The penultimate story in The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Follies and Grottoes falls into a roomy category - ideas I'd like to write about myself. It concerns sound mirrors, a pre-radar attempt to create a coastal early warning system during the run-up to World War 2.
Sound mirrors were large concrete structures and - as most were abandoned rather than demolished - have something of the feel of modernist art. These are, quite reasonably I feel, categorised as 20th century follies, examples of landscape features
In Howard's story, the modern protagonist observes the restoration of some of these interesting structures near his home. It's a story about connections - the links between people today, and the way in which past events echo down the years. The title refers to Locksley Hall, Tennyson's poem about progress and change. Like the narrator of that poem, Howard's protagonist moves on. This is not a horror/ghost story, more a meditation on life and love.
And so we nearly reach the end of this excellent anthology. Just one more story to go!
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