Recent content by Henry B

Thanks for that. It works!

Yes, that was one of my original ideas. SJL was buying a property with somebody else, and hoping for £3,000 or so commission, but when he showed her the house he had in mind (the WJ house?) she was disgruntled and this started a confrontation. It leaks and is full of holes as a theory now - but...

I always thought SJL was driven somewhere to look at a house which was not what she was expecting at all - no big commission there and not her idea of an ideal shared home -and things spiralled from there. But I've torn that theory up. Well, almost. As for the cold baked beans person - well, all...

Yes, it all seems odd. I still find the AS 1988 book useful. And I have wondered if a meeting between SL and the couple was required by the couple (or at least one of them) more than we know, for reasons we are unaware of. But that is pure conjecture on my part.

I've finally read the DV book - and while it struck me as a 'dramatic novelisation' of the investigation and I didn't like the style, nor some of his rather woke/chivalrous views, I think he may be on to something. The couple do interest me. I wonder why they remain so 'under the radar'...

I'm still waiting for my copy of the DV book. Are the couple the same as the one referred to in the AS book?

Hmm... well I wouldn't try to score some kind of 'win' - it's off topic and my diary is sitting on the desk beside the computer. I have no axe to grind.

Thanks so much for that. as I say, looking at my diary, the August weather is recorded as mainly being 'glorious', and I went to various barbecues and outdoor gatherings throughout the summer. The information about the bins is interesting and makes sense. You see, if the pub was harbouring an...

I do wonder if the woman had been overheard (nanny? other staff?) trying to make some arrangement to meet SJL the previous week, and then may have tried to cover herself afterwards if this scenario is correct.

Hmm... well, I have a diary from 1986 and I remark in it what a lovely month August was being and was doing loads of gardening - I'd just got a strimmer! I visited my grandmother on 24 August 1986 - and we watched the final episode of the soap opera 'Albion Market'. Reference to this in my diary...

Was Environmental Health called in during the blow fly infestation in 1986 at the PoW? I imagine the smell must have been very strong if there was a decomposing body under a suspended floor - and this is a public house we're talking about.

Yes, interesting - but according to the AS book, DL was the instigator of SJL's move from home. DL and TL had been having difficulties, so DL packed TL's things (according to the book TL was 'livid) and organised a flat for them, with SL there primarily to 'look after' TL.

AS book, 1988: 'This book started with smiles and ended in tears. The project began after DL met RM, a Director of the publishers, at a television studio. Soon afterwards she wrote to him to say that she had been besieged by publishers to tell the story of her daughter's disappearance, but...

AS book, 1988: 'Months later the publishers sent copies of the first six draft chapters to SJL's parents. The first reaction came from PL, who told WS [publishing company], how much he liked what he had read and then phoned my home with a similar message. But four days later, he suddenly asked...

AS, book, 1988: ''Both the publishers and I found ourselves the target of much ire. We then went painstakingly through the Ls' objections, and did so again when they subsequently gave us a similar list for the second half of the book too. In some cases we immediately agreed to what they said; in...