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10] The Watercress Woman
Once an old gypsy woman scratched
a meagre existence by selling the watercress she gathered
from the Pinnock Stream. She would habitually break the monotony
of her labours by taking time off to indulge in her two main
pleasures in life - smoking and drinking. She smoked a pipe
and drank gin from a bottle carried tucked away in the safety
of her basket. Frequent spillage's, due to the shakiness of
old age or just general sloppiness, rendered her shawl highly
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| inflammable.
So much so that when a spark fell from her pipe on to the fabric
it immediately set alight. Literally, in a flash her clothes
were a mass of flames that completely engulfed her body - moments
later she was dead. |
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Her ghostly image
has gradually faded over the years and later witnesses report
seeing no more than a misty figure seated on the bridge. The
Pinnock Bridge is at a low part of the village and air, trapped
between the woods to the south and the foot of the North Downs,
frequently makes these lower areas more prone to sudden mists.
Driving through one of these sudden patches, one can be forgiven
for 'seeing' a little more than one would normally expect. |
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Ghosts |