Looking Back - Parents Appeal For Missing Estate Agent

On this day in 1986, the parents of a missing London estate agent made an emotional appeal for her safe return.
Suzy Lamplugh, 25 was last seen with a man aged between 25 and 30, about 5'8" tall, with swept back hair and a dark suit outside a property in Fulham at 1300 BST two days ago.
A man called Mr Kipper had telephoned to book an appointment to view the house on Sherralds Road earlier on Monday.
Her colleagues at Sturgis estate agents became suspicious when Suzy did not return from her appointment - booked for 1245 BST - and missed a meeting with another client 1t 1800 BST.
Police revealed no Mr Kipper was known at the address he had given. They discovered Miss Lamplugh's car at 2200 BST that evening outside a property for sale in Stevenage Road, one-and-a-half miles away from her original appointment.
The car a B-registration, company owned, white Ford Fiesta - had been left with its doors open and Miss Lamplugh's purse in the door pocket. The ignition key was missing.
Detective Superintendent Nick Carter, in charge of the investigation said: "Everything leads us to believe she has been abducted."
Miss Lamplugh - had lived for a year in a two-bedroom flat she owned in Putney. At the time of her disappearance she was wearing a grey skirt, dark jacket and low stiletto heels.
Speaking at the family home in south west London her father Paul, a solicitor, said: "I don't think Suzy has been murdered. I believe she is still alive and with every body's help we will find her. Her mother Diana - founder of the British Slimnastics Association - fought back tears as she said: "There has never been a time in the past when I did not know where she was."
A former beautician on the QE2, her friends, family and colleagues describe her as a conscientious, outgoing and happy young woman.
It became the most well-publicised missing person case since that of Lord Lucan in November 1974. The police inquiry was called off a year after Suzy Lamplugh's disappearance, but police have said the file will remain open until a body is found or a suspect is conclusively identified.
Suzy Lamplugh was formally declared dead in 1994.

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To watch an emotional appeal made by the parents of Suzy Lamplugh for her safe return, click on the video link below. (First broadcast 30 July 1986).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6530000/newsid_6530800/6530893.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1

Famous London Pubs - The Old Bull And Bush

The Old Bull and Bush is a Grade II listed public house near Hampstead Heath in London which gave its name to the music hall son "Down at the Old Bull and Bush" sung by Florrie Forde.
The interior was renovated to a modern style with an openly visible kitchen and reopened to the public on 24 March 2006. Until the introduction of the English smoking ban on July 1 2007, The Bull and Bush was one of the only completely smoke-free pubs in London.
The earliest record of a building on the site is of a farmhouse in 1645. The farmhouse gained a licence to sell ale in 1721. William Hogarth drank here, and is believed to have been involved in planting out the pub garden.
The pub gained a music licence in 1867 when Henry Humphries was the landlord, and the pub became popular as a day trip for cockneys, resulting in the Florrie Forde song "Down at the old Bull and Bush".
The building underwent a major reconstruction in 1924 when owned by the Ind Coope brewery. Another refurbishment took place in 1987.
Footnote 1
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from excellent realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called 'modern moral subjects'. Much of his work, though at times vicious, poked fun at contemporary politics and customs. Illustrations in such style are often referred to as "Hogartian".
Footnote 2
Florrie Forde (1875-1940), born Flora May Augusta Flannagan, was an Australian popular singer and entertainer. She was one of the greatest stars of the early 20th century music hall. Forde had a powerful stage presence, and specialised in songs that had powerful and memorable choruses in which the audience was encouraged to join. She married in 1909 and was soon drawing top billing, singing songs such as Down At The Old Bull And Bush and Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? She appeared in the very first Royal Command Performance in 1912.

Today's Smile

There are only two types of people in the world ... anybody who drives slower than you is an idiot. And anyone who drives faster than you is a maniac.

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I think men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They have experienced pain and bought jewelry.

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Sam: Would you punish me for something I hadn't done?

Teacher: No, of course not.

Sam: Good, because I didn't do my homework.

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Why won't sharks attack lawyers? Professional courtesy.

Therapy

Specify that your drive-through order is 'to go'.

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Sing along at the opera.

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Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.

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Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.

Brainteaser - Wednesday's Answer

Yesterday's brainteaser was a word puzzle. You were asked to identify words from which some of the letters had been removed. Each word contained the letter-pairing YM. Here are the answers:

01 NYMPH
02 RHYME
03 CYMBAL
04 GYMNAST
05 POLYMER

Not easy! Did you manage to solve any of them

Witches Never Looked Like This When I Was A Kid

Wookey Hole cave is a tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole, on the edge of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, an area which has long been famous for its spectacular caves. The cave was formed by the action of the River Axe on the limestone hills. Before emerging at Wookey Hole the waters enter underground streams and passes through other caves such as Swildon's Hole and St Cuthbert's Swallet.

Legend has it that in the dark Ages the cave was lived in by an old woman who kept a dog and some goats. The local people believed her to be a witch and blamed her for all the misfortunes of the village. They sought the help of the Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey to get rid of her. A monk by the name of Father Bernard, armed with only a candle and a bible, was sent to exorcise the witch's spirit. According to the legend he pursued her deeper into the cave, before scooping a handful of water from the river that runs through the caves, threw it over the witch and turned her to stone. Her frozen figure remains in an area of the cavern, known as The Witches Kitchen, to this day.

A modern day attraction at the cave is the employment of a witch, who, at certain times of the year inhabits the cave. The previous witch recently retired from the position and auditions were held to find her successor. Candidates must be able to cackle and not be allergic to cats. The annual salary offered was £50,000 pro rata, and based on work done as required, mostly in the summer holidays, but also at Halloween and Christmas.
The tourist site said it wanted the appointee to go about her "everyday business as a hag, so that people passing through the caves can get a sense of what the place was like in the Dark Ages". The post attracted about 1,000 applicants.
The successful candidate was Carole Bohanan, an estate agent, who will now take over her post as the witch of Wookey Hole.


To see an interview with Carole Bohanan click on the video link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8173277.stm

Thought For Today

Could it think, the heart would stop beating.
Fernando Pessoa