I didn't even get her name! :(

Subject: I didn't even get her name! :( Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:52 pm

A sunday evening in the autumn of 1970. I was 14 then. Unsure if it was October or November, but that doesn't matter. From the age of 8 up until I was 15, I used to spend most saturdays with my maternal grandparents, and most sundays with an aunt, uncle and 3 of my cousins.

This particular sunday, I walked home from Millbrook to St Deny's. My route took me up through shirley, across Southampton Common, then down through Portswood. It was a clear, crisp and fresh evening; a perfect walking climate. As I approached the common, I checked the time on my watch, my last chance until I reached the other side of the common. It was 11.45pm, I was making good time and would be home before 12.30.

To cross Southampton Common I used to take a shortcut through Hill Lane Cemetary. This cut around 2 minutes off the journey time, and I found it very peaceful in there. On occasion I would find the odd couple, somebody walking their dog, or somebody cutting through like me. Not normally at this hour though. I had just reached a point in the path, with the chapel just visible over my right shoulder, when I received a light tap on my left shoulder. A girl's voice asked "Excuse me but have you got the time please?" She sounded around my own age, maybe a little older. I answered that it was a little after 11.45 and turned to see no-one! Nadda! Nix! Just air! I left the cemetary swiftly and arrived home a little after midnight!

Had there been somebody there? It was a gravel path and crunched under foot, I think I would have heard somebody coming or going. I still feel guilty about leaving as swiftly as I did and plan to go back and investigate and possibly apologise