The Three Bridges Station Murder

As your train passes the sidings just to the south of Three Bridges station, you are probably unaware that this area was the scene of a fictional murder.  In 1899, the author, Richard Marsh, wrote the novel "The Crime and the Criminal".  The story involves a murder in the countryside just to the south of Three Bridges station and the fall of a woman from a moving train at the same location at the same time. Nowadays, this work is almost forgotten but it is certainly worth a read.

Mr Thomas Tennant is travelling up by train from Brighton to London when he finds that he is alone in a carriage with a former girlfriend.  The two soon begin to argue.  As there is no connecting corridor to the rest of the train and the train does not stop between Brighton and Victoria, Tennant is forced to endure the company of his unwanted companion or take desperate measures to try and escape.  In his panic, he opens the carriage door with the intention of reaching the next compartment by clambering outside the train.  The lady tries to restrain him but falls from the train whilst trying to prevent his foolish attempt to escape.  Tennant, fearing that he will be accused of murder, informs no-one and hopes that he can evade the Police.  His worst fears are realised when he finds news of the discovery of a murdered woman at Three Bridges is on the front page of all the newspapers.  Little does he realise that at the same time in a totally unrelated incident, a murder was committed on a footpath beside the railway. In fact, the lady who fell from the train is almost uninjured from her fall but Tennant is not to know this.

Reginald Townsend is a member of a "murder club". Members of the club draw lots at their meetings and the winning member must commit a murder before the next meeting.  Townsend draws the short straw and decides to murder his sweetheart whilst on a country walk in the Three Bridges area.  He commits the act and throws his victim over the fence bordering the railway just a few moments after Tennant's lady friend falls from the train at the same spot.

Following these extraordinary events an innocent man is tried for murder whilst the guilty Townsend befriends the lady who fell from the train. The lady wishes to see her former lover suffer and seemingly will make no attempt to save him from the gallows whilst Townsend is more than happy that the pressure to find the real Three Bridges murderer is off. 

"The Crime and the Criminal" can be found on Project Gutenberg at
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40348

Footnote:


The duration of the journey between Brighton and London is recorded as being one hour and twenty minutes.  It would seem that, in 1899, trains ran between Brighton and London without stopping at intermediate stations.  It is doubtful if the author would recognise the urban Three Bridges area of today as the rural backwater of 1899.

The use of gender specific language in "The God Delusion"

In his book "The God Delusion", Richard Dawkins goes to much effort to argue that the English language all too often seems to exclude women. In support of his case he cites such examples as mankind, all men are created equal, one man one vote, etc. This argument is particularly amplified on page 140 of the paperback version.

Obviously, to an extent, he has a point. Nevertheless, he neglects to mention the standard English phrases which ,whilst excluding women, can hardly be said to favour men. Such phrases would include "man's inhumanity to his fellow man" and "the evil that men do".

Equally, there are many English phrases where the feminine is assumed for no reason that seems obvious like "mother earth" and "mother nature". Both these expressions would be construed to be positive rather than negative.

Dawkins is right when he says that some other languages are less gender specific in their general descriptions of the human race. For example the Russian word Человечество would be literally translated as human kind not mankind.

Commodore Clipper Fire Incident - My Experience

On the 16th June, I was unfortunate enough to be aboard the Commodore Clipper ferry when it caught fire in the English Channel. It was a very scary experience.

The alarm went off at 3 am in the morning and there was a message over the tannoy instructing all the passengers to go to the muster points. As you can imagine, I got up quicker than on any other occasion in my life.

On leaving my cabin, I found that the corridor was full of smoke. Upon arrival at the muster point, all the passengers were given life jackets and told to wait for instructions. There was some talk about putting us off in life boats. Fortunately after about 15 minutes we were told that the fire was under control and that we could return to our cabins. Hardly surprisingly, I did not try to return to sleep.

Initially, we were told that the ship would dock in Portsmouth an hour or so late. Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the case. The ship was still full of smoke from the ongoing fire and the ferry had developed a slight list. Eventually, the steering became such a problem that the services of tugs were required to get the ship into Portsmouth. The drama continued with a harbour pilot being dropped onto the ferry by helicopter.

The ferry eventually reached Portsmouth a few hours late and we were informed that we could leave the ship after the fire brigade had put out the fire. I thought that this would only take an hour or so but we were not allowed off the ferry until 10.30 pm at night. When I saw the burnt out wrecks of several containers, I realised the fire had been very severe and could see why the fire brigade needed so much time.

Upon disembarking, Conder Ferries took us to an excellent hotel at Liphook for the night. They even threw in a free beer which was much needed after the events of the previous 24 hours. The conduct of the crew was exemplary throughout this incident. They directed us well during the initial incident and kept us plied with food throughout the remainder of our time onboard.

Subsequent to the incident, I was compensated by Conder Ferries for having to buy a replacement railway ticket as my onward journey was delayed by 24 hours. I also asked to be compensated for the actual delay and inconvenience. Conder's own web site suggested that such a late arrival would normally result in recompense for part of the ferry ticket price. I have not received anything for that part of my claim and they have not replied to my last letter which was sent to them about six weeks ago.

Overall, the fire and its aftermath was quite an experience though one I would not care to repeat in a hurry. The passengers remained largely in good spirits throughout and the crew are to be complimented for their support and service.

The Eldorado Exploring Expedition

I have recently finished reading Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". On the whole, it is a very good read but I was left a little bemused by the narrator's strength of desire to meet Kurz. No man is that inspired by someone they have never met or seen. Perhaps people in the 19th century thought in a very different way to us today. Nevertheless, the brief appearance of the Eldorado Exploring Expedition left a very strong impression.

The very name of the expedition suggests a tawdry search for treasure with no accompanying wish to genuinely explore or add to mankind's knowledge of this remote part of Africa. Conrad describes the arrival of the expedition in the camp as a visitation and even an infliction. There was no honour amongst these men. Their only interest was personal gain.

Superficially their preparations for the journey into the depths of the jungle seem impressive. There were tents and boxes and stools and many other items from a half decent 19th century camping shop. All the sorts of things that an inexperienced adventurer would think of were thought of but there is no hint that the expedition was morally prepared or that their material preparations would prove adequate.

The demise of the expedition is only hinted at. The wilderness is described as "patient" in its wait for the start of the expedition. When the explorers enter the jungle, the wilderness closed upon it in the manner in which an ocean closes over a diver. There would be no suggestion that they had ever been there. We are told that the donkeys died but the fate of the men which we can assume are included among "the less valuable animals" is not descibed. Chillingly, Conrad says that they probably found what they deserved.

Rarely has man's greedy but ultimately puny attempts to master the environment for his own ends been so succinctly yet so brilliantly described.

Two women must not get into the lift with one man!

I saw this sign in a lift in Nuremburg in Germany. It would seem to suggest from the picture that two women and one man should not be in the lift at the same time. No other hazard appears to be identified. I am tempted to think that the Germans fear some sort of orgy in the elevator. In fact, the sign is supposed to indicate that you should not travel in the lift during a fire. You would never guess that from the sign. As I don't speak German, I was totally nonplussed.

A new but very small conservatory

A short video of my new conservatory. Unfortunately, I read the external measurements as the internal measurements. In other words, another cock up...

Irina in the gardens near Sevastopol (2005)

A short video of my erstwhile friend, Irina, in a botanical garden near Sevastopol. Happy days, alas, no more