Pot Pourri
Picture the scene. You’ve raised little Jamie and Chloe from helpless infants to excitable teenagers. You’ve bought a house in the right catchment area. You’ve hung onto your job somehow and paid the mortgage. You’ve tracked down just the right Victorian pine kitchen table to stand in the middle of your dream kitchen extension. The kids have gone off on a suitably ‘right-on’ school trip with the very best teachers, to help underprivileged kids. You’ve seen them off in their new fleece jackets, bought them the latest smart-phones and told them to stay in touch. Sit at that table and open a bottle of Chardonnay; raise a toast to another milestone in your life as a parent!
What could spoil the evening? Your iPhone buzzing news of a text message – that’s what.
‘Mum, mum, there’s jet planes flying over us, there’s tanks outside the window, there’s soldiers pointing guns at us, Mum, a bomb’s gone off. Mum – do something!’
There’s no answer to that, is there?
Turn on the evening news and discover that little Jamie and Chloe, so recently safe and sound in Birmingham, were now slap in the centre of a military coup in Turkey.
Why? The school had booked ‘remarkably good value’ trips to South Africa with a flight change in Ankara, Turkey. A highly qualified teacher for every six of the 42 pupils, all the risk assessments filled out, everyone health and safety checked.
There are many people who have suffered greatly during and following the Turkish coup – but something about the plight of those Birmingham parents, frozen in shock, unable to do a thing to help, their world crashing round their ears, just got to me.
You’ll be glad to hear that all the pupils were unharmed and have now arrived in South Africa to start their stint working at the Rondevlei and Ruigtevlei schools and are now busy bringing the delights of ‘the three-legged race, egg and spoon and wheelbarrow races as well as biscuit decorating, apple bobbing, football, cricket, and bracelet making’ to a small South African township – and visiting Mandela’s cell on Robben Island.
“In Birmingham, we are fortunate to live in a city that is multicultural and our students are growing up in a generation promoting equality, so to hear stories of conditions in a place that was beginning to feel like home in the years just before their birth was entirely thought-provoking.”
Not as ‘thought provoking’ as the journey to get there this year!
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Political activism is getting out of hand. The European version used to involve a lot of shouting and chaining yourself to railings, but lately it appears to have turned outwards and bring the death of those who don’t agree with you.
In Russia they still use some old fashioned methods – and I applaud them and commend their latest effort to some of our fringe lunatics.
Pyotr Pavlensky has been down the well trodden artistic route of cutting off part of his ear. It didn’t raise much of a stir – so very Van Gogh. He set fire to the door of the Kremlin, barely a mention in the papers. Then he cracked it.
He stripped off his clothes and nailed his testicles to the cobbles of the Red Square.
I can see this working in Britain. Would I pay more attention to the paranoid mutterings of Seumas Milne if he nailed his testicles to the pavement outside the Guardian offices? Oh absolutely. Naked, mind. No cheating. If Corbyn and Watson joined him I’d even vote Labour.
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Boris Johnson has quit his £275,000 Telegraph column – a fee he described as “chicken feed”. Spectacularly well fed chickens, what Ho!
Hopefully to spend more time penning limericks to that Erdoğan character that the EU would like to see ‘in the club’.
I have no problem whatsoever with Johnson as Foreign Secretary – it is about time someone British stopped pussy footing round terrified to offend anyone. Taking the mickey out of foreign leaders? Heaps better than sending exocets their way.
The British media don’t seem to understand that the Turkish military was specifically mandated by Atatürk to act if the country moved away from the secular state he envisaged as the way in which different cultures could live together. I keep reading about ‘senior officers plotting’ to bring about the downfall of a ‘democratic government’. Democratically elected, yes, but to run a secular country.
Our military is there to ‘protect the Crown’. They have sworn allegiance to the Crown, not to a democratically elected government…
Watch how fast the tanks come rolling out of Sandhurst if a ‘democratically elected government’ threatened the Crown – and then re-write your articles about ‘senior officers plotting’. They didn’t plot, they acted; as they were supposed to.
What you are cheering on with your emotive articles about ‘brave citizens’ is a Muslim mob overthrowing the constitution. Are you sure that is what you want to uphold?
_______________________
Can we give over with the guff about tragic ‘Teddy bears’ lying beside dead children littering the Promenade des Anglais after the terrible events in Nice. French children have many toys, but they are not in the habit of carrying around a bear commemorating an American president. There were children of other nationalities killed that night – but do we know they had a Teddy bear?
Whilst you are about it, cut the guff about the French police ‘allowing’ the deadly truck driver to park up for 9 hours on Bastille Day by ‘fooling them’ saying he ‘was carrying ice-cream’.
No vehicle over 3 tonne is allowed to drive on French roads on a public holiday – unless it is a freezer lorry carrying perishable goods. He may well have told a policeman who stopped him that he was carrying ice-cream – he would have been asked to prove it, and on seeing the empty lorry, would have been told that he couldn’t move one inch forward or backwards until midnight…it’s the law.
The fact that he had hired a freezer lorry told me that this was well thought out in advance – it is the only HGV that could have driven anywhere on Bastille Day.
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France is also a determinedly Secular country that didn’t take part in the Iraq war – that factor the British media are fond of blaming for every act of terrorism.
What they have done is refuse to bow to the pressure of making ‘exceptions’ for the Muslim community. If you come to live in France you are expected to bow to French mores, languages and culture.
They are paying a terrible price for retaining their identity and values. As is the army and the judiciary in Turkey.
_______________________
So we now have ‘a clown’ of a Foreign Secretary who says what he really thinks, and cares not who he offends…?
I feel considerably safer.
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Just watching the ‘contents’ of next door’s holiday cottage setting off for the day. They arrived with a high powered speed boat. ‘Water Skiing’ they said.
This morning they asked Mr G ‘which way to the open sea?’ ‘That way’ he pointed. ‘Thanks’ they said, ‘the kids want to water ski in the open, can’t jump and skip in the river.’
They’ve just set off. Three adults, three children and three large Labradors in one small power boat.
At least the dogs were wearing life jackets.
I’ll let you know…..
- Jonathan King
July 18, 2016 at 11:54 am -
Your neighbours sound like excellent examples of Brits – of the human species even or, to give them a better name, lemmings, heading, as we all are, for the edge of the cliff above that sea they desire so much!
- Michael Massey
July 18, 2016 at 11:59 am -
You’re a cynical ole devil Ms Raccoon. Well done!
One of my sons works for a “charitable” foundation that doles out money and has received a number of requests for handouts from 15/16 year-olds so that they might spend the summer “teaching” in Southern and East Africa. “They deserve a good kicking. Snotty jumped-up little cunts” he said. Can’t disagree with that.
- Michael McFadden
July 18, 2016 at 12:00 pm -
“This morning they asked Mr G ‘which way to the open sea?’ ‘That way’ he pointed. ”
ummm…. isn’t just about ANY direction in the UK pointing “to the open sea”?
:>
MJM, landbound Yankee Doodle - dearieme
July 18, 2016 at 12:10 pm -
“fortunate to live in a city that is multicultural and our students are growing up in a generation promoting equality”: precious, pompous, prats.
- david
July 18, 2016 at 12:20 pm -
I would never send my children onto a plane unless I was going with them myself, the journey was absolutely necessary, and there was no other choice.
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 12:27 pm -
Are these poor devils allowed to venture outside on their own, David? You know, close to the Queen’s highways ‘n’ byways…
- A Potted Plant
July 18, 2016 at 1:25 pm -
@Bandini – or take the underground, the Tube, on their own?
Like Martin Allen, missing from November 1979, possibly abducted at Gloucester Road underground station by a tall man with very blond hair – according to a witness who claimed to have seen such a man and Martin get off together at Earl’s Court station.
I’ve never lived in London, so it never struck me as particularly significant that Martin and his alleged abductor disembarked the Tube at Earl’s Court, and none of the news articles I’ve read about Martin’s case ever suggested that there might be something significant about that district (borough?).
But there is.
I’d never have understood what it was, if not for the Wikipedia entry on Earl’s Court, which very helpfully pointed out a peculiarity of Earl’s Court during the 1970’s.- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 1:28 pm -
Oh God, APP, you’ve just opened a can of worms! This is David’s specialist topic & I’m sure he’s about to tell you all about it…
- windsock
July 18, 2016 at 2:25 pm -
I know, Bandini, I know. I feel a fatal attack of deja vu coming on…
- A Potted Plant
July 18, 2016 at 3:48 pm -
@Bandini – Here’s a hint
“Already, the options for travellers were abundant, according to Bill James:
You bought a VW Kombivan, a hand-me-down from a home-going Aussie, at the car yard disguised on the Strand outside Australia House or you joined one of the dozens of cheap tour operators based in London catering for the colonial market. Autotours, Protea, Pacesetters, Penn, Transit, Contiki, Vikings, NAT, CCT, Sundowners … You could walk down Earl’s Court Road at any time of the day or night and see them loading or unloading their punters”.Have you seen a tall young man with very blond hair, around here? the Bobby asks a group of tall young men with very blond hair, from a sea of tall young men with very blond hair who are coming & going, coming & going, day after day. Pointless to ask, of course, because this particular tall young man with very blond hair would be long gone already – and these urban nomads or ‘travellers’ don’t know or expect to know much about each other, unless they have plans to travel together.
A certain murderous maniac and his cohorts, known to particularly favor 15-year-old boys, were in the prime of their careers as kidnappers in 1979.
- david
July 18, 2016 at 3:57 pm -
A certain murderous maniac and his cohorts were not, ‘well spoken’, ‘authoritarian’, or working near to Gloucester Road Station, or living near Earls Court Station at the time. Or indeed not now either?
- tdf
July 18, 2016 at 6:52 pm -
“A certain murderous maniac and his cohorts, known to particularly favor 15-year-old boys, were in the prime of their careers as kidnappers in 1979. ”
I think APP is referring to this Aussie maniac: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevan_Spencer_von_Einem
- A Potted Plant
July 18, 2016 at 8:37 pm -
@tdf – you are very perceptive
But even if Von Einem & company were excluded as suspects, Martin and his alleged abductor disembarking at Earl’s Court would still be significant because;
– Earl’s Court had a significant population of young men who were temporary or transient residents, so longer term residents would be accustomed to seeing unfamiliar young males hanging around or passing through and not take much notice of them.
– Landlords in the area would be accustomed to young male temporary tenants taking leave abruptly, and not think it peculiar or noteworthy
– That population of temporary male (and female) residents were primarily of Australian and New Zealand origin. The alleged abductor just happens to have the stereotypical appearance of Australian travellers & tourists.
– The Allen family had significant Australian connections through the father’s work and the housing that went with his position as a driver for the Australian High Commision (I believe?)
– Used vehicles were available for sale all the time in that area, through private sale from young Australians anxious to unload them before returning home, very likely without any documentation or record of the transaction.- tdf
July 18, 2016 at 10:29 pm -
@APP
Thanks, but I cannot accept the compliment as although I have read a fair bit about the Martin Allen case, and was aware of the Allen family’s Australian connections, and have also read about von Einem and the allegations around the mysterious ‘Family’ gang, it had simply never occured to me to consider that von Einem (or ANY travelling blonde haired Aussie, for that matter) could have been involved in Martin’s disappearance.
In my defence I had not realised until reading that link you put up that the tradition of young or young-ish Aussies going for a ‘gap yah’ to Europe had such provenance, I had assumed it was a much more recent tradition than that.
It’s interesting. Is there any indication that von Einem ever visited the UK? I didn’t come across anything obvious from a very quick google search.
- A Potted Plant
July 19, 2016 at 2:59 am -
@tdf – yes, there are claims that Von Einem vacationed in the UK, but they aren’t very helpful.
From the wikipedia entry for Von Einem:
“…As Einem went on holiday to the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom during August and September 1983, the case against him began to mount up. Forensic investigators were able to match the many fibres found on Kelvin’s clothing to those taken from Einem’s home…”.But that’s just a Wiki article, with no specific reference cited for “…went on holiday to the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom…” passage. And that was 1983, not 1979, of course.
But it’s not hard to imagine very simple, straightforward abduction scenarios involving an Australian traveller predator. Perhaps even in Earl’s Court station itself, (never been there so I can’t say this could really happen there), dye the boy’s hair blond with a cheap do-it-at-home kit at a sink. The abductor’s jacket goes in Martin’s bag, which is then wrapped in Martin’s jacket and tucked under the man’s arm. The man and boy who then leave the station look considerably different from the ones that got off the Tube together. Then into the Combi, purchased on the man’s arrival and already promised to some other random traveller – with arrangements for the next owner to pick it up from Heathrow on a certain date – and straight to the airport for the next flight back. “Two tickets, please! Just me and my boy, M’um”. Sheer speculation, of course.
Von Einem’s kidnapping M.O. is documented fact, however. No luring ploys, no lengthy seduction – his clique very brazenly pulled boys who caught their eye into their car, in public view, from the sidewalk or the street during daylight hours! Abducting a boy from the London subway system, during heavy afternoon travel hours, seems pretty brazen to me.
- david
July 19, 2016 at 6:36 am -
Also this- Pharmacists gave evidence of the excessive amount of different hypnotic drugs von Einem had been prescribed 5172 tablets and capsules of six different brands of drugs between December 15, 1978 and August 10, 1983, and showed that von Einem often had prescriptions for drugs issued from different chemists on the same day or during the same weeks.
Von Einem also addressed the issue of the noisy exhaust on the car heard during the abduction of Kelvin, by stating that the exhaust on his Ford Falcon (which he sold on July 16, 1983 to raise money for his overseas trip) was less than two years old and in good condition.
- windsock
July 19, 2016 at 6:50 am -
You have never been to Earls Court. Have you ever bleached your hair? To get a substantial colour change would take time and where in the station do you think that could happen? It all sounds a bit Ckuedo-ish.
- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 7:50 pm -
@APP Yes I take your point about Von Einem’s brazen modus operandi. Interesting also that he did undertake international travel at some time. He can’t be excluded from Martin Allen case, unless someone can specifically ID him in a location other than London as of 5 November 1979.
- david
- david
July 19, 2016 at 6:22 am -
In June 1979, Von Einem was in Australia. – The most shocking entry details how Peters, a homosexual who mixed in the same circles as von Einem’s associates, saw photographs of Alan Barnes in von Einem’s possession.
He states he was at the hairdressing salon of a close von Einem associate, Denis St Denis, at Hazelwood Park in June, 1979, when this happened. Barnes was abducted on June 17 and his body found on the banks of the South Para reservoir a week later.Peters states in his diary that while he was having his hair cut and streaked, von Einem arrived to have his hair cut and dyed.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/lost-diary-gives-south-australia-police-new-lead-into-alan-barnes-murder-by-the-family/story-fni6uo1m-1226821049791 - A Potted Plant
July 20, 2016 at 5:53 am -
@tdf – that “second photofit” is NOT a police photofit based on witness statements, at all! It is only “an artist’s impression” of how a tall blond man walking with “a boy who looked like Martin” might have appeared. In the early versions of this “artist’s impression”, the artist isn’t identified – but in later versions there is actually a copyright notification symbol superimposed on it in the lower left-hand corner. Police photofits are not copyrighted images.
- David
July 20, 2016 at 7:23 am -
The second is a colour painting, now lost I fear, done by a Royal Academy artist. It is made up of descriptions given to the police by over ten witnesses. The one thing that was not noticed at the time, was that the man was wearing a shirt and tie, under casual/trendy clothes. This usually means that someone had been working that day.
- David
- A Potted Plant
- tdf
- david
July 19, 2016 at 6:09 am -
An interesting theory, but the man who was seen with Martin Allen was described as sounding ‘English’, well spoken, with, ‘no discernible accent’. And,as far as I can make out, because of the way he was dressed, he had been working that day.
- A Potted Plant
July 19, 2016 at 7:23 pm -
@david & winsock –
Yes, I’ve dyed my own hair…some products take 45 min., some only 15-20 mins but are more obvious as dye jobs. I said I’d never been in Earl’s Court station, so I couldn’t know if a quickie dye job would be possible there. Lots of VW Westfalias 1977-79 had sinks installed in them though, so it could be done on the way to the airport perhaps.
I don’t know how many times I’ve stated, that I don’t claim to know what happened to Martin Allen or any other unsolved missing child cases. I don’t have “my own” theory or narrative that I feel compelled to defend to the death. For all I know, there could be undisclosed, irrefutable documentation that Von Einem was in Australia, or in Cairo or in Singapore on Nov. 5/79 – It wouldn’t matter, because the significance of disembarking at earl’s Court isn’t dependent on any particular person being “the abductor”, nor is it dependent on any particular speculative scenario being foolproof.I also don’t have an obsessive compulsion to cast aspersion on any & all information that falls outside of “my theory”, (since I don’t have one), unlike you David. You’re welcome to critique and question any ideas I might offer – please do – but I think it is despicable that you have promulgated blatantly false mis-information in attempts to bolster your favorite scenario. Please cite your sources for “sounding ‘English’, well spoken, with, ‘no discernible accent’”. The only person who has made such claims, is YOU! You are the only source of this idea, and by the way I always know when you have been the source for statements written/ published by other people.
- David
July 19, 2016 at 7:54 pm -
First of all why are you talking about dying hair ? Second I have only quoted witnesses. A man saw the man, on the platform with Martin, the man had his hand on the back of Martin’s neck. They got into the train, and stood by the door. At Earls Court Station he said that Martin was reluctant to get off the train, so he prodded him twice in the back, and said, in an English, well-spoken accent, with no discernible accent, don’t try to run.
He was later confronted by a man when he was re-entering Earls Court Station, from the Warwick Road end by another witness. Bearing in mind he left the station by the front exit onto Earls Court Road, (probably because Martin did not have a ticket for that station, so they had to use the emergency stairs). They then walked down a side road to the back of the station. This was confirmed by witnesses. They then re-entered the station.
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 8:07 pm -
Again, David, you are basing your whole theory on a possible eye-witness account which may simply be incorrect. I understand that there’s not much else to go on, but that doesn’t mean that you (and the police at the time) aren’t barking up the wrong tree. “This was confirmed by witnesses”, you claim; WHEN was it confirmed?
By the way, you have a namesake also interested in the case:
“The witness says he may know the identity of a blond man seen with Martin when he vanished on Bonfire Night 1979. He has even handed over a sample of what he thinks is Martin’s hair – which he claims the suspect tried to dispose of after fresh publicity about the case. The witness – known as David…”
It’s another corker from Don Hale (whose ability to conduct interviews with the deceased has unfortunately failed him on this occasion). Perhaps there’ll be a clue in the Barbara Castle Dossier?
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/436023/Martin-Allen-Witness-comes-forward-in-Martin-Allen-case-Westminster-paedophile-ring - tdf
July 19, 2016 at 8:40 pm -
Ah yes, the famous Castle dossier! What dynamite must lurk in those files! Maybe we will finally see the advert promising sailing trips with Ted Heath around Jersey from the mysterious vanishing issue of MAGPIE magazine!
Speaking of Heath, I see that a blogger has justifiably taken the Sunday People to task for running a story on a former BBC-connected limo hire company boss without crediting the original research on her blog. They also gratuitously included a photo of Heath with their story.
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 8:57 pm -
Yes, I just commented on the lazy sods nicking someone else’s work elsewhere.
The journos between them brought us Ted Heath fixing it for Jimmy Savile & attending PIE meetings (with Don Hale), the Buck House ‘paedo ring with Ollie Reed’ blockbuster with the help of Mark Williams-Thomas, some shite about Savile’s body being disinterred & the fairly recent Janet Smith BBC review-related ‘dead girl was seduced by massive star & her friend [sic] is going to name him’, a promise/threat retracted a day or so after it had made the frontpage. And a long list of etceteras…
I’m not a fan by any means of that blog but appreciate the work that went into the (pointless, in my opinion) story.
- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 9:11 pm -
^ I think they were republishing Exaro’s shite at some stage also, or am I confusing them with a different scandal-racking red-top?
- A Potted Plant
July 20, 2016 at 1:30 am -
@david – you are not quoting witnesses, you are putting your own words in their mouths!
If the witness actually said: “…in an English, well-spoken accent, with no discernible accent…”, then tell us where to find the statement you are quoting.
There’s a reason why you always say: “the man WAS SAID TO BE…English, well-spoken, with no discernible accent”, instead of giving a direct quote from the witness. The reason is, YOU are the person who has said those things, not the witness.
Here’s a link to some news stories about Martin, from back in the day:
https://spotlightonabuse.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/martin-allen-missing-since-5th-november-1979/Check out: “Photofit clue as police fear lost boy is prisoner” – where you will find this statement about what the witness told police: “The boy appeared reluctant to leave the train until the man prodded him in the back and said: “don’t try to run”. The words: “in an English, well-spoken accent, with no discernible accent” aren’t in that statement – because they are YOUR words, inserted into the original statement. You are SO busted..
- tdf
July 20, 2016 at 1:53 am -
“…in an English, well-spoken accent, with no discernible accent…”
Frankly, even if David’s comment WAS an accurate quote from a witnesses’ testimony, I’m not convinced it would mean a whole lot in itself.
I once met a German girl whose English was so perfect I assumed her to be a native speaker – in fact she had learnt English from a young age and after leaving university had spent a lot of time working overseas, mainly in the UK and Ireland. Similarly, some Dutch and Danish speak English so fluently that they’d pass for ‘native’ English-speakers. I’ve encountered Chinese immigrants in Dublin who have picked up the local idiom, and but for colour of skin, I’d have assumed to have been borne and bred Dubliners.
- tdf
July 20, 2016 at 2:10 am -
On the subject of accents and witness reliability or lack thereof, it occurs to me that the book ‘The Beast of Jersey’ records that in police investigations by the Jersey police into a litany of sex attacks on teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s, several witnesses who claimed to have encountered the perp. shortly before or after he committed his crimes recorded statements along the lines “odd fellow, strange accent he had, Irish maybe”, “I don’t think he was from around here. Didn’t look local to me”, etc.
Actually, the culprit turned out to be born and bred Jersey man Ted Paisnel (never charged or convicted for a murder, but still a suspect in the killing of Finnish au pair Tuula Hoeoek): http://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2013/03/20/the-calls-come-in-as-unsolved-1960s-murder-case-continues/
David reminds us that some of the witnesses in the Martin Allen case reported that the abductor had a moustache. That’s true – but actually, of the two widely circulated photo-fits that I’ve seen, only one shows a man with a moustache. Probably the more widely circulated one features a clean-shaven man. (Both have blonde hair). And let’s face it, the second does like a bit like a certain former Tory MP (looks a bit like the Aussie previously mentioned also, potentially). I wonder had that MP been in the news due to various alleged misdemeanours at the time the photofit was put together? Is there a possibility of, not an attempted ‘stitch-up’ as such, but accidental mis-identification by the witness and/or the person who composed the photofit?
- tdf
July 20, 2016 at 4:13 am -
^ In the interests of clarity, when I referred above to the first photofit, I meant this:
https://spotlightonabuse.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/notw091279.jpg
And the second photofit is this:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/12/23/article-1237974-07AFF585000005DC-189_224x356.jpg
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 12:11 pm -
For that to pass for Proctor you’d have to ignore the head-to-toe denim outfit that he was said to be wearing (and which David is keen to re-interpret as “elegant”). If we’re going to cherry-pick the bits that ‘fit’ (of a composite artists’ impression based on month-old recollections) why not dump the blond hair & say it looks like this bastard?
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/17/article-0-000B6DA900000258-241_306x423.jpg - tdf
July 20, 2016 at 8:56 pm -
@Bandini
bearing in mind denim outfit, then it could have been this man (Leslie Goddard – links to Sydney Cooke’s lot) :
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/29/22/2BC8D23D00000578-0-image-m-20_1440884039963.jpg
Who is the man in that other photo you posted please?
- Bandini
July 21, 2016 at 11:25 am -
TDF, this thread has become a little tangled – apologies to the landlady! – so may be mistaken but think I only posted one photo – that of ‘Hissing Sid’, leader of the ‘Dirty Dozen’, ‘Britain’s most notorious paedophile’, etc., but looking here very much like a respectable member of society.
- Bandini
- windsock
July 20, 2016 at 7:01 am -
OK. point taken APP. I suppose my curiosity is piqued because you “don’t claim to know what happened to Martin Allen or any other unsolved missing child cases” – so why all this speculation.? I know you raised the point initially to highlight the possible safety issues around children traveling on their own on the tube (at least, I understood that to be your point), but then why all this speculation after? After all, it was you who introduced the Australian/Von Einem theme.
I suppose I am wondering why? I know Von Einem is still alive and could be prosecuted if evidence were found to link him to the abduction of Martin Allen… but the case is not even active here. If it is not, then it seems somewhat tacky to effectively reduce the life of a missing boy, whose parents or siblings may still be alive and reading this, to a Poirot mystery. I don’t mean to offend, but I honestly just don’t get it.
- A Potted Plant
July 20, 2016 at 9:27 am -
@winsock – happy to explain it to you
It is very important to me, that all unsolved disappearances, sex crimes and murders in our society should be resolved – especially those involving children. As a practical goal that may never be achieved, but if we are civilized persons there should at least be an unspoken commitment between us all: “if you ever go missing, if you are ever a victim of sexual or murderous violence by an unknown assailant, we will never forget about you nor cease striving to uncover the truth about what happened to you”. The commitment is as important as the actual resolution of cases.
This is not about playing detective or solving mysteries as a pastime, for me. It is one way of honoring a fundamental belief – that no human lives are without value.
“Achieving justice” for victimized persons is important but not the whole picture for me. There may be practical reasons for investigative agencies to “close” unresolved cases, there is only so much of these resources to go around, and current cases must be given priority. But that doesn’t “close” our duty to that person, nor should it terminate our commitment to resolution. Are you familiar with Doe Network? Many of the unsolved disappearance and unidentified remains cases on that site may be officially “closed – unsolved”, but “unofficial” efforts to resolve them continue nonetheless.
I don’t expect to personally solve any unresolved cases, nor do I expect others to devote themselves 24/7 to attempting to solve them. Our commitment to resolution is best expressed by promoting resolution of unsolved cases as a social value, and demanding that adequate funding and resources be provided to our investigative agencies so that THEY can solve them. But I also believe that individuals can play a role, by researching unresolved cases and discussing them with others, hoping to generate FRESH perspectives that might lead to “hopelessly stuck” cases moving forward.
That is why I raised the spectre of Von Einem. Because that HASN’T been examined in the Martin Allen case as far as I know. That doesn’t mean I think “Von Einem did it”, or that I’m on a crusade to convince others that he was involved. I’m interested in stimulating fresh thinking about the case, hoping that might spark SOMEONE ELSE to brilliant insights – not necessarily about Von Einem himself – which could help move the case forward.
- windsock
July 20, 2016 at 9:58 am -
APP: Thank you for your reply, explanation and perspective.
I agree “that no human lives are without value” and your aims are laudable, but, but, but… doesn’t this sort of speculation just descend – almost inevitably – into an “I’m right, you’re not” between rival trains of thought that is not productive?
Earls Court had a huge transient population at the time, but then so did/does the whole of London, and the fact that this incident happened at that station could be entirely coincidental. But if this conversation does produce anything new and useful, then I would have to congratulate you for pursuing it.
- A Potted Plant
- David
- A Potted Plant
- A Potted Plant
- david
- windsock
- david
July 18, 2016 at 1:36 pm -
Can I ask what that peculiarity is? Gloucester Road Station, where Martin Allen was abducted has a strange history. Countess Lubienska, was murdered there in 1957, despite a huge investigation no suspects were ever found. Then two boys using the station twice a day, one abducted, one murdered. again after huge investigations, no suspects ever found.
The peculiar think about Martin Allen was that he was seen leaving the front of earls Court Station with a man. Then they walked down a side road to the back of the station. The re-entered earls Court Station, and got of a Richmond train. They could have got on that train without leaving the station.
I have since worked out why they had to re-enter the station, and travel one stop to West Kensington.- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 1:48 pm -
In 1957, a ‘mere’ two decades prior to the succeeding acts…
The rest of it? You’re stating things as if they were indisputable facts (and you’ve got history here, haven’t you?) when in reality they are possibilities based on accounts given after the event by eye-witnesses (notoriously unreliable).Given the subject I’ll wish you good luck, David, but I don’t think you’re going to have much luck with this methodology of yours. Why not post a link to your blog so APP can see where you’re heading?
- david
July 18, 2016 at 1:53 pm -
Interesting on that is that Mark Watts, founding editor-in-chief of investigative news agency Exaro News, has just been sacked.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/exaro-editor-mark-watts-sacked-agency-is-open-for-business-says-joint-head-of-news-david-hencke/- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 1:59 pm -
“Former Guardian Westminster correspondent David Hencke is now joint Exaro head of news with Mark Conrad. The pair will run the investigative team, with Hencke having the final say on editorial decisions.”
Yeah, that’s going to work out well! Will they be scrubbing the archive of all the total bullshit they themselves penned now? May as well have put Tim ‘Meal Deal’ Wood in charge! Liars.
- david
July 18, 2016 at 2:13 pm -
Mark Watts did start listening to me, but it was too late to stop the Midland Inquiry
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 2:24 pm -
What, interested in your ‘identical Harvey Proctor triplets’ idea was he? Or was it that leaf you found? Didn’t do him much good whatever it was. Go and give him a hand digging up those bodies at Toffington Hall, David, and maybe he’ll return the favour by helping you colour in a few more pages of the London A-to-Z on your blog.
- Bandini
- david
- Bandini
- David
July 19, 2016 at 9:08 pm -
I understand what you are saying about witnesses. There were hundreds of witnesses, but the main 6 witnesses, thought to be, by Detective David Veness, (now Sir David Veness), and Detective Tony Polly, who was in the command center sat Kensington Police Station, as the 6 key witnesses between Gloucester Road Station, and Earls Court Station.
All of them said the man was tall, had blonde hair, and a moustache. They all also said he was with a boy that looked like Martin, short, wearing a school uniform,and carrying a yellow sports bag, with Astrel written on the side. They also all said that the man had his hand on the back of the boys neck.
The one thing detectives thought bizarre was that they left the station, walked down a side road to the back entrance of the station, then re-entered the station. I have solved that bizarre situation.
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 9:12 pm -
See above, David: WHEN did these witnesses recall – with such astonishing detail – what you’ve just claimed? When?
- David
July 19, 2016 at 10:06 pm -
@ Bandini Between December 1979- to early January 1980.
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 10:09 pm -
Yeah, and he went missing when? November the 5th. Did they all undergo hypnosis or summat? Seriously…
- David
July 19, 2016 at 10:37 pm -
The publicity did not go out until Dec-Jan. That sighting is important though.
- David
July 20, 2016 at 7:15 pm -
@Bandini, no that is not why they re-opened the case, I doubt they wanted to re-open the case.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 7:29 pm -
Your replies are all over the place, David, but I well remember your total-faith statements over Op Midland’s future. They turned out to be completely wrong, of course, and you deleted them.
Expect Marlborough to quietly disappear shortly after the shit-storm over the Henriques ‘secret report’ into Op Midland blows over.
- David
- Bandini
- David
- A Potted Plant
July 20, 2016 at 4:42 am -
More of your patented lies, David.
There were 6 key witnesses, but the full list of details you described are attributed only to the 20 year old witness. The only public statements by David Veness and Kensington Police about the other 5 witnesses, were that they all saw the man and the boy together and the boy’s demeanor suggested he was not with the man willingly. Also, that none of these 5 overheard the man say “don’t try to run”.But this: “The one thing detectives thought bizarre was that they left the station, walked down a side road to the back entrance of the station, then re-entered the station” is entirely your own invention. You made this up “they left the station, walked down a side road to the back entrance of the station, then re-entered the station”, and of course that means you also made this up: “The one thing detectives thought bizarre…” You just want people to think that you have some kind of relationship with police investigators and an “inside track” to their personal impressions about various cases. That’s a lie. You don’t, and you never have.
- David
July 20, 2016 at 7:14 am -
I’m afraid that you are, yet again, wrong on every point. My information comes directly from Detective David Veness, who was in charge of the case. And detective Tone Polly, who was in charge of the incident room they set up at Kensington Police Station in November 1979. He saw every bit of information coming in, every witness report, and spoke to not only Detective Veness, (Now Sir David Veness), every day, but all the police involved in the investigation, plus a man who was brought in by David Veness, (they had both been to the same University), to record the case for posterity.
The man was described by one witness, who was on Gloucester Road platform with them, and on the train with them, as English, well spoken, authoritarian, having no discernible accent. The man prodded Martin in the back, and said ‘don’t try to run’. a woman with a child saw them in the lift at Gloucester Road. A witness saw them in earls Court Road. Another witness saw them in Warwick Road, at the back of the station, meaning they ‘did’ walk down a side road to get there, as there is no other way.
Another witness saw them later on the platform, sitting down, before they got on a Richmond train. That is the bit the police looked into but dismissed, as it seemed bizarre at the time. They could have got on a Richmond train without leaving the station. I have now solved that problem. Just out of interest, why do you think they have now re-oped the case?
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 12:05 pm -
Did the DNA-results come back on the hair yet, David? Or are they stuck in the queue behind the leaf?
Richmond train, Earl’s Court, Gloucester Road, etc. – all based on eye-witness testimony a month after the disappearance & after Martin’s description had been widely difunded (including full details of the bag he was carrying, etc.).
Obviously the police were lucky to find several recent graduates of Dr Bruno Furst’s…Authoritarian? Given the phrase claimed to have been heard was “Don’t try to run!” this is, really, a silly observation – as are the rest of the ‘deductions’ based on a four-word exclamation.
- David
July 20, 2016 at 12:22 pm -
Many witnesses said they did not interfere because the man looked like a plain clothed policeman, or a social worker. They all said he looked authoritarian. It turns out they were right, he was authoritarian, do to his job.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 12:26 pm -
Did the DNA-results come back on the hair yet, David?!?
‘Possible witnesses’, not ‘witnesses’. Dearie me, what would Sherlock say?
- David
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 4:17 pm -
“The man prodded Martin in the back, and said ‘don’t try to run’.”
Where were they exactly when this is thought to have occurred?- David
July 20, 2016 at 4:59 pm -
The witness, on the Piccadilly Line platform at Gloucester Road Station, got into the same carriage, (second from the end), as the abductor and Martin. (A smoking carriage in those days). They stood near the door at the back of that carriage. When the train stopped, martin seemed reluctant to leave the train, and the abductor prodded him in the back, to get him to leave the train, and said,’don’t try to run’.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 5:18 pm -
Yes, David, I thought that that would be your reply (said the spider to the fly).
The idea that he seemed reluctant to leave the train & was prodded into doing so comes from where, exactly? The News of The World.David Veness saw it differently:
“A man was seen forcefully guiding a small boy, his hand on the back of the boy’s neck, on to a train travelling on the Piccadilly line to Earls Court. They were seen to leave the train at Earls Court station and as they walked down the platform the man was heard to say ‘Don’t try to run.’”Two quite different tellings. And you’ve gone with the tabloid version (despite your information coming “directly” from Veness himself)?
On the subject of Veness, I have to say that his detectiving skills seem on a par with yours (and that’s not a compliment and no, I don’t give a toss how many letters he has after his name):
“For a start, the timing fits. They were seen at about 4.20pm, just the time when Martin could have been expected to arrive at Gloucester Road. The description fits: the witnesses describe a boy who could be Martin, slim, 5 feet tall, wearing school uniform and carrying a bag [which must have stood out like a sore thumb at school turfing-out time, eh?]. Despite all the publicity no man or boy has come forward to identify himself as one of that couple. Either that boy was Martin, or a boy with a remarkable resemblance to him was abducted on that train at that time, and that is a considerable coincidence.”He seems to have convinced himself that even if it wasn’t Martin being abducted, SOMEONE was. He’s based this upon six eye-witness accounts of the ‘abduction’ by six people who didn’t bother doing anything about the ‘abduction’ they were witnessing & needed nudging into contacting the police by a television appeal a month after the event. Attention then swang away from north London, and 36-years later the case remains unresolved.
Is there a good reason for your blog being ‘locked’?
- David
- Bandini
- David
- Bandini
- David
July 20, 2016 at 12:30 pm -
@Bandini. His outfit was described as elegant, trendy, not one witness said scruffy. and a shirt & tie underneath. Then of course we have the fact that the mens toilet at Earls Court Road was closed, as London Transport said they were having a problem with, ‘undesirables’. So Gloucester Road Station was particularly busy at that period. Added to this, in the 1970’s and 80’s most people left work between 5- and six pm. The abduction happened at 4-15 pm.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 12:36 pm -
Again, David, I have to tip my hat to these ‘witnesses’ with their incredible powers of recall. A busy day in London and they were able to retrieve such stunning details from their memories a month or more after the event. Astonishing. It makes one wonder why we ever bothered with CCTV cameras.
Anyway, let’s put an end to this standoff – please answer the bloody question: did the DNA-results of the hair come back yet?!?!?
- David
July 20, 2016 at 5:37 pm -
You are quoting from an article in The Illustrated London News, Volume 268, Issue 2 – 1980 which was wrong.
The man was not ‘forcefully guiding a small boy’, and the man said ‘Don’t try to run’ before they left the train, which is why the 20 year old was able to hear it. had the man started walking down the platform, the young man would not have been able to hear him, as he was not standing near a door, and it was him who heard the remark.The boy thought, at that point he was a plain clothed policeman, and the hand on the back of the neck was nothing to do with arresting the boy, or restraining him, or forcing him. The last thing the abductor wanted to do was force the boy.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 6:00 pm -
What do you mean it “was wrong”? Are you suggesting they misquoted Veness or that Veness didn’t have a clue what he was talking about?
I suggest that ‘forcefully guiding a small boy with a hand on the neck or shoulder’ is how a copper might describe what I would do were I to have responsibility for a ‘small boy’ in a busy or possibly dangerous place. In fact, I frequently ‘forcefully guide’ my girlfriend as we cross the road: arm, shoulder, maybe even neck!
I doubt that the words “Don’t try to run” were ever muttered and it’s hard to think why an abductor would say anything quite so attention-grabbing within earshot of witnesses – he may as well have stroked his moustache evilly while doing so. “Don’t run”, perhaps.
Veness also said that “it came together like a jigsaw” but there aren’t sufficient fingers in the world to add-up the number of pieces in his mega-puzzle; not even in his retirement does he seem any closer to finishing it. Perhaps he grabbed hold of the wrong pieces at the start and never let go.
Two questions for you: again, is there a good reason for your blog being locked? And is your mention of a ‘pretty policeman’ leading Martin off – albeit a ‘pretty policeman’ who could also be described as a ‘plain clothed policeman, or a social worker’ as if these were synonmous of one another – a suggestion that Martin may have been caught doing something that a ‘pretty policeman’ might have been expected to catch people doing?
- Bandini
- David
- Bandini
- David
July 21, 2016 at 11:37 am -
@Bandini – There is no point in posting any picture, unless the person in it is ‘English, well-spoken’, with ‘no discernible accent’, tall, blonde hair, and looks authoritarian.
- Bandini
July 21, 2016 at 12:51 pm -
Climb back in your Mystery Machine, David, I’m not in the mood for anymore of your nonsense today. Your ‘idée fixe’ reminds me of another recent discussion here… ah, sod it, I can’t be bothered.
The fairly recent LBC investigation into the death of Vishal Mehrotra uncovered possible witnesses whose evidence could have been overlooked. I’ve pointed you towards an actual witness whose evidence appears to have been overlooked. If it was overlooked the first time around it should have been picked up at a later date as it seems fundamental that those who were amongst the last to see the missing person ought to have been questioned about WHAT they saw.
That they were UNLIKELY to have seen anything of importance is neither here nor there – without asking it’s impossible to be sure and if true raises concerns about the thoroughness of the investigation(s). Still, with an ‘idée fixe’ in their noggins why would the police have bothered with something so mundane as speaking to reliable witnesses? More fun chasing Scooby Doo-style villains through the decades.
Go and chase some leaves with your butterfly-net, eh?
- David
July 21, 2016 at 1:01 pm -
@Bandini I agree with you, and thank you. I had not seren it before. Another boy from Martin’s school claims to have been with him at Kings Cross, Ian Fletcher, so this contradicts that. And as you say it does show the initial investigation was flawed, or they were just going through the motions, without actually investigating. I have passed it on to Tom Symonds at the BBC who is also investigating this case.
- Bandini
July 21, 2016 at 1:06 pm -
Well it’s a step up from Don Hale at least!
- Bandini
- David
- Bandini
- david
- Bandini
- windsock
July 18, 2016 at 2:28 pm -
If you’ve never lived in London,as a resident I can tell you that all forms of public transport positively swarm with under 16s (is that how we’re defining children?) at least twice a day (admittedly, buses more than tubes because of catchment areas and the location of stations etc).
- David
July 20, 2016 at 7:41 am -
@A Potted Plant. there was another witness who challenged the man, near earls Court Station,(probably when re-entering the station). The man said that he was a policeman, and was arresting the boy. As all the files on this case were lost in a ‘flash flood’ at kensington Police Station. Then other copies were taken abroad by a retired detective, or so the police told the family. I have studied this case for over five years.
- Bandini
- A Potted Plant
- Bandini
- david
July 18, 2016 at 12:46 pm -
Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France, which crashed. I will never forget there was an 11 year old schoolboy returning to school in the UK. They had put him on a flight via Paris because there was a problem with the direct flight. He did have a ‘minder’ with him, but not any of his family. I just think that children should never fly without their parents. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristol-boy-air-france-jet/story-11266300-detail/story.html
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 1:03 pm -
Returning from a half-term break in Brazil… You may as well say that children shouldn’t travel in cars or buses without their parents holding their hands – far more chance of a tragedy befalling them there. Are these kids of yours allowed to cycle, David, or are they trapped on a tandem with you behind them, breathing down their necks?
- Lisboeta
July 18, 2016 at 2:22 pm -
I’m having a hard time understanding the logic behind “children should never fly without their parents.” All one’s children, en famille? Up to what age? In any case, the parents’ presence — unless they are possessed of magical powers — will not prevent an air disaster. Tragic though that 11-year-old’s death was, at least his parents were alive and, if they had other offspring, were still there to care for them.
But why single out flying, which is statistically one of the safest forms of transport? Why not include trains, buses and cars, which can also come to grief? Heck, there are even cases of kids using their own feet to run into the road and, sadly, getting killed. So making an exception for flying is nonsensical. For your argument to have any consistency (not that I think it is valid in the first place) your parental concern should extend to accompanying all your children, everywhere, at all times. Which smacks of control freakery rather than genuine parental concern. Not to mention that, if you have more than one child, it would be utterly impracticable.
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 2:26 pm - The Blocked Dwarf
July 19, 2016 at 12:00 am -
All my kids, even Crippled Son, flew without us from a fairly young age. They were rather proud of that fact, and it made it more of an adventure. Mind you, this was back in the day when Ryan Air stewardesses were young colleens who’d been brought up not to take “nay shite” from their 10 younger siblings and had learnt how to duck along with their catechisms .
- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 12:15 am -
@TBD
excepting the ‘young’ bit that description sounds more like the stereotype of Aer Lingus stewardesses!
On a side note, probably the finest house in Ireland, and for that matter one of the finest in the entire British Isles, was owned formerly owned by Ryanair’s founder – no, not Michael O’Leary (who started his career as a humble personal assistant) – but the late Tony Ryan.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/09/article-0-01DFA279000004B0-241_634x400.jpg
- David
July 19, 2016 at 9:59 pm -
@ tdf ‘I think they were republishing Exaro’, I have got none of my information from the internet, or Exaro.
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 10:05 pm -
Being stand-offish again, David? I hope you’re better at ordering your thoughts than you are at aiming your replies!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1ODHGCKH6O84U/ref=cm_cr_rev_detmd_pl?ie=UTF8&asin=0552124664&cdForum=Fx16PB8MTF7YXTB&cdMsgID=Mx2SAMN1CZTI0GD&cdMsgNo=9&cdPage=1&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx1U26NQOTLE8CG&store=books#Mx2SAMN1CZTI0GD- David
July 19, 2016 at 10:10 pm -
@ Bandini – I am not Anthony Nesbitt, or DTdh, or James J. Aldridge
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 10:14 pm -
Well that’s three people at least who can breath a sigh of relief!
- Bandini
- David
July 19, 2016 at 10:17 pm -
Thank you for that link, it is interesting that the police did not ask him more about it. I know about one last sighting at Kings Cross though.
- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 10:30 pm -
The link Bandini put up in the other thread seems to show that ‘Keviboy’ Allen seems to have imbibed of the Exaro Koolaid a good while back. Understandable in itself, but what’s harder to understand is that he still seems to be imbibing of it. Even Kool Aid has a ‘use by’ date.
- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 10:32 pm -
Sorry, the link is in this thread. Confusingly we seem to have transferred a discussion over.
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 10:33 pm -
And it shows that a stand offish character by the name of ‘David’ has been giving him information and ‘sounds’ like he was a witness. Probably a fruitcake with a shrine in his bedroom or summat.
- David
July 19, 2016 at 10:40 pm -
My investigation did not involve any of these characters.
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 11:10 pm -
Any of WHICH characters, David? And what ‘investigation’? The ‘investigation’ that turned up a hair?!?
- David
- tdf
- Bandini
July 19, 2016 at 10:31 pm -
Pay attention, Kojak! It’s not that they didn’t ask him ‘more’; he says they didn’t ask him ‘at all’. Details, David, details.
- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 10:48 pm -
I see that according to Keviboy a mysterious character called ‘Leon Brittany’ was involved in his brother’s disappearance and presumed murder. This will come as a relief to the family of the late Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, who can safely be excluded from inquiries. I think a noted US pop singer and a deceased Hollywood actress might have questions to answer though!! Best get Don Hale on the case tout-de-suite.
- tdf
- tdf
- David
- Bandini
- David
- tdf
- Bandini
- Don Cox
July 18, 2016 at 6:35 pm -
” I just think that children should never fly without their parents”
You think the parents should die too ?
- Bandini
- Sean Coleman
July 18, 2016 at 12:51 pm -
Nothing here I’d disagree with. I haven’t followed the news in any detail but I read in passing that Erdogan was blaming some extremist cleric who he wants to extradite. This puzzles me as I had automatically assumed it was yet another anti-Islamist military intervention.
- Lisboeta
July 18, 2016 at 3:21 pm -
Muhammed Fethullah Gulen is not the “extremist cleric” that Erdogan has claimed. Gulen promotes tolerance, inter-faith dialogue, science, and multi-party democracy. He had been an ally of Erdogan until the 2013 corruption investigations, which implicated members of the ruling AKP party. That didn’t sit well with Erdogan (Prime Minister of Turkey at the time), whose sons were on the list. Erdogan blamed the investigation on an ‘international conspiracy’, aided by Gulen. Erdogan’s government dismissed thousands of police officers and hundreds of judges and prosecutors, including those leading the investigation, and placed Gulen on Turkey’s most-wanted-terrorist list. Not surprisingly, he chose to leave Turkey — and, at the time, the USA did not consider him a “terrorist risk”. It is to be hoped that current/future USA administrations will not backtrack and accede to the extradition request. But I wouldn’t bet on it … the Americans can be fickle friends.
- Ted Treen
July 19, 2016 at 3:24 pm -
It depends:- if the gorgeous, pouting Hilary becomes POTUS (Gawd ‘elp us all) then morality will fly out of the window, replaced by “expedient for today”. Therefore I wouldn’t put it past her to agree to extradite her old man or even her offspring if it suited her – temporarily or otherwise.
- Ted Treen
- Lisboeta
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 18, 2016 at 1:04 pm -
There can only be one reason why May appointed Bojo as For.Sec , a man other very senior EU politicians have openly described as a ‘liar’ . No EU politician is going to trust anything he says and that means there is no chance of Brexit happening for a whiles yet…possibly even a long whiles. Davis has already confirmed he wants to use the only advantage he has, the only ‘pressure’ he can bring to bear and delay invoking Art.50 to put pressure on the EU to acquiesces to his demands (I wouldn’t hold your breath Davy boy).
Davis says he was totally surprised to be offered the job, and I think Bojo was as well. May is a genius. She can now get on with the job of running the country, having ‘boxed’ up Brexit , taken it out of the equation yet keeping both remainers and brexiteurs on side, knowing that when the Merde hits the fan, and it will, she and the sane bit of the party will come up smelling of roses. It might even win her the next Gen.Election….2020, right?…oh sorry did you think we will have Brexited by then?
- david
July 18, 2016 at 1:14 pm -
Mr Fox and Mr Werritty already have ten trade deals lined up http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/690191/Britain-ten-Brexit-trade-deals-lined-up-economic-powerhouses
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 1:22 pm -
“We have a very skilled workforce, we have industrial peace, we speak English, we’re in the right time zone…”
Jesus, that’s some hand to be holding in the upcoming multi-player poker game with a bunch of foreigners: “But we’re in the right time zone!!! We speak English!!!”- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 12:33 am -
^ Ireland has those, plus EU membership, plus a lower Corporation Tax rate (the latter, at least for the time being – but possibly not for much longer as, interestingly, Britain’s role was apparently key in persuading the Franco-German axis to reluctantly back off when the Irish government was lobbying for continued EU approval for the rate around two decades ago – the French and Germans have long thought – understandably, from their point of view – that the Irish CT rate is a ‘beggar thy neighbour’ policy and not consistent with EU goals of harmonisation).
Teresa May chose a Remainer for the Northern Ireland secretary role (his predecessor was a Brexiter) so the prospect of a unified Ireland looks a mite less unlikely than it did just a few short weeks ago.
- tdf
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 18, 2016 at 2:38 pm -
Mr Fox and Mr Werritty already have ten trade deals lined up
You recall when Merkel said ‘there is no need to be nasty about it’ ?
‘Nasty’ is a phone call from Juncker to the HoS of Backwardstan along the lines of “Which would you rather? A cracking trade deal/new deal with 27+ nations or with one whose Foreign Minister is not only a liar but has called you a ‘tosser’ ?”
That’s what Angie was talking about, that whole ‘Punishing Britain ‘ thing that the Völkischer Beobachter…sorry I mean the Daily Wail was telling us our EU partners were intent upon if we voted ‘yes’.
Like it or not, one phone call from Wolfman Schäuble to his opposite number just about anywhere and that trade deal will melt away like a Politician’s promise that a thing will “definitely, absolutely for sure, happen”.And as a German newscaster recently quipped on air, it is “going to take Bojo at least until Xmas to apologise formally to all the various HoS he has already insulted”.
Mind you, personally I’m hoping he won’t, cos I actually agree pretty much with a lot his undiplomatic utterances.
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 18, 2016 at 2:42 pm -
Ed* “if we voted ‘yes’.” should read ‘leave’ of course.
- david
July 18, 2016 at 2:43 pm -
There is nothing to stop the UK trading with any County in the EU. I am sure that Germany still want to sell us their cars, France their wine & Cheese, Italy there olive oil, tomatoes and pasta, Spain their tomatoes, and salads. If there is an added duty on our goods exported to the EU, we can put the same duty on goods coming from the EU.
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 3:14 pm -
We probably all fall for these stereotypes, but have a gander here:
http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/top-spain-exports.html
The top export from Spain to the UK (and to Italy, Germany, etc.) is vehicles. For Italy, vehicles are knocked into second place by… machinery. It won’t be the lowly farmers & food producers pulling the strings in any talks. We’re all industrialized these days.(And be careful with that ‘Italian’ extra-virgin, David. A fair amount of it is just repackaged Spanish!)
- david
July 18, 2016 at 3:38 pm -
I see that Boris Johnson, the new Foreign Secretary, who has taken over the Foreign Office, is having problems. Larry the no 10 cat is taking on Palmerston, his Foreign Office rival. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/17/claws-out-in-whitehall-as-larry-the-cat-takes-on-palmerston-his/
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 3:43 pm -
Unsurprisingly no Telegraph hack seems too keen to add their name to this ‘article’. Mind you, what with the recent dearth of serious & interesting stories to cover they were probably at a loose end…
- Bandini
- david
- Lisboeta
July 18, 2016 at 3:56 pm -
“There is nothing to stop the UK trading with any Country in the EU. ”
Perhaps I’ve been reading things wrong: EU legislation is hideously complex. But doesn’t the EU negotiate trade agreements as a bloc? That is what gives them global clout as an economic zone. Once outside the EU, the UK will have to negotiate with the bloc, rather than with individual countries. In turn, that explains why the EU has about 400 seasoned trade negotiators, whereas the UK has but a handful (most of whom are/were part of the EU team). Yes, the UK will be able to freely negotiate trade agreements with countries outside the EU. However, under the current EU framework, bilateral agreements between UK and specific EU countries would seem to be proscribed? If you know better, please enlighten me!
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 18, 2016 at 4:15 pm -
There is nothing to stop the UK trading with any County in the EU
Actually there is, as apparently Davis also had to have explained to him as well. From outside the EU the UK has to deal with all or none…that’s the whole point of having a ‘union’.
- david
July 18, 2016 at 4:21 pm -
That is not my understanding. The impression given is that the EU single market is a walled garden and that we and the other members have some special silver key that gives us privileged access to its delights that others cannot access.
But this is wrong. Every developed country has access to the single market. The EU has a relatively low external tariff with the exception of certain goods such as agriculture. The inconvenient truth is that non-members of the EU have often exploited the single market far more successfully than we have.
The single market is open to all advanced economies, in exchange for paying a relatively modest tariff of 3 to 4 per cent, something that evidently does not stop non-EU countries from selling within it.
- Lisboeta
July 18, 2016 at 4:56 pm -
“The single market is open to all advanced economies”
Yes, it is. And not just to ‘advanced’ economies. But the tariffs imposed are irrelevant to this debate. You have conveniently side-stepped the hard fact that the EU negotiates as a bloc and not bilaterally.
- Lisboeta
- david
- Bandini
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 2:47 pm -
“About a fifth of all cars produced in Germany last year, or around 820,000 vehicles, were exported to the UK, making it the single biggest destination by volume.”
I imagine the Germans will behave sensibly with so much at stake. Not so sure about other ‘lesser’ nations, though.- The Blocked Dwarf
July 18, 2016 at 3:05 pm -
I imagine the Germans will behave sensibly with so much at stake.
German industrialists and business men will…whether or not German politicians will I think rather depends on how much Davis pisses them off tbh….and ‘negotiating’ free trade deals with other countries before at least invoking Art.50 is , from a European perspective, just adding insult to injury, as if appointing Bojo wasn’t insulting enough -as Europeans perceive things.Already the talk in the German MSM is about ‘opponents’ ..ie ‘Davis is a known opponent of Europe’ [sic]. Not a helpful word IMO.
- Bandini
July 18, 2016 at 3:39 pm -
I hope they mean ‘opponent of the European Union’ rather than the continent and the nations it contains! Davis seems like one of the very few MPs who might merit the respect of the public. Johnson on the other hand…
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 18, 2016 at 4:10 pm -
I can’t recall if they said ‘EUgegner’ or ‘Europa Gegner’ but the terms are fairly interchangeable now in the minds of most Germans (I ASSUME). Before the Brexit vote, the D-MSM would have spoken of an ‘EU Critic’.
I wanted to have added that relying on Germany being ‘sensible’ is not such a good idea. Yes 9 times out of 10, what German Business wants it gets but occasionally German politicians over rule them for emotional/political reasons, like Kohl did with the 1-1 exchange of the Ost Mark . As I keep on saying, it is all about perceptions (or in Davis/Bojo’s case perhaps ‘delusions’). Davis would do well to remember that the Germans and the EU in general view themselves as the abandoned wife, the innocent party and that the polls in Germany (and I suspect elsewhere in the EU) are very much against making any kind of concession towards the UK. And the UK starting to flirt with other girls before even applying for a divorce….
- Mr Ecks
July 18, 2016 at 11:14 pm -
Bollocks to German politicians and their wrath.
They would be better employed protecting their women folk from imported rapists .
Not likely since they are the morons doing the importing.
- Mr Ecks
- The Blocked Dwarf
- Bandini
- David
July 20, 2016 at 12:45 pm -
As you might know the MA case was re-opened, one of the people involved could have been working for MI6. It is an ongoing inquiry, even though it is closed to the public, (they are not asking for witnesses etc). I therefore cannot comment further. I was trying to help our friend from Australia to understand the case more, as he seemed to be totally in the dark, as most people are about this and the Vishal Mehrotra case. When I found Derek Slade working in India, no one knew he was there. However he was dressing the boys at his school there in the same uniforms that he had used for his school in the UK. An eye for detail like that enabled me to stop him working in India, and forced him to return to the UK. I do have a very logical mind which even the police find hard to follow.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 2:35 pm -
Your ‘logical mind’ has confused ‘our friend from the US’ with ‘our friend from Australia’, David. Hey-ho…
Not sure what Derek Slade in India has to do with anything. Actually, I am: nothing. Stop bullshitting. Those responsible for ‘finding’ him would seem to be either a former St George’s pupil from the 70s or a former pupil from the 80s who has decided to dedicate the rest of his life to these matters. You’re not the latter, and I seriously doubt you’re the former. Er, ergo…
It’s a real shame that you “cannot comment further”! If you could, you would tell us that the hair did not come from Martin’s head & would make you look silly (or sillier). Saving it for Don Hale and The Daily Star are you? (And Watts with his magnifying-glass, cracking on with ‘the leaf’: decidious or as evergreen as your never-ending claptrap?)
- David
July 20, 2016 at 2:54 pm -
No, When I contacted Derek Slades ex pupils on Friends Reunited, they all said they thought he was dead, as he was very overweight when running those schools. They were even more surprised when I said he was teaching in India.
It seems from your responses that you do not have a logical mind either, and without a logical mind it is difficult to follow this case.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 3:04 pm -
From 21’35”:
https://vimeo.com/36419320Nevermind, David, as like I said it has nothing to do with your Hale/Star/hair/MI6 blather. What kind of a person would claim to have the hair of a presumed-killed child, for God’s sake? Get help, man!
- Bandini
- David
- Bandini
- David
July 20, 2016 at 6:46 pm -
@ Bandini When the abductor was challenged he himself said that he was a policeman? The reason why men were hanging around Gloucester road Station is because it was a gay meeting place. I am sure that if a policeman has his hand on someones neck, or you have your hand on the back of someones neck, it is done to guide the person? The hand used by the abductor was nothing to do with guiding someone. My blog is private because we got the case opened again.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 7:05 pm -
The case was opened again to save face when the Midland fiasco came to its inevitable conclusion. If they desperately used intelligence [sic] from yourself or any other crackpot to justify this barrel-scraping – every lead must be followed up! – then congratulations, well done, hip hip hoorah!
Perhaps I’ll put a FoI in to see how much your hair-clippings are costing the taxpayer.- David
July 20, 2016 at 7:43 pm -
@Bandini. No, I had no view about Midland. I was looking into an abduction, for five years, but I still do not know what happened after that. I did not know anything about ‘Nick’, he had not been to the police, nothing had been in the news, even Exaro.
- Bandini
July 20, 2016 at 7:55 pm -
Your memory fails you – worrying for a would-be crimecracker.
You made explicit statements that Midland would not be closing down – you knew, you see? But then it did! You hit your well-worn ‘delete’ key…Yes, you’ve related the ‘I got there first’ tale several times already, and I sincerely never tire of hearing it. But once you’d ‘discovered’ the charms of that odd internet news-agency did you feel compelled to comment there, perchance?
- David
July 20, 2016 at 9:07 pm -
@Bandini . I did support Midland, because I had only investigated an abduction, and could not know what happened after that. However I was a thorn in the side of Midland from the beginning, and they let me know that. They had their witness, and my research on the abductors was a problem for them.
I had also been in snail mail contact with Justice Goddard. There is a problem that they still might be trying to protect someone who was in M I 6. Recruited in Cambridge in the 1960’s. I am sure that they would now like to eliminate me somehow, to protect someone.
- David
- Bandini
- David
- Bandini
- The Blocked Dwarf
- tdf
July 19, 2016 at 12:53 am -
“I actually agree pretty much with a lot his undiplomatic utterances.”
There’s a certain type of upper middle class English person that, shall we say, gets the ‘Irish’ up in me, and funnily enough it isn’t Boris.
80% of the time, I just think he is doing it for lols. That said, he isn’t as funny as he thinks he is. If he was from a humble background, he’d probably have ended up a sort of third rate Vic Reeves or an Elvis impersonator on Blackpool peer or summat.
- David
July 20, 2016 at 9:17 pm -
@tdf You are wrong, my research is water tight. These people are to all intents and purposses upper-class. They are millionaires, work in the Art world, and were probably in MI6.
- David
- The Blocked Dwarf
- Bandini
- binao
July 18, 2016 at 2:17 pm -
I entirely disagree with your view BD, wrt our decision to leave the eu.
I do however agree that these appointments are a ‘win-win’ for May.
She’s picked prominent ‘Leavers’, with dubious qualifications for the job; hard for them to say no and avoid the trap. With the whole ‘Remain’ establishment still in place, and the BBC still forecasting plagues of frogs for denying their gods, the dice are loaded against them.Even so, the most unlikely people sometimes succeed, and using these people as a firewall against the fall-out from exit problems may provide the elbow room needed to get the job done. I also think that a quick look at some of the key players in politics worldwide put Boris into perspective. Let’s see how he gets on.
- david
- Whyaxye
July 18, 2016 at 1:24 pm -
The Teddy Bears and the abandoned strollers do make exceptionally poignant pictures, but my guess is that they do not belong to the victims. Thousands of people would have left everything and run to safety. In the videos, you can see individuals and groups running away a long time after the lorry had passed.
- Whyaxye
July 18, 2016 at 1:35 pm -
I’d also like to add that I do like the “pot pourri” style very much. It might be my declining attention span, of course, but you do it very well.
- windsock
July 18, 2016 at 2:19 pm -
Not my comment, but I felt this from Sam Leith in the Evening Standard was deliciously dry:
“The aftermath of Turkey’s failed coup is quite something. One minute President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is appealing for help from abroad through a Facetime call he made on a mobile phone. At the next, he has re-established control of the country — and not only confidently identified the mastermind behind the coup but detained 6,000 traitors and issued arrest warrants for 2,745 members of the judiciary.
With investigative powers like that, it’s a miracle he didn’t see the coup coming in the first place.”
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 18, 2016 at 3:10 pm -
Thank you for that, along with AR’s “F Off”, and Bandini’s ‘poker’ comment I haven’t stopped laughing since I started reading here today.
- The Blocked Dwarf
- david
July 18, 2016 at 4:31 pm -
With, or without the EU, you can have your cake, and eat it. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/13/not-only-can-britain-can-leave-the-eu-and-have-access-to-the-sin/
- Jim
July 18, 2016 at 6:25 pm -
Thank you Anna. You seem to be the only person in the media world stating facts. It’s disgusting that our official media continue to broadcast nonsense and sometimes lies even though they must know that we can get our information elsewhere.
- tdf
July 18, 2016 at 6:38 pm -
“Can we give over with the guff about tragic ‘Teddy bears’ lying beside dead children littering the Promenade des Anglais after the terrible events in Nice. French children have many toys, but they are not in the habit of carrying around a bear commemorating an American president. There were children of other nationalities killed that night – but do we know they had a Teddy bear?”
Reminds me of Stewart Lee’s take on the Princess Diana (inter-)national sobfest.
- Andrew Duffin
July 19, 2016 at 12:23 pm -
“No vehicle over 3 tonne is allowed to drive on French roads on a public holiday”
Srsly?
No wonder their economy’s a bit shit.
- Andrew Duffin
July 19, 2016 at 12:25 pm -
“one phone call from Wolfman Schäuble to his opposite number just about anywhere and that trade deal will melt away”
Yeah I bet the Americans are all trembling in their boots in case they get a phone call from some German bloke telling them what they can and can’t do. Likewise the Aussies. Aye right.
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 19, 2016 at 11:44 pm -
I doubt either the Americans nor the Antipodeans nor any other nation on God’s good Earth are trembling at the thought of a phone call from Schäuble, neither would he ever try telling them what they can or cannot do. That wasn’t what i said. But if WS phones his opposite number anywhere they will, and I absolutely guarantee this, 1.take his call and 2. listen to what he says and present his arguments to their HoS. Or put it another way:
“Hey Boss/Mate, there’s some Pom/limey on the phone says, his name is ‘Hammond’…nah I’ve never heard of him either..think he’s the guy who makes sure the trains in Britshire don’t run on time”.
compared to “Hair Shar-oi-bella, could you please ring Mr. Greenspan on his cell please, he’s at dinner but he is waiting for your call”
It doesn’t get much press here but WS , by writing a big black ‘zero’, has become something of a demi-god/Guru among Finance Ministers everywhere.
- The Blocked Dwarf
July 19, 2016 at 11:55 pm -
I’ve just wiki’d Hammond because i knew very little about him besides him being a multi millionaire and a former minister of Transport. Actually reading his CV again I have the feeling that May has chosen rather wisely.
Of course, personally I would have preferred her to go full on Thatch and reappoint Nigel Lawson. Then even I might start to believe that BREXIT might just not turn out to be the financial clusterf*ck it is shaping up to be.
- The Blocked Dwarf
- The Blocked Dwarf
- David
July 20, 2016 at 9:13 pm -
@tdf . No that is not the man, he was a rough chap, not well spoken, and rough. Not the sort who would wear a shirt and tie.
- tdf
July 20, 2016 at 10:10 pm -
- David
July 20, 2016 at 10:32 pm -
Goddard was of partial Romani descent. Home was two rooms in the Walden buildings, St John’s Wood. He had served in the Royal Air Force and worked as a council porter, and a chauffeur. And his mother, Betty Kathleen Smith, was an embroiderer . He would hardly be well spoken.
- David
- tdf
July 20, 2016 at 10:33 pm - David
July 25, 2016 at 7:40 am -
@Bandini. Just to put the record straight, it was not me who described the abductors suit as elegant, it was the witnesses. I quote: He was between 30 and 40, powerfully built, and about six foot tall. He had very blonde hair, and a moustache, and was wearing an elegant denim casual suit, with a levi, or safari style jacket top’.
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