17th August

One of the most bizarre murder stories of all time came to light today in 1980 when baby Azaria Chamberlain went missing from a camp site at Ayers Rock in Australia. Azaria's mother, Lindy, claimed that a dingo took the sleeping child from their tent. The body was never found.
There were three problems with this case -
a) The Chamberlains belonged to a religious sect and that made them suspect in the eyes of many people.
b) Ayers Rock was an ancient Aboriginal site linked with child sacrifice and finally
c) the Green Lobby said that dingoes were harmless, God's creations etc etc and would not take a child.

After umpteen trials, hearings and years of anguish to the Chamberlain family, the case has finally been closed. My message to the greens out there?

The dingo did it. They are vicious wild animals and have attacked humans both before and after Azaria Chamberlain.

In other news ...

Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, died today in 1987. He had been the only prisoner in Spandau Gaol, Berlin for years, having been sentenced to life for Nazi war crimes at Nuremberg. He was alleged to have strangled himself with electrical flex hooked onto a window frame. the only problem with that is that he was physically incapable of doing it, having had a stroke previously. All the evidence points to murder but because of the man's reputation, no serious investigation ever took place.

30th April

One of the great lines was uttered today in 1945 when Hjalmar Schacht said, 'I wouldn't believe Hitler was dead, even if he told me so himself.' Ain't it the truth? Brilliant, Hjalmar. The man was put on trial at Nuremberg because he had been Hitler's economics minister for a while. He was not, however, a Nazi, as you'd expect from someone who was of Danish descent, brought up in New York and whose middle names were Horace Greeley.

Now, I know, dear follower, that you will be wondering if this is another of my little amusing misdirections, but, honestly, that is absolutely and totally true.

No, really.

In other news ...
John Luther Jones died today in 1900 while driving his locomotive the Cannonball Express on the Illinois Central Railroad. He was trying to make up an eight-hour delay in the mail delivery at the time and his luck ran out. Not ours, though. In the 1950s, when I was just a lad of sixty or so, they made a TV series for kids starring Alan Hale Junior called Casey Jones. If you're my vintage, you'll remember the theme song immediately - AND you'll now be singing it all day. Lucky you and any colleagues or family in ear shot.

You can thank me later.