THE PREMONITIONS BUREAU: The circumstances of connections + exclusive book extract

KATE RAY EXPLORES THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE WOLLATON GNOMES

‘Both adults and children have seen fairies for centuries. How this can be is still a neurological mystery, the understanding of our brain science still being in its infancy. Given that there were synchronising factors in play that night - Equinox energies and the crossing of ley lines in a state of flux that could have provided a disturbed energy - it’s just possible, for me, that the stage for a brief and unexpected alternative consciousness may have been created. Added to, Wollaton has a history of fairy sightings, tips the scale that the likelihood is that the children did have some sort of bizarre encounter - a meeting of little-known function of neurology and the possibility of an as yet undiscovered dimension and its residents. One day, (if we ever get there) and understand all there is to know, we will look back at times like this and wonder what all the fuss was about.’

Imagine that you are in primary school, around the age of 8 years old, those heady long days of the summer holidays have just past, and the new term has begun. With the warmth of the summer wanning and the lighter nights drawing to a close you, cling onto the last of the time to play out in the wider world. You and your friends have places you go, place that hold mini adventures, woods, meadows, gardens and lake areas being your playground. On one such trip in on an early autumn day you head to such a place, and you spot a gnome, then another, then another and another. This sounds beyond comprehension, but this is the story that was retold by a group of children in the 1970s.

“The idea of a city park playing host to real, live fairies remains inconceivable to most people”

Jo Hickey-Hall There has been a recent revival in the extraordinary case of the Wollaton gnomes and I have been caught up in the re-examining of it and have become a gnome ambassador, of sorts. I was approached by a strange and lovely man, Dan Green, about the subject and it was his enthusiasm that sparked an interest in the case, where previously I had been so sceptical of it, I had avoided it completely. I subsequently interviewed him on my YouTube channel as he had been emersed in research on the case and had asked, in vain, for the children involved to come forward to retell the tale. After this interview the case has been snowballing and has been picked up yet again by the faery community, and particularly highlighted the work that Dr Simon Young has been doing around this.

“ .. so, for me doing work on the WG was a bit of a revelation. I would say that I came out more sceptical about what happened but more interested overall. My suspicion is that this experience (supernatural or not) got blown out of proportion by chatter and newspapers. But that there was clearly a gnome mythology that the kids plugged into”

Dr Simon Young is the founder of the modern version of the Faery investigation society, a society that has been around since the 1920s and is a collective of people interested in faeries, folklore, myth and legends. Many of its members are amateur researchers who provide valuable time and effort in both academic research and field work. This then contributes to discussion and wider podcast, newsletter, and videos: it is a cauldron of a wealth of knowledge. From the Fairy Investigation society, and because of my interest and YouTube chat with Dan, Simon pulled a handful of writers together, including anthropologists, folklorists, fourteen experts to put together a series of essays that would for a book on the WG case. Each writer for the book came at the case from different angles, some like Neil Rushton had specialist interests, his is the psychological state of the experience.

In the book The Wollaton Gnomes : A Nottingham Fairy Mystery, Neil highlights some of the psychological factors that could hinder an investigation into a case. “Many experience reports” (of faery encounters) “are from childhood, usually recalled in adulthood. When this is the case, we need to take into account the vagaries of memory and how the incident is

recalled” Neil Ruston

“Many experience reports…” (of faery encounters) “are from childhood, usually …recalled in adulthood. When this is the case, we need to take into account the vagaries of memory and how the incident is recalled” Neil Ruston

One aspect, that we will look at later, is that the WG children did recount this story only a matter of days after the incident, and this in itself makes the tale stand out from other faery accounts, that often are told in adulthood and the memory can be nebulous. Some of this collective of writers are planning to have a more hands on, field investigation into the case later in the year, and I will bring to you any updates.

Gnomes are classed as earth elementals in as much as they are attached to the earth itself. Unlike sylphs that travel through air and find their energy there, or the salamanders who live in fire, or undines who inhabited water, the gnome must and does stay connected to the soil and depths of the land. Gnomes are generally drawn to gardens, wild places such as meadows and are residents of the surface to upper subterranean regions. Although not always dwelling in the deeper levels of the earth, like the hobs and tommy knockers, I am sure that there are bands of gnomes who do dwell and work the inner chasms and chambers. concrete garden statues, this image is one key aspect to the WG case. They are usually depicted as old man with weathered features, sporting tunics, leggings, and a distinctly large cap. This seems to be an image that has its origins in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore and has infiltrated wider global depictions in popular culture.

Around 1580, Francis Willoughby had Wollaton Hall built, this Nottinghamshire manor was a fine piece of stunning Elizabethan architecture set in lavish grounds and at the time was removed from the city itself. In modern terms the hall lays on the edge of the ever-growing metropolis. For the most part the gardens whereas formally designed as the building itself, sporting rolling vistas, lawned conventional gardens, huge greenhouses, and cottage gardens, as well as more wild areas. It may be this intensely considered horticultural place that had drawn the gnomes into the area.