Yes pro men on skis don't look as graceful or technically competent as pro women although I am sure they must possess the latter in at least equal abundance.
I'll be away at Easter. I'm on a long in the planning extended trip down under and hope to get some skiing in when visiting Queenstown NZ where my cousin emigrated to.
I can understand why you and most others believe JB's conviction is sound. It happens all the time in high profile and long-running MoJ's. If it didn't we wouldn't have them as the public, media and judiciary would all be up in arms and singing from the same hymn sheet. I've looked carefully at MoJ's: Birmingham 6, Guildford Four, Bridgewater Four, Stefan Kiszko, Sally Clark, Stephen Downing, Sean Hodgson, Sam Hallam etc, etc and they all follow similar patterns. Protestations of innocence. Back and forth to the appeal courts with the judges resolute that the convictions are safe but years later the convictions are quashed. Often the new evidence presented goes way beyond making the conviction unsafe, it actually proves beyond any shadow of doubt that the appellant is in fact entirely innocent. What level of public support do you think these cases received at the time?
What do you think the police could have done differently which would have resulted in JB being interviewed under caution sooner and/or charged?
I am off to NZ too soon! Going for the last two matches of The Lions tour although I cant see it being better than the last one in Sydney. Cant see the Lions beating the All Blacks at home!
What could the Police have done differently? Well not swallowed Jeremy's story hook line and sinker from the start. The mere fact the police overtook Jeremy driving to WHF from much further away should have been suspicious! They should have found the silencer themselves. They should not have allowed hordes of officers trample the scene. They should never have given Jeremy permission to burn as much evidence as he could. They should have listened to Stan Jones who that very morning had sniffed out Jeremy as a 'wrong un' ... laughing with Julie when Stan heard it from next door. The crime scene should have been sealed until they were certain of the perpetrator.
Jeremy came so close to succeeding in getting away with one of the worst crimes in history. If he hadn't been so arrogant, smug and cavalier. If he hadn't proved beyond doubt that it was either him or Sheila. If he had buried the silencer on his bike ride home. If he had kept Julie sweet.
Holly hun I vexes me you cant see his guilt! Just imagine you had lost your entire family murdered .... nay executed. Can you imagine being at the family bank and solicitors that very day like Jeremy was; trying to get his bloody hands on his new fortune as quickly as possible? He had party night after party night, sloshing champers and goosing waitresses. His arrest returning from the playboys playground of St. Tropez was his second holiday within a month of the murders! He even rented out a yacht club for a huge bash. After he blew all the ready cash he got an auction house in to sell off everything he could turn to cash and tried to sell porn photos of poor Sheila to The Sun! He let his Kiwi boyfriend swan around in Neville's car and let him have free petrol to do so on the family account!
He dyed his hair blacker and wore dark eye liner for the funeral and his own family saw him laughing his head off after the cameras had shut off! Then he went home to watch himself on two DVR machines .... after a huge booze up of course in a village restaurant!
Even when formally questioned for murdering 5 members of his own family, Jeremy was flossing his teeth with strands from his Aran sweater and sarcastically singing answers to very serious questions! Treating officers with absolute contempt! Just as he did in court when telling the prosecuting barrister "well that is for you to prove" when accused of the murders.
Come on Holly! Never mind the mountain of physical evidence that Sheila couldn't have done it; do you really think a, by all accounts, dotting mother executed her adored twin boys in their sleep with their thumbs in their mouths? Sheila who was seen by neighbours skipping down the lane with her twins that very day. Waif like Sheila could never have overpowered her 6ft 4" farmer father but, as her doctor said, she adored him and would never have hurt him anyway!
Every single one of his remaining un-murdered family has no doubt about his guilt. His girlfriend testified against him ... most convincingly under heavy cross examination by all accounts. Even his granny disowned him!
We wont even go into Sheila's unbruised body, clean feet, clean hands, unchipped manicured nails, hatred of guns and renowned clumsiness which made people question her ability to hit a slice of toast with a pan of baked beans.
Or June's bicycle being at Jeremy's house ... he always drove everywhere and very fast by all reports; except that night!
I really wanna cyber shake you by the shoulders! There is no possible doubt on God's green earth he is guilty as sin. As the judge said 'evil beyond belief'.
(Feck me did I just write all that! That has reacquainted me with the case! Now I remember why I have no doubts what so ever)