JtR tour - things that make you go 'huh?'

[Becks]

Not sure if this is the right place for this thread but oh well (long time viewer some time poster here by the way).
On 20/12 just gone myself, my husband and my sister went on a JtR tour with the company recommended by others on here (company name slips my mind at this moment, still got holiday brain up here in Edinburgh lol). A lady named Annette took our tour and to her own admission only does the tour 'once or twice every six weeks or so'. She popped up with some interesting wee things I had never heard about:
1. MJK was not only killed with a knife, but also an axe.
2. MJK was 24, not 25 (minor I know but at this point I was getting annoyed).
3. Elizabeth Stride was arrested on the night of her death (she got mixed up with CE).
4. The goodnight call to a policeman as she leaved the cells was also attributed to Stride instead of Eddowes.
5. The 'Dear Boss' letter stated that kidney was sent with it.
6. Israel Schwartz did not testify against Aaron Kosminski because he was also a Jew and did not want to testify against 'one of his own'.

Her delivery was also haphazard, very all over the place. We did not visit all the murder sites (kind of understandable on a busy night, not everyone wants to walk for miles). And the above 'facts' grated at me. I was pretty disappointed but am glad I got to see some of the famous sights. We're back in London early January for a couple of nights and will try to get out to Whitechapel again prior to flying home

[tnb]

Becks- that sounds like a particularly bad JtR tour. Glad you got something out of it! I've heard that the reputable companies suffer from copycats strting at the same times from similar places and claiming to be 'official' (always loved that phrase, as if Jack is in an office somewhere deciding which to approve with his name)- are you sure you went on the 'right' one?

Personally the one I went on a while back was better, but there were still two things that certainly made me go 'huh'-

the first was the same as your 5. (dear boss/ kidney)- I wonder if there is a source that has wrongly conflated this in the past and from which a number of guides are now falsely getting their 'facts'- any ideas?

The other- and this can be traced to several lazily researched sources- was the conviction that Druitt was a former medical student.

The most annoying thing for me however was, as it sounds like it was for you, the lack of ground covered- 'my' tour lasted over an hour, but we were told at the beggining we wouldn't make it to some of the sites close to Whitechapel station (having begun at Temple) as it was too far- as a native Londoner I knew full well that with a bit of determined walking this was easily possible, but I guess they have to tailor the itinerary to those slightly less able/ committed, hey ho we can always do our own private walks!

One thing I will say for this tour was that the guide made a point of finding 'atmospheric' spots to make up for spots changed beyond recognition (ie the car park where Miller's Court stands) to go to first and say 'we will see the site but this is what it would have looked like then'- even if obviously this wasn't quite accurate it added a bit more authenticity than just staring at a car park!

[John Bennett]

I say tnb, your tour didn't sound any better.

A Jack the Ripper tour which starts at Temple? Waste of time. The ones that start at Tower Hill take long enough to get to the right places, but Temple? Sheesh.

And Miller's Court was not where the car park is now.

This matter of coverage is a tough one. The company I work for starts at Aldgate East. We go straight to George Yard, then Thrawl Street, Ten Bells, Hanbury Street, Dorset Street, Goulston Street and Mitre Square. And visit the exact locations, changed or otherwise. The groups genuinely seem to appreciate 'being there'.

The tour lasts almost 2 hours; going to Durward Street and Berner Street would probably add another hour onto that (at the rate most groups walk at) so it's not really viable.

Pity, as Durward Street's always a good one.

[Suzi]

Blimey Becks and tnb!!

This all sounds like a TOTAL nightmare!!...Is that a frothing/gurgling/spitting sound I can hear coming from Guildford??

If you're coming back in January (A weekend would be best!) -let us know when and I'm sure a few of us oddballs (!) will make the time to meet up and at least take you some relevant places!!!
Great pity about your 'experiences'

Suzi

Let us know where and when you're going to be about...............

[perrymason]

Im curious as to why no-one has thought to make a Virtual Walk available online, a small fee and the user can virtually do the RipperWalk, with narration and press coverage and images of the period and victims.

I dont see that would take any business away from the physical tour, and it would allow many more people around the world to pay the host for the opportunity without the plane fare or London hotel prices. How many tourists can physically do the walk in one year? The same amount or more might do that daily,...if on-line.

Happy New Year all.....

[Suzi]

Darkly tantalising idea there Michael- hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[John Bennett]

Im curious as to why no-one has thought to make a Virtual Walk available online, a small fee and the user can virtually do the RipperWalk, with narration and press coverage and images of the period and victims.

I dont see that would take any business away from the physical tour, and it would allow many more people around the world to pay the host for the opportunity without the plane fare or London hotel prices. How many tourists can physically do the walk in one year? The same amount or more might do that daily,...if on-line.

Happy New Year all.....

A nice idea, Michael. I wonder how it could be done?

Martin Fido did an audio version yonks ago, where you played it on your walkman as you went round the sites. A bit like having one of those speaking tours in a museum, I guess. I never heard it myself, unfortunately.

And people still went on his tours!

Happy new year too, Michael.

[perrymason]

Darkly tantalising idea there Michael- hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

We'd be rich in no time, my dear. And we can avoid weather issues, tour guide health or availability, uncontrolled tour lengths or questionable locations, it could be done in a way that students could learn tons more about the cases linked to the sites, using the various means available to broadcast over the internet...video, audio, images, text, expert speakers, ...and in some ways might increase interest in the physical experience, having been teased virtually first.

I do think its a winner idea if done properly....perhaps quite lucrative too.

Happy New Years Suz...

[perrymason]

Happy New Years to you John,

A hand held camera, a good one, literally capturing the entire walk, it could even be done with a 360 degree angle if the walk is filmed from multiple angles. You could hi-light a pub that is still here....and insert images and text about how it figured into the crime investigations,...you could film it by day or night, and insert shots or sketches that are of that area in 1888 in a multi frame presentation. You could show a sketch of a suspect when you walk past an area he lived, and some text explaining his relevance....it could be comprehensive.....and fill some of the gaps that the Tour Guides themselves dont have at their disposal each tour...like pictures of this or that, press headline images and text, sketches of the murdered women, images of knives of the period, clothing, information about the overall conditions and strife....etc.

The tour can take as long as the user wants, at any pace he chooses, and at any key location, can access data related to that from the period.

Shoulda copywrited this first now that Im writing it , not a bad idea on the spot...

Cheers

[Suzi]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm an interesting set of ideas there- trouble is after the third visit to the fifth authentic pub the hand-held becomes a tad unreliable!.
Seriously it could be quite a problem all round if you think about it- and that's before we run into the wandering threatening loonies and the wandering J P d L (Gawd 'elp us)

John and Philip may have some plans here (Sensible ones!!!) - probably best if one of them did it on their own though- 'er without 'interruptions'..
He he maybe an a la 1960's from the passenger seat of the car with our noble correspondent doing the chat while steering his Ford Zodiac hehe!!!- OK I'll lie in the footwell and the cat can hold the camera!!!!

...otherwise it may turn into somthing resembling 'Sooty goes to Whitechapel' !!!...Bye Bye........

Happy New Year too !!! xx
(We haz an copirite!')

[perrymason]

I think youre right... that someone who is in that business should do it Suzi, and we do have a couple of good ones that we know of personally....nudge, nudge fellas.

Its not my forte, I just get ideas sometimes....

Hope your 2009 is wonderful.

[Suzi]

He heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee have made myself cry with laughter at the image of that filming session!!!!!!!!

Come in John!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Ooooooooh eh!!)

Gawd hope mine ,yours and all casebookers and forumers are too!!! (2009s that is!!!) xx

[John Bennett]

Well Phil's got the voice and the acting credentials. I sound like a character out of 'The Long Good Friday'. Er, maybe that's not such a bad thing...

Technically, it sounds RATHER COMPLICATED!!

[perrymason]

Well Phil's got the voice and the acting credentials. I sound like a character out of 'The Long Good Friday'. Er, maybe that's not such a bad thing...

Technically, it sounds RATHER COMPLICATED!!

Hi John,

For someone who can build and host a website, its really not a huge deal. The compiling of data and the filming would take time, and that would be done by whomever undertakes a project like this, but the beauty is when its complete, and a little dough spent on registering with search engines, its available to anyone with internet access and a credit card anytime... night or day. It can also be used to promote and book the physical tours.

Just an idea "for the jolly".

Again, all the best.

[George Hutchinson]

John - Martin's audio tour was quite a scarce item. Mine cost me about £10 from Murder One on cassette a good 12+ years ago, which was about twice the cost of their others.

It's quite a fun piece but there's some whopping errors in it which I enjoyed poking Mr Fido with in America. It felt rather like telling Einstein to get his haircut.

As for a virtual tour, well I guess it could certainly be done quite simply. At present you'll find loads of links on YouTube, many done by myself (under the ID GuildfordGhost) of just avi clips of some of the sites with a little narration. Nothing special but usually done on the move so you can get locations in context. There is indeed a niche available for a proper co-ordinated series, however, but it's beyond my technical know-how. I can point and shoot in a single shot but that's it.

PHILP