Lol is the Hardcastle's gardener. He's just a country boy, born and bred. He's been on the job for years, but he's content with keeping to himself when he's at the country house. He knows his place. So does Mrs. Bale, but Lol is different. Where she seems to be very sure of herself in terms of her position in the household with relation to her employers, Lol just seems to be afraid to interact. He's a man of few words. He's a subservient man. He's unpresuming, polite and reliable. When I think of Lol, I seem to remember his hovering at the door to the sitting room, afraid to come in until Jean tells him to "be a Devil." When he finally enters the room he's afraid to sit down because he's so dirty. I think most of us would feel that way if we had been working in a garden, but I get the feeling that Lol would behave that way even if he had just come from home. He never wants to cause any trouble or make any waves and when, in fact, he has a run-in with the village bullies he doesn't make any attempt to drag the Hardcastles into the matter. If it weren't for Mrs. Bale he might still be lying on the side of the road.
He's the kind of guy who probably wouldn't do well in the big city with all sorts of new-fangled things. He wants nothing to do with ambulances, for example -- he doesn't believe in them. If he got sick, he'd be the perfect candidate for a tub of Mrs. Bale's goose fat. He's obviously devoted to his mother, with whom he lives. He has lots of brothers and he's lived in the area probably all of his life. I'd guess he never travelled beyond the district in which he resides. He loves the country and finds it depressing that the newcomers, instead of enjoying all that it has to offer seem to have found new ways to cheapen and destroy it.
During the conversations that Lol has with Jean, it is clear that he thinks she's a wonderful, tender lady, but he has a great deal of trouble trying to express himself. He's tongue-tied and unsure of himself and he seems to be on the money when he implies that he can deal with subjects of a horticultural nature, but most everything else will throw him for a loop. He's shy and appears to be frightened by strangers. At one point he even apologizes for mentioning that he hasn't been paid because he'd much rather avoid what he thinks might be an unpleasant confrontation. On the other hand, Lol seems to be at home with the villagers when he's chairing a meeting regarding the bypass. Even though he approached Jean because he felt that she was in a good position to organize matters, he was able to reason with a group of his contemporaries without stumbling all over his own words. Again, it seems as though he isn't comfortable with outsiders, but he's perfectly capable of dealing with people he's known socially for years.
The key to talking with him is to keep things simple, because he's not the cleverest or most articulate guy around. Sometimes when you're talking with him you get the notion that you've lost your way. Or that maybe he's answering a question you have yet to ask. Or maybe one that you've asked ten minutes earlier. Something's just a bit off-kilter. I can just imagine a conversation between Lol and Gwen Flack after which each leaves thinking that something wonderful just happened.