River Voices - Extraordinary Stories from the Wye by former Ross Gazette journalist, Marsha O’Mahony sold out at the end of last year but the reprint is now available from local bookshops or Logaston Press.

This successful book is reviewed in the Ross Gazette this week.

Marsha worked for a time as a reporter at the Ross Gazette but is also a researcher and oral historian. She refers to a Herefordshire superstition that ‘the river will take, then leave alone for another year.’ The book recalls many of the incidents of drowning in the River Wye.

In the summer of 2017, a team of interviewers travelled up and down the Wye in Herefordshire, recording the experiences of the people who have lived and worked on the river. Thanks to them, a wealth of memories surfaced of a much-loved river teeming with often startling tales, and peopled by a rich assortment of characters, many long-gone. Stories, photographs and artefacts have been gathered together and preserved, and thanks to the work carried out by the team and especially Marsha, the voices of the ‘ordinary’ men and women of the Wye now have their place in the history of the river.

One of the many people Marsha interviewed when compiling this fascinating account of the people who live alongside the river was Janet Preedy. Janet said everyone used to swim in the river when she was a girl but there were very strict rules about when and where they could go.

See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition hereRiver Voices: Extraordinary Stories from the Wye is priced at £10 and is available from local bookshops or for more information contact [email protected] or 07989733870.