Inspiration for the Fake 'Diary'

[caz]

Indeed I do recall, Paul.

Funny you should mention Hattie Jacques. We went to the same school in Hammersmith.

And before anyone suggests it - no, not at the same time.

Love,

Miss Behaving
X

[PaulB]

How about Miss Adventure? There was a short-lived television series of that name starring Hattie Jacques. It was a long time ago. Anyway, I've never really been a fan of pseudonyms on message boards. I've known people hide behind them, do you recall. Many moons ago when we were young.

[caz]

Be very careful though, Paul, if you ever see a poster with the username Quakerdodger.

If he gives you reason to refer to him as Quockerwodger, resist the temptation to do so. Some posters who hide behind a pseudonym can be discombobulated and disproportionately disgruntled by any misuse of their invented moniker.

Love,

Caz - aka Caroline Morris, Mrs Brown, Carrie Brown, Miss Information, Meddlesome Ratbag - you name it, I'll own it.
X

[PaulB]

Great word, isn't it. I'd use it a lot, if I could pronounce it. Suzie Dent does a word of the day on Twitter and I delighted in 'circumbendibus’, which means an answer or argument so convoluted and evasive that it isn’t really an answer at all. We've all seen politicians give those sort of answers and arguments, and it's not a million miles from answers and arguments we see to criticisms of Ripper theories. Similarly, some arguments we see as 'hingum-tringum', which apparently means barely hanging together. I like 'quockerwodger' too, which is a toy puppet; one whose strings are pulled entirely by someone else. It's better than sock-puppet, although I haven't seen a toy puppet which pulls its own strings. No even one that pulls one string. Still, 'quockerwodger' is a word that should be used often, just for the fun it provides.

[Scott Nelson]

"absquatulate" I couldn't even find it in the dictionary, Caz.

[caz]

I think you are getting out of your depth here, RJ.

You are now using the fact that Mike told many lies to speculate that another lie was that Sphere ever sent him a set - or partial set - of the volumes as part of the Hillsborough appeal in 1989. That's fine, and I don't believe they ever sent him a Vol 2 either. But it leaves you scratching around for another explanation which is missing from Mike's many forgery claims.

I'm wondering about the mechanics of how Mike supposedly ended up with one or more of these "too difficult" books, if they were donated to a rummage sale? Why did he need to take any home with him, if he knew he was unlikely to find a buyer?

Would a student who needed to read up specifically on the subject of English Poetry & Prose, from 1540 to1674, and obtained Vol 2 for that purpose, also have needed the other volumes in the same series? Or are you suggesting the other "too difficult" books were not part of that series, but just other random college text books discarded by the one student on flying the nest?

I'm now wondering if your rethink was to do with my recent observation about the other volumes in the series. Out of the twelve volumes, there were four other titles, which would have been so much more appropriate than Vol 2 for a hoaxer looking for diary material.

There is a witness who saw Mike in the library on 30th September 1994 - the day he claimed to find the quote there. And as you are well aware, he also told his solicitor's assistant, Liz Winter, that he had found "sweet intercourse" in the library - which would have been an own goal if the volume it came from had been lodged with his solicitor at the time. Nobody involved with Mike had any recollection of the book being lodged or withdrawn on any date, and there was no record of it, nor indeed any record of Mike attending the offices between 25th August 1994 and 9th January 1995, although numerous phone calls were logged.

The natural conclusion is that when Mike 'emerged' from the building in early December and handed over the second-hand Vol 2 to Alan Gray, he was bluffing, and only pretended he had just been to the office to withdraw it, to fit in with his earlier claim that it was lodged there.

If you haven't learned the lesson by now, RJ, that every little thing Mike did or said concerning his part in the diary's creation, and how the scrapbook came to be in his possession, needs to be treated with the utmost caution, no exceptions, I doubt you ever will.

Incidentally, before you absquatulate again, why would it be 'too late' for the current owner of Mike's second-hand copy of Vol 2 to re-examine it for distinguishing features - assuming this wasn't done carefully enough when it was first acquired from its previous owner?

[rjpalmer]

Question for today: Who needs a receipt for an obviously second hand copy of Vol 2, which Mike handed to Alan Gray personally in December 1994, proving beyond doubt that this wasn't sent to him new, as a result of the Hillsborough appeal back in 1989?

Hi Caz!

The above question amply demonstrates that after all these years you still don't grasp Barrett, and that you aren't interested in investigating his involvement in any rational way...but simply want to dismiss the possibility as quickly as possible and by any means possible--even by stating your theories as facts.

The thing is, I agree with Keith. I agree that the Sphere book he describes sounds exactly like something a college student would have owned.

I also agree that it is almost certainly nonsense that a publisher gave Barrett a whole set of these volumes for a charity drive. It would have been odd in the extreme.

Alas, none of this tells us anything about when or where Barrett first laid his mitts on the book. We are dealing with Korsakov Mike, remember? He throws in embellishments like a hen lays eggs. He will tell ten different versions of the same event, even if it serves no rational purpose.

Meanwhile, have you ever been to a charity book drive, Caz?

I have. Old college text books--often heavily underlined and highlighted---are EXACTLY what people donate to these drives. Often by the parent who is tired of tripping over the box of old books in the garage, left behind by the now adult student who has flown the nest.

And there is no doubt there were rummage sales held for the victims of the Hillsborough Disaster, because one can find advertisements for them in the Liverpool Echo. There was one such sale held not far from Barrett's house (a mile or so).

It's too late now, but if it was me, I'd have looked to see if there was a name in the front of this second-hand copy of Sphere, Vol. 2.

Is there a name?

It would have been a long-shot, but did anyone call the local English Departments at the Liverpool universities to see if any staff member had assigned this book? Could the student have been traced? Did anyone donate this book to a charity event held for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster?

What is compelling is the claim that Barrett had a box of "too difficult" books that he tried to give to Jenny's son that summer. The Sphere would certainly have fit in that category, and a box of old college texts fits perfectly with what someone would have tried to donate to a charity sale.

When dealing with Korsakov Mike, there is always the possibility that his story is HALF true.

And I've been to dozens of these events and college text books are as common as raindrops in the forests of Peru.

Such an approach would mean that one is actually investigating Barrett's involvement, instead of simply trying to brush the possibility under the rug by inventing tall tales about Mike having found the quote during a long week in the Liverpool Central Library and then rushing out and obtaining a copy...for which there is no evidence.

Or did you forget that part?

[caz]

And so The Great Baron beats on, a boat against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

I got it! I got it! A reference to the last line of "The Great Gatsby."

Smartly done.

c.d.

I thank you.

Love,

The Great Cazby
X

[caz]

And, in stark contrast, you and Keith will now produce the receipt for Mike's purchase of this heavily underlined and highlighted copy of the Sphere, Volume 2, that he purchased in a Liverpool used bookstore in 1994 or 1995--thus bringing a speedy end to our inquiries.

Or am I wrong about that?

RP

A bit pathetic, RJ, to show up here with this old damp squib, when you have so much unfinished business over on the main thread. Your supporters need you there to sort through all the loose ends you left.

Question for today: Who needs a receipt for an obviously second hand copy of Vol 2, which Mike handed to Alan Gray personally in December 1994, proving beyond doubt that this wasn't sent to him new, as a result of the Hillsborough appeal back in 1989?

You are most certainly wrong about Mike finding anything in this book prior to March 1992. He found 'sweet intercourse' in the library in September 1994. And I thought he was looking for a quote. I just hope he kept the noise down.

[caz]

I like this bit:

A message in from Alan Gray confirms that the Sphere book Vol 2 (plus other vols) was owned by Mike Barrett BEFORE the Diary emerged. (Confirmed by his sister)

The Baron

Anything directly from the source? A second hand confirmation in brackets, supposedly from another Barrett family member, is hardly any better than the second hand Vol 2 Mike finally managed to produce. Did his sister helpfully destroy the original?

Love,

Caz
X

[rjpalmer]

never materialised - like the famous auction ticket for the photo album.

And, in stark contrast, you and Keith will now produce the receipt for Mike's purchase of this heavily underlined and highlighted copy of the Sphere, Volume 2, that he purchased in a Liverpool used bookstore in 1994 or 1995--thus bringing a speedy end to our inquiries.

Or am I wrong about that?

RP

[c.d.]

And so The Great Baron beats on, a boat against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

I got it! I got it! A reference to the last line of "The Great Gatsby."

Smartly done.

c.d.

[The Baron]

And so The Great Baron beats on, a boat against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

What can I do, if the ethereal essence of your world is taking me in totally different dimensions and places

Unsurprisingly, the new and unused Sphere Vol 2, which Mike claimed to have had in his home since 1989, never materialised - like the famous auction ticket for the photo album.

I like this bit:

A message in from Alan Gray confirms that the Sphere book Vol 2 (plus other vols) was owned by Mike Barrett BEFORE the Diary emerged. (Confirmed by his sister)




The Baron

[caz]

And so The Great Baron beats on, a boat against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

The Sphere Vol 2, which Mike eventually handed over to Alan Gray in December 1994, was never left with the solicitor and was in any case a second hand copy, almost certainly used by a university student.

Unsurprisingly, the new and unused Sphere Vol 2, which Mike claimed to have had in his home since 1989, never materialised - like the famous auction ticket for the photo album.

Had our artful dodger been able to produce either for Alan Gray, he would have done. He was desperate to prove he had inside knowledge of the diary's creation.

As a reminder, the extract in the diary consists of just five words:

'Oh costly intercourse
of death'

My 1858 Complete Works of Richard Crashaw features the relevant lines at the very top of page 187, beginning:

'O, costly intercourse
Of death's, and worse
Divided loves : while Son and Mother
Discourse alternate wounds to one another !
Quick deaths that grow
And gather as they come and go...'

Here is the preceding line, from the bottom of page 186:

'Her eyes bleed tears, His wounds weep blood !'

For completeness, the short, four-line extract from page 187 of my Sphere Vol 2 paperback appears thus:

'O costly intercourse
Of deaths, & worse,
Divided loves. While son & mother
Discourse alternate wounds to one another. ('Sancta Maria')'


If Mike plucked the diary's five words from the Sphere book [managing to make two transcription mistakes and later to remember it as 'sweet' intercourse], he could have had no clue what comes before or after those four lines in the poem, but as usual his old friend serendipity came to the rescue, because the relevant diary entry features Sir Jim complaining of hideous nightmares, in which he keeps 'seeing blood pouring from the bitches', and curses God for creating them. He wants to 'boil boil boil' and see if their 'eyes pop'.

Then just a couple of lines further on:

'Sir Jim will cut them all
Oh costly intercourse
of death
Banish the thoughts banish them banish them ha ha ha, look towards the sensible brother...'

Earlier in the diary, Sir Jim repeats the line 'May comes and goes', no fewer than fives times, in the context of killing 'all the whores' and not shedding 'a tear'.


I wonder, was it Mike or Anne who was influenced by Macbeth, quaking in fear as he sees Banquo's ghost shaking his gory locks at him?

Yet who would have thought the Barretts of Goldie Street to have had such bloody thoughts in them?

Love,

Caz
X

[The Baron]

Melvin Harris:

"A message in from Alan Gray confirms that the Sphere book Vol 2 (plus other vols) was owned by Mike Barrett BEFORE the Diary emerged. (Confirmed by his sister)

Mike first engaged him at 11 AM Sunday 14th August 1994 (to search for his wife). Further engaged him to expose the Diary. Then (Sept) told the story behind the lines "O costly..." NOTE WELL:- the Sphere volume had been left with Mike's solicitor LONG BEFORE the break with his wife and the 'confession.'

Note also that, as R.J. Palmer independently spotted, the quoted lines are not opening lines but are taken from a later verse. Thus the Diary uses AN EXTRACT that, to date, has only been found in the essay on George Herbert in Vol 2.

Mike's volume has already been seen by others and can be inspected whenever I am in London"



It was Mike! This is a great proof! Well done gentlemen Harris and Palmer!




The Baron