Don’t PANIC Mr Mainwaring!
Investigating a 1940s-themed café, someone very special came through!
We switched on our equipment, turned off the lights, and waited. I was with my teammates at Ghosted UK – Andrew, Natasha, Jane, Mandy, Amanda and a guest, Lydia – holding a paranormal investigation at Poppylands, a 1940s-themed café in Horsey, Norfolk.
We’d captured quite a bit of activity on previous visits and I knew owner, Darren Stride, had seen a pram move by itself too.
So now, in August 2020, I was excited to see what we might experience.
The café is full of 1940s memorabilia, from Second World War medals and gas masks to a 1940s telly, so we started by asking spirits about the objects around us.
We were soon getting knocks, like loud pops, in response – one for yes, two for no. Our ELS camera suggested a figure was present too. It was clear we were talking to someone… but who? One of our followers, Wayne, watching from home, was getting the name Arthur so I asked the spirit: ‘Is your name Arthur?’
We soon got a reply: One very loud knock for yes!
Then I had a thought. I knew Darren was a massive fan of the TV show Dad’s Army and Poppylands boasted lots of memorabilia from the show.
‘Is it Arthur Lowe?’ I asked tentatively. A moment later we got another knock for yes!
‘Arthur Lowe who played Captain Mainwaring in Dad’s Army?’ I asked. Another yes!
‘I’m a big fan of the show!’ I told him. Excited, we hurried to collect all the memorabilia associated with Arthur from the café – I put on a replica of his hat and the glasses he’d worn in the show, someone grabbed a teddy dressed as Captain Mainwaring and someone else got Arthur Lowe’s photo.
We carried on chatting, asking all sorts of questions – whether he’d enjoyed making Dad’s Army and had approved of the re-make.
Weirdly, when anyone else asked a question there was no answer, but if
repeated it we’d get the knocks, like he only wanted to talk to me!
Arthur told us he was with his late wife Joan, and when we asked if we were daft for investigating the place, he said we were!
Afterwards, when I posed for a photo in the hat and glasses next to a poster of Arthur, everyone reckoned I looked a bit like him – I wonder if that’s why he only wanted to ‘talk’ to me.
We’ve had some amazing experiences on investigations. But chatting to Captain Mainwaring is up there with the best! I only hope he didn’t think I was a ‘stupid boy!’