Obadiah is a young record-breaking athlete from Middleton Junction, with an unfortunate tendency to violence, on the rare occasions when he can afford to drink too much. Nevertheless, he is devoted to his sport and his lovely young wife Millie, until his life is tragically cut short by a bizarre accident. His spirit then makes unsuccessful attempts to gain access to the Afterlife, in which he is assisted by his widow Millie and her new husband, Paddy, with the advice of a friendly angel.
Most of the action occurs on a short stretch of the towpath of the Rochdale canal, between the Boat and Horses, Chadderton, and the Rose of Lancaster at Mills Hill, and a few forays into the hinterland.
As his attempts to join the Afterlife are unsuccessful, he spends the rest of eternity as a ghost on his comfort zone, the towpath, and for all I know he is still there.
When the author reached the age of eighty, and was no longer able to travel much, he began to put a few words on paper; his motivation was to keep his mind alert as his muscles weakened. Some of these ‘musings’ attempted to be amusing, without much success. Others were reactions to articles in the Australian newspaper, in the days when he could afford to have it delivered every day. Then he got carried away and began to deliberately wear different hats; a sportswriter one day, a current affairs commentator on another day, an arrogant book-reviewer the next.
All the opinions expressed are his own, based upon wide reading and a good memory, so that ideas spawned by a book on theoretical physics began to mix with stories of the Brith Raj in India. And his sound Catholic upbringing, based on his father’s love of Rerum Novarum, began to embrace the results of living for a while in a strongly Buddhist society.
So, if you are looking for historical accuracy you will not find it here: he has kept no notes or references; what is in his head has leaked out through his word-processer. It is curiously therapeutic; a bit like going to Confession but not quite.
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