Acquiring A Victorian Diary

[rjpalmer]

Drilling holes in the joists is exactly what would happen when electrical groundwork was being conducted so such a memory is trivial in the extreme (for an electrician). The issue is not that aspect of his memory - the issue is was he there or not?

This issue is when someone's memory starts out vague & uncertain and then grows more detailed and specific with the passing of time; this is what might suggest the 'lost in the mall' syndrome.

This is why Mr. Powell's account, quite interesting in its original form, of having met a nurse in Australia in the 1970s who claimed she had Jack the Ripper's Diary began to lose all adherents as his tale grew more and more detailed.

I think you'll need to work out the obvious contradictions in the accounts given by James J vs by Dolgin & Jones.

The latter claim that the work in July (I suspect they mean June) was on the ground floor, whereas James claims it was finishing the installments on the first floor.

I wasn't there, but I imagine late March and April in Liverpool can be as bloody cold as the diarist described it, so why the electricians would simply do the wiring in March but not install the heaters and leave Mr. Dodd to freeze his tail off is something of a mystery to me. And then install the heaters at the beginning of summer?

Make it make sense.

[Iconoclast]

This issue is when someone's memory starts out vague & uncertain and then grows more detailed and specific with the passing of time; this is what might suggest the 'lost in the mall' syndrome.
This is why Mr. Powell's account, quite interesting in its original form, of having met a nurse in Australia in the 1970s who claimed she had Jack the Ripper's Diary began to lose all adherents as his tale grew more and more detailed.
I think you'll need to work out the obvious contradictions in the accounts given by James J vs by Dolgin & Jones.
The latter claim that the work in July (I suspect they mean June) was on the ground floor, whereas James claims it was finishing the installments on the first floor.
I wasn't there, but I imagine late March and April in Liverpool can be as bloody cold as the diarist described it, so why the electricians would simply do the wiring in March but not install the heaters and leave Mr. Dodd to freeze his tail off is something of a mystery to me. And then install the heaters at the beginning of summer?
Make it make sense.

Well, the electrical work was definitely done in March 1992 and the heaters were installed in July 1992 so I don't know what more sense I can make of it than that. Are you suggesting that these (or similar, then, if necessary) events did not happen and Colin Rhodes simply bunged some random invoices out to pay the wages???

The only issue we need answers to is whether or not Eddie Lyons and/or Jim Bowling were down at Battlecrease House on the morning of March 9, 1992. The finer details growing over time may very well speak of false memory syndrome, but are we saying that false memory syndrome cannot furnish details which were not true whilst the event itself was true? "I threw up at my brother's wedding!". "No you didn't, you only had a few pints". "Oh, maybe I wasn't my brother's wedding at all, then?".

Make it make sense, RJ.

Please.

[rjpalmer]

Well, the electrical work was definitely done in March 1992 and the heaters were installed in July 1992 so I don't know what more sense I can make of it than that. Are you suggesting that these (or similar, then, if necessary) events did not happen and Colin Rhodes simply bunged some random invoices out to pay the wages???

Ike, Old Man, I'm attempting to get at the truth. Bear with me.

As far as I know, there are only three relevant timesheets. One in March, one in June, and one in July 1992.

The first (9 March) was reproduced in Robert Smith's book.

The third (21 July) was given on this forum by James J:

"The only other timesheet where Eddie's name appears is dated the week ending 21.7.92. Arthur Rigby's name is nowhere to be seen, and the description of work conducted reads; 'Alternator LT Wiring + DB. Check Low Tests - Ground Floor'. This cannot be the work Eddie described during our interview."

Note: ground floor, not first floor, so your current claim that "the heater were installed in July" seems to contradict the July timesheet.

You must mean June.

However, the timesheet for June I cannot find (I've seen but do not currently own Robert Smith's book) and it is only stated as matter of faith on this forum that the heaters were installed in June. I'm not insisting that is correct or incorrect. But since the accounts given by Jones & Johnston contradict each other, how is the reading public supposed to know which is accurate?

That's what I'm asking/attempting to determine.

I guess I'll wait for the documentary; by no means arse yourself.

RP

[rjpalmer]

Hi Ike,

I'm getting somewhere.

A correspondent, Smith's book in hand, has informed me that a night heater (singular) went in on the first floor on Tuesday, 9 June. (Jones & Dolgin mentioned multiple heaters being moved around, but perhaps this means the new one?) That floor is now done.

July was as previously reported.

Several other days were worked in June, but it was all on the ground floor for lighting. The cellar was used for the wiring, so this would seem to be what Eddie was remembering.

Eddie Lyons only appears on the sheets for the week of 15 Jun - 19th.

Ciao.