The Drummer-Boy of Potter Heigham

I was a few minutes late. The car-park of the village hall was full, people had abandoned their cars on nearby verges. I had to park on a nearby side-street and dash back through the darkness and driving rain. A poster on the door heralded a talk for the Potter Heigham Local History Group. Inside, a large lady in a floral print dress stood beside an elderly man in front of a packed church hall. She was middle aged, with streaks of grey in her short chestnut hair. He was tall, wiry and dressed all in black, except for a purple cravat at his open shirt collar. The small amount of white hair that he had left was closely cropped. Despite his age, he exuded an air of authority. On the table in front of them was a primitive slide projector with a screen behind it. The way they both commanded the audience reminded me of a pair of teachers. She raised her voice to talk over the excited chatter.

“In the final talk in our series about the history of the Norfolk Broads, we are honoured to be joined by local authority on the supernatural, and long-standing minister of the chapel in Potter Heigham, Doctor Rowan Birkett.” Warm applause rang around the hall. “He will talk to us about the power of stories, recount the tragic and chilling tale, the drummer boy of Potter Heigham and how through hours of careful research, he fixed it once and for all to our world.”