In 1999, I telephoned the vicar. Despite the twenty-six year gap, he remembered me. I told him that I now had a clearer picture of Saltersford and that there were some questions I'd like to have his opinion on. I asked him for his thoughts on Thursbitch; and I am now speaking from my notes made during the conversation. He said that he had no personal experience of the place, because he'd never been there. He said that, at his induction in 1972, his Church Wardens had told him that it would not be safe for “a man of the cloth” to enter the valley. One of them had said that he himself never went there, because it was “not a healthy part”. The vicar followed the advice because he respected the men who had given it. He also said that the people of Saltersford think of it as “no good place”, “not right”, “not safe&vrdquo;. He explained that this attitude was spiritual, and said, “I wouldn't like to go up myself. I think the valley needs feeding.”
I wanted to put the phone down, but the vicar reported another incident. The people had told him that, in 1985, Thursbitch was filled with what they termed and he did not question “a lot of electrical magic”.
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