"Ah, I see you have met Hob," Doreen said. Sometimes her grin and Hob's seemed to match the other. "I think he likes you m'dear, you'd better go and introduce yourself." And that as they say, was the start of a beautiful friendship.
Hob was a coconut man. Doreen had found him on one of her sorties around the antique shops of Brighton. He may well have started life in the Caribbean and travelled with a sailor back to England. He was 'alive' when Doreen found him and she made him her house guardian. Hob was, and still is, not exactly the most handsome customer on the face of Mother Earth, but he certainly is one of the funniest and kindest souls. Every time we have met, Hob gives me a wink, just as he did on that first meeting in Doreen's flat, and over the years our unusual friendship has grown.
When Doreen passed into the Summerlands, my heart went out to that funny little coconut familiar. How lonely he must have felt, afraid of what was to become of him. At least now he knows that he is loved and considered useful. I am sure that next time we meet we will both have a wink in our eye for each other. So here's looking at you, Hob old friend. There are good times yet to be had for coconuts and familiars alike!
Janet Farrar
Doreen Valiente, The charge of the Goddess : the mother of modern Witchcraft (Brighton: Hexagon Hoopix, 2000), p. 43.
Hob now happily resides with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone. He enjoys gifts of tobacco and chocolate.
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