Southampton Common – I Walk Alone

Research Rabbit Hole ~ Oswald Mosley in Southampton

Today, it’s hard to believe that there was ever a time when fascism was accepted in England. It’s even harder to imagine a massive British Union of Fascists rally on Southampton Common or the infamous BUF leader, Oswald Mosley, standing on top of a van giving a speech. This is exactly what happened on Sunday, 18 July 1937, but I’m pleased to say things didn’t go quite the way Oswald Mosley expected. Read on to find out more . . .

Carrying a torch

Parkrun number 463 on 22 October was my turn to write the run report. In time-honoured fashion, I’d prepared some of it in advance, mostly about the ghosts of Southampton Common and the old gallows because Halloween was fast approaching and I like to add a bit of history to my reports. The rest I would fill in later with any PBs, milestone runs and interesting incidents. Morning mist swirled across the flats as we headed towards the set-up team, and the words of Keats To Autumn ran through my head, Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness . . . When I learned them for my English Literature O Level, I was a Haley and had no idea I’d be a Keates one day.

War, peace and Canada geese

Back in May 2022, I was in the middle of a WIP set during the Southampton blitz, so the prospect of a VE day flypast by vintage World War II planes got me quite excited. Reports in the Daily Echo suggested there would be lots of planes, including Spitfires. By now, I should know not to believe the things I read in the Echo without double checking, but anticipation overcame scepticism and on Sunday 8 May, Commando, CJ and I found ourselves on Town Quay with a crowd of other Echo believers, eagerly awaiting the planes. To be frank, there was an air of cynicism amongst the crowd. Flypasts are often promised and the combination of ancient planes and unpredictable weather means they are not always delivered.

Research Rabbit Hole – Southampton Parks 1926

The town of Southampton was once surrounded by ancient fields where townspeople grew crops in summer and grazed animals in winter. By law, all crops had to be harvested by 1 August, Lammas Day, so the fields were called Lammas Lands. In 1844, the Marsh Improvement Act allowed the council to drain the Saltmarsh around the new Terminus Station. To compensate the townspeople for losing this common grazing land, the council agreed to turn the other Lammas Lands into parks. The Central Parks were laid out in the late 1850s, and old OS maps of the time show the layout has changed very little since. Southampton’s wonderful parks are still a prominent feature to this day, and they also feature in many of my books. Making sure I got things right required a good deal of research.

An author’s life

Last week, I released the third book in my historic fiction series. It was exciting, especially the part where I got to hold the proof copy in my hand for the first time. Even so, the life of an author is not as full of adventure, intrigue and vast wealth as many people think. Top bestselling authors may have lives like that, but my experience (and I suspect theirs) is very different. If you’re thinking of writing a book, read on to understand the reality.

Bluebells, witches and a family grave

The Common looked glorious as we walked towards the last parkrun of April. Everything was fresh, green and bursting with life. The air was crisp and rich with the smell of spring, freshly cut grass and damp earth. It was one of those mornings that make you glad to be alive. Of course, my main aim for the morning was visiting the dead, like I do most Saturday mornings. I was especially interested in the bluebells I’d heard were bursting out everywhere in the Old Cemetery.

Birthdays, bees and blossoms (plus a few graves)

Saturday 2 July 2022 was Southampton parkrun’s 10th birthday. Sadly, event number 448 did not have the brightest, sunniest weather. The wind was whistling across the flats so much the balloons wouldn’t stay still for my photographs, and looking at the clouds, I couldn’t help wondering if we would all stay dry. The possibility of getting wet didn’t appear to have deterred the runners. As the magic hour of nine o’clock approached, more and more people arrived, and the Common began to fill with lots of smiling faces. Soon the crowds began to gather at the start line.

A fresh start

There’s something to be said for starting the day off with a nice walk. When that day also happens to be the first day of a new year, doubly so. It helped that the first day of 2022 dawned crisp and cold, a truly golden start to the year. After all the madness of the last two years, I hoped this was a good omen for the year ahead. I’m fairly sure I wasn’t alone in being tired of all the panic, rumour, conspiracy theories and restrictions at this stage. Commando and I strolled across the Common, admiring the layers of gold, grey and blue through the bare branches of the trees. The wonderful Gareth had already been round putting out his signs and the set up crew were on the flats putting out the poles and chains of the parkrun finish funnel. The sky was the real star of the show though. It looked like being a beautiful morning, which was just as well, because drizzle would have put a dampener on my plans.

Beyond Graffiti update

A little bird (Kim) had told me there was some new graffiti to be seen in the Beyond Graffiti Tunnel, so for the second parkrun of April, I decided on a change of scene for my morning constitutional. As the park runners began to gather on the flats, I headed past the Hawthorns (still sadly closed), towards the Avenue. Swapping the peace and tranquility of the Old Cemetery for the hustle and bustle of the road didn’t seem like much of a plan at first. Especially when I had to wait to cross. Once on the other side though, I made for Lovers Walk, the relatively quiet trail that runs behind the trees along The Avenue.

Christmas comes to the Common

As Commando and I headed across the Common to parkrun, on 11 December 2021, we thought the pandemic was all but over. Well, I did anyway. Of course, we were still all wearing masks in shops and things, and washing our hands every five minutes. Ok, so that might just have been me too, but you get the picture. There was an annoying little variant called Omicron, in the news, but it sounded fairly innocuous, nothing but a bad cold really. The first case had hit our shores at the end of November, but no one was especially worried about it. Well, I wasn’t. It sounded to me as if the virus was doing what viruses generally do, getting weaker. In fact I thought it might be good news.

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