Edward spooner

[Darryl Kenyon]

The yard is the crime scene. If his lady friend did accompany him to the yard, then by definition she cannot be his alibi.
Another way of looking at it is, if she is regarded as his alibi, then who is hers? They cannot both go to the yard and also be each others alibi.

As Spooner seems to have left significantly earlier than everyone else on Reid's list of 28, we are obliged to ask; was Spooner excused?
If no, then why does it seem otherwise? If yes, then what privilege did Spooner enjoy, that none of the other interrogated people seem to have?

If Spooner was with his lady friend for up to at least half an hour [ 12:30 to 01:00 ], before he saw the two Jews running down the street from a murder which had occurred from 12:46 to 12:56 [ Blackwell ] of course he has an alibi. His lady friend is his alibi.
Regards Darryl

[NotBlamedForNothing]

If Spooner did leave before anyone else it is possible that if his lady friend did accompany him to the yard he had an alibi.
I think it is likely that the police in attendance initially suspected a member of the club. He wasn't a member of the club plus probable alibi so was allowed to leave earlier, if indeed he did.
Regards Darryl

The yard is the crime scene. If his lady friend did accompany him to the yard, then by definition she cannot be his alibi.
Another way of looking at it is, if she is regarded as his alibi, then who is hers? They cannot both go to the yard and also be each others alibi.

As Spooner seems to have left significantly earlier than everyone else on Reid's list of 28, we are obliged to ask; was Spooner excused?
If no, then why does it seem otherwise? If yes, then what privilege did Spooner enjoy, that none of the other interrogated people seem to have?

[Darryl Kenyon]

one: Was Edward Spooner allowed to leave earlier than everyone else?

two: Did he leave alone, or with his lady friend?[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]

If Spooner did leave before anyone else it is possible that if his lady friend did accompany him to the yard he had an alibi.
I think it is likely that the police in attendance initially suspected a member of the club. He wasn't a member of the club plus probable alibi so was allowed to leave earlier, if indeed he did.
Regards Darryl

[NotBlamedForNothing]

D-I Reid: When it was found a murder had been committed a thorough search was made of the yard, houses, and buildings, but no trace could be found of any person likely to have committed the deed. As soon as the search was over the whole of the persons who had come into the yard and the members of the club were interrogated, their names and addresses taken, their pockets searched, and their clothes and hands examined. There were 28 of them. Each person was dealt with separately. They properly accounted for themselves, and were then allowed to leave.

Were they allowed to leave one-by-one, or only after all 28 had been interrogated? Perhaps Mrs. Diemschitz gave us a clue:

When the police came we were told that we must not quit the premises, and everybody was at once searched. Nothing was found to occasion suspicion, and the members were eventually allowed to go. At four o'clock the body was removed to the mortuary …

I get the impression that all of the 28 were interrogated before anyone could leave.

Spooner: When Police-constable Lamb came I helped him to close the gates of the yard, and I left through the club.
Reid: I believe that was after you had given your name and address to the police? - Yes. And had been searched? - Yes. And examined by Dr. Phillips? - Yes.

So of the 28, Lamb chose Spooner to help him close the gates, and not someone from the club. So two questions:

one: Was Edward Spooner allowed to leave earlier than everyone else?

two: Did he leave alone, or with his lady friend?

[NotBlamedForNothing]

Having given the coroner his address and employment details, Spooner immediately states where and when he was, before being alerted to the murder...

[DN] On Sunday morning between 12.30 and 1 o'clock, I was standing outside the Beehive Tavern, at the corner of Christian-street and Fairclough-street along with a young woman.

It is now Tuesday afternoon (Oct 2), so Spooner has had more than 60 hours to sort out in his own mind, where and when and who he was with, that night. He seems to get off to a clear and confident start.
He then states how he and his companion came to be at the stated location...

[MA] We had been in a beershop at the corner of Settles-street, Commercial-road, and remained till closing time. I stood at the top of Christian-street for a few minutes, and then walked down the street. We had been standing there about 25 minutes, I suppose, when two Jews came running along.

So it seems clear that at this point, Spooner has been out of the pub for half an hour, after leaving at closing time, and that half hour period was 12:30-1:00.
Thus, the closing time must have been 12:30.
However, another reporter captured Spooner actually stating the closing time...

[DT] On Sunday morning, between half-past twelve and one o'clock, I was standing outside the Beehive Public-house, at the corner of Christian-street, with my young woman. We had left a public-house in Commercial-road at closing time, midnight, and walked quietly to the point named.

So having just placed the half hour period at between 12:30 and 1am, Spooner immediately contradicts himself, by stating that the Gloucester Arms had closed at midnight.
It seems odd to me that Baxter did not seem to ask Spooner for clarification.
A little later, Spooner is answering a question regarding the possibility of anyone having left the yard while he was there, but prior to the arrival of police. He then goes off on a tangent...

[Times] The only means I had of fixing the time was by the closing of the publichouses. I stood at the top of the street for about five minutes, and then 25 minutes outside the publichouse. I should say it was about 25 minutes to 1 when I first went to the yard.

So Spooner makes it clear that he was only outside the pub for half an hour, before being alerted to the situation, and also implies that the pub had closed at midnight - as he had previously stated.
Yet he is now claiming to have reached the yard half an hour earlier than first suggested.

So the situation seems to be; Spooner is clear on the closing time. He is also clear that another half hour elapses before he goes to the yard.
How then, could Spooner have managed to initially state the he was outside in the period 12:30-1:00?
As I said, he has had 2½ days to think about this.
Perhaps Spooner got confused when he read this in the morning paper, before heading off to the inquest...

Diemschitz: On Saturday I left home about half-past 11 in the morning and returned home exactly at 1 a.m. Sunday morning.

Whatever the case, there is an unaccounted for half hour or so, in Spooner's story - 12:00-12:30, or, 12:30-1:00.
What was Spooner doing in that half hour, that he may not want the coroner to know about?

[NotBlamedForNothing]

The following quotes are in chronological order.

Wess: On Saturday last I was in the printing-office during the day and in the club during the evening. From nine to half-past ten at night I was away seeing an English friend home, but I was in the club again till a quarter-past midnight.

Best: I was in the Bricklayer's Arms, Settles-street, about two hundred yards from the scene of the murder on Saturday night, shortly before eleven, and saw a man and woman in the doorway. They had been served in the public house, and went out when me and my friends came in.
...
The man was no foreigner; he was an Englishman right enough.

Marshall: I saw the body of the deceased on Sunday. I saw her on the Saturday evening. She was in our street about three doors from where I am living. It was then about 11.45. She was standing talking to a man on the pavement.
...
When they left they went in the middle if the road in the direction of Ellen street. They would not have passed No 40 (the club) on their way.

Baxter: How do you know that you finally left at a quarter-past twelve o'clock?
Wess: Because of the time when I reached my lodgings. Before leaving I went into the yard, and thence to the printing-office, in order to leave some literature there, and on returning to the yard I observed that the double door at the entrance was open.
Baxter: Was there much noise in the club?
Wess: Not exactly much noise; but I could hear the singing when I was in the yard.
Baxter: Did you look towards the yard gates?
Wess: Not so much to the gates as to the ground, but nothing unusual attracted my attention.

Smith: I was last in Berner-street about half-past 12 or 12:35. At 1 o'clock I went to Berner-street in my ordinary round.
...
Baxter: When you were in Berner-street the previous time did you see any one?
Smith: Yes, a man and a woman.
Baxter: Was the latter anything like the deceased?
Smith: Yes, I saw her face. I have seen the deceased in the mortuary, and I feel certain it is the same person.
Baxter: Was she on the pavement?
Smith: Yes, a few yards up Berner-street on the opposite side to where she was found.

I wonder if Woolf's English friend had an interesting night out?

[NotBlamedForNothing]

So we have the following flower colour descriptions:

PC Smith: red

D-I Reid: red

The Workers Friend: red

Edward Spooner: red and white

Matthew Packer: red and white

LEN, Oct 1:

At the mortuary our reporter saw three men who had their suspicions raised on Saturday night by the conduct of a man and a woman in Settles-street, Commercial-road:
...
John Gardner, labourer, 11, Chapman-street, corroborated all that Best said respecting the conduct of the man and the woman at the Bricklayers' Arms, adding "before I got into the mortuary to-day (Sunday) I told you the woman had a flower in her jacket, and that she had a short jacket. Well, I have been to the mortuary, and there she was with the dahlias on the right side of her jacket.
I COULD SWEAR She is the woman I saw at the Bricklayers' Arms, and she has the same smile on her face now that she had then."

So we have three witnesses stating that the flower was red (only), and the police witnesses stating that the flower was a rose, compared to the earliest witness (Gardner), who believed it to be a dahlia. We also have Spooner describing the flower as red and white.

The theory: Spooner describes the flower pinned to Stride's jacket as being red and white, because a flower of those colours is what he was expecting to see, due to having seen Stride wearing a red and white flower, earlier in the evening.

Support for this theory would require Spooner stating, or have been witnessed, having been at the same place as Stride, earlier in the evening. Failing that; in the vicinity of a location at which Stride was seen by another witness or witnesses.
It also requires more evidence that the original flower had been replaced with another. A witness who sees Stride between the time she is seen at the pub by the three labourers, and when found dead, and who is explicit about not seeing a flower on the victim's jacket, would fit the bill.

Re 1st requirement:

J. Best, 82, Lower Chapman-street, said: I was in the Bricklayer's Arms, Settles-street, about two hundred yards from the scene of the murder on Saturday night, shortly before eleven, and saw a man and woman in the doorway. They had been served in the public house, and went out when me and my friends came in. It was raining very fast, and they did not appear willing to go out. He was hugging her and kissing her, and as he seemed a respectably dressed man, we were rather astonished at the way he was going on with the woman, who was poorly dressed.
...
I have been to the mortuary, and am almost certain the woman there is the one we saw at the Bricklayers' Arms.

The man was about 5ft. 5in. in height. He was well dressed in a black morning suit with a morning coat. ... He had a thick black moustache and no beard. He wore a black billycock hat, rather tall, and had on a collar. I don't know the colour of his tie. ... The man was no foreigner; he was an Englishman right enough.

The address of the Bricklayer's Arms was 34 Settles Street. Located on the eastern side of Settles Street at the southern corner of the junction with Fordham Street. A church stood nearby. At its southern end, Settles Street joins Commercial Road opposite Christian Street. Source

Spooner: On Sunday morning, between half-past twelve and one o'clock, I was standing outside the [Beehive Tavern] at the corner of Christian-street and Fairclough-street, along with a young woman. We had been in a beershop at the corner of Settles-street, Commercial-road, and remained till closing time. I stood at the top of Christian-street for a few minutes, and then walked down the street.

Re 2nd requirement. MA, Oct 6:

William Marshall, 64, Berner-street, deposed - I am a labourer in an indigo warehouse. I have seen the body of the deceased at the mortuary. I saw deceased on Saturday evening in Berner-street, about three doors off from where I am living. She was on the pavement opposite No. 58. She was between Boyd-street and Fairclough-street. It was then about a quarter to twelve o’clock at night. She was standing on the pavement talking with a man.

How did you know this was the same woman? - I recognised the deceased was the same woman by her face and her dress. She was not wearing a flower in her breast. She and the man were talking quietly. There was no lamp near. The nearest lamp was some yards off. I did not see the face of the man distinctly.

Did you notice how he was dressed? - Yes, he had a black small coat and dark trousers.

How old was he, do you think - young, or old, or middle-aged? - He seemed to me to be a middle-aged man. He was not wearing a hat; he was wearing a round cap with a small peak to it, something like what a sailor would wear.

What height was he? - He was about 5ft. 6in.

Was he thin or stout? - Rather stoutish.

Did he look well dressed? - Yes, sir, he looked decently dressed.

What class of man did he look? - He looked as if he worked at some respectable business.

Everybody works at a respectable business. - (Laughter.) - He did not look like a dock labourer nor a sailor. He had more the appearance of a clerk than anything I can suggest. I do not think he had any whiskers. He was not wearing gloves. He had no stick or umbrella in his hand. He had a cutaway coat.

Are you sure it was not me? - (Laughter.) - No, sir. - (Laughter.) I am sure deceased is the woman. I did not take much notice as to whether she had anything in her hand. I was standing at my door.

What attracted your attention to them? - I was first attracted by their standing there for some time, and he was kissing and cuddling her.

Did you overhear anything they said? - I heard the man say to the deceased, "You would say anything but your prayers."

So the apparent sequence is:

flower at pub > no flower on street > flower in yard

In terms of the type of flower:

Dahlia at pub > nothing on street > Rose in yard

It's notable that Bricklayer's Arms Man seems similar in appearance, behaviour and ethnicity, to Lower Berner Street Man, except for a crucial difference - the headwear; a black billycock hat, rather tall goes to a round cap with a small peak to it.

It would also seem that I like coining monikers

[Herlock Sholmes]

Matthew Packer gave the following statement at Scotland Yard:

"On Sat. night [29 September] about 11:00pm, a young man from 25-30, about 5'-7", with long black coat buttoned up, soft felt hat, kind of Yankee hat, rather broad shoulders, rather quick in speaking, rough voice. I sold him 1/2 pound black grapes, 3d. A woman came up with 'him from Back Church end (the lower end of street). She was dressed in black frock & jacket, fur round bottom of jacket, a black crepe bonnet, she was playing with a flower like a geranium white outside & red inside. I identify the woman at the St. George's Mortuary as the one I saw that night.

"They passed by as though they were going up [to] Commercial Rd, but instead of going up they crossed to the other side of the road to the Board School, & were there for about 1/2 an hour till I should say 11:30, talking to one another. I then shut up my shutters. before they passed over opposite to my shop, they went near to the club for a few minutes apparently listening to the music. I saw no more of them after I shut my shutters.

"I put the man down as a young clerk. he had a frock coat on - no gloves. He was about 1 1/2" or 2" or 3" - a little bit higher than she was."


So we have the following flower colour descriptions:

PC Smith: red

D-I Reid: red

The Workers Friend: red

Edward Spooner: red and white

Matthew Packer: red and white


Regarding the purchaser of the grapes, Packer said:

… if you ask me where he lives I can tell you within a little. He lodges not a great way from the house where Lipski, who was hanged for poisoning a woman, lived.

According to The Echo, Oct 20:

The police called on Mr. Packer, of 44, Berner-street, yesterday morning; and later on an Echo reporter also saw him as to what had transpired. Mr. Packer was rather reticent; but, when asked his opinion as to where the murderer lodged - for he had seen him several times before the fatal night - remarked, "In the next street."

Edward Spooner lived at 26 Fairclough street.


In his memoir, Walter Dew said:

In the little Berners Street court, quite close to the spot where the body was found, detectives searching every inch of the ground came upon a number of grape skins and stones.

At the inquest, Edward Spooner said:

I stood by the side of the deceased about five minutes, till Police-constable Lamb came. …
As soon as Police-constable Lamb arrived I stepped back. I helped him to fasten the gate.


Given all the above, I surmise the following …

Edward Spooner purchased the grapes later seen by Diemschitz, Kozebrodsky, and possibly Mortimer, when they were removed from Stride's right hand.

Edward Spooner ate at least some of those grapes, while in Dutfield's Yard.


By the way, of all the people in Dutfield's Yard when PC Lamb reached the victim, including some senior club figures, why do you suppose Lamb chose Spooner to help him close the gates?

And Blackwell saying that there were no grapes? Or that it was shown that Stride hadn’t eaten any grapes?

[NotBlamedForNothing]

How dark was the street end of Dutfield's Yard passageway, on murder night?

Louis Diemschitz, after pulling up his pony, Daily News:

... I noticed that there was something unusual about the ground, but I could not tell what it was except that it was not level. I mean that there was something there like a little heap. But I thought it was only mud or something of that kind, and did not take much notice of it. However, I touched it with my whip-handle, and then I was able to tell that it was not mud. I wanted to see what it was, so jumped out of the trap and struck a match. Then I saw that there was a woman lying there. At that time I took no further notice, and didn't know whether she was drunk or dead.

The Echo:

The steward of the International and Educational Club reached the gate just as the clock struck one. "It was very dark," he said. "There is no light near here, and the darkness is consequently much more intense between these two walls" - pointing to the walls of the Club and a house on the other side of the yard- "than out in the street. The gate was pushed back, and the wheel of my cart bumped against something. I struck a match to see what it was, but the wind blew it out. However, the flash was enough to show me that the person was on the ground either asleep or dead. I struck another match, and then (pursued the steward) the scene that burst upon me completely appalled me.

So with no artificial light source, Stride was indistinguishable from a pile of mud, at quite close range. With the transient light of a burning match, Louis could see it was a woman (or maybe just a human), but could not tell if she were asleep, drunk or dead.

So what was Edward Spooner's experience of going to Dutfield's Yard?

I saw two Jews come running along and shouting out "Murder" and "Police." They then ran as far as Grove-street and turned back. I stopped them and asked what was the matter. They replied, "A woman has been murdered." I then went round with them to Berner-street, and into Dutfield's yard, adjoining No. 40, Berner-street. I saw a woman lying just inside the gate. At that time there were about 15 people in the yard, and they were all standing round the body. The majority of them appeared to be Jews. No one touched the body. One of them struck a match, and I lifted up the chin of the deceased with my hand.
...
Directly I got inside the yard I could see that it was a woman lying on the ground.

So on entering the yard, Spooner could see there were about 15 people there, most of them Jewish. Rather amazingly, he could not only see the 'little heap' that Diemschitz saw, but he could immediately tell it was a woman. Even more amazingly, he could apparently see this was the case before someone struck a match!

Apparently, this anomaly can be explained by the influence of expectations - Spooner was expecting to see a dead woman, so in spite of the fact that he crossed from mild street light into intense darkness, and in spite of the fact that that the victim was facing a wall (and thus away from him), and just inches from it, just expecting to see a woman lying on the ground would supposedly be enough to overcome these seemingly insurmountable barriers.

Okay, so what were PC Lamb's expectations?

About 1 o'clock, as near as I can tell, on Sunday morning I was in the Commercial-road, between Christian-street and Batty-street. Two men came running towards me. I went towards them and heard them say, "Come on! There has been another murder."

So according to the expectations theory, Lamb should have had little trouble in perceiving the victim on the ground, immediately on his arrival...

I went into the gateway of No. 40, Berner-street and saw something dark lying on the right-hand side, close to the gates. I turned my light on and found it was a woman. I saw that her throat was cut, and she appeared to be dead.

So what's going on here? Three possible explanations...

1. Mr Muddle-Head: Just as Spooner was confused about his times, and the cachous hand, he also badly misremembered what he was initially able to see.

2. He was somehow already aware that Stride was dead, and knew what the 'little heap' actually was, as soon as he saw it.

3. He had a lantern of his own - just like the bobbies.

#2 will probably be dismissed immediately, as will #3 - why on earth would Spooner, standing on the corner of Christian and Fairclough streets, and talking to a young woman, be holding a lantern? Perhaps James Brown, of 35 Fairclough street, could give us a clue...

When I heard screams of "Police" and "Murder" I opened the window, but could not see any one and the screams ceased. The cries were those of moving persons, and appeared to be going in the direction of Grove-street. Shortly afterwards I saw a policeman standing at the corner of Christian-street. I heard a man opposite call out to the constable that he was wanted. I then saw the policeman run along to Berner-street.

[NotBlamedForNothing]

Matthew Packer gave the following statement at Scotland Yard:

"On Sat. night [29 September] about 11:00pm, a young man from 25-30, about 5'-7", with long black coat buttoned up, soft felt hat, kind of Yankee hat, rather broad shoulders, rather quick in speaking, rough voice. I sold him 1/2 pound black grapes, 3d. A woman came up with 'him from Back Church end (the lower end of street). She was dressed in black frock & jacket, fur round bottom of jacket, a black crepe bonnet, she was playing with a flower like a geranium white outside & red inside. I identify the woman at the St. George's Mortuary as the one I saw that night.

"They passed by as though they were going up [to] Commercial Rd, but instead of going up they crossed to the other side of the road to the Board School, & were there for about 1/2 an hour till I should say 11:30, talking to one another. I then shut up my shutters. before they passed over opposite to my shop, they went near to the club for a few minutes apparently listening to the music. I saw no more of them after I shut my shutters.

"I put the man down as a young clerk. he had a frock coat on - no gloves. He was about 1 1/2" or 2" or 3" - a little bit higher than she was."


So we have the following flower colour descriptions:

PC Smith: red

D-I Reid: red

The Workers Friend: red

Edward Spooner: red and white

Matthew Packer: red and white


Regarding the purchaser of the grapes, Packer said:

… if you ask me where he lives I can tell you within a little. He lodges not a great way from the house where Lipski, who was hanged for poisoning a woman, lived.

According to The Echo, Oct 20:

The police called on Mr. Packer, of 44, Berner-street, yesterday morning; and later on an Echo reporter also saw him as to what had transpired. Mr. Packer was rather reticent; but, when asked his opinion as to where the murderer lodged - for he had seen him several times before the fatal night - remarked, "In the next street."

Edward Spooner lived at 26 Fairclough street.


In his memoir, Walter Dew said:

In the little Berners Street court, quite close to the spot where the body was found, detectives searching every inch of the ground came upon a number of grape skins and stones.

At the inquest, Edward Spooner said:

I stood by the side of the deceased about five minutes, till Police-constable Lamb came. …
As soon as Police-constable Lamb arrived I stepped back. I helped him to fasten the gate.


Given all the above, I surmise the following …

Edward Spooner purchased the grapes later seen by Diemschitz, Kozebrodsky, and possibly Mortimer, when they were removed from Stride's right hand.

Edward Spooner ate at least some of those grapes, while in Dutfield's Yard.


By the way, of all the people in Dutfield's Yard when PC Lamb reached the victim, including some senior club figures, why do you suppose Lamb chose Spooner to help him close the gates?

[caz]

There's a simple explanation here. Jack the Ripper's Mum was from Lancashire, while his Dad was a Yorkshire man.

We need to look for a man wearing a flat cap and walking his whippet, while tucking into a bowl of hot pot.

[NotBlamedForNothing]

Another reference to a red rose, is in Donald Swanson's report dated October 19.

From enquiries made it was found that at:-
12.35 a.m. 30th P.C. 452H Smith saw a man and a woman the latter with a red rose talking in Berner Street, this P.C. on seeing the body identified it as being that of the woman whom he had seen & thus he describes the man as age about 28. ht. 5ft, 7 in: comp: dark, small moustache, dress black diagonal coat, hard felt hat, white collar and tie.

A quick summary...

Arbeter Fraint: She wore a red flower on her breast.

D-I Reid: Fastened on the right side was a small bunch of flowers, consisting of maidenhair fern and a red rose.

PC Smith (via Swanson): Smith saw a man and a woman the latter with a red rose talking in Berner Street...

Ed Spooner: I could see that she had a piece of paper doubled up in her right hand, and a red and white flower pinned on to her jacket.


Also worth considering, is the meaning or symbolism of red flowers, and the red rose in particular.

It is a symbol of Socialism. Wikipedia: Since the 1880s, the red rose has been a symbol of socialism. The origin of the rose as a symbol of socialism relates to its association with the color red. Since at least 1848, red was associated with socialism.

It is a symbol of romance: It's no surprise that a bouquet of red roses is the symbol for passion during courtship. Red is an undeniable symbol of love and romance, primarily because the color red is associated with the heart. Red also represents the color of flushed cheeks. In addition to desire, red can also represent strength and courage, two very important characteristics when you're about to go on that first date.

Source: Flower Color Meanings & Symbolism

[NotBlamedForNothing]

Dr. Phillips: I am convinced that the deceased had not swallowed either skin or seed of a grape within many hours of her death.

The Star, Oct 5:

The grape story is effectually disposed of by the statement of the authorities at Leman-street to a Star reporter. In the first place the police have no evidence that any grapes were found on the site of the Berners-street murder, and, moreover, Dr. Phillip's post mortem disclosed no trace of grapes or grapestones in Elizabeth Stride's stomach.

Note that the police reference is to grapes - not grape skins and seeds.

Walter Dew (written 1935):

The Berners Street murder yielded a clue which, for a time, raised the hopes of us all. Our inquiries brought to light the important fact that a few minutes-or at any rate a very short time before her death Elizabeth Stride, or "Long Liz", as she was known to her intimates, had actually been seen in the company of a man.

This evidence was supplied by a man who kept a small fruit shop in Berners Street. His story was that in the early hours of that Sunday morning he had sold the couple some grapes.

The real value of the fruit vendor's information lay in the fact that he swore he had seen the woman's companion before and would recognize him if he saw him again.

Unfortunately his story was backed by a description of the man which could only be described as vague. It might have applied equally to thousands of men.

Then came dramatic corroboration of his story. In the little Berners Street court, quite close to the spot where the body was found, detectives searching every inch of the ground came upon a number of grape skins and stones.

The obvious deduction was that these were the remains of the grapes which Long Liz's " companion had bought at the fruit shop, and that she had probably been eating them right up to the moment of her death.

The only alternative - which hardly seemed feasible - was that at that time of the night - or early morning - Mrs. Stride had got rid of one man and sought the companionship of another.


So if there were grapes skins and seeds in the yard, and Liz Stride consumed no grapes that evening, who ate the grapes?

[Wickerman]

Two months worth of cooler?

(Edit) I note your subsequent undertaking (or not!) to re-educate your good lady...frankly I wouldn't...your remaining term may prove longer and happier

Agreed, quite possibly one of my smarter decisions.

[DJA]

A really nice Canadian,by the name of David Suzuki,was in Oz ~ 30 years ago.
He used this area around the Otway Ranges' inland foothills as a prediction of climate change.
Crikey,did he underplay that.
The change has been astounding.