Tigers at Layer Road 21:11 - Sep 23 with 54297 views | SparkfilmsTV | In a strange twist of events l found myself in conversation with a young lady who had attended Layer Road for a match against Hull City in our first season in The Championship. The 5-1 encounter. We were attending a promo evening for a band called The Datsuns in North London in 2008. During the evening she explained that she had been present at a party that made the national news due to the tragic death of someone by the name of Mark Blanco. The incident occurred in December 2006. This incident will be shown on Channel 4 on Monday night at 22.00 in an hour long documentary and several people known to me have made contributions. It may be of interest to some. I am very much hoping that the police will reinvestigate the death of Mark Blanco as a result of what will be included in the content. I know that what l was told by this young lady 15 years ago has been instrumental in the making of this documentary. | | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 21:48 - Oct 11 with 1666 views | SparkfilmsTV | Mariella Novotny is a name that appears frequently around the time of the Profumo case. She was part of the inner circle and l hadn't appreciated how the blueprint had panned out leading up to the summer of 1961. Novotny was flown cross Atlantic in 1960 and according to her account was soon involved with Senator John Kennedy. Her story seems to eclipse that of Keeler and Rice Davies combined and she died on her 42nd birthday from a supposed drug overdose. Days later her property was burgled and diaries, journals and paperwork which accounted for 25 years of a very colourful lifestyle seemed to have been destroyed or entered the vaults at MI5. MI5 and CIA combined? I'm not sure if MI5 were that advanced. They were tracking the wrong Stephen Ward for several weeks and had to apologise to his namesake for 'mistaken identity'. Back in July of this year a number of items relating to Christine Keeler were sold over at Sworders Auctions. Included were her passport, letters she had written from prison, membership cards to clubs circa 1962, photographs and related materials.....they are visible on image searches on Google. Keeler had good reason to believe that Mariella Novotny was murdered. It will be 2045 before some of the classified information relating to matters in the early sixties is made public. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 22:26 - Oct 11 with 1638 views | SparkfilmsTV |
Tigers at Layer Road on 21:48 - Oct 11 by SparkfilmsTV | Mariella Novotny is a name that appears frequently around the time of the Profumo case. She was part of the inner circle and l hadn't appreciated how the blueprint had panned out leading up to the summer of 1961. Novotny was flown cross Atlantic in 1960 and according to her account was soon involved with Senator John Kennedy. Her story seems to eclipse that of Keeler and Rice Davies combined and she died on her 42nd birthday from a supposed drug overdose. Days later her property was burgled and diaries, journals and paperwork which accounted for 25 years of a very colourful lifestyle seemed to have been destroyed or entered the vaults at MI5. MI5 and CIA combined? I'm not sure if MI5 were that advanced. They were tracking the wrong Stephen Ward for several weeks and had to apologise to his namesake for 'mistaken identity'. Back in July of this year a number of items relating to Christine Keeler were sold over at Sworders Auctions. Included were her passport, letters she had written from prison, membership cards to clubs circa 1962, photographs and related materials.....they are visible on image searches on Google. Keeler had good reason to believe that Mariella Novotny was murdered. It will be 2045 before some of the classified information relating to matters in the early sixties is made public. |
Christine Keeler's son Seymour Platt may not have been fully aware of Mariella Novotny's scope of activity when he engaged with the media following the death of his mother. He may well have caught up with some of this over the past few years - l have only followed this up in the last 48 hours. I hadn't realised that Mandy Rice Davies appeared in 'Absolute Beginners' - the Julian Temple film released from 1986. Another wildcard in this saga is a film from 1983 entitled 'Black Velvet'. Rice Davies is in this too and it very much mirrors what Novotny was involved in around 1960 - 65. It is set in Paris in a completely different timezone but there are hints of Dr Ward's evening circle. Some interesting connections too in the production of the film that went straight to VHS l believe. The Keeler items l mention in the previous post that were sold at Sworder's Auctions are additional to those sold there last week - quite a haul. Novotny was a name that Mariella coined for herself. She was born in Sheffield and raised in Grimsby. It was actually the person she married when she was 18 years old that appeared to be pulling some strings! | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 11:50 - Oct 13 with 1594 views | SparkfilmsTV |
Tigers at Layer Road on 14:22 - Oct 6 by SparkfilmsTV | Continuing.... The Doctor He welcomes her With open arms With promises Of better days And fun filled hazy nights And all she has to do Is dance baby dance Trading glances In the first and second row These will be Her finest moments Captured In two way mirrors While the tapes revolve And the camera clicks A year Of living dangerously With unlimited perks And visits to places She could only dream about Until now 'Call me Stephen I'll call you Charlotte You will be reinvented With a new circle of friends Miss Christine Miss Mandy Lords and Ladies Agents from MI5 And Whitehall's finest You will love it Sit down Keep still Let me style your hair a little I will capture Those soft features Your face will adorn the wall Above the fireplace Tomorrow We have a visitor From the Russian Embassy And you need to be Sparkling my dear In the morning We will go shopping And in the evening You will shower him In phoney love It works wonders For all of us' [Post edited 7 Oct 20:02]
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This was the first draft and l have added the following from the line - 'I will call you Charlotte' I will call you Charlotte Charlotte the enchantress It has a certain ring about it I can just hear them now Whispering your name As the pipe smoke billows In the libraries And the corridors of power The scent of your flower They will crave to devour They'll be putty in our hands my dear You will melt them Of that l am certain Together We are Invincible ( This is Stephen speaking to the latest recruit to his team of Keeler, Rice Davies and Co ). I always wondered who payed for the transportation of Rice Davies and Keeler to New York - it would appear to be Peter Rachman who was also prominent in their accomodation requirements for several years. It appears that Rachman was the landlord / owner of Wimpole Mews where Doctor Stephen Ward had only been living for a matter of months as the story began to evolve. Once in the USA the girls were tracked by the FBI and they returned to the UK a short time after. Kennedy was fully aware of every move in the Profumo affair with Christine Keeler, he was totally consumed by it. So we appear to have the Russian's, The British and The Yanks all engaging in the Honey trap gig in the early sixties. The Russians had a collection of photographs from hidden cameras featuring British Ministers that they presented to British authorities ... | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 16:35 - Oct 13 with 1580 views | SparkfilmsTV | Part transcript of a conversation from April 9th, 1960 at a Private Member's Club in London. 'Oh, my dear fellow, how fortunate that l should make your acquaintance. I have unhatched a plan and l would be rather grateful for your advice and assistance on this delicate matter. You see, l admire your expertise in placing hidden cameras and wondered if you would be able to place some in The Dens of Inequity that l have at my disposal. I'm sure we could enter an agreement that would be mutually beneficial'. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 11:50 - Oct 14 with 1532 views | SparkfilmsTV | Extract from an interview in July 1961 between Fleet Street journalist representing a now defunct newspaper. The exchange was originally taken down in short hand and typewritten the same afternoon. How do you find the girls? Quite a few are recommended to us, some just drop by or we may occasionally use the personal columns with box numbers ensuring discretion. Where do the girls come from? Mainly from the London area. What age group do you try and attract? 18 to 25. Are any of them ever younger? We have had several as young as 14 or 15. And do you take them on. Sometimes. Do you know of a Doctor Stephen Ward? Yes, he is a member. Would you say he is well connected? Connected to what? Let's say high society types. Ward is connected to all types from vagrants to royalty. Would you say he is a good customer? He is one of our best customers. Are you aware of someone by the name of Peter Rachman? Yes, he is a member. What about Horace Dibben? Yes, him too. Are these individuals known to one another? Yes, they are. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 20:40 - Oct 14 with 1496 views | SparkfilmsTV | Addition to the draft poetic / script featuring Doctor Stephen Ward. I managed to locate a list of the costumes at Murray's Cabaret Club in 1961 - hence, the following. ( Without checking I'm not sure if Andrew Lloyd Webber had access to this list when he wrote the musical ). Charlotte Dearest I have arranged A little treat for you We will go behind the scenes A place of every show girl's dreams Where a lady of your fine means Will simply look vivacious I cannot wait to see you Parading in the lights Glitter Feathers An absolute delight The audience will simply love you There is an extensive array Of costumes and garments On display I have the list Let me fire away China Town Girl Rag Time Girl Pirate Girl Mexican Girl Milkmaid Spring Rain Nurse Fantasy Policewoman Vampire Girl ( My personal favourite ) Witch Girl with broomstick Cleopatra Bo Peep Paper Doll Air Force Fantasy Girl And for any of these That you may adorn Can be yours to keep Once you have worn Let's call it A little keepsake A token of our understanding | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 17:23 - Oct 15 with 1454 views | SparkfilmsTV |
Tigers at Layer Road on 20:40 - Oct 14 by SparkfilmsTV | Addition to the draft poetic / script featuring Doctor Stephen Ward. I managed to locate a list of the costumes at Murray's Cabaret Club in 1961 - hence, the following. ( Without checking I'm not sure if Andrew Lloyd Webber had access to this list when he wrote the musical ). Charlotte Dearest I have arranged A little treat for you We will go behind the scenes A place of every show girl's dreams Where a lady of your fine means Will simply look vivacious I cannot wait to see you Parading in the lights Glitter Feathers An absolute delight The audience will simply love you There is an extensive array Of costumes and garments On display I have the list Let me fire away China Town Girl Rag Time Girl Pirate Girl Mexican Girl Milkmaid Spring Rain Nurse Fantasy Policewoman Vampire Girl ( My personal favourite ) Witch Girl with broomstick Cleopatra Bo Peep Paper Doll Air Force Fantasy Girl And for any of these That you may adorn Can be yours to keep Once you have worn Let's call it A little keepsake A token of our understanding |
I have been doing some further research into Murray's Cabaret Club and the following may be of interest. Andrew Lloyd Webber along with lyricists Don Black and Christopher Hampton who put together 'Stephen Ward - The Musical' opened the show in 2013. In 2014 an archive of costume designs for Murray's that included about 380 designs from the late thirties to the mid sixties came up for sale at an auction in Surrey. They had belonged to the Burchmore family. Elsie Burchmore was the wife of Percival Murray's ( club owner ) personal chauffeur had been his wardrobe mistress and had acquired the drawings It seems unlikely that Lloyd Webber and Co would have tracked down these items pre sale. Christine Keeler lived for three further years after the auction and l doubt she would have been made aware of their existence. It was Percival Murray's son David who was running Murray's during the tenure of Christine Keeler and he and Stephen Ward were associates. Prince Philip was an occasional visitor to Murray's and was not particularly liked by some members of staff. Not that they said as much at the time. Prince Philip posed to be drawn by Stephen Ward and that image is visible online. Some of the cubicles and discreetly located areas of the club were bugged. That may have made for some interesting audio recordings. I wonder if they are hidden away somewhere or were ever transcripted? | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 19:09 - Oct 15 with 1421 views | SparkfilmsTV | I am very interested in the bugging, wire taps and hidden cameras that are used to control and sometimes blackmail people . Over the years l have collected random pieces of information from people who have / had knowledge of some of these activities. As a result of this information l was able to contact the legal team working on the Harrods case and they were very quick to respond - and are in the process of further work. Another similar case is the Epstein one. Not sure if he was murdered. He did attempt suicide in the weeks before his death. Either way, he just had to be dead to protect hundreds of high profile people around the world. The Stephen Ward piece is part of a long running scenario that has been practised for many years. I have a piece about a Minister who was blackmailed in the early sixties which l may post at some time. This was relayed to me a couple of years ago by someone who knew Christine Keeler very well. He was twelve years younger than her. A name l have mentioned on this thread is that of Horace Dibben. He is worth checking out. It was his wife who was ( or so she says ) intimate with JFK. In an interview shortly before her death she states that one of the primary roles of her activities was that of obtaining information for blackmail purposes. Examples of this are endless with the BBC getting embarrassed on a regular basis - which serves them xxxxxxx right! We now know JFK was a sex maniac and his marriage to Jackie was effectively a sham. It's taken me all my life to realise that Lee Harvey Oswald would have been a hero to the Mafia. Most likely he was a head case along with Jack Ruby who shot him. [Post edited 15 Oct 19:12]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 20:41 - Oct 15 with 1400 views | SparkfilmsTV | Here is something l wrote about a few years ago that may be worth repeating. This relates to attempted football bribery. Colchester United were the innocent party and this was relayed to me around 1985. I was actually at this match in the sixties, an away game in front of around 20,000. Of the 46 fixtures this was the 44th or 45th. The home side needed 2 points to secure promotion with one or possibly two difficult fixtures to follow. I do have the programme in the loft but l have a dog asleep on me so l will have to guess some of this. The match stood at nil nil, the home side were mounting wave after wave of attacks but the Colchester rearguard held firm. After about 70 minutes several Colchester United defenders were asked to give away a penalty by hacking someone down in the area. It was one of the players who told me about this and he mentioned the names of the opposing team who had made the proposition. This only spurred on Colchester United even more and in a pulsating finale to the game The Mighty U's kept the opposition out to earn a highly credible goalless draw. The home side were on a considerable bonus to get promoted and the Colchester United players were offered around an entire season's pay to throw the match. Football bribery in the 1960's was not uncommon. I should add that the home team were duly promoted following their next fixture - they were an exceptional side with some notable players. [Post edited 15 Oct 20:49]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 16:00 - Oct 16 with 1347 views | SparkfilmsTV | Another football story that was related to me in 2007. This occured in the early seventies. A Second Division club ( now The Championship ) who were London based and in mid table were playing away ( up North ) in the final fixture of the season. Their opponents needed to win this fixture to avoid relegation. The London based club travelled up North by train to arrive in a hotel around 7.30 on the eve of the Saturday fixture. The group consisted of about 18 which included management etc. About 9pm one of the players started to knock on a few doors and arranged for a group of about eight of the team to go down to the bar for a drink. While in the bar they came across some young ladies who were going out for a night on the town. Around 10pm the players and the ladies departed the hotel bar, went on something on a pub crawl and ended up in a nightclub. Some of the players made it back to the hotel about 4am but a couple of them went home with the women. When the team met up for breakfast at around 8.30am two of the side were missing. The Manager went to knock on their doors but there was no reply. They were effectively missing ( missing in action ). My contact who arrived back at the hotel at 4am said he had a massive headache and couldn't focus properly only minutes before the kick off. The two missing players got back to the hotel at lunchtime and somehow managed to play in the match in which they were beaten by five goals to nil and the home side maintained their Division Two status. These kind of things don't appear to happen anymore. 😊😊😊 | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 19:52 - Oct 16 with 1322 views | SparkfilmsTV |
Tigers at Layer Road on 20:41 - Oct 15 by SparkfilmsTV | Here is something l wrote about a few years ago that may be worth repeating. This relates to attempted football bribery. Colchester United were the innocent party and this was relayed to me around 1985. I was actually at this match in the sixties, an away game in front of around 20,000. Of the 46 fixtures this was the 44th or 45th. The home side needed 2 points to secure promotion with one or possibly two difficult fixtures to follow. I do have the programme in the loft but l have a dog asleep on me so l will have to guess some of this. The match stood at nil nil, the home side were mounting wave after wave of attacks but the Colchester rearguard held firm. After about 70 minutes several Colchester United defenders were asked to give away a penalty by hacking someone down in the area. It was one of the players who told me about this and he mentioned the names of the opposing team who had made the proposition. This only spurred on Colchester United even more and in a pulsating finale to the game The Mighty U's kept the opposition out to earn a highly credible goalless draw. The home side were on a considerable bonus to get promoted and the Colchester United players were offered around an entire season's pay to throw the match. Football bribery in the 1960's was not uncommon. I should add that the home team were duly promoted following their next fixture - they were an exceptional side with some notable players. [Post edited 15 Oct 20:49]
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I have checked this match out tonight. The crowd was actually 20,072. I was wrong. The opposition missed out on promotion by a single point! So, if effect, it was Colchester United who denied them promotion in this game. If the home side had beaten Colchester they would have been promoted by a fraction of goal average. It was the penultimate match and the biggest crowd on that ground in three seasons. A further correction to the post is that the amount offered was equivalent to half a season's wages. The team who missed out on promotion to the old second division had never played at that level in their history so there was a lot at stake. [Post edited 16 Oct 20:02]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 23:52 - Oct 16 with 1218 views | mfb_cufc |
Tigers at Layer Road on 19:52 - Oct 16 by SparkfilmsTV | I have checked this match out tonight. The crowd was actually 20,072. I was wrong. The opposition missed out on promotion by a single point! So, if effect, it was Colchester United who denied them promotion in this game. If the home side had beaten Colchester they would have been promoted by a fraction of goal average. It was the penultimate match and the biggest crowd on that ground in three seasons. A further correction to the post is that the amount offered was equivalent to half a season's wages. The team who missed out on promotion to the old second division had never played at that level in their history so there was a lot at stake. [Post edited 16 Oct 20:02]
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That would be against Watford in the penultimate game of the 1966-67 season. | |
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Tigers at Layer Road on 14:08 - Oct 17 with 1236 views | SparkfilmsTV | Ten professional footballers were jailed for their involvement in match fixing in 1964. There were many others who were never investigated. The Sheffield Wednesday match at Ipswich in 1962 revealed that three Wednesday players were involved in throwing that game - but as it happened, there was no need to as they were beaten by Ipswich 'fair and square' to quote one of the players involved. Ray Crawford scoring the goals in a 2 - 0 Ipswich victory. Several clubs who play in the current Division 2 were involved in historic match fixing - or perhaps l should say that players representing those clubs were involved. It was usually a group of two or three and would most often include defenders. Match fixing was still occuring lower down the leagues in Essex in the past ten years. As for 'floodlight failure' - that too had a 'helping hand' - a 14 year old became quite adept at performing this favour for a goody bag. That too in the past decade. I am still in touch with one of the Colchester players who appeared in the match l mention in the previous post. He was not a defender and we have never spoken about that particular match, or the bribery aspect, l will run it past him next time we meet up. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 11:54 - Oct 18 with 1182 views | SparkfilmsTV | This is from about six seasons ago. A League 1 team ( currently League 2 ) were on their training ground on a Thursday morning. The Head Coach is standing on the touchline and notices the Director of Football in the distance approaching with an individual. The DOF continues to walk around the perimeter of the pitch and approaches the Head Coach. The other individual is doing a break - dance demonstration in the distance. The DOF say's, 'Can you see him?' The HC say's 'Yeah' DOF 'He's playing Saturday' HC 'Playing what?' DOF 'xxxxxxx football' HC 'Who for?' DOF 'xxxxxxx us' HC 'Who is he?' DOF 'I can't pronounce his xxxxxxx name, but he is playing up front' HC 'I have already picked my team' DOF 'Well, you can re-pick it 'cause I gave my xxxxxxx word that he would play'. [Post edited 18 Oct 11:57]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 22:45 - Oct 19 with 1088 views | SparkfilmsTV |
Tigers at Layer Road on 11:54 - Oct 18 by SparkfilmsTV | This is from about six seasons ago. A League 1 team ( currently League 2 ) were on their training ground on a Thursday morning. The Head Coach is standing on the touchline and notices the Director of Football in the distance approaching with an individual. The DOF continues to walk around the perimeter of the pitch and approaches the Head Coach. The other individual is doing a break - dance demonstration in the distance. The DOF say's, 'Can you see him?' The HC say's 'Yeah' DOF 'He's playing Saturday' HC 'Playing what?' DOF 'xxxxxxx football' HC 'Who for?' DOF 'xxxxxxx us' HC 'Who is he?' DOF 'I can't pronounce his xxxxxxx name, but he is playing up front' HC 'I have already picked my team' DOF 'Well, you can re-pick it 'cause I gave my xxxxxxx word that he would play'. [Post edited 18 Oct 11:57]
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Someone asked me if this was Colchester United. No, it wasn't but the person who relayed it to me lives in Colchester and had been employed by the other club. Colchester United had a Director of Football at the same time though - that seemed totally unnecessary and our DOF gradually went off the radar until his departure and that seemed to be the end of the idea. It baffles me how some of the positions at the club get branded - then they leave the scene and that's the end of the position and it's just forgotten about. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 15:21 - Oct 20 with 986 views | SparkfilmsTV | Division One side. Around 2012. The cleaners leave a note on the reception desk as it's around 6am. The note say's. The Manager's office has been ransacked. We did our best to clear thing up and have put the desk, chairs, cupboards etc which are broken in the wheelie bin behind the xxxxxx stand. Most of the contents will need replacing and there are rude words sprayed on the walls, ceiling, floor and blinds. There was human excrement wiped across the pictures. We have cleaned them best we can and they are in the corridor outside the office. We had to use the showers in the away dressing room to clean ourselves up - hope that is ok. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 16:02 - Oct 20 with 965 views | SparkfilmsTV | Following is a story ( true ) that never made any newspapers. I have told this before but will repeat it as best l can remember. Colchester United were playing away - possibly at Chesterfield? I think this is the sixties. Close to half time one of our forwards is sent off. He takes a shower then he takes a walk underneath the main stand which is deserted and there are temptations. He jumps over the counter and helps himself to a few bottled beers. He scoffs a few pies. He tries to open the bar till but can't force it apart. He has a better idea. He rips the thing off the counter and carries it out of the ground where the Colchester United team coach is parked. The club driver opens up the storage unit under carriage and the till fits nicely inside. Our player returns to the bar area and samples some Mars bars and crisps. He goes back to the coach and takes a nap. Five hours later. The team coach arrives back at Layer Road, our player removes the till from the coach and puts it in the back of his car. Several of the players noticed this. Monday morning, following the match. I think a couple of the players reported the incident to the Manager and Secretary at Layer Road and Colchester United phoned the club concerned to admit the theft of the till. The till was returned to the club - possibly by taxi and the assumed loss of cash was paid by cheque by the club. I heard so many stories about Colchester United and football in general when we were filming the Layer Road DVD throughout 2007 and 2008. They were much more interesting than anything any media outlet could report on. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 18:06 - Oct 20 with 944 views | SparkfilmsTV |
Tigers at Layer Road on 16:02 - Oct 20 by SparkfilmsTV | Following is a story ( true ) that never made any newspapers. I have told this before but will repeat it as best l can remember. Colchester United were playing away - possibly at Chesterfield? I think this is the sixties. Close to half time one of our forwards is sent off. He takes a shower then he takes a walk underneath the main stand which is deserted and there are temptations. He jumps over the counter and helps himself to a few bottled beers. He scoffs a few pies. He tries to open the bar till but can't force it apart. He has a better idea. He rips the thing off the counter and carries it out of the ground where the Colchester United team coach is parked. The club driver opens up the storage unit under carriage and the till fits nicely inside. Our player returns to the bar area and samples some Mars bars and crisps. He goes back to the coach and takes a nap. Five hours later. The team coach arrives back at Layer Road, our player removes the till from the coach and puts it in the back of his car. Several of the players noticed this. Monday morning, following the match. I think a couple of the players reported the incident to the Manager and Secretary at Layer Road and Colchester United phoned the club concerned to admit the theft of the till. The till was returned to the club - possibly by taxi and the assumed loss of cash was paid by cheque by the club. I heard so many stories about Colchester United and football in general when we were filming the Layer Road DVD throughout 2007 and 2008. They were much more interesting than anything any media outlet could report on. |
Update on this. Possibly later than the sixties and the player who took the cash register may have been subbed. If this is the player l have in mind he was possibly on loan. Loan signings used to be quite rare, unlike these days when clubs are often off loading fodder on the cheap. The player l have in mind for the till theft may have been the same individual who had 'issues' and had to be returned to his parent club early. PS. I have just taken a right hook to the jaw after my dog was attacked by two others and a fight broke out. The punch was aimed at my dog but it caught me. Rolling around in the mud in a dog fight on a Sunday afternoon could finish me off at my stage of life. I know the owner of the other dogs and l was concerned for him. He is a decent person, much younger than myself, and l am going round to see him to see if he is ok. I managed to find his glasses, phone and stuff in the mud. 😳😳🦮🦮🦮 | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 21:59 - Oct 20 with 931 views | SparkfilmsTV | Concerning the dog incident in the previous post. I went to see the guy. He was really shaken up and actually thought he was sustaining a heart attack during the incident. One of his dogs was badly hurt and his son had taken it to Stanway for emergency treatment. He accepted that his dogs had gone for mine which was on a short lead . I care for all dogs whether they belong to me or anyone else and will be going to see him again tomorrow and very much hope his dog recovers. All of my dogs have come via my daughter's over the years who have been unable to spend enough time with them. I can't say it's been incident free. In the past few months l have had a bike, e - scooter and a skateboard collide with me and the dog in the town centre and the surrounding area. There are multiple deliveroo riders up on the pavements in the evening with no lights, flying around blind corners and not adhering to any traffic or safety guidelines. Thanks to all of you who are following what has evolved into some kind of blog and to those who email me directly. There has been quite a bit of feedback after DC's post match exchanges. He say's 'Football is important' but l take that as 'But not as important as family' - and he is right. I always admired what the Cowley's did at Concorde, Braintree and Lincoln City in particular. Sometimes l wonder if there is some kind of curse over Colchester United over the past 10 years. There is another club in Division 2 in quite a bit of trouble. I am expecting this to hit the news in the coming weeks. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 16:19 - Oct 23 with 799 views | SparkfilmsTV | Just met up with a loyal fan of Stanway Rovers who is off to Shoeburyness tonight to watch his team at White Ensign. That's a train journey from Colchester North Station changing at Shenfield and including a three mile walk at the other end that eventually finds the ground share with Great Wakering Rovers. That is dedication! If the trains are running on time he will arrive back around half past midnight. | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 00:03 - Oct 24 with 746 views | mfb_cufc |
Tigers at Layer Road on 21:59 - Oct 20 by SparkfilmsTV | Concerning the dog incident in the previous post. I went to see the guy. He was really shaken up and actually thought he was sustaining a heart attack during the incident. One of his dogs was badly hurt and his son had taken it to Stanway for emergency treatment. He accepted that his dogs had gone for mine which was on a short lead . I care for all dogs whether they belong to me or anyone else and will be going to see him again tomorrow and very much hope his dog recovers. All of my dogs have come via my daughter's over the years who have been unable to spend enough time with them. I can't say it's been incident free. In the past few months l have had a bike, e - scooter and a skateboard collide with me and the dog in the town centre and the surrounding area. There are multiple deliveroo riders up on the pavements in the evening with no lights, flying around blind corners and not adhering to any traffic or safety guidelines. Thanks to all of you who are following what has evolved into some kind of blog and to those who email me directly. There has been quite a bit of feedback after DC's post match exchanges. He say's 'Football is important' but l take that as 'But not as important as family' - and he is right. I always admired what the Cowley's did at Concorde, Braintree and Lincoln City in particular. Sometimes l wonder if there is some kind of curse over Colchester United over the past 10 years. There is another club in Division 2 in quite a bit of trouble. I am expecting this to hit the news in the coming weeks. |
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Tigers at Layer Road on 21:59 - Oct 24 with 715 views | SparkfilmsTV | A dramatic change of subject. During the summer of 1977 l was working on a fashion photoshoot in London and the client put three of us up in The Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane. We were there for about four nights and usually got back to the hotel around 10pm. We would order steak sandwiches ( never heard of one since ) and coffee in the downstairs lounge bar area. On each evening we noticed an elegant lady about late sixties sitting alone at a table, sometimes smoking with a cigarette holder. We noticed how people would often look in her direction. She seemed to avoid eye contact. Very private. Quite mysterious. It was Bette Davis. She had an apartment at the hotel and spent quite a bit of time there. It is one of my lifetime's regrets that l didn't go over to her and just say 'thank you'. I dislike the term superstar. Davis was far greater. She's on my TV screen now. xx | | | |
Tigers at Layer Road on 12:18 - Oct 26 with 641 views | SparkfilmsTV | This is something that happened to me and l wonder if anyone who had the Astra Zeneca anti COVID jab had experienced anything similar. I should add that l have no confirmation that the anti COVID jab caused blood clots around my heart and lungs. It was Christmas Day 2022. I had been short of breath for several weeks but nothing to be too concerned about. By about 10am on Christmas morning l was on an early walk and suddenly became very short of breath. I returned home and phoned my oldest daughter that l might not be able to make Christmas lunch. Within half an hour she had turned up with a COVID test which l duly took and as it was negative l decided to carry on with my plans for the day. As the day progressed my breathing became more difficult and l decided to drive myself to Colchester General around 5.30pm. I ended up at the top of Mile End unable to think where the hospital was located, and l have visited there many times. Eventually l somehow managed to pull into the Colchester General car park and slowly make my way into A&E. In less than a minute l was having my blood pressure taken and seconds later l was on a trolley in A&E Majors and on the plug-in blood pressure machine that the actual Doctor said 'This can't be right, we'll try another machine'. The next machine was giving a similar reading which l learned some three months later was the highest reading some doctors and nurses had ever seen. At one time l recall five doctors and staff looking over me and fixated on the blood pressure readings. Throughout the night, which was breaking into Boxing Day morning l was whizzed around on a trolley to all parts of the hospital for tests and scans. They kept asking me how much pain l was in but there was no pain. Additionally as l was laying down l don't recall a problem with the breathing. To be continued. [Post edited 26 Oct 12:22]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 14:45 - Oct 27 with 581 views | SparkfilmsTV | So it's around 1.30am on Boxing Day morning and the Middle Eastern Doctor who had taken me under his wing had my scans on a lightbox. There were a selection of star bursts scattered across my heart and lung area. They looked quite pretty but they were anything but. My mind was strangely somewhere else. I had a leak under the bath which required emptying a saucepan every few days. I thought, if l don't make it through the bathroom will get flooded and that leads to the water coming down into the kitchen. They managed to find me a ward around 4am. As we entered the ward there was someone with their face covered in a corridor. I was put in a bay and there was an elderly gentleman in the next bed in a lot of pain. He was shouting out for the rest of the night and kept buzzing the alarm. I was never going to get any sleep in there. They mentioned transferring me to the Cardiac Ward and so l just layed there. About 6.30am breakfast arrived and around 7.30 l asked if l could use a phone as l don't carry my mobile with me. All l could tell my oldest daughter was that l was in hospital and could she get into my house and empty the saucepan which l had never mentioned to her or anyone else previously. My blood pressure was still really high but had dropped slightly. About 16 hours later, and still with no sleep they said we are moving you to another ward. Within a minute or so l was on the trolley being wheeled along corridors and into a lift. Eventually l find myself going into a large empty ( of people ) ward. They show me my bed and l climb into it and off they go. It was then that l thought l might be dead and if this is what it's like - lt's not too bad. To be continued. [Post edited 27 Oct 14:47]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 19:35 - Oct 27 with 551 views | SparkfilmsTV | So l layed there for a while before l decided to take a walk around my new home. There were empty beds and a lounge area. l discovered several bathrooms and a few private rooms that appeared to have been mothballed. Then a surprise! In an office lit by nothing more than a 40 watt light bulb on dimmers l saw a person. She was dressed as a nurse. She was looking through some papers. Perhaps they were mine. Then a crash as the doors suddenly opened down the corridor and a convoy of patients were wheeled in. I trotted back to my bed and tucked myself in. It got quite noisy and a selection of hospital staff were arriving. A West Indian nurse came to my bedside to take my blood pressure. She gave me a selection of tablets which appeared to be different from those l had been given previously. I finally got to sleep although they would wake me up through the night every few hours to take my blood pressure. It appeared to be reducing but was still at the levels that l have learned are considered an emergency. After a week in Colchester General l was discharged. It's about 21 months on. As with many others l have to take a large and varied selection of tablets twice a day. Last week l showed the paperwork l was given on release from hospital to a Doctor who lives nearby and is a fellow dog walker. She said she had never seen blood pressure readings as high as those l was recorded with. Either way, l was within minutes of death around tea time on Christmas evening 2022 and the staff at Colchester General kept me alive. Since then quite a few people who live close by and were given the Astra Zeneca COVID jab have died or been seriously ill. I have no idea if there is a link with the injections and blood clots that it may have caused. [Post edited 27 Oct 19:38]
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