More Memorabilia.........

This is a continuation of the Stuff on display in "Memorabilia........."

Hostage Release Vigil 1989 (we camped out at Bristol Harbourside and got People to sign a Petition) Meet the De Witt Bucketters.

This was also there.......... a beautiful Sailing Ship.

Not long after this there was the Press Conference mentioned in "Memorabilia". This was the Venue - and someone seems to have quite poignantly shot it in Sepia - which gives it a 1912 Period feel.

William Waldorf Astor's Hotel was built the same year as the Titanic (1908) so many of the Fixtures and Fittings were what might have been fashionable at the time. It's 1990 and a sense of exuberance and optimism prevails.............

You don't suppose People might have met here..............

You'd think these 2 were in a Film or something...........

The years including and after 1996-7, in other words how everything looks now!!!!

Vigil/Press Conference Photos/Drawings by yours truely!

Something that speaks volumes here about Generosity as opposed to Mean Spiritedness was how the Waldorf gave us free use of their Conference Facilities.

What happened after that is a question for any 'Stewards' (rather unflatteringly described in one Titanic Documentary), who might have blocked everything up - but it certainly felt like being Jack - where this is the one Day with the Posh People - and that was it.

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Silly stuff............

This is where you will find Life's Ironies. Things that are so daft they really do need mentioning here.

I was in the Post Office a few Weeks ago sending a Letter recorded Delivery. The Envelope hadn't sealed properly and I asked if the Teller had some Sellotape. They didn't, and the Post Office wouldn't issue them with any. This is a Post Office that is part of a larger Shop that sells Stationery. They didn't have a Stapler either - while what Paper Clips they had were from Items People had brought in. Let's just hope they still have Stamps etc huh!

Wetherspoons Staff are having to pay huge parking Fines for leaving their Vehicles in a Car Park while at work. This is a Car Park adjacent to another - huge one - and while they have to fork out for this no-one has negotiated/offered a Concession.

I was in a Petrol Station and asked them if they sold Fuel for my Zippo Lighter.......
They didn't!!!!

I've just read about Donald Trump being criticised for - quote - seeing Women as Sex Objects. Not sure this is entirely accurate as he commissioned a Female to design and build Trump Tower in New York. Also, in that Hiatus of American Liberalism John F Kennedy announced in Paris that he was happy to have been allowed to accompany Jackie - who was regarded as one of the most glamorous Women in the World.  I also remember the late 90's when New Labour featured People described as "Blair's Babes". The Irony here being that most of this Reportage appeared in a Paper written and published in a City synonymous with Glamour since Theda Bara played "The Vamp", while staunch Liberal Supporter Frank Sinatra was married to the stunning Ava Gardner!

SCAMS..............................

Here you will find stuff about Scams.



Scheming...................Crafty......................Aggressive...................Malicious

The Internet is brilliant, except, with the Benefits came the Crud, the Wheedlers, Con Artists and Criminals who use it to cheat People out of Millions every year.

I will use this Post to explain some of them, and some which - unfortunately - sometimes you aren't aware of until you (almost) get involved with them.

Here's one that I discovered literally in that last 24 Hours.........

The THW Scam...........

Here you are invited to join an ever growing Group of 'Researchers' to watch TV. You are asked - apparently, it says here, allegedly, so we're told -  to review said Programs and be paid 'up to $25' a time. Note it says "Up to" not $25, so no Guarantee of a 25 Buck/Quid Gig here then.

Here's what I wrote subscribing to a Scam Reviewers Site about it......

"I signed up to this (unfortunately sometimes you have to to find out anything about it), and it all looked a bit vague. No mention of current Opportunities to subscribe to made me skeptical. This is supposed to be better than YouTube - who have HD Content - while the poor quality Video of (fiverr.com probably) Actors and Actresses looked suspicious. They have a Newsfeed, but that isn't difficult, while there might be some Movies and TV Shows - but then, neither is that.

The Scam becomes apparent when you see the Certification stuff - quote; "The THWGlobal Online Sales Training and Certification Course cost $995, plus $39.95 monthly for continuing sales, motivational and technical training and education. However, for a very limited time the cost of the system is being discounted to $695, plus $39.95 monthly for our early movers. Once the promotion is over the price will go back to $995."

Shame you have to this, otherwise you get paid in Tokens - the usual Remuneration from many of these Market Research Companies if you just become an lV rather than a Certified lV.

They're trying to recruit 5,000,000 People. If all of them paid that amount they would make $5,875,000,000. You give them that amount of real Money - they might pay you in Tokens and a very ambiguous Work Rate. You're paying them to work for them! Not only that, but they get all that Data - AND your financial details if you decide to do it.

YouTube is free, and it's cheaper to buy a Cable or Satellite Package!"

So, they'd have to give you quite a few "$25" Gigs to repay the amount you give them, while Tokens won't assuage any Credit Card or Finance Company when they want their $1175/1445 back!

Then there was this one.................. based on the 419 Email Scam.

I got an Email from India from a "Widow" who claimed to be that of a wealthy Indian Businessman who wanted to give me - yep GIVE ME - $15,000,000. To achieve this I had to complete a Form and a Declaration stating that the Money was mine - and this was the "official" transfer. This was scanned, signed and sent back to the "Accountant" dealing with the "Widows" "Estate" etc. Then I get an Email from a "Solicitor" who wanted me to send a "Processing Fee" so the Money can be sent via Wire Transfer. This was for $200, which I didn't have - so I said they could deduct this from the "$15,000,000" - or I would even consent to them spending some of it to bring said Monies to the UK and we could go and celebrate our good Fortune! It was here that the Tone completely changed and they got a bit shirty. No less so when I suggested that he lent me the Money and I would repay him once I received this vast Sum.

Hmm, so a "Solicitor" with a few prestigious Clients couldn't find $200 against a guaranteed repayment? An "Accountant" who worked for an "Executive" of the "Reserve Bank of India" - except the Email was sent at about 4AM Indian Time (an "RBI Executive" working those hours?) and was written by what looked like a semi-literate 12 year old? Also, the RBI isn't in New Delhi - it's in Mumbai!

It was here that their Ruse fell apart - and after I Emailed them with some of this I never heard from them again. What suggested to me that they were part of a Network operating this and other 419 Scams  was how nothing appeared in my Inbox from any other "Widows" afterwards.

Also, How many of you have "won" an "Ipod/Ipad/Tablet/Macbook/Laptop/Smartphone" etc, and you fill and send the Form so you can "Claim your Prize"? I've done many of these - and if there are many others who have all I can say is there must be a huge Depot somewhere with "Ipod/Ipad/Tablet/Macbook/Laptop/Smartphones" piled to the Rafters that got lost in the Post! This, I think is just an Email grabbing exercise where the Addresses get sold on to "Widows" in "India" wanting to "give" you "$15,000,000!"

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Titanic - not just a Love Story!

James Cameron's Film might at first just look like a Love Story set against the most famous maritime Disaster in History, but there's a lot more to it than that.

Not only is it as Film about that famous Disaster, it also spans other things - from a Island off the eastern Coast of Canada to a Press Conference held in August 1990, and seems to have been prompted by an Image from 1993 and the Story that surrounds it.

It was 1990 and a Rock Music Album was compiled and released dealing with the Lebanese Hostage Crisis that had gone on through the second half of the 1980's. Anyone who was aware of things at the time would know Names like John McCarthy, Terry Waite, Brian Keenan etc and a few People in Bristol decided to do an Album Project to campaign for their release.

I was asked to write a Press Pack for it that would be sent to recording Artistes in the hope they would donate a Song for it. They did, and as Songs from the likes of Tina Turner to Dire Straits, Simple Minds to Peter Gabriel began arriving it started gaining a Momentum that would culminate in the Press Conference to launch it.

What was impressive was that it was held at the iconic Waldorf Hotel in London, which they donated the use of for free. Years later I began doing family Research and began wondering how, and did any of that have something to do with that Conference?

The Waldorf was built in 1908 by William Waldorf Astor - Cousin to the wealthiest Man on the stricken Ship - John Jacob "Jakie" Astor. The Astor's were close Friends of the Cecil's of Salisbury and Arthur Balfour who was related to them. So was Lord Harlech - David Ormsby Gore - whose Mother was one of the Gascoyne-Cecils. It turned out Harlech was also a Friend of my own Family who I was reunited with in 1996. It seems I had a connection with that Conference Venue that went beyond a 1990 Music Album launch.

The Hotel itself was actually used in the "SOS Titanic" Movie because it was contemporaneous with the Ship and had certain aesthetic similarities. There was also the Astor connection.

As for the Album Project .....

Dealing with Hostages the Balfour connection resonates with the most beloved Novel of Scotland - Robert Louis Stephenson's "Kidnapped". Balfour featured elsewhere in it all as the Project was invited to Prague in the newly democratised Czechoslovakia, a Country he helped create at the Treaty of St Germaine after the Austro Hungarian Empire was broken up in 1918.

I was supposed to go to Prague that time - but for reasons I didn't Questions should be asked of those responsible.

The Hand and the Rose ........

It was February 14th 1993 and someone opened an Envelope with a Card in it which had drawn Image of a Hand coming from a Lake holding a Rose. A Tor was shown in the Background and it was all evocative of the famous Arthurian Scene when Merlin receives Excalibur or when Sir Bedywr throws it into the Lake after Arthur is killed at the Battle of Camlann.

At the end of the "Titanic" Movie we see Rose throw a Diamond Necklace into the Sea - reminiscent of the latter and what would once have been called a Votive. This has it's modern equivalent with the Wishing Well, when you throw a Coin into it making a Wish.

The Necklace had a huge Jewel mounted into it and the Astor family Heirloom was the Sansi Diamond.

Could she have been returning it to its rightful owner - given that JJ Astor died on that Ship? In that context might he and Jack Dawson have been one and the same?

Or was it a metaphor for the Press Conference and how it might have happened - and how it seems to have launched rather a lot more than a Hostage Album Project? She goes on to become an Actress while a lot of creative Economics - from Fleet Street to independent Television - is attributable to those associated with it. More of some of that in a moment.

An earlier Voyage ......

We go back to 1621 when Welsh Sea Captain Edward Wynn, commissioned by George Calvert - aka Lord Baltimore - sailed to and established a Colony on Newfoundland called Avalon. It was named by Calvert after the Town in Somerset which he saw as the fount of Christianity in Britain. Obviously an adherent to the Story of Joseph of Arimathea.

This becomes poignant given that the "Titanic" Film was made by a Canadian and the Theme Song recorded by one of Canada's most famous Artistes - Celine Dion. 

It's also reminiscent of the Hand and the Rose - with it's Avalonian Imagery.

The Name Wynn is also evocative, being connected with the ancient noble Houses of Gwynedd and Deheubarth in Wales.

Here is an article elaborating who Edward Wynn was...

https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NFLDS/article/view/12688/13593

George Calvert was sponsored by Robert Cecil of Burghley who acted as Guarantor to his rise through the Court and obtaining his Title..... becoming Lord to the Town of Baltimore, Ireland.

Calvert went on to establish the State of Maryland - Cecil helping him obtain it's Charter - and the City of Baltimore. As a tribute to his Sponsor Calvert named his Son Cecile.

This is why the City has Calvert Street as it's administrative District and I wonder how many Fans of the work of David Simon are aware of any of this?

Back to the Film and we see Jack and Fabrizio win Tickets for the Ship in a game of Poker and while they celebrate their good fortune we see People going aboard, so does everyone in Southampton, but one of those Passengers is a young Woman called Rose. "To everyone else it was the Ship of Dreams - to me it was a Slave Ship!" she says. Those on the Quayside just see the Glamour - they don't see what Rose is feeling.

The Name Wynne appears again - this time in the form of John Arthur Wynne who was involved in the process that would lead to the abolition of Slavery.

https://metrowynn.blogspot.com/2016/08/john-arthur-wynne-unsung-philanthropist.html?m=1

There are other things that allude to this ......

As the mighty Ship finally sinks the last thing we see is "Titanic - Liverpool" painted on the Stern. Mid 90's Britain was in the throes of a huge Beatles Revival, while the NME's Album of the year was their "Revolver" LP. Strange given it wasn't from 1996 at all, and was from 1966 - 30 years earlier, although it was that year I last saw my Family before the Reunion in 1996.

Unfortunately, Liverpool suffers from the Stigma along with Bristol, for being a Slave Traders Capital while James Penny whose Name was allegedly given to the Penny Lane the Song was about was one of its worst.

The Great Patriotic War ........

This is the eternal Flame - a Monument to the fallen at the Battle of Stalingrad, but it could be a Hand coming from a Lake holding a Sword - reminiscent of the Imagery from Arthurian Legend - or even holding a Rose like it did in 1993. In the Film we are shown Jack partially submerged in the Sea holding Rose's Hand as she floats on a Piece of Flotsam left by the Ship.

While James Horner did the Music for "Titanic" he also did it for "Enemy at the Gates", the Film about the Battle of Stalingrad and legendary Soviet Sniper Vasily Zaitsev. If you listen to the "Titanic" Soundtrack you will hear the Refrain he went on to use in the Stalingrad Movie.

Here's a Scene from the Film ......

Yours truly - 1996 - taken during the Reunion.....

Yet more creative Economics activity .......

Wonder how many People have met here .... A Scene from the Waldorf.......

Rather like this .......

...... After the Ship has sunk this was the Scene that was described as one of the most emotive in any Film ever ..... Rose on the Piece of Wood from the above Scene ..... just before Jack dies.

Here is a Montage done by someone showing what happened after ..... Rose is rescued by 5th Officer Harold Lowe - a Gwynedd Lad - played by Ioan Gruffudd who went on to appear as William Wilberforce.......

And what of that Image of the Hand and the Rose?

Here was another Montage someone did alluding to other Films that continued the Theme .......

Yep, from Jack Dawson to Jack Sparrow - and anyone who has seen those "Pirates of the Caribbean" Films will know that "The Curse of the Black Pearl" started with the young William Turner being found floating on a piece of Driftwood wearing a Pendant made from Aztec Gold. He becomes an Artificer and fine Sword Maker.

So it seems the Hand and the Rose went on to prompt those "Pirates of the Caribbean" Movies via "Titanic".

So you can see there was a lot more to "Titanic" than a Film about a love story set on the famous maritime Disaster.

And watch this space as we will go back to the roaring Twenties and why Leonardo Di Caprio might have been chosen to play Gatsby.