To the Eel Island

On one level, a story about moving, in old age, from a village to a nearby town, in this case the city of Ely. But also a moving exploration of ‘belonging’ and of moving on, of the layers of past generations of the local people who have shaped the new place, and the changes over the years wrought by nature and the shifting Fenland landscape. ‘Yes, it’s one man’s memoir but… I was constantly reminded of Gilbert White: that feeling of being shown around a locality (which is also a passing England) by a particularly learned and congenial companion. I can think of no higher praise for a countryside book.’ John Lewis-Stempel ‘For Moseley, the past is a constant river, running just below the surface of everything, landscape, buildings, community, family and friends.’ Jeremy Musson ‘A delightful blend of memoir and history – streets and saints, markets and fens – bringing past and present to life.’ Jenny Uglow Many people as they get older have to face leaving a village or town they have loved, a place redolent with memories and connections, to relocate somewhere more – as they say – ‘manageable.’ It is different for everyone, and not always easy, for our ghosts go with us. But everything connects with everything else. There is no such thing as a new beginning. Such a move need not be a matter for repining and regret, but a new adventure. This book records just that journey, of having to learn that new place to which Time is bringing you – and populate it with its own stock of private memories. Charles Moseley writes about his move from a fenland village to the nearby historic little city of Ely and breathes life into the history, natural world and people who have made his new home what it is today.