2008 Ripper Conference, Knoxville, TN

[rsteff]

As this is only my second post I hope not to breach any rules, so feel free to slam me if I do.

Just wanted to take a minute to thank Dan and Kelly as well as all the speakers and delegates who made experiencing our first Ripper conference one of the most enjoyable times a novice ripper reader could have.

For anyone who lurks around the forums and websites and wonders if a conference is for them, I’d just like to assure them that it is.

To get to sit and speak with authors who bring so much to field is truly eye opening for anyone with even a casual interest in these subjects, and makes the information so much more alive.

The patience and interest that these well seasoned veterans showed to EVERYONE attending was truly above and beyond what one might expect from true Ripperology legends.

Also getting to see Philip and Martin engaged in a much animated debate (which I shot a few pics of and have entitled “CLASH OF THE TITANS – The Knoxville Bout”) was something I will NEVER forget.

One thing that we came away with, more than anything, was the amount of time, sweat, man-hours and passion these authors put into research..and research….and research…. .

And in the case of the wonderful photographic artists who attended, the editing, cleaning, repairing and photoshop tweaking hours they spend, just to share their finds with a ravenous and sometimes less than patient congregation. (but that is best saved for another thread to which I DEFINITELY don’t have the thick skin and forum chops to enter in to! But to Philip, Dan and Robert, I thank and appreciate you in the extreme for what you found and shared)

So with that a huge thank you to everyone we met and shared some time with. It couldn’t have been more special and we’re already saving up for next time……………
Rick

[Ash]

ps. for those who have met him in the past, Spike would like to say how much he enjoyed Knoxville as well, especially the wigsphere.

[George Hutchinson]

I've just bought Eugenia's book, new, on Amazon for £5. She signed a sheet of card for me at Knoxville I can stick in to the book. I know it's not the same as the one sold at the auction but I'm still pleased. Especially as the only copy on eBay right now is about £120!

PHILIP

[Ash]

Phil - why do you think after the last US conference the first thing I said was "I am definitely going to the next one." I'm currently sitting in La Quinta Inn in Roswell, Atlanta, in a room almost as nice as the Sheraton one, and have had two days of travel during which I haven't had a single bad experience (except getting hopelessly lost in a place called City of Cumming, which may have been because I was still giggling about the name when I missed my turning.) Particularly everyone I have met who has asked me where I'm from has wanted to regail me with tales of their trip to Scotland (they all seem to have been!) And I've still got another week and a half of this. I may never want to come home.

[George Hutchinson]

Oh bless!

That makes me so happy. The people on that concierge desk were all so kind and friendly. I kind-of felt bad I didn't give them a tip when I left the hotel but I think someone told me that wasn't the done thing, in spite of the US methods of tipping! I did leave a tip for housekeeping in my room, though, as I hear that they seldom get appreciated for the work they do. I think I should e-mail the Four Points to thank them.

Not a single person I came across in Tennessee was anything less than charming. It's really changed my ideas on The South. Knoxville is a beautiful city and I'm amazed it supposedly has a pollution problem - that must be relative, as it is so damn clean and open.

This has been the joint highlight of my year and definitely one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done, period. To have made so many new friends (including the Fidos), to have seen some stunning places, to have been treated so well and been lodged in such opulence... what can I say?

PHILIP

[Kelly]

Philip will love this!

Dan and I dropped by the hotel today to settle up, and the girl at the front desk recognized us as the conference people and waved at us. When we approached the desk, she said, "We really enjoyed Mr. Hutchinson.

[Kelly]

That's an oversight on my own part, and I apologize. I didn't learn about Canadian Thanksgiving until Robert McLaughlin let me know he'd have to leave early on Sunday. Mea culpa.

My biggest concern was making certain it didn't fall on a local football weekend. It turns out every event in town had the same thought and scheduled events the same weekend. We found ourselves in the midst of a Race for the Cure and a Beer Festival on Saturday, much to the surprise of the drive-in delegates!

[The Grave Maurice]

It is such a shame that the Global Recession affected numbers.

I think most of us would have booked the trip long before we knew anything about the economic meltdown. The difficulty, for Canadians at least, was that the conference fell on the same weekend as our Thanksgiving Day. My family puts up with a lot, but they wouldn't be too happy about my swanning off to a JtR conference on a fairly major holiday.

Congrats on locating the picture, by the way. A major find. I look forward to seeing it in due course.

[George Hutchinson]

Nice try. No banana.

Something will be sorted on that front very soon.

I've just got home after a 16-hour journey. England is cold and grey and small and dirty and I miss Knoxville and the sun hugely!

The flight home was easy. The cabin crew were still unfriendly but at least they weren't rude. I'm off to bed in a few minutes to sleep all day as I'm giving a tour tonight.

Dan and Kelly dropped me at the airport a little early, and the wonderful Sherry on check-in advanced my flight to Carolina... and I ended up spending the whole first flight sitting next to Martin, who was booked on that previous flight anyway! He and Karen have adopted me, it seems, and I've got an offer (several, actually) to go and stay with them in Cape Cod. I was just staggered how well we got on.

Knoxville 2008 was a wonderful, wonderful experience. I am so, so glad I went and honoured I was asked to speak. Kelly and Dan did an amazing job. Seamless. It is such a shame that the Global Recession affected numbers.

If you ever go to Knoxville, stay at the Four Points By Sheraton. It was brilliant.

PHILIP

[The Grave Maurice]

So it's a picture of Diemschutz's pony and cart?

Hey! My guess was the closest. I should at least get a photocopy of the picture or summat.

[Dan Norder]

Ally,

Thanks. We've been working on it for about a year while we were also planning the conference, but now that that's over we hope to finish it up and get it out by the end of the year.

Philip,

The 1869 Illustrated London News "The Fisherman's Widow" print and the Illustrated London Almanac reprint were discussed briefly (and the former displayed) in this thread earlier this year. The different print by the same name that was in the 1882 book Sea Pictures Drawn with Pen and Pencil was shown in public for the first time at the conference. I consider that whole topic quite interesting as trivia goes, but of course knowing which print it was on the wall would not get us any closer to finding the killer, so it's not part of the "new evidence" I mentioned in a press release that Ally was asking about.

[Ally]

This included some never before seen photos and, most importantly, confirmation that Openshaw did, in fact, expressly conclude that the Lusk letter was a hoax by a medical student. (Previous to this we only knew that he denied what some press reports had falsely claimed he said and could only mke an educated guess about what his unstated opinion actually was.) Oh, and not to mention we tracked down the ultimate fate of the Lusk kidney after the Whitechapel murders investigation... More details on all of this will, of course, be published later.

Way decent finds. Kudos to you and Kelly. I look forward to reading the details on that. Any estimation of when it will be published? Although I am sure the major details will be gossiped about, its always better to have a first hand account. Get busy.

[George Hutchinson]

Ah, I wasn't thinking clearly, Dan.

Another thing that springs to mind was your 1868 ILN finding (the duplicate of which I bought at the auction). I'll leave it to you to say what it is, seeing as you did all the work on it!

PHILIP

[Dan Norder]

Ally - there wasn't any new EVIDENCE at the Conference.

You're way too modest sometimes, Philip...

[Suzi]

Some serious multi-tasking went on there Frip!
Safe journey back!- Looking forward to all the pics!!!- (And the words/tune to The Camel Song!!)


Suz x