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FT402

Tempest63

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
2,971
Dropped thru the letterbox a few minutes ago.
Looks like an interesting issue, with the story of The Ourang Medan death ship, Restless real estate (haunted housing market), and Lincolnshire Road Ghost.
 
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Mine arrived before 11. But I got engrossed in reading it so didn't post.
Issue includes Edinburgh castle baby skeleton, (not read yet) and more on the Turkmenbashi's nuttiness (couldn't resist reading immediately).

Edit: forgot to mention ...and an update from Bob Rickard on the work to produce an index
 
Well, they printed my letter (edited version of a post here in FT399 about the Aintree Satanists, thanks David Sutton!)

Interestingly enough, Rob Gandy got in there too - evidently great minds think alike, as he too picked up on the moving statue connection regarding the Bonzo Dog Band song about the "Equestrian Statue", I noted it here in the discussion on FT398. (No, definitely not accusing - to anyone who read 398 and loves the Bonzos, it's a very obvious association of ideas. A great mind - his - and a scattergun mind - mine - both made the same associative jump independently of each other!)

with regard to something else I've speculated about in these pages, in the North Korean discussions. The sort of authoritarian-but-needy mind on the far Left who craves a great leader to follow and idolise, who in olden days would have been a Stalin groupie or a Maoist, who now finds that the waters of Communism are running at such low tide that all there is to have a Cult of Personality around is Kim-Jong-un. (Deep sigh. Doctrinist and authoritarian dictators are not what they were). I'm wondering how long it will be before the unhinged fringe of Tankies discover Turkmanistan and its Great Leaders. The ingredients are all there!
 
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Nice to see some Father Lionel action this issue - glad he's still going strong. The Russington Horror article was preferable to the already mostly fine one from last issue, there must be more sightings of the straggly man in the grey suit going unrecorded. EXCELLENT research in the ghost ship article - but who is the photo of, then?
 
Regarding Jason Hanrahan's woodland ceremony encounter in 'It Happened to Me' this issue. It was similar to something I encountered on Ilkley Moor a few years ago.

My incident had far more in common with Jason's account than the Aintree Satanists, as both took place in broad daylight and in a far from secluded spot. What I witnessed was a group of around a dozen white robed figures at the bottom of a natural ravine on Ilkley Moor. They were performing some sort of pagan or religious ceremony complete with chanting, totally oblivious to anyone else. Although the ravine was slightly off the beaten track it was far from secluded, and people were stopping to watch from a safe distance. I even took a photo which I have somewhere but can't quite find at the moment.

The similarities with Jason's account are interesting. Both incidents occurred in Yorkshire, both at the site of a dip in the land (one a disused quarry, one a natural ravine), both in the afternoon in broad daylight, and both groups seemingly making no attempt to conceal their activities.

The Ilkley Moor group may well make this a regular thing, but not being a frequent visitor to the Moor I only saw it once.
 
Good to see the old Ourang Medan shaggy dog story finally put to bed.
Looks like it was a nice little earner for Silvio Scherli, who just kept tweaking the details every few years, so he could sell his fictional account to yet another paper.
 
mine dropped a couple of days ago my weekend pre rugby reading sorted!
 
Surprised Brunel's pneumatic railway in Devon didn't get a mention in the hyperloop science column - it was also wrecked by rats.
 
Crazy Turkmenistan leader Niyazov apparently tried to make a point of being a descendant of Noah. Aren't we all..?

Wonderful series, Strange Statesmen. Would love it as a book.
 
Still waiting for this issue. All others have arrived, sooner or later. Are goblins stealing stuff again?
 
My copy arrived today. Time to celebrate!
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