It has been a while since my last update, but I thought that tradition dictates I do one as the Jack the Ripper Conference has just taken place.
This year was a special three day event to commemorate the 125th Anniversary of the murders – and we were back in London on the anniversary of the final Ripper murder (that of Mary Kelly).
This time I was no longer just there as a delegate – I was asked to speak (or more accurately I pitched a talk idea to the organisers after last years successful event in York).
Thursday
So I departed Swansea Thursday morning and arrived in London at about lunchtime. After checking in to my now usual hotel on Brick Lane (above the Sheraz Curry House, formerly the Frying Pan Pub) I ventured to Poppies Fish and Chips for lunch (and lovely it was too) and then went on a practice walk to several murder sites. The reason for this was I was asked to speak on Jack the Ripper to London Haunts and Horrors and do a short walking tour afterwards. Returning to my lodgings and freshening up, I popped into the White Hart for a quick pint to steady my nerves (and saw it was already starting to fill with Ripperologists in town for the weekend) before heading to The Bell for my talk.
The subject was my talk was on hauntings of Jack the Ripper and his victims, and I decided to try and do it “off script” as much as possible, starting by talking about myself and my interest in the case for a bit, before a brief intro to the murders and then a look at hauntings and how the area has changed, before moving on to some suspects (and their ghosts) and a brief discussion of why these ghost stories may have started. Then followed a break and a mingle and a brief q&a session (where several other Ripperologists who had come to watch also joined in sharing knowledge and opinion) and then we went for a walk around the sites.
All in all the event went very well, it had a good turn out and was well received. I shall post my “script” for it at another time.
After the walk and a quick pint in the White Hart, a Brick Lane curry beckoned and we retreated to the Monsoon before bed.
Friday
Friday began at lunchtime with a drink in the Blind Beggar (of Kray’s fame) before a very special London Job organised by Neil Bell and led by Greg Baldock (in full Victorian police uniform). We visited many of the murder sites and other areas of interest and it was interspersed with plays.
Play 1 took place in the beer garden of the Blind Beggar and was East Enders discussing the recent Annie Chapman murder.
Play 2 took place in the Masonic Hall above The Mumbai Square and featured Mary Malcolm claiming Stride was her sister, Abberline briefing the uniformed police, and John Kelly identifying Catherine Eddowes body.
Play 3 took place in the top room of the Princess Alice and showed Joe Barnett grieving for Mary Kelly and Abberline trying to arrest him for the murders.
It was an excellent way to set the scene for the weekend and show the atmosphere of the East End 125 years ago.
In the evening after a brief Nandos with friends we had a Ripperology quiz in Dirty Dicks hosted by Martin Fido before spending some time in the Ibis hotel bar.
Saturday
After breakfast at Cafe Jardin, myself and an intrepid group of Ripperologists journeyed to Shoreditch Town Hall (where Mary Kelly’s inquest took place) for a talk by Melanie Clegg (aka Madame Guilotine) for her talk on Mary Kelly and her life. Melanie’s talk was very interesting, but there was some slight distraction. Melanie had asked me to take a picture of her on her phone to upload later and she insisted I make it flattering, so she handed me her phone and passcode and off she went. Unfortunately, she assumed that myself and Trevor Bond (aka Ripperology’s Ant and Dec) would act like responsible adults when sat next to each other. Spectacular mistake! When her phone was returned it was full of unflattering photos of her, selfies and videos of myself and Trevor and a new lock screen and background featuring us (“you pair of wankers” she exclaimed upon having her phone returned). But anyway, it was an excellent talk and our childish antics should not take anything away from that.
So we left Shoreditch Town Hall (and we thought we would be there all day!) to walk to St Leonards Church. On our way we passed a couple arguing in the street (their relevance will become apparent later…). At St Leonards, Philip Hutchinson did a tour and talk of the grounds and site of the mortuary where Mary Kelly was taken and did a great job despite the atrocious weather. And then the coaches arrived. Onto them we were bundled with a soundtrack recording of Martin Fido (complete with sound effects courtesy of the audio talents of Andrew Firth) narrating Mary Kelly’s funeral procession. Six miles later we arrived at St Patricks Roman Catholic Cemetery to place violets on Mary’s grave and hear a brief talk on her landlord John McCarthy by his.
We then headed to a nearby pub for lunch (and a lovely cake by Nicky Bond) and a talk by Bob Hinton on George Hutchinson. Bob’s talk had some slight crossover with my own, and while I followed Bob’s logic I don’t agree with it and his conclusions, but enjoyed nonetheless. So back to the East End we ventured, to prepare for the Saturday night dinner and entertainment.
Dinner Saturday night was at the Mumbai Square restaurant and had an optional Victorian theme. I chose not to dress up, but many did and looked fantastic. First though, it was to the Ibis Hotel bar for a drink, where I met Sir Christopher Frayling and spent around twenty minutes chatting to him. Then off to dinner – sat on a table with my good friends Trevor and Nicky Bond, Liz, Adam Wood and the Ripperologist team and Nevil Swanson we had a delicious curry buffet, followed by a delightful talk by the legendary Neil Storey and music hall entertainment. I was also presented with a Jack the Ripper teddy (I call him Saucy Ted) and won a prize in the raffle. There followed a lock in at the White Hart, but I had an early night as tomorrow was the big day.
Sunday
Today was the big day. Before leaving my hotel to head for breakfast at Cafe Jardin I posed the following Tweet:
“Secrets will be revealed… You may see but you do not observe…”
It’s meaning would become clear when delegates arrived at the Genesis Cinema Mile End for the final day of the conference.
You may recall I mentioned two people arguing in the street near Shoreditch Town Hall the previous day. Well they were actors and upon arriving at the Cinema delegates were asked to complete an eyewitness description. Forty people did so. The results were astounding. But more of that later.
First up was John Bennett discussing the history of the Ten Bells, it’s name changes, appearance and the culture of the pub. It was apt as Ricky had the original Jack the Ripper victims sign from when it was named such out in the foyer (as he had bought it off ebay…)
Then was Professor Glenn Wilson with an informative talk about serial killers. Then we broke for lunch. Myself and Adam Wood rushed to the White Hart (not that one, the other one) to mark questionnaires and wolf down some food before returning, finishing the slides, practising them and then finally…
Showtime
The talk went well. The demonstration found 1/4 got the suspects race wrong (the suspect was black, 10 people thought he was not, and 6 of them thought he was white!), most got his height wrong and many described a hair style and colour despite seeing neither. Many people voted in a suspect line up with no correct suspect present. They laughed at the right spots (and hardily) and it seemed to go well from where I was standing.
Then it happened. I was overwhelmed. People wanted to talk to me, congratulate me, discuss it with me. The East London Advertiser spoke to me and took pictures, people asked me to sign autographs. I had to retreat downstairs for two minutes to myself to get a drink and recover. I had no idea the feedback would be so good, with this continuing as the night went on and many people telling me that my talk was the highlight of the conference. From the bottom of my heart I thank everyone for their kind words.
Finally we heard a talk from Sir Christopher Frayling on Shadow of the Ripper, before watching the 25 year old documentary. Martin Fido was presented with a lifetime achievement award. John Bennett proposed to Laura Prieto (thankfully she said yes) and I said goodbye to many good friends, before heading for one last Brick Lane curry with other good friends, before finally finishing the night in the White Hart.
Tuesday
Breakfast once again in Cafe Jardin with friends, before starting the journey home. On the way home I took a detour to Charring Cross Road to buy two books from Jeremy Beadle’s collection, before catching my train home.