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New Stour & Avon, September 24, 2021
Sport
O’Shea takes a bow at finale Neil O’Shea showed skill and patience in his end of season victory at Holbury Lakes. Conditions were near perfect at Holbury when the four Poole and Wimborne Fly Fishers made the short hop over to Hampshire for the season finale. The first signs of autumn were showing in the trees and there was a definite nip in the air. That said, the fish were active and clearly visible. They were, however, quite fussy and it was a real challenge to get them interested. The successful patterns included small nymphs and buzzers. While most anglers caught their four-fish bag, Neil O’Shea took the top spot with a very respectable 11lbs 6 ozs. We await the AGM with interest to find out the year’s champion angler. n Send your sports news to: newsdesk@stourandavon. co.uk.
A spooky selection of suitably
HAUNTING: Edward Parnell
Since it’s the season of the witch, as well as of mists and mellow fruitfulness, why not dim the lights, (not too much, mind), and immerse yourself in a chillingly good read? Lorraine Gibson has a few suggestions
As October turns the landscape from green into the reds and russets of autumn, use the coming darker evenings as an excuse to curl up with a good book: Ghostland Edward Parnell This unique book, haunting in every sense of the word, features beautifully-written and evocative descriptions of Dorset, including Wimborne, Blandford, Hengistbury Head and Badbury Rings. It defies pigeon-holing but is part memoir, part travelogue and part loveletter to Britain and the ghosts that walk its haunted nooks and crannies. Driven by a need for answers after a traumatic personal loss and his passion for the natural world, especially its birdlife, of which he writes with unshowy expertise and affection, and an obsession with spooky stories, Parnell embarks on quiet, watchful, at times unsettling odyssey where he recalls episodes
from his past, often linked to ghost stories, scary movies and creepy TV shows that are linked to the locations he visits. A constant throughout the journey is his brother, Chris, a fellow ‘twitcher’ who once lived in Wimborne. He recounts walks and birdwatching trips with him, including at ‘The Lake’ in Longham and at Hengistbury Head, where he says, ‘…we sat by the coastguard’s lookout as waif-like storm petrels – swallow-sized black sea birds – fluttered low over the water.’ ‘The view from the hill could be a postcard: Christchurch Harbour’s boat-filled lagoon, sheltered behind the beckoning, hutlined finger of the spit. Like so much of Dorset, this is a site riddled with the remains of tumuli and ancient settlements of vanished lives long gone.’ And after a walk at Badbury Rings, writes of how he feels he could be ‘following in the very steps young Hardy himself took, past Rushy Pond, a shallow
‘heath-hemmed’ watering hole where I watch a pony silently emerge through the scrub to drink.’ Seeking solace while referencing uncanny tales by the likes of M R James, Algernon Blackwood, Dickens and even Stephen King, he finds himself relating to, and even being involved in, eerie scenarios, all of which feel the more disquieting, though also oddly comforting, thanks to his pragmatic take on events that changed his life and outlook. The author’s life-long fascination with the supernatural actually lends him comfort as he attempts to come to terms with the aforementioned loss and, even in the more painful moments, his dry humour sheds light, making what could have been a bleak premise for a book quite the opposite. Parnell’s openness makes this unusual book a great read and his courage in literally facing his own ghosts lingers, like a benign presence, for some time after.
