Ruth is Stranger Than Fiction

Join Ruth, Chris, and Vinnie the cat for the first of some short interlude episodes brought to you during lockdown time. Learn about the Toadmen, mysterious figures from the folklore of East Anglia. Why are they known as Toadmen and what strange powers do they posess? We also have some new music to open the episode, and a bottle of red wine.

It’s the day of reckoning for William Corder! The murder trial is about to begin, and Maria Marten’s family are lining up inside the courtroom to give their evidence. Outside the courtroom, all manner of people are waiting to hear the verdict and to witness Corder’s gruesome punishment. Here are two hints: galvanizing battery, and leathery tome. The horror! We drink a red booze, red like the tiles of the Red Barn and red like the blood of poor Maria.

Have a look at the fascinating work carried out by the research project Harnessing the Power of the Criminal Corpse, referred to in the episode.

Join myself, Katy and Jo for the first episode of our double parter about the most nefarious and unfortunate murder of Maria Marten, aka the Murder in the Red Barn. Meet Maria and her lover, the caddish William ‘Foxey’ Corder, and prepare yourselves for a twisting tale of trysting and terror, interspersed with a sprinkling of matrimonial advertisments and boarding house eggs. Ready yourselves too for the introduction of the new hit cop pairing, Ayres and Lea! Drinks go quite well this time, even mine.

Behold here the impressive and astonishingly detailed account of the whole sordid affair by James Curtis, referred to in this episode and the next, and marvel at the ambitious use of fonts on the title page.

Ruth and Chris have been on a road trip! Each year the Cambridgeshire town of Whittlesey brings forth the straw bear, and this year we were there to see it. In this episode we learn about the history and revival of the Straw Bear Festival, and the central importance of dancing, burning, possibly fighting, and definitely drinking to this tradition. Jo and Jake hear all about it, and you shall too. Disclaimer: there will be no beard of bees.

Visit the Straw Bear website to see some photos from the current festival and the archives.

You can download the transcript of Brian Kell’s interview with Kevin Chambers from 2017, shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Let the yellow mania begin! It’s time for the yellow drink and for more talk of draining the fens. Listen as I attempt to tell the story of the black sheet at last, only to be derailed by Jo and Katy’s failure to focus on the tale at hand. Prepare yourself for tangents galore, an introduction to the Company of Adventurers, some impromptu singing, and an ill-advised attempt to mimic the voice of an eel.

Note: this episode is brought to you by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford.

Our story this time was suggested by Katy Holliday, who is back with me and Jo to explore the tale of The Black Sheet. Or at least, we might get there in the end, but first it’s Cromwell time! Yes, everyone’s favourite controversial Briton. Oliver Cromwell’s exploits in Ireland and his plans to drain the fens form the backdrop to our narrative. When Katy goes rogue with her drinks choice things start to get silly, with divergent discussions about hairstyles, Coldplay, and you guessed it, eels.

In this episode we get right into the nitty gritty of the murder of Annie Holmes, who died a horrible death following the receipt of a mysterious package. Jo and Jake, fuelled by the boozy petrol of the Fiendish Forager cocktail, have a lively debate about the morality of murder, and I recount the crimes of the St Neots poisoner himself, Walter Horsford.

Here we are again for some new discussions inspired by the morbid history of East Anglia. I turn my attention to Victorian England and the advent of forensic toxicology. Expect a lot of poison chat and rather too much faulty information from three people who really know very little about the subject. Jo McPhee joins me once more, along with Jake Dyer and our usual themed boozes. Why were there so many cases of arsenic poisoning in 19th Century England? Which John Snow is the best? And what in the world is adipocere? All this and more contained within.

Jo and Katy are back again as we conclude the story of Alice Samuels and the Throckmorton family. Hear some shocking revelations about the death of a fancy lady, the violence of the scratching test, and some foolishly monikered poultry. A magical witchy drink joins the party, as does an unpleasant milky concoction.

I am joined for our very first episode by Jo McPhee and Katy Holliday. Listen agog as we harken back to the late 16th Century and the murky fenlands of Huntingdonshire to introduce the story of the Throckmorton girls, who lived in the manor house of the village of Warboys, and Alice Samuels, the local woman they accused of witchcraft. We also drink some very delicious gin and tonics and specially chosen beers.

Take a look at the digitised pamphlet referred to in the episode, from the collection of the Norris Museum in St Ives.