Strange Stories UK

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This podcast is a follow up to The Florence Maybrick trial podcast from November 2020. Florence was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering her husband. who seems to have actually been killed by 'his brother Michael Maybrick and Florence was framed by him for the murder. 
The inspiration for this podcast is a book by Bruce Robinson called 'They all love Jack-Busting the Ripper' which I bought by chance at Waterstones at Gatwick airport when  taking a trip while working on the Florence Maybrick podcast in late 2020. I had been abroad when the Robinson book first came out and only learnt about it at Gatwick in 2020.
This is part one of the story as I understand it whereby Michael Maybrick is acussed of being 'Jack the Ripper'. This podcast is just setting the scene. I will post part 2 tomorrow which will concentrate on the Michael Maybrick character and the evidence against him.  
The story all seems incredible, especially when a dairy is revealed in 1992, supposedly written by James Maybrick who is  admitting to being the 'Ripper'. The dairy contains information that could only be known by the 'Ripper'. 
Michael Maybrick was a famous composer and singer in the 1880s. I can't find fault in Bruce Robinson's anaylsis and his accusation that Michael Maybrick was 'Jack the Ripper' who specialised in killing women and children and his own brother. 

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A Femme fatale, Madame Schmeder leaves France, in a hurry,  in her airplane, and crash lands at Selsey in Sussex.  A story that captured the imagination of the world in 1936 but is now virtually forgotten. 
This story told in one take and without editing with information from the British Archives, La Bibliothèque nationale de France and various newspaper reports. 

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A murder from a long time ago, The Rolling Stones were number 1 in the singles charts with 'I can't get no Satisfaction', this podcast tells of a story from September 1965 when a woman who had just finished her Teacher Training was murdered by a person who had had no positive impact on life having failed at everything and blamed his failure on others. Nevertheless, the Criminal Justice System did everything it could to help him while his victim, an only child, was forgotten and in my opinion was not considered that important once she was dead.
Michael Stephen Gills seemed to be a deluded person who imagined that women were giving him signs that they wanted him, but when he approached them, they 'snubbed him' and at times he , in his words, 'lost his nut'. 
This case seems to be forgotten now, I came across it by chance in the National Archives. I feel that Patricia Grace Woolard was badly let down by the Criminal Justice system.
Please be advised that this podcast is not edited and recorded in one take, it is not a professional production and I sometimes stumble over my words, so please do not listen if this is likely to be a problem.

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Ghost Story for Christmas 2021. Tony Cornell and others, investigate three cases in East Anglia, Hannath Hall during 1957-60, Wisbech shoe shop 1965-66 and Old Morley Hall 1964. All of these cases as published by the Society of Psychical Research.

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Two stories about street drug dealing, both ending in murder ten years ago, during 2011. Both drug dealers lived in Portslade part of the conurbation of Brighton and Hove. 

Gary ‘Hammer’ Hampsen was a flawed character who moved from Bootle, Liverpool to Brighton and became a street drug dealer. He seemed to have a loving family but was capable of violence, keeping a hammer for personal protection. Perhaps his greatest mistake was going into partnership with Daniel Alexander, 20 years older than him and a totally untrustworthy character. There are several unpleasant personalities involved in this story. Step forward Linda and Roy.

The next story involves a very young drug dealer who seemed to view himself as a ‘big shot’, ‘bigging’ himself up as a dangerous gangster. His family misguidedly tried to help him after he carried out a dreadful crime. He was clearly a damaged character who was morally corrupt, and he dragged his family down with him who must have regretted their decision. 

What is interesting is that both people convicted of murder showed no remorse at all.

I know I have said this before, but the podcast is recorded in one take with no editing. I have a busy life and don’t have time to edit so have made Lo-Fi a feature of my podcasts. I do not have the resources of the BBC or the big podcast companies. I have a mic, a computer and an inquisitive mind, so please do not expect a professional podcast. I listen through once before posting and even I shudder when I cough or grunt and know it is not good to hear. 
However there is no one telling me what to do, so I tell the story the way I see it, although I try not to make any personal views. I also do not ask people to post a review for the show or ask for anything.
I am taking a break of three or four weeks as I am working on some complicated episodes. I will be back in time to post one or maybe two 'Ghost Stories' for Christmas 2021.

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Episode 6 in the Canning Town Crime and Corruption Series of podcasts. This episode is about the novel Judas Pig by Horace Silver. Published in 2004, it became a cult novel as it told stories about an OCG (organised Crime group / gang) that were believed to have actually taken place. 
Some thought it the most realistic description of a ruthless OCG in action. I have tried to match the names to the stories that have been described. It is quite possible that I have made mistakes and  the novel seems to have mixed some stories and distorted time lines. The novel is a revenge story to put Horace Silver, aka Billy Abrahams, are Jimmy Holmes, aka Jimmy Maher's (?) side of the story and to put those he did not like in a poor light.
This was recorded after a session spent at the pub, recorded in one take without editing and during the recording there is a scuffle between a cat and a dog that interrupted proceedings for a moment or two. Please do not listen if you are expecting a flawless delivery.

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Hello,  All Hallows Eve 2021. I am only posting one story this year and it is a pretty standard Haunted House story which was first published in 1902 in the Journal of Psychical Research. I do not know the location of the house as it was kept secret on the request of those who lived there at the time. I am not convinced that it was a haunting but you will have to make your own mind up if you decide to listen to it.
 I will be researching some more stories next month and will post a couple of paranormal episodes  for Christmas 2021. 

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This is not a podcast to interest everyone. It is about the Burbot, only fish in the UK that has been declared extinct in known history. Please also be warned that this podcast is recorded in one take with no editing and there is a dog snoring in the background. and I stumble over some words and make some mistakes.
I make podcasts that interest me and I cannot be bothered to spend an age recording the perfect podcast. In fact I recommend that you do not listen to this podcast unless you are interested in the natural history of the burbot.
 I have not given any sources, but the Southampton University Report on  the possibility of reintroducing the species (available online) has a long list of sources for anyone interested.
My next podcast will be a paranormal podcast for Halloween.

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This is the fifth podcast in the Canning Town Crome & Corruption Series. This involves three unsolved murders in Epping Forest, near London. Terry Gooderham and Maxine Arnold murdered in December 1989 and  the murder of Patricia Parsons in June 1990.
         There will be three more podcasts in this series, But the next one or two podcasts will be cases of the paranormal as Halloween is approaching.
I have abandoned my attempts to get the podcast to pay for itself, by covering fixed costs. I was using Ko-Fi, there were a trickle of contributions but I will just concentrate on making the podcasts that I want to make. Thank you for those that did buy me a coffee.
Just to remind listeners that this podcast is low-fi. I hesitate ever some words, cough and splutter at times, but the pod gets made in one 'take' with no editing.  Thank you for listening, I can be contacted on the web site www.strangestoriesuk.com.

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Three Paranormal cases : The Palm Sunday Case which concerned Arthur Balfour the Conservative Prime Minister and his lost love, his cousin May. I dont think it would be possible today to conceive how well the Balfour family were connected when this case broke in 1930.  They were one of the most important aristocratic families when Britain was considered as perhaps the most powerful country in the world at the time and they were one of the influential  families i, their ancestor being William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth 1.st adviser.  

I  have not gone into forensic detail about the Palm Sunday case, I have just given a general description which I think is enough as it could get a little tedious to get into detail.
The other two cases concern working class homes, The case in Ramsbury was about Samuel Bull, a chimney sweep from 1932. Make up your own minds what was behind this 'haunting' which seemed to involve a 'housing issue'
The next case took place at Askern near Doncaster (Donnie), not much happened but it was well documented by the Doncaster Psychical Research Group. 
I have actually included an advert on this podcast. Eve S. Evans, she has published an anthology of true ghost stories. I thought it would  match with this podcast. 
I will include all sources on my website strangestories.uk.com.