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Was Jack the Ripper a Cricketer? That was the question asked by Ken Mountford, from London, to ESPN’s Cricket Guru Steven Lynch. Lynch replied that the murderer’s identity was never conclusively proven, and states that Montague John Druitt, who was a respectable cricketer, could well have been the murderer, as he was found dead after the last confirmed Ripper murder! To read more on Steven’s page: http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/453687.html |
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Robert Bloch, author of Yours Truly Jack the Ripper is back…or at least the book is! It has recently been made public that Bloch’s seminal work will become a comic adaptation once again. The original story appeared in Weird Tales way back in 1943, and appeared in later years in Marvel Comics in 1972 in The Journey into Mystery. In later years it was written that Star Trek’s Wolf in the Fold episode was based on Bloch’s work. Joe R. Lansdale and John L. Lansdale, with art and colors by Eisner-nominated Kevin Colden are said to be working on the comic. The 32-page issue will hit stands in June. |
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The Hull Daily Mail featured the following article on Tuesday March 23rd 2010, A total of 10,000 people have visited the Worship Street centre in the past six weeks. The number of schoolchildren using the centre is also beating all expectations. Managers had hoped 1,500 pupils would visit in the first year. But already 800 have trawled through the archives.
The 10,000th visitor was Keith Lyon, of Bilton Grange, east Hull, who attended a lunchtime club talk on Jack The Ripper and his connection with Hull. Mr Lyon said: “I saw the history centre being built and was very keen to get inside and start using it. “I’m very keen on local history and I’ve been really impressed with what’s on offer here. I’m going to be a regular visitor.” Martin Taylor, city archivist for Hull City Council, said: “I’d like to pay tribute to the staff here who have dealt with the influx of visitors with professionalism, enthusiasm and good humour. “Family history is proving the most popular subject for research, but there have been a pleasing number of academic researchers from Britain and overseas.” His colleague Judy Burg, University of Hull archivist, said: “During the few weeks we have been open I have been struck by the enthusiasm of our visitors. “Those who are familiar with historical research have appreciated the improved facilities, but it is especially rewarding to see so many coming to the building to investigate archives and local history for the first time.” The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant of £7.7m enabling the centre to be built. Hull is the first city in the UK to bring together its city and university archives, local studies resources and specialist staff into one building.
The article appears online here: http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/news/10-000-people-visit-Hull-History-Centre/article-1932521-detail/article.html Having the 10,000 visitor at my lecture was something that was discussed, but no one knew whether the target was hit, so it’s nice to see that the 10,000 visitor was recognised, and awarded a commemorative paperweight from Councillor John Robinson. Here is to the next 10,000! |
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Australia has caught Ripper fever, with the announcment that hit ITV drama Whitechapel is going to be shown on Australian TV. The Sydney Morning Herald featured a write up on the excellent series; http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/friday–whitechapel-20100323-qtlt.html The Sydney Morning Herald ran a piece only moments ago stating that the ripper murders are the ultimate cold case. To read more: |
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The Financial Times ran a review today of the Jenny Woolf book, The Mystery of Lewis Carroll, and it looks into, and attempts to debunk the mystery of whether or not Carroll was involved in the Jack the Ripper murders. Carroll was proposed in the Jack the Ripper, Light Hearted Friend, by Richard Wallace, who used anagrams from Carroll’s work to create confessions of guilt! Carroll’s Uncle, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was a resident of Kingston upon Hull for many years, working for both the Hull Customs and Trinity House, Dodgson was married at the Christchurch church on the aptly titled Worship-street, which is now home to the Hull History Centre! To read the review in the Financial Times, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d7ac3e8c-32de-11df-bf5f-00144feabdc0.html I have the book on order, and will review it upon it’s arrival. |
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The statement “I’ve killed more than Harold Shipman, Jack the Ripper, and Myra Hindley” made me sit up and take notice, the hairs on the back of my neck rose, but all is not as it seem’s. For these are not the words of a serial killer, but from Charlotte Madison, a 26 year old Apache Helicopter pilot! Her story is serialised this week in The Sun, and her book Dressed To Kill, by Charlotte Madison (Headline) is published on March 18, £14.99. |
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Hollywood A-Lister John Malkovich is to play Jack Unterweger, an Austrian serial killer that over the years has been compared to Josef Fritzel and Jack the Ripper! The show will be a musical statged at the Barbican and follows a long line of similar musicals based upon murderer’s and serial killers. For more info: |
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The Economist featured an article last week mentioning that every generation has a notable murder. Whilst the Victorians had Jack the Ripper, our generation had the horrific murder of little James Bulger. This case has come back into the limelight with the removal of John Venables from society back into prison for undisclosed crimes. The article, as one might expect, is not about crime and criminals, but about the Government’s handling of such cases. Let’s hope little James and his family get the peace they deserve. To read the article: http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15663332 |
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Usually when an unsolved murder occurs, or there is a threat of a serial killer Jack the Ripper is usually brought up, but when the 2010 Budget in England hit the headlines, Jack the Ripper was associated with the Conservative Party! The tagline in the Daily Telegraph read, The Conservative party that seems to understand less about economics than Jack the Ripper did about the sanctity of human life. The report states, Now one cannot be so sure. The gap in the opinion polls has closed. It remains a tall order for Labour to win. However, it is no longer so for them to stay in Government in some way. What is announced to the country on 24 March may hold for more than the few weeks most of us had expected. This means the Budget should be regarded by Labour not merely as being a stunt, but as an opportunity for them to consolidate the improvement in their standing in the country. They can only do this by using the event to demonstrate that they have learned something from the consequences of all their earlier stupidity, and in doing so to humiliate and embarrass a Tory party that seems to understand less about economics than Jack the Ripper did about the sanctity of human life. Read the full article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/budget/7429430/Budget-2010-There-is-one-cut-that-could-save-Labour.html |
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Thanks to all the team at Ripperologist for giving me the opportunity to write a monthly piece about the world of Blogging and Jack the Ripper. The first in the series appeared in the March edition of the magazine, issue 112. Subscriptions Ripperologist is published monthly in electronic format sent to your email address. The cost is £12.00 for six issues. Cheques can only be accepted in £ sterling, made payable to Ripperologist and sent to PO Box 735, Maidstone, Kent, UK ME17 1JF, England. The simplest and easiest way to subscribe is via PayPal — send to contact@ripperologist.biz Back Issues Single PDF files of issue 62 onwards are available at £2 each. |
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