the Goulston St Graffiti

[The Good Michael]

Heineken, which I think is along the same lines as Budweiser (nonsense beer), is about $1 a bottle here. The local beer is just like Czech pilseners and I can get a .5er for 80 to 90 cents if I look hard. In a bar the other night, i was with 5 ladies and we had 3 beers apiece, kebabs (maybe 4) two salads and a pizza for about $75. I was happy.

[Fisherman]

Then I can get eleven Heinekens over there for the price of one Swedish ditto. Now, how can that be "nonsense beer"?

The best,
Fisherman

[Monty]

Monty (Neal (sic) Bell) is the authority on this particular branch of Ripperology, and I'm here to listen and learn as much as possible from him

Most unwise.

The bottom line is, on its own, the writing is not connected to any crime whatsoever.

That said, with apron, there is a hint (note hint) of suggestion that the two are linked, this via location. This now gives the police no option but to investigate the writing as part of their duty.

The question is now intention. Did the killer intend to place the apron where he did as to connect the writing and the apron and therefore the murder and then on to the series.

This, to me, is too convoluted. It is far easier to mention the apron piece and or the crimes within its text. That would have had a major impact, far more that it did.

Yet it does not. So the question of if he did or did not write upon the wall, if it is connected, will never be answered fully and to everyones satisfaction.

However, looking at the evidence with as an open mind as one can have (and no one has a truely open mind), I say the two are not connected.

Can I commit to that? Id have to say I cannot.

And there lies the rub.

Monty

[mariab]

Fisherman wrote:
quote Maria:
"Heirens and his "Catch me before I kill again" lipstick graffito on a mirror is extremely atypical in serial killer lore."
...whereas the GSG, if written by the killer, is ...?
OK, you win this one.
Fisherman wrote:
How about two different witnesses testifying to Stride having claimed that she lived with a man in Fashion Street?
Oh come on, Fish, that woman lied each and every time she opened her mouth, plus, both she and Eddows gave alleged addresses on 6, Fashion Street. (Was that a code among unfortunates for staying discreet about their actual address?) Did you research an address of her on Fashion Street? And another boyfriend of hers than Michael Kidney?
Wow, $11!! Still, I assume that the Café Opera in Stockholm is a pretty posh institution. A glass of orange juice at the Opéra Bastille in Paris costs 7-€ (painfully I happen to know, because once in the summer I was so thirsty I did pay for this!), but if bought on the street, just 1,50-€.
A generous dinner for 5 people in Berlin (at a nice Café) would be about 100-€. In Paris? Try 200-€ at the absolute cheapest.
As for beer, I said Heineken because I expected the Swedes might prefer it. I can't stand it, neither do I like Pilsen (stupidly, living in Berlin most of the year). I like Budweiser, Amstel, Guinness, and Kilkenny. But my favorites are “surfer's beers“, Corona with lime, Foster's, Bintam (Indo beer), and Tahitian beer (possibly for sentimental reasons).

[mariab]

Most interesting. Monty/Neil (probably not Neal!) concludes that the GSG is most possibly NOT connected to the Ripper.

[Fisherman]

MAria:

"Oh come on, Fish, that woman lied each and every time she opened her mouth, plus, both she and Eddows gave alleged addresses on 6, Fashion Street. (Was that a code among unfortunates for staying discreet about their actual address?) Did you research an address of her on Fashion Street? And another boyfriend of hers than Michael Kidney?"

We cannot possibly discard all she said, can we? Nor can we pick and choose among the things she claimed, saving only the bits we like. You asked for evidence that she had a lover, and two different witnesses stating that Stride claimed to have lived with a man in Fashion Street is exactly that - evidence pointing to another man in her life.

As you know, the censuses cover 1881 and 1891, and it would be fair to say that it was improbable that she would have stayed in Fashion Street at the earlier date - and even more improbable that she would have done so at the latter one, considering the fact that she had been dead for three years by then. And, of course, there would be no certainty in a woman stating that she lived at her lover´s address anyway, would there?

"As for beer, I said Heineken because I expected the Swedes might prefer it."

Swedes? ALL Swedes? You must be pulling my leg...? I´ll opt for trappist beers from Belgium (like, say, Leffe dark beer) if I may. If I have to move to the brighter side of the sprectrum, I´d say Newcastle Brown Ale is a pretty decent brew.
My wife likes Heineken, though. And yes, she is a Swede.

"A generous dinner for 5 people in Berlin (at a nice Café) would be about 100-€. In Paris? Try 200-€ at the absolute cheapest."

A good thing, then, that me and my family opted for Berlin in december! Prost!

The best,
Fisherman

[Fisherman]

MAria:

"Most interesting. Monty/Neil (probably not Neal!) concludes that the GSG is most possibly NOT connected to the Ripper."

He has proffessed to that pagan wiew for a good deal of years now, Maria. And he is as accurate on most things as he is humble about it...

I bet he likes his beer dark too.

The best,
Fisherman

[mariab]

Fish,
Then how come that Michael Kidney plus all newspapers reporting about their domestic problems stated that they lived together on 36, Devonshire Street? Stride's friend Elizabeth Tanner did not report that Stride indeed lived on Fashion Street, she said (at the inquest) “She lived with a man on Fashion Street, so she told me.“ Which we know isn't true.
And, of course, there would be no certainty in a woman stating that she lived at her lover´s address anyway, would there?
Do I detect a bit of mistrust in the female gender here?
Sorry about Heineken, I happen to know a lot of Swedes who dig that particular brand, but they're young (and probably inexperienced).
Berlin in December? There'll be normally no snow yet, but lots of Xmas illuminations. If I'm here (after December 5) and only if you feel inclined, we should totally meet...
Fisherman said (about Monty):
And he is as accurate on most things as he is humble about it...
I bet he likes his beer dark too.
I'm positive that all of this is a fact.

[Fisherman]

MAria:

"Then how come that Michael Kidney plus all newspapers reporting about their domestic problems stated that they lived together on 36, Devonshire Street? Stride's friend Elizabeth Tanner did not report that Stride indeed lived on Fashion Street, she said (at the inquest) “She lived with a man on Fashion Street, so she told me.“ Which we know isn't true."

We do? Or do we just want it not to be true? How do we know that she did not spend the occasional night at Fashion Street? We know that Kidney freely admitted that she left home for periods of time. My conclusion is that this is a very real possibility, bolsered by not just one, but two witnesses.

"Do I detect a bit of mistrust in the female gender here?"

You don´t, Maria. It´s not as she would have had a lot of options, is it?

"If I'm here (after December 5) and only if you feel inclined, we should totally meet..."

I´m due on December 27:th, and I´m out on the 30:th, and me and my family will be staying in my newspaper´s correspondent flat, not far from Rosa Luxemburg Platz. Somebody has to serve some decent beer in that vicinity, so maybe ...!

The best,
Fisherman

[mariab]

Kidney did admit that Stride left their home for short periods of time, but it's documented that during these intervals she lived in different doss houses (mostly, at Flower and Dean Street).
I know Rosa Luxemburg Platz, it's a cozy, young neighborhood (lots of students) in former East Berlin, close to Alexanderplatz, but quiter. There are tons of inexpensive little Cafés in there, which serve beer, wine, yummy cappucino, and sometimes dinner or lunch. (I'm just behind Wittenbergplatz, but the shop which sponsors my snowboarding is just 1 U-bahn station after Rosa Luxemburg Platz.)

[Fisherman]

Maria:

"it's documented that during these intervals she lived in different doss houses"

Ehrm ...? We don´t even know when the "intervals" came about, much less do we have any day-by-day (or night-by-night) documentation where she spent that time - much as I would have loved if we did!

"There are tons of inexpensive little Cafés in there"

Sounds like my kind of town!

The best,
Fisherman

[Fisherman]

Maria:

"Stride's friend Elizabeth Tanner did not report that Stride indeed lived on Fashion Street, she said (at the inquest) “She lived with a man on Fashion Street, so she told me."

On this, it should also be added that Catherine Lane said, at the inquest: "I used to see her frequently in Fashion-street, where she lived" and that does not only reiterate a possible lie - it also PLACES Stride in Fashion Street. Tanner also, apart from the quote you chose, stated "I´m aware that she lived in Fashion-Street", not exactly telling us that she was only aware that Stride had said so.
And when I look at your quote: "“She lived with a man on Fashion Street, so she told me.", I find that the Daily Telegraph reports it as: "She told me that she was at work among the Jews, and was living with a man in Fashion-street." Small but visible difference!

the best,
Fisherman

[mariab]

Fish,
I'll look up the Catherine Lane deposition, did she give any time frame for “seeing Stride on Fashion Street“?
We do have some documentation for when Stride was sleeping in doss houses. No time to look it up right now, though.
Berlin is super cheap, especially as a big city.

[Fisherman]

This is the context, Maria:

"I have known her for six or seven months. I used to see her frequently in Fashion-street, where she lived, and I have seen her at our lodging-house.

[Coroner] Did you speak to her last week?

- On Thursday and Saturday."

The best,
Fisherman

[Scott Nelson]

Berlin is super cheap, especially as a big city.

Does this mean you won't be sleeping in a doss house?