Thankfully, I get very little in the way of interruptions when giving tours - I don't give 'em a chance to butt in! I did have a guy tonight ask me right at the start about Patty. He was very open about it; he said he loved her books but wanted to know what we thought of her Ripper ideas. I told him that it was generally seen as one of the most laughable and reviled books on the subject to ever come out and, bless him, he was fine with that!
PHILIP
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A couple of oddities from last night's tour:
Lady (who said she'd read Prince Jack): Do we see the corpses?
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Lady: 'scuse me, can I ask you - does anybody jump out at us on the tour?
Me: Oh no.
Lady (very worried): It's just that I've got an 'eart murmur and I don't want to get a shock and fall down dead in the street.
(she left the tour about half way through)
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Me: If Albert Cadosch had been a little more curious and looked over the fence, which was only about 5 feet 6 high, he probably would have seen Annie Chapman with her killer...
Man: How tall was he?
Me: Sorry?
Man: How tall was the bloke?
Me: No idea.
Man: If he was only five foot tall he might have had a bit of trouble, you know, looking over.Leave a comment:
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He he! Nice one Jon. Damn those peskie kids!
I bet they get all excited,bless em.
God, but I can well understand Phils comments.Imagine years, n years of the same questions! You must have a lot of patience. Like meLeave a comment:
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A lot. Although they rarely say "could the murderer have been a woman?"Originally posted by George Hutchinson View Post
They usually ask in a rather more confrontory manner "what makes you think he was a man?" as if I had personally come up with the idea. To that I always say "indeed - the idea that the Ripper was woman was quite popular between the two world wars - the Jill the Ripper theory, they call it".
Then they shut up.Leave a comment:
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John - with complete empathy, I'm sure you can concur there's nowt funny for me in there. Just a stream of irritants. And we're gonna have them forever. I read through the list with a sinking heart, knowing all of them all too well with small alterations here and there.
I've still got the best one, though - with that American tourist who asked if the people who lived in London weren't pissed off when Charles Booth came round and painted the fronts of all their houses in different colours. I never fail to get amused by that one.
How many of the kids are currently asking you if it was a woman, by the way?
PHILIPLeave a comment:
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haha
John....the "warrever" clinched that as my favourite so far!
I must start having dinner parties so that i can ask you round...you sound like an ideal guest!
How often do you do the Tour? Next time i am in the area i must come and do a Tour...i shall try not to ask any silly questions!Leave a comment:
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Great stuff, John. Just as with babybird, those anecdotes made me smile, too
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Here's some grown-up ones.Originally posted by babybird67 View Post
Give the lady a broad Lancashire accent for best effect.
Lady: 'Ere, John, wasn't he supposed to be the Prince of Wales or summat?
Me: Ah, you're talking about the 'Royal Conspiracy'. It's popular, but it's a story that has been completely disproved. There's no evidence that it is true at all.
Lady: Warrever, I still think it's 'im.
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Man: 'Ere, mate, do you know where Jack the Ripper's buried?
Me: Well, no.
Man: We do (his companions nod eagerly).
Me: Where's that then?
Man: Thorpe-le-Soken! That's where we're from.
Me: William Gull?
Man: That's the man. Jack the Ripper!
(At this point I take it no further. Then happily trash the Royal Theory later in the tour).
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This may all seem daft, but the commonest question I have to answer is 'why did he stop?' A good question, thankfully.Leave a comment:
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haha John
you should do a book with those snippets in...I bet you have lots more anecdotes like that!
You've started my morning off with a smile, so thank you for that!
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Oh, the magical world of the child..
Some little snippets from my JTR school tours this week.
Girl (to her friend): They reckon it was the King...
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Boy: Did they ever think Jack the Ripper was a midget?
Me: Er, not tham I'm aware.
Boy: A leprechaun?
Me: Nah.
Boy: What about an elephant?
Me: Nope.
Boy: A pihrana fish?
Me: Nope.
Boy: A man-eating tiger?
Me (losing the will to live): No.
Boy: what about a chimpanzee?
Me: Well, they did say at the time it might have been an escaped gorilla.
Boy: No. You're kidding? That's just daft.
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Girl: 'Ave yer got any pictures of Jack the Ripper?
Me: Erm, no.
Girl (looking disappointed): Hey, why not?
Me: Well, they never caught him, did they?
Girl: Really?
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Same girl (after showing the group the doorway where Eddowes' apron was found): So how do YOU know that's the right door?
Me: Research, luv.
(but you can probably imagine what went through my head at that moment).
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And this one is quite common -
Student: Is Jack the Ripper going to come after us?
Me: I very much doubt it, it was 120 years ago.
Student (to a friend, nodding over to me): I reckon he's Jack the Ripper.
Happy Days!
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Thank you! I couldn't remember his name. Like I said, he was very nice, informative and was funny. For example when the tour began in the alleyway of George Chapman's joint, he made a couple comments about the police sirens zipping up and down the streets and Whitechapel in general, not knocking them mind you, just small jokes that made everyone smile.Originally posted by John Bennett View PostLeave a comment:
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Why it's Mark Ubsdell! Well met!Originally posted by Majewski79 View PostLeave a comment:
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Back from London now...
... Everything was fantastic. The Jack the Ripper tour was amazing, the neighborhood really set the mood for my wife and I. The guide was really cool, I cannot remember the gentleman's name but, he was fantastic and very, very nice and informative.
Does anyone know what this guy's name is?
Here's a picture:
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Everything you need to know is right here:Originally posted by kensei View Post
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2625.aspx
The Journey Planner is top notch.
BulldogLeave a comment:
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Hi Majewski79,
My first time to England was my first time on a plane too, from the U.S. I've been there twice now and have visited some pretty far-flung areas of London from Kensington to Highgate, and not once have I ridden the bus. It always looked too daunting a task to learn the system well enough to know which bus to get on so I never even tried, opting for the tube which is a quick learn and gets you where you want to go at very efficient speed. As a beginner though, if you've never ridden a subway before (which I hadn't), expect to accidentally find yourself on the wrong side of the platform and get on a train going the wrong way a couple of times. Pay close attention and you'll figure it out within one stop before you get too far off course. Also, depending on the time of day, be prepared to be crammed into the train like pickles in a jar. You'll laugh about it later, but not at the time.
Good idea also to have a plan in case you and your wife get separated. I saw it happen once, some young people boarding a train had the doors close on them before they were all inside and a couple of girls got left behind, causing some blokes standing nearby to burst out laughing at them.Leave a comment:
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