Cycling down a quiet country lane last weekend, I came across a stray sheep. ?Not unusual round here, as there is no shortage of sheep who firmly believe that the grass the other side of the fence is not only greener but also tastier. ?It?s not always clear where such sheep belong, but this time there was a flock munching steadily away in a field next to the road, with a farm track leading up to a white-washed farmhouse.
I cycled up the track, much to the amusement of the resident sheep dog, and, on finding the door open, called out ?hello?. ?The farmer appeared at the side of the house, and I told him there was a sheep on the road. ?He queried my statement with ?On the main road, you mean?? ?I was stumped for a moment, the main road to me being the A357, at least a mile off. ?Of course the sheep wasn?t on the main road. ?Main roads have lorries, cars, traffic, white lines down the middle. On the road I?d just come from, you could probably have a picnic on a Sunday morning without seeing a single car come down. ?But then I realised that to the farmer, the farm track was the point of reference. ?In relation to that, then yes, the lane was indeed a main road.
The incident was a great reminder that in order to get a message across clearly when we write, it?s important to step into our readers? shoes, to imagine what the world looks like to them, and to speak the language they speak.
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