owen's lewd vernacular.   This statement also saddens Geraldine because she and Harry haven't been able to conceive a child in the over four years they've been married.  This is a sadness that she has kept from her village friends with her now, who don't realize how dearly Geraldine wants to be a mother—well, a mother to more than just them.

It is near the end of the school year in the beginning of May 2011, and the main agenda item for this Dibley Village Council Meeting is to discuss the ramifications of Dibley being informed that the Dibley school district will be annexed to Eastley for the purposes of school redistricting.  This means higher taxes and the Dibley elementary day school will close at the end of this school year.  Not having a preK – 8th grade school in Dibley will not only be inconvenient—with families having to travel to Eastley for school events--the Dibley Village Council fears that not having a school in the village will lessen Dibley's attractiveness as a bedroom community to current and new people.  

As Jim [(2) right] remarks when asked, he says "no no no no no no, it can't be."   The fear with closing the Dibley Elementary school is that their beloved village of Dibley will 'die'—something they have held off for many years.  The school closing hits Hugo especially hard since he and Alice are the family mostly 'populating' the grade school with their ten children at this time.  And, of course, these are David's grandchildren.  So, David weighs in pompously as usual—which Frank minutes dutifully. 

***

When Geraldine returns home that evening, she and Harry talk about the Dibley Elementary school closing.  Geraldine feels especially poignant about the school closing—as if the school's closing is finally ending the possibility of she and Harry having a child.  And although Geraldine and Harry have talked a bit about adoption, they have not looked into it seriously, yet.   But, they decide tonight to look into adoption--and maybe surrogacy--more seriously, which makes Geraldine extremely happy.  So, much so that Geraldine and Harry make love tenderly with each other.  After which, they get the munchies like they usually do and have a picnic in bed as they pull their snacks out of their night stand drawers.  Unfortunately, Harry's power bar biscuit crumbs spill out of his mouth and onto his slightly hairy chest like a 'biscuit drool take' as he talks to Geraldine. 

Geraldine might be tempted to 'graze' on Harry's hairy chest to help him 'clean up' the biscuit crumbs—as evidenced by her also picking up some pieces of biscuits from his chest with her fingers and popping the crumbs into her mouth.   However, Geraldine's true munchy craving is always chocolate as she pulls out an assortment of chocolate candies in a heart shaped candy box that Harry had given her for Valentine's Day and she pops one of the chocolates into her mouth happily.  But, when Geraldine next bites into her favorite cocoa nut center chocolate candy, it turns her stomach and she goes running to the bathroom and throws it up--not the best end to a romantic evening.  But, Harry grimacingly holds Geraldine's hair out of the way and wipes her forehead with a cold cloth—as loving husbands do--before she brushes her teeth and they return to bed to sleep for the night cradled in each others' loving arms.

***

The next day, Tuesday morning, While the '1930's vintage spiffily attired' Harry and Hugo are on the golf course—terrorizing other golfers with their dangerous golf swings and screeching golf balls that almost 'take out' two other residents with near misses--Gerry chats in her vicarage home with her best friend Alice about her and Harry's plans to look into adoption and surrogacy.  The Earth Mother Alice [(3) right]—with ten children of her own by her loving husband Hugo—is delighted for her friend.  And, eager to be pregnant again, she offers herself up as a surrogate.  Geraldine is bowled over by her best friend's generosity and they have a good cry—with Alice saying that she just has to clear it with Hugo, naturally. 

 Just then, their husbands show up--after giving up golfing after nine holes--the men are clued into the news.  But with Alice giving the news, it is not quite what Geraldine intended--because Alice asks Hugo if it's alright if she has sex with Harry so that Harry and Geraldine can have a baby together.  Hugo [(4) right] is contemplative, not wanting to disappoint the vicar, but also not sure about 'sharing' his wife with Harry.  Hugo says that Harry is a nice bloke and he likes the Vicar, but that there are limits to friendship now and then.  Harry is aghast and embarrassed, hoping that Geraldine didn't actually offer him up on a sexual platter to her scatterbrained but endearing friend Alice. 

Geraldine rolls her eyes at everyone, but especially at Alice.  Geraldine tells Alice that she and Harry don't need a 'sexual' surrogate, they need a surrogate 'mother' to carry their baby to term—with the embryo implantation taking place in a doctor's office using Geraldine's eggs and Harry's sperm.  Of course, Harry squirms at his sperm being mentioned and unconsciously covers his crotch with his golfing tam hat.  Alice thinks for a moment, then tells Geraldine that  "That would be alright, too—just not as fun, for Harry".  Afterall, Alice feels that she "bewitches all men" with sexual desire for her.  With the confusion cleared up, the two couples all go on to have a lovely lunch made by Geraldine.  But with sex on everyone's mind, there is some footsy playing that goes on under the dining table.  This leads Alice and Hugo to head home quickly—leaving no doubt in anyone's mind what they will be doing once they get home.  Once the dam burst about Alice and Hugo being in love ten years ago, there's nothing stopping them sexually—as their ten children are a testament to.  Geraldine and Harry also walk upstairs for a loving tryst.

***

On another personal front, Geraldine also receives word  on Thursday of  that week that her family with Harry will be expanding—but not in a good way from Geraldine's perspective, when she receives a letter from her long estranged younger sister Kate saying that she plans to visit Geraldine and Harry in Dibley in a few weeks.   This further annoys Geraldine because although she has invited Kate for other special occasions—her ordination, her installation at Dibley, and even her wedding to Harry—Kate never showed up, nor even responded.  So, Kate's sudden announcement that she is coming for a visit—without being invited—doesn't sit well with the vicar. 

And, of course, Geraldine feels that as vicar, she should be a 'model' of familial harmony—something that she has with Harry, but not with her sister, Kate.   So, this rift between her and her sister causes internal conflict for Geraldine as she tries to rationalize her position—somewhat humorously at times—fracturing biblical verses to bolster her arguments for being estranged from her sister.  Shame on me Geraldine, she tells herself.  Geraldine and Harry have a long discussion about the estrangement and what Geraldine 'wants' to do versus what Geraldine thinks she 'should' do.  But, ultimately, Harry leaves it up to Geraldine to decide.  Harry lets Geraldine know that he'll support her whatever she chooses to do.  Harry is a good bloke of a husband that way—always loving and supportive. 

This chat also leads to Geraldine and Harry making love, again—with their biscuits and chocolate munchy fest after as usual, and happily, not 'losing her biscuits' this time.  Though Harry is not complaining about their increased frequency of lovemaking lately, he does wonder humorously to Geraldine if it is him that she finds so alluring, or if it is the chocolate munchy fest afterward that gets her all excited.  Afterall, Geraldine has been seeming to crave more chocolate than usual of late.  But, Geraldine assures Harry that her interest is all in him.  Then Harry and Geraldine kiss, they hug, and then Geraldine licks the melted chocolate off of her fingertips while they embrace.

***

The next day, Friday May 6th, 2011, the Vicar Geraldine and Alice also have one of their 'chats' about this turn of events about her sister Kate—as Alice is being impregnated with Geraldine's and Harry's embryo at the doctor's office.  Happily both Geraldine and Alice were ovulating this week and the doctors decided to strike with the ova were 'hot', so to speak.  Harry is standing nervously at the back of the exam room behind Alice's head and away from the 'business end' of the proceedings.  Harry had already 'completed his assignment' for his portion of the impregnation procedure, by producing sperm on demand in another exam room to his embarrassment and Geraldine's amusement.   Harry told Geraldine that he eschewed the usual 'reading' materials and videos provided by the medical staff to assist men in donating their sperm, by thinking only of her--and their little dividend to be.  And now as Alice is about to be impregnated with Geraldine's and Harry's embryo, Harry is not only squeamish about medical procedures, but he is extremely embarrassed to see Alice's legs in the air in stirrups.  So, he tries focusing on posters on the wall to take his attention away from things--that is, until he realizes that he is studying a poster of a cross section of the female reproductive system and his face goes beet red.  Harry is only there because both Geraldine and Alice insisted that Harry be in the room when their baby is 'conceived'. 

And, for once, the scattered brained but sweet Alice just might have the right advice for Geraldine regarding her sister, Kate.  Lying down in stirrups always seems to bring clarity to Alice for some reason—maybe because she is in stirrups so often, with her own many pregnancies or maybe because in lying down more blood and oxygen get to Alice's brain.  Anyway, Alice tells Geraldine that "sisters are forever—no matter if they have hurts or spats with each other".  Just like Geraldine feels like the sister she's never had to Alice.  This, of course, makes Geraldine tear up.  That is until Alice explains, that just like a sister would, Alice has had to overlook Geraldine's bossy and sometimes overbearing nature because she loves her like a sister—just like the Vicar Geraldine has had to overlook men's natural attraction to, her/Alice.  Geraldine smiles, but then she turns to Harry and asks him if he thinks she is sometimes bossy and overbearing.  Harry blinks several times--like an accountant caught in  tax audit headlights--and says what all husbands should say when asked this question.  And that is, "no dear" as he smiles nervously lovingly at her.  But Geraldine looks a bit suspiciously at Harry wondering if he thinks she is bossy sometimes.  Knowing Geraldine's look, Harry thinks "no sex tonight".  C'est la vie.  Meanwhile, the doctor finishes impregnating Alice with Geraldine and Harry's embryos.  Then, they just have to wait a few weeks to see if one of the embryos 'take'.

At the end of the episode, it is three weeks later and the end of the school year in May 2011.  The Dibley Elementary School closes with much poignancy and a Dibley village farewell party on Saturday Night, May 28th.  Unfortunately, Harry could not join them because he is still in London working on some tax account--he is still only "a weekender in reverse" Dibley village resident who won't be home until Sunday afternoon.  But Geraldine is eager to see Harry because Alice is still pregnant with Geraldine's and Harry's baby going into the fourth week after the embryo implantation and Geraldine is eager to share this good news with Harry in person.  But, after going home tired after the party Saturday night around 9:00pm, Geraldine has a completely unexpected visitor.  The episode ends with Geraldine hearing a knock at her cottage door and opening her door to a 'stranger'.

To be continued with Episode 2