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FT391

Yes, got mine this morning, thank heavens for the postal service, and the FT sallying forth in uncertain times. With fewer people going out, I wonder if Forteana reports will diminish?
 
Looks a stonkingly good issue, hats off to the postie and FT staff.
:boozing:
 
Yes, got mine this morning, thank heavens for the postal service, and the FT sallying forth in uncertain times. With fewer people going out, I wonder if Forteana reports will diminish?

I assume there'll be a rise in domestic cases.
 
It does look very good, I agree!

Is anyone that subscribes to FT going to uptake the unexpected free lottery tickets offer? Unusual thing to do...it's just for "loyal subscribers, so presumably that is all subscribers?
 
I don't gamble, so I just threw them out. Weird gift, is the Lottery experiencing a downturn in gamblers?
 
I don't gamble
I only gamble via the UK National Lottery, so the odd concept of being given free entries into that pointless endevour does deserve a bit of a checkover.

I'm partly-convinced that the Lottery (in all its reflavoured varieties) is a total waste of money. But because I used to line-manage someone who won £1M on the Lotto (back in the late 1990s I think), I still retain a tiny hope that it can work.

She bought a new trouser suit, a fast Audi convertible, and had a week's holiday in Brighton, then went back to work and never mentioned it again. She will be retired by now....as will her husband, who already owned a very-successful building company (a two Range Rovers / posh office / golf-two-days-a-week kind-of company).

Nothing in life is ever fair.....or it wouldn't be life <sigh>
 
I don't gamble, so I just threw them out. Weird gift, is the Lottery experiencing a downturn in gamblers?

There's no National Lottery branding on the 'gift', it's not from them. This is lottery entering service (why do punters need such a service?) called 'Yourlottoservice UK ltd' You pay a monthly subscription to their service and join a syndicate that plays the National Lottery or Euromillions on your behalf. Their website doesn't say what their commission rates are: I think you are told this once you subscribe.
Terms and conditions also state " If you only enter the Free Lines Offer and do not subscribe to join a Syndicate, the Order Confirmation confirms your participation in the Free Lines Offer" This means you can get your free entry without giving them your bank details, which is confirmed later in the terms and conditions. But you do have to give them address, phone number and email so the potential for follow up pestering is still there.

O
 
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S D Tucker IS capable of thoughtful and intelligent work if he leaves off with the politics.

A really good issue, well done to everyone involved in its publication and delivery.
 
Got this by email this morning:


Dear Subscriber,
We are dedicated to providing you with the best possible service and our priority is to ensure you enjoy your subscription no matter what. However we understand that Coronavirus will have already affected delivery for some of our overseas subscribers.
For those of you affected, we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused, even with our best endeavours this is unfortunately out of our control. However, we would like to offer you access to our digital edition so you can continue to enjoy your subscription and we’re working on a way to provide you with access as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the editorial team will also continue working to bring you all the latest in the world of the strange and supernatural. Don’t forget that beyond your magazine subscription we also have our Facebook page and Twitter profile where you can join in the conversation.
This is not an easy time for anyone. As the situation continues to evolve we have already taken steps to protect our staff and their families by closing our London offices earlier in the week. All our teams are now successfully working remotely. As a company we adopted a flexible working approach a few years ago, so everyone is used to this way of working, we have the technology needed and we are confident we can continue to deliver you a high quality product and service at this time.
For the most up to date information on how your magazine delivery and our service might be impacted by Covid-19, please check our dedicated webpage which we’re updating regularly.
We are still available to answer any questions, so please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0330 333 9490 or email us at [email protected]. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 7.00pm, Saturday 10.00am to 3.00pm and closed Sundays.
Best wishes,
Nicola Bates, Chief Brand Officer
 
Got this by email this morning:


Dear Subscriber,
We are dedicated to providing you with the best possible service and our priority is to ensure you enjoy your subscription no matter what. However we understand that Coronavirus will have already affected delivery for some of our overseas subscribers.
For those of you affected, we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused, even with our best endeavours this is unfortunately out of our control. However, we would like to offer you access to our digital edition so you can continue to enjoy your subscription and we’re working on a way to provide you with access as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the editorial team will also continue working to bring you all the latest in the world of the strange and supernatural. Don’t forget that beyond your magazine subscription we also have our Facebook page and Twitter profile where you can join in the conversation.
This is not an easy time for anyone. As the situation continues to evolve we have already taken steps to protect our staff and their families by closing our London offices earlier in the week. All our teams are now successfully working remotely. As a company we adopted a flexible working approach a few years ago, so everyone is used to this way of working, we have the technology needed and we are confident we can continue to deliver you a high quality product and service at this time.
For the most up to date information on how your magazine delivery and our service might be impacted by Covid-19, please check our dedicated webpage which we’re updating regularly.
We are still available to answer any questions, so please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0330 333 9490 or email us at [email protected]. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 7.00pm, Saturday 10.00am to 3.00pm and closed Sundays.
Best wishes,
Nicola Bates, Chief Brand Officer
Got this message as well. As long as I have more than ten years of FT back issues to read, I don't mind if the current issue is delayed a bit...
 
Anyone else still waiting for theirs, held up by virus caused delays in the post?
 
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Anyone else still editing for theirs, held up by virus caused delays in the post?

Still haven't got 390.

Anyone who has 391: is there a review of Ireland's Forgotten Past by Turtle Bunbury in it?
 
Well, I never. But, no, no sign. Maybe next time?
 
May I ask - I've been searching for 391 but all the outlests that aren't actually closed don't have it. frustrating. Is there a way, for instance, of buying this one copy outright online (as opposed to taking out a full sub?)
 
Mine arrived Friday, glad to have quality reading during virus times...
 
Arrived Friday but I also have digital access now as per an email which arrived earlier in the week.
 
I have just finally got a copy! (28th April). All the usual outlets in Stockport have closed due to the health panic. When 392 came out I started to worry, contacted FT directly and bought a subscription - but according to a letter received this morning this won't kick in till after 21st May. . Today we decided to take our permitted hour in the exercise yard by a visit to central Manchester (192 bus virtually empty; Heaton Chapel, Levenshulme, Longsight and Ardwick were ghost towns, bus zipped along, was there in 15 minutes).

For anyone in Manchester who cannot get a copy of FT: Tutzy's newsagents on Picadilly Plaza (facing the bus station) has copies and is open. I might pop back there in a week or two to see if 392 has made it this far North.
 
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also, amused by the new Post Office box no for press clippings...

...PO Box 66598.

so you're 0.00002 away from the Number of the Beast.
 
Reading the article on the "London Monster" of 1790. There's an angle on this story that comes to mind. A few years ago, I was reading a newspaper article - might have been in the Guardian - where a reformed street mugger from London was being interviewed about his life, time in prison, and what he'd found to do afterwards when he went straight - what you might consider typical Guardian stuff.

What came back to mind was the ex-mugger describing how he'd attack his mark. He used the sort of short kitchen paring knife with a blade no longer than three inches or less. This made it easy to conceal, it could be inconspicuously disposed of if it looked like a police check might happen, and it was easy to replace - a cheap common article found in pound shops.

His actual attack was to come at the mark from behind and stab them in the buttock. this had several benefits to him. It was a sudden, painful shock to the mark who was unaware they were being stalked. They could feel a wound and be aware blood was flowing but not be able to see or check the wound - imagination took over. It also made them less disposed to run away (being stabbed in the arse must be a shock and I imagine the tendency might be to freeze up and stagger a bit)

After that, robbing a shocked and incapacitated mark who would be disorientated and traumatised and not be able to see an attacker standing behind them who they knew had a knife and had just stabbed them - easy.

And our reformed con said in the article he'd been taught that by an older street robber as if it were some sort of trade skill passed on down the generations...

So the thought is... could something like this have been behind some of the attacks attributed to the London Monster two centuries ago? How far back do things like this go?
 
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looking at some of the marginal "shorts" derived from newspaper articles. The one about the Belgian Army bodging an order for €26 millions worth of tanks (page nine) by simply not realising a necessary design modification would reduce internal space so far that the averagely sized crewman simply wouldn't be able to fit in - that you would need tank crewmen whose height is likely to disqualify them from military service in the first place.

Internal space inside a tank, surprising thought it seems when you look at one from outside, is never lavish and appears to be minimised as far as it can go so as to fit more stuff inside. However, the Belgians (average height 5'10") might have wanted to talk to the Japanese (average height 5'5" or 6"). When the Japs bought a fleet of what was then the main American battle tank, they realised because the average Japanese was six inches shorter and more slightly built than the American soldiers the tanks were designed to fit, they could do things with this. They were able to redesign the tank interior to fit in a necessary fifth crewman, one more than the Americans, and instal additional ammunition stowage and computer kit. The Japanese modification was rated a far more efficient, effective and battle-worthy vehicle than the same tank in US Army service.

So there may be a resale opportunity here for the Belgians?

Also - the page ten short about the wild boar whose foraging found a massive cocaine stash, which they ate. I'm imagining a comic strip here...

"Where's that fucking Obelix? Let's see how his magic potion stands up to ours!"
"Yeah, right! Catch-up time, guys!"
 
SD Tucker's Blithe Spirits article.

He describes a polt haunting in Centrahoma, Oklahoma, in which the poltergeist identified itself as hailing from Saturn, having been stranded here on Earth by its crewmates who had basically buggered off and left him. To prove the point it repeatedly drew the astrological sigil for Saturn on mirrors with lipstick.

Are we told if the McWethey family had children? Or more about the parents?

I ask because the astrological glyph for Saturn is also the band logo of that very fortean-inclined rock band, the Blue Öyster Cult. (check my avatar - one of their LP covers). Who have recorded quite a few tunes about UFO's, their occupants and space travel/sci fi in general. (Because of the thematic overlap via friend and occassional songwriter Michael Moorcock, and the similar lyrical interests of both bands, the BÖC have been nicknamed "America's Hawkwind" by some).

I'm just betting there might well have been BÖC LP's somewhere in the family record collection!

 
And, errr, the little detail about the polt in the record shop... it struck me that if you were interested in grabbing womens' arses, contriving a situation where you could then straight-facedly blame it on the poltergeist is one amazing "get-out-of-jail-free" card. Or am I being overly cynical...
 
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