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TOPIC: Tatters of the King

Tatters of the King 2 years 2 weeks ago #5878

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II

Hereford Police
Discussing the murder of Cuthbert Yates at St. Agnes in November 1927, Supt. Wallace Rees of the Hereford Police confides in King. The murder took place in the cell of an inmate, Lucius Harriwell. There was a lot of blood. Harriwell was covered in it, none of it his own. Yates body, badly stabbed and slashed, lay on the cell floor, as did two kitchen knives. The bloodied and torn uniform of another nurse was found in the laundry. The case was closed and Harriwell blamed. King sees this as a clear case of laziness on the part of the Hereford Constabulary.


Roby’s Case Notes
Piper returned once more to visit Dr. Highsmith at the asylum. He asked to see Alexander Roby’s case notes. The notes contained facts pertaining to Roby’s internment and Highsmith’s observations. Highsmith considered Roby to suffer from Scotophobia and mentions sympathetic mania (not something that Piper recognised as an official term). The file contained minor notations that Piper glossed over, but afterwards left him thinking – had he missed something? Despite Roby’s issues, Highsmith’s case notes clearly remark that he considers Roby fit for release. Not least because he poses no danger and his continued existence in an asylum cell will do nothing to improve his mental health.


Taxi for Piper
A couple of days after his return to London, a neighbour knocked on Piper’s door asking him if he, Piper, had forgotten about ordering a taxi earlier in the day. A taxi driver had enquired with the neighbour whether next door was the correct address for Dr. Piper.


Dr Lionel Trollope
On the morning of 3rd November, the investigators pay a visit to Dr. Trollope at his home, 126 Long Acre, Bloomsbury. The housekeeper, Mrs Hughes, admits you to a drawing room. Initially reticent, Trollope soon relaxes into conversation when realising it’s Alexander Roby you’re here to discuss. He is the Roby family doctor and fond of Alexander whom he has known since he was a small boy.

In principal Trollope doesn’t object to Alexander’s release, but he doesn’t know where he could be release to. His brother, Grahame Roby, still blames Alexander for the death of their father and sister and won’t contemplate his release from the asylum. On this basis, Trollope believes Alexander is perhaps already in the best place for his continued care.


Grahame Roby
The interview with Grahame is curt. He’s not prepared to discuss the matter. In order to get strangers out of his home, 17 Hill St., Belgravia, he informs the investigators he was not happy about the unsavoury company that Alexander was keeping – he even hired a private investigator, Vincent Tuck, to follow him and report on his doings. The only associate Grahame mentions without disdain was Alexander’s young lady of the time, Delia Hartson. She saw sense though and left Alexander – married another man named Morrison instead.

Grahame Roby is resolutely opposed to Alexander’s release. He’ll never be accepted back into the family and should remain where he is; in the loony bin.


Vincent Tuck
From a rundown office above a shop in Wapping, East London, Vincent Tuck operates his one-man private investigator agency. He wears a cheap dishevelled suit, smells of gin and smokes everybody else’s cigarettes. He couldn’t possibly betray the trust of a client. A crisp pound note later and he’s digging into a filing cabinet for the reports.

He was hired for three weeks, starting 12th November 1925, by Grahame Roby to report on the movements of his brother Alexander. In this time Alexander associated with three other men.
Lawrence Bacon, mid-fifties, greying hair and beard, antiques dealer, from his shop and residence at 112 Liverpool Road, Islington.
Malcolm Quarrie, mid-thirties, lived at 12 Moreton Street, Westminster. Worked at Royal Society, Piccadilly.
Edwards, first name unknown, forties, had lodgings at Berriman Road, Islington.

The four men would often gather at Bacon’s residence – sometimes late into the night. Tuck noted that Roby seemed closest to Bacon and Edwards. Quarrie was a little more aloof.

The more he spoke, the more Tuck became agitated. Piper noticed he’d removed one report from the folder and pocketed it. Tuck suggested they all go down the pub – he needs a drink. Over drinks, that Tuck ordered and left Blossett to pay for, he confides in something that disturbs him to this day. He shows the report he pocketed. Tuck followed Bacon in the middle of the night. He walked along the Regent’s Canal. He flashed a torch into archways and alleys until he found a destitute man. Bacon stopped. There was a whistling noise. The tramp screamed and screamed, and then the noise stopped. Bacon walked on. Tuck investigated to find the tramp was dead, a look of horror fixed on his face, and his body a dried-out husk.


Quarrie and Edwards
Calling at their 1925 addresses reveals both characters have moved on. Quarrie has gone abroad to who knows where, and nobody knows anything about Edwards.


Keep Your Nose Out of Things That Don’t Concern You
Walking home, Blossett is followed. The stalker threatens Blossett to mind his own business if he knows what’s good for him. The menace, is tall, burly, dark haired and flashes a large knife kept in the inside pocket of his long coat.


Murder in St. James’ Park
Next day. In the morning papers there's the report of the murder of Dr. Lionel Trollope. He was stabbed through the heart in St. James’ Park at 6.0pm during his usual evening walk. A newspaper boy witnessed the attack. The description of the killer matches the man who threatened Blossett earlier that same evening. King spoke with Det. Insp. Andrew Taylor, Scotland Yard, in charge of the case. Taylor asked King what he made of the victim holding in his hand a brown leather shoe lace.


A Letter from the Deceased
A day after his murder, Piper received a letter from Dr. Trollope. Following their interview, Trollope decided to confide in his visits to see Alexander Roby at the asylum and penned the letter. Trollope visited Alexander twice. On the second visit, Trollope took with him a copy of The Wanderer by the Lake, a book authored by Roby himself. He read from it trying to illicit a response. As he recited passages, Alexander joined in. Trollope reached out to touch Alexander and immediately passed out, but he was aware of this and aware of a lucid vision. In his vision, Trollope was taking his usual evening walk through St. James’ Park. A man came up to him and stabbed him through the heart. Next, as he lay bleeding on the floor, he looked into the face of a paperboy leaning over him. And then he passed from this world. Trollope came to his senses in Roby’s cell. The orderly helped him to his feet. Roby was apologetic: “I’m sorry doctor. I cannot change what you saw.”


.
"Gentlemen, we're in the stickiest situation since Sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky bun" - Capt. E. Blackadder.
Last Edit: 2 years 2 weeks ago by Garuda.
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Tatters of the King 2 years 1 week ago #5880

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A continuation of the paper by Dr Piper

Archaeology and Interpretation

How, and where, may we reach for our lost, or not yet understood, selves? It has already been stated that we have a disclosing ‘interpretation of suspicion’ on the one hand and a listening ‘interpretation of faith’ on the other. This ambiguity is related to two directions of reflection. Those who believe the truth is to be found behind an illusory mask tend to think the self is to be grasped earlier in time. This ‘anterior’ is to be understood in its three aspects. Firstly, the truth of the subject lies in its temporal past. Secondly, the truth resides in the primary functions of the self. And thirdly, one needs to look for the beginnings in the subject’s functional procedures.

The model is familiar to the interpretation of Dreams. The dream’s unconscious wish is based on the dreamer’s childhood (the temporal ‘anterior’). The manifest dream is the result of the outdated primal process (the functional ‘anterior’). And in the interpretation one comes to the first stage of dream formation, i.e. the sensory end of the psychic apparatus. When we look for ourselves in the interpretation of dreams, we look backwards - we remember. This is the archaeology of reflection.
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Tatters of the King 2 years 1 week ago #5881

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Another interesting from Dr Piper.

How can I embed an image on the forum? The image link option will only link to an image and not embed it into the post itself.
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Tatters of the King 2 years 1 week ago #5882

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Bah! Poppycock!

Dr Clancy spat violently into the urinals at Reading Train Station just as the 14:30 express to Paddington roared through. He startled the poor shoe shine boy enough to cause him to topple off his low stool and into the befouled yellowed gutter.

The words of Piper's paper still fresh in his mind he remembered why he had gained such a low opinion of alienists in his days at medical school. Give me BONES, BLOOD and BILE! The BRAINS and their fevered content I will leave to Piper and his ilk!

He decided never to take an interest in his new found friend's published work ever again.
Last Edit: 2 years 1 week ago by MellyMel.
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Tatters of the King 2 years 1 week ago #5883

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Continuation from the retrospective of Jacob Smythe Blossetts work 2022.

... Many of the sketchbooks were tattered and torn with burnt pages, sheared edges and what could almost be described as slash marks. It was clear that Blossett was creating this work at a time of extreme emotional and psychological distress. As much as the pain Blossett must have been in his artistic output not only continued but thrived at this time. I will discuss more on Blossetts supposed state later but for now, back to the state of these pages as they were found in April of 2019.


Fig. 1

It was a few months before the exhibition when we were able to send Blossetts sketchbooks off to the lab for both infra-red reflectograph and X-radiography. What we got back not only surprised us but also disturbed me and my colleagues here at the museum. As you can see, Fig 1 is a x-ray of one of Blossetts sketches and under examination, far from seeing the artists preparatory line work, we see a strange symbol recurring on the page and what could be a blood stain in the top right corner. This symbol, although feint, seems to have formed a macabre preoccupation for Blossett as we see it echoed throughout his work of this period (it also formed the sigil on the box in which the sketchbooks were found). As for the bloodstain it is hard to say. Misadventure? Ritual? Perhaps something darker. What we know of Blossetts life may suggest that he was involved in some less than salubrious affairs. Whatever it may be it would appear the life and work of Jacob Smythe-Blossett have more secrets to reveal.


Edit: Finally figured it out.
Last Edit: 2 years 1 week ago by JIm.
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Tatters of the King 2 years 1 week ago #5884

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MellyMel wrote:
Bah! Poppycock!

Dr Clancy spat violently into the urinals at Reading Train Station just as the 14:30 express to Paddington roared through. He startled the poor shoe shine boy enough to cause him to topple off his low stool and into the befouled yellowed gutter.

The words of Pipers paper still fresh in his mind he remembered why he had gained such a low opinion of alienists in his days at medical school. Give me BONES, BLOOD and BILE! The BRAINS and their fevered content I will leave to Piper and his ilk!

He decided never to take an interest in his new found friends published work ever again.

That’s so good, and funny!

I was thinking the same myself as I was writing it
Last Edit: 2 years 1 week ago by Sarge.
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MellyMel - Fri 29 Mar - 09:50

gary - GARTOPA - please resubmit user request - it is gone.

MellyMel - Thu 28 Mar - 16:30

i fancy mothership if there is space (get it?) - no actually i really do

Sarge - Thu 28 Mar - 15:00

Galleons players. Sant is running a Mothership RPG one shot tonight as Coriolis is off, come join the fun!

mikeawmids - Thu 28 Mar - 14:37

Perhaps Charlie Rumble will reach Cook Island after all....

Temrane - Thu 28 Mar - 13:07

galleons folks, no game tonight, work calls unfortunately! back next week

MellyMel - Thu 21 Mar - 15:38

i believe some new user(s) are awaiting authorisation. if so please recreate request as i've just deleted the russian bot swarm and your request might be spotted this time.

Inept - Thu 29 Feb - 17:07

Apologies decent guys... Hell has obviously inflicted itself on my van... It's broke. Won't be there tonight.

rhodsey - Tue 27 Feb - 09:09

I can't accomodate two sorry but I'm happy if they want to come and observe for a bit at least then see if there's a game while they are here.

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