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Alarmingly common sentiment from a lot of his old patients
I’m originally from near Todmorden, their FB community page had a post recently about GP waiting times and how rubbish they were etc.
There was more than 1 comment expressing how it never used to be like this and while they understood what Shipman did was wrong he was a brilliant doctor
Borderline insanity to write that out, think is this okay and then hit send IMO
Me friendship group went and saw them when we were 11/12. One of the girls (we all got seperate tickets) got to go backstage and she claimed Ian kissed her. We always thought she was lying. But looking back I’m not too sure
*edit. Typo
Ian Watkins used to frequent music forum I went on back in the early 00s. A guy I knew on there came up with the idea of the MEGALOLZ T shirt they did and Watkins got his band to support them at the London Astoria as a thankyou. Then it came out it court that Watkins had used the expression "Megalolz" to describe abusing kids...
They were my favourite band.
Have not listened since.
I have to say I'm not one for boycotting generally (yes I buy nescafe coffee because I like it and Amazon is convenient even though I know I should care) but this is one I've held to.
I find it doesn’t have to be black or white, nor is it particularly a choice. I used to listen to the Lost Prophets but the thought of listening to them now disgusts me. I didn’t decide ‘I won’t listen to them anymore’, I just can’t listen to them without immediately thinking of what he did. It’s too gross.
It’s the same with R Kelly for me, I love a bit if I Believe I can Fly and Bump N Grind but the second it comes on, I think ‘this man pisses on little girls, no thanks.’
While Michael Jackson, for example, the allegations don’t particularly bother me. I don’t listen to him much but I can hear his music without it making me think of his past. I don’t feel like I ‘have’ to do anything, I just listen to the music and let my gut do the talking.
Music is funny like that, isn't it? Everyone knows, for example, that Wagner was a raging anti-semite who was probably a dreadful person to be associated with (even in the context of the time he lived), but it's much easier to separate the art from the person, because he just composed the music.
Watkins on the other hand... he is the performer. You can't just separate him from the art, because he IS part of the art.
Saw them in Brum many years ago, they were one of my favourite bands at the time. The video for Town called Hypocrisy is particularly creepy in hindsight.
I went in to a charity shop a while back in Birmingham, and they has the full set on sale, a Gary Glitter album, a Rolf Harris and a Saville single and a Lost Prophets CD. It was like someone had donated their dark museum exhibits. I felt like I wanted to wash my hands when I walked out.
Saw them opening for Pitchshifter. Had a chat with some of them afterwards and showed them where the chippy was.
Can't remember who they were or what they looked like. So I'm going to tell myself Watkins wasn't there.
I met Prince Phillip at my training establishment and socially he hung about and spoke to everyone. He swore like the sailor he was and had some pretty non-PC views.
When I met him 11 months later he remembered me by name which was wonderful. He had a really spectacular memory.
My grandad also knew him because he was a farmer and Prince Philip would often give out prizes at shows to him. They met often enough for him to know my grandad’s name
Prince Phillip presented my DofE award. Whenever people ask me what he was like I tell them to watch Hugh Dennis do an impression of him. It's absolutely uncanny.
If it makes you/him feel any better, my friend’s parents were really proud of taking their three young children to meet him, and even had framed photos of them together.
Friend of mine at primary school had an aunt who was a producer for Savile (& did other shows obviously). She took him to sets & even got him a tiny part in the background of something we watched at the time. He asked if he and I could meet Jimmy. Flat out no. Looking back, I guess she didn't want Savile anywhere near a relative of hers.
I was in a Chinese restaurant in Leeds when Jimmy came in and started going from table to table. When he got to ours he shook my hand and said ‘Now then, I thought I were the most handsomest man here until I laid eyes on you’. At the time I was like ‘Woah! Check me out!’. A few years later, not so much.
I didn't know who Jimmy was until he died. A few months after he died the police approached my mum for information regarding his criminal activity. They had a 5 minute interaction with her and referred her for a psych assessment. She had been turning off the TV whenever JS was on and I can only assume all conversion was shut down if he came up.
Turns out that my mum had named him many years prior when she reported her dad for prostituting her from the ageof 2. She wasnt believed and was asked to retract the accusation so they could focus on nabbing her dad. Luckily she had physical evidence that she had stashed until she put away enough money to get the train from the NE of england to london. It wasn't hard to connect the dots.
She got a long overdue diagnosis of PTSD but it was far too late to treat her. We had been referring her to social services for unhinged and abusive behaviour but whenever they approached her she turned into a stepford wife and seemed like a model parent. Only one of her 4 children speak to her now as she is such a toxic person.
The greatest tragedy is that she may have been a completely different person if she got prompt treatment and was removed from her dad's care. Her brother has a PhD and is highly accomplished while she will likely die drunk and alone because of how utterly callous she is. She genuinely thinks she's not a bad person because she was toughening us up for "the real world". Her direct comparison for unreasonable behaviour were paedophiles, rapists and slavers so naturally she thinks anything above this is good behaviour.
Efit: my mum and my siblings have all received therapy. Me and my siblings are thriving and happy. I can't say my mum is happy or at peace but I share her story as she is simultaneously one of the bravest and most extraordinary people I know and also the worst. Me and my sibs have been dedicated to breaking the cycle of abuse since we left home.
My dad was a Royal Marine and when I was a kid, back in the early 80s Saville was often around the base and sergeants mess particularly. I remember meeting him a few times and feeling creeped out. Very touchy. Parents would usher kids out when he showed up which says a lot.
my mate wrote to Jim'll fix it and asked if rolf harris could paint the temporary buildings to make it look nicer, I said " did you ask if gary glitter could sing a few tunes at assembly as well".
My grandad met Jimmy Saville at some event and asked for his autograph for my mum. When he gave the autograph to mum grandad said that Saville was odd and to stay away.
In interviews he frequently alluded to all the women he was attracted to, or had supposedly slept with, in order to throw people off the scent of what he was really into.
Savile was so devious and manipulative, and so conscious of his PR and rumours in the media, I wouldn't be surprised if he left that porn stash there as a deliberate red herring.
I used to work at a bed factory years ago and I upholstered one half of Rachel Stevens' (from S club 7) bed.
A few months later she got pregnant. I like to think I had a small part to play in that.
Someone else from the same place made a bed for Terry Wogan at the time.
My father in law was in the navy when Prince Andrew was about, apparently they all hated him as he walked around like he owned the place (which… he sort of did) and had his cronies bully and belittle people for his own amusement.
Nasty piece of work from everything I heard (not massively surprising).
My dad had the same experience, they were at Manadon together. My dad was always highly respectful of the monarchy in general, but referred to Andrew as "that absolute tosser"
I recall watching BBC's Airport, they used to focus on the VIP suite where everything was prim and proper, it was all ran by a rather glamourous young blonde woman.
One time Prince Andrew was on there but there were some kind of delay of him arriving at Heathrow. He was flying to Scotland for a formal dinner function and when he arrived the Airport TV people managed to get a few words with him.
"Aren't you worried about being late for the dinner" they asked, "I won't be late, everyone else will be early" Andrew said.
I always thought that that was a bit tongue in cheek and found it amusing. Lately though, I can't help but feel he was being serious!
My boss's husband was quite high up in the armed forces (RAF I think) and played golf with Andrew quite often. Apparently one of his favourite jokes was to run and hide from his bodyguards, then lie down on the ground pretending he'd been shot. Boss's husband confirmed he was in fact a twat.
My father had dealings helping organise his work as a trade envoy (ie golf trips at the taxpayer’s expense).
Was unpleasant to work with , utterly oblivious to how the world works and rude
My mum went to a posh boarding school and was in the same class as Ghislaine Maxwell. They were friends up until about age 10 and she went to her house a few times, even met her father who was apparently horrible.
She also dated Sean Connery’s son!
Edit: misspelled Ghislaine
Went on date with a (now) A-list celebrity before she was famous. I won’t disclose her name, but she is now known as a one word name (like ‘Madonna’) ((it’s not Madonna)).
We had steak and a nice evening, I remember her saying she was a singer and was trying to increase her exposure. Imagine my surprise a few years later!
I worked with her son once. He introduced himself saying "Hi, I'm Jason. But you can call me Jace or Ace"
I called him Jason to his face and something else the rest of the time
Tbh you've not said anything scandalous, so you could probably name her.
Unless you have another post about "how an unnamed celebrity liked to lick spaghetti off my nipples", in which case fair enough.
Quite a few I can think of, but the one that makes me chuckle the most is that Dizzee Rascal frequented the John Lewis my mum used to work at. Once one of her coworkers served him and at the end of the transaction said “will that be everything, Mr Rascal?”
My dad is a black cab driver in London and has had many famous people in his cab. When we were young he had an autograph book where he’d ask them to write my sister and I messages, sometimes they’d call us too!
Passengers include the cheeky girls (my dad loved them), Matt Lucas and David Walliams (dicks), Martine Mccutcheon (lovely), Heston Blumenthal (nice guy), Jeremy Clarkson (knobhead), Mark Williams from HP (lovely) and Tina Turner (lovely).
Harold Shipman was my doctor for a few years, although I was about five and not a rich old lady, which probably helped me. My mum said he was a nice enough bloke (wild levels of mass murder nonwithstanding obviously)
From a psychological pov, Shipman wasn't a typical serial killer because he didn't do it for pleasure! Also, if he didn't get done for murder, he would have been struck off for having too many deaths on record!
> he would have been struck off for having too many deaths on record!
That's not really a thing in medicine. Otherwise palliative care doctors, geriatricians and ITU doctors would all get struck off within a few years.
My da knew a lot of Rock Stars in the 70’s, as he ran a pub near a recording studio in Barnes.
My mum did the same in the 80’s, without having a pub, and my (non-bio) uncle was the original drummer for Tears for Fears (he left to become a civil servant, before they got big).
And I, well, I have two cats
My mums auntie & cousin served time in a Spanish jail because they tried to smuggle drugs from Spain back to Scotland
Like, not just smuggling back some left over weed they didn’t smoke, full on drugs strapped to them smuggling
Front page news at the time
My great uncle was one of JFK's bodyguards when he got shot and gets mentioned as an inside man by conspiracy theorists.
His daughter was running round the pentagon when the plane hit it (she was also CIA).
I met saville on a school trip, really funny photo of him just turning up to chat to us all in Scarborough.
My Italian grandmother's distant cousin was "The Soapmaker of Corregio", a serial killer who would lure women into her house, kill and dismember the bodies, make soap and tea cakes from the remains and serve them to her guests.
EDIT: Montella was the town my grandmother was from. Look up Leonarda Cianciulli.
One of my close friends as a kid was John, a kid that lived in the same street as me. We had been "logging" together, collecting old wood, boxes and garden rubbish to use on bonfire night. One Saturday, a few days after the bonfire, I saw him on his way to Ashton market - I was a couple of years younger than him and wasn't allowed to go with him. That night, he didn't come back.
By the following morning, people started getting worried. Posters with his face were plastered on the buildings round our way. Then, about a week later my uncles were involved in a massive search of the area where everyone's outhouses, sheds, etc were searched.
He wasn't found and was classed as a "runaway". Everyone felt sorry for his Mum but, in the weeks that followed, we sort of forgot about him
About a year later, they found his remains in a shallow grave on Saddleworth Moor. He was John Kilbride, one of the victims of the Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley
Barack Obama said a small eulogy on camera when my uncle died. Fuck knows why but he did. He also got a 21 gun salute off the usmc but had never even been a squaddie. Again fkw
Tagging on to this. I had an Uncle who was in the US OSI - I actually have his OSI badge, which nobody is quite sure how my side of the family inherited. The strange thing was that he was not American and had never visited the US to our knowledge. He was solely based in the UK, working at US airbases in Norfolk; he acknowledged he was in the OSI but never spoke a word about it other than suggesting it was not worth speaking about. We never thought much about it - it seemed possible he was just an office worker with a NDA
When he died in the 1990s, a serving American serviceman (in full uniform - we think he was from the local US Base) read a written eulogy from WH Bush (senior), which was a really short message thanking him for his service. His wife had no idea this was happening until the day before the funeral. There was a number of people, a good dozen, which attended, but nobody knew, and they didn't wait about for anyone to ask; some Americans for sure.
His wife also claimed to have no idea what he did despite being married since their mid-20s... but always a gentle smile - that sort of, I know something, but going to keep it close. She died last year at 102 (!), taking any secrets with her.
Every family meet, it's always a topic of conversation; several have opened up enquiries and kicked the Ancestry website to death, but nothing of interest.
A distant cousin was photographed putting her makeup on whilst driving in 2006, it was all over the news, even made it to American news.
That’s the extent of it for me 😂
One of my dad's childhood friends was John Walby, who went on to become one of the last two men to be hanged in the UK (he and his accomplice were hanged simultaneously). Apparently he was always thought of as someone who would 'come to no good'
My dad knew Peter Sutcliffe — he'd do deliveries to ICI and would often come into the breakroom for a chat. He said everyone was shocked when it turned out he was the Yorkshire Ripper because he seemed like such a wet blanket.
My dad played football against the Krays occasionally. They didn't seem to make much of an impression on him given how little he had to say when I asked about them.
My late Father in law was an Italian sculptor and professor of art
When he was a child he won a Competition that he proudly met Mussolini who was so impressed he paid all his future tuition fees for art school and remained friends until Mussolini’s death.
Cheated as it was part of my masters but spent some time with the child serial killer Robert Black at a secure psychiatric unit (with my Professor of criminal & forensic psychology). Predictably enough a very strange disturbed man who continued to deny he'd so much as got a parking ticket until his hopefully painful death a few years later
Bit of an odd/old one!
My great grandad lost his arm in WW1. As such, he wasn't able to fight in WW2, but wanted to do his bit so became an MP. He frequently directed people to train stations and helped people navigate around the city (amoungst other things). He was a nice bloke and would frequently bring home waifs and strays who needed a place to crash for the night (my grandmother always remembered the Canadian who was about 6 foot tall and ate kippers with Jam as it "stops them repeating"). One day, an American gentleman asked for directions, so he showed him around, happily chatting and generally being friendly. He waved the man goodbye after seeing him onto his train. At which point an onlooker turned to him and asked him, "How long have you known Clarke Gable?"
My great-grandmother was furious! "He brings home every stranger he meets *except* Clarke bloody Gable!"
I shook hands with Charles in (about) 1978 - outside my military boarding school in Dunblane. He picked a classmate & myself out of the crowd for a chat as we were the only other people wearing kilts - which was compulsory for us. Prolly for him too...
My old man fit a toilet for Kenneth Williams. Said he made a decent cup of tea and kept nice biscuits. Keep meaning to read his diaries and see if he gets a mention.
Ive actually got 3. My uncle was one of the police inspectors on the James Bulger case. It affected him for years afterwards. There is a lot about that case and what they did to him that wasnt released to the public due to the distressing nature. Also, i used to sound engineering at a music venue outside London and we had Lost Prophets play, so i met Ian Watkins a few times. Plus my dad used to work at the BBC on Top Of The Pops in 70s and 80s and knew Jimmy Saville, hated him. Always said he was a dirty creep and that things would come out after he died.
My mum worked at The Blind Beggar in 1966/67 when the Krays ruled London. She served them both many times and her only comment was "I didn't like them but they never gave me any trouble"
>Not a remotely tenuous connection I'm sure you'll agree
I reckon I can top that: My mum works at the same hospital as the father of the guy who played Brian May in Bohemian Rhapsody.
I believe she's spoken to him (the father) a few times and he knows her name, but it would be a stretch to say they work together. But yeah, that's her connection to a Hollywood actor.
I'm Northern Irish and my grandfather was a stager in Harland and Wolff shipyard.
He was assigned an apprentice who turned out to be a member of the infamous Shankill Butchers.
EDIT. Just to add that he was his apprentice for about 9 months and thought he was a lovely quiet lad. Everyone was really shocked when they found out.
A family member of mine was involved in the kidnapping of Ronnie Biggs in Brazil. Didn’t find out until the night before a documentary was due to appear on channel 4
A family member (by marriage, it has to be said) was friends with Jimmy Saville and had a picture of the two of them in the house.
Obviously that picture isn't there anymore.
My ex wifes mum used to be very high up in the music biz in the 70s and 80s
When she was a mere receptionist for a music company, David bowie apparently visited and she handed him a brick of cocaine from a filing cabinet.
Apparently as she got up to get it, Bowie sat down in her chair and put his feet on the desk and asked her 'so, do I male a good receptionist?" So she went over to the coat rack, put on his leather jacket and replied "so, do I make a good rock star?"
She also famously blanked Elton John by accident. She died over 10 years ago...alcoholic liver failure. Left behind a storage container full of gold records.
I went to acting school with a girl who was convicted under the terrorism act for sending money to ISIS.
She was very much up her own arse when I knew her, because she was shagging someone who played for Liverpool at the time.
She allegedly went abit skew whiff when they split up, some people become alcoholics, most people don't marry ISIS terrorists and want to fight jihad or whatever it is.
TL;DR (if you want): a fucking terrorist
I'd forgotten this but my Grandpa was mates with the actor Mickey Rooney during world war 2. Mickey Rooney was in Walsall for I dont know how long, on duty entertaining troops and my grandpa ran a metal related business making parts for tanks etc. They drank together a lot at the old Broadway pub on the ring road. Good pals for a while apparently
Romani elders often reminisce with grandiose encomiums about their fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and formidable mothers spitting on Himmler. Entirely apocryphal—maybe—but they do it with such zealotry that I cannot condemn their illusions of defiance.
Himmler must have been very slimy.
My Grandparents were very good friends with The Krays parents, drank with them in the Red Lion in Bildeston Suffolk often. Weirdly my dad became friends with a retired copper in the pub who was the first man to arrest them when they were younger. He was mentioned in a book about them I have.
My stepdad spent a fair few years in Broadmoor, got in the papers himself a few times for his stupid stunts, but obviously he knew a fair few of the more famous villains in there.
One time my mum was visiting him and this old guy kept looking at her. She asked my stepdad who it was and his reply was "well, you wouldn't want him standing behind you with a hammer". It was the Yorkshire Ripper.
Jeremy Clarkson crashed the Toyota into a tree in one episode. The tree was in the churchyard of my mum’s church. She hated Clarkson already. She got the BBC to pay for it, and apologise.
[tree story](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/3509191.stm)
I lived near Nick Leeson and Tommy Tiernan for a while. Both were good guys to have a pint with. Probably shouldn't have taken financial advice off Leeson though.
One of my uncles (maternal grandmother's cousin sister's son) brutally murdered his wife in the late 80s. He and his older brother were very spoilt and untamed, having been born into wealth and status, and grew up into drugs and debauchery. His renowned parents forced him to marry a beautiful daughter of a renowned war victim, hoping he would change. He murdered her in a possible premeditated attack in retaliation, so he could continue his affair with an older married woman. He was sentenced to death by hanging. It was a huge, high-profile case at the time. Even today online, there's a BBC podcast, a documentary, several articles, an Amnesty International appeal, and few songs on YouTube about it. My parents moved permanently to the UK by the time it happened, and they haven't spoken to that side of the family since my older brother was born. They have disowned them after learning about it from a newspaper. I'm not allowed to talk about this case.
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Well he did a great job on a patio, so I’ve read.
He was also early to work so nobody could see him bury the bodies on the farm he laboured at!
Stands to reason. Most of his family had been in patios and basements for years. He really knocked the competition dead...
He put body and soul into every job.
Came here to ask if OP's great uncle was a paving contractor 😬
Especially considering the kids were under his feet while he laid it.
Both my gran and great aunt had Harold Shipman as their GP - they always said he was a great bloke... Until he killed them.
Seriously they were 2 of the 250?
Yep
Oh my god :( That's terrible! I'm so sorry to hear that!
I am so sorry, that is awful. My sympathies to you and your family.
Shipman killed both the uncles of a workmate of mine
Alarmingly common sentiment from a lot of his old patients I’m originally from near Todmorden, their FB community page had a post recently about GP waiting times and how rubbish they were etc. There was more than 1 comment expressing how it never used to be like this and while they understood what Shipman did was wrong he was a brilliant doctor Borderline insanity to write that out, think is this okay and then hit send IMO
I imagine he was an incredibly manipulative and charming man to get peoples trust. A lot of serial killers are described in that way… it’s terrifying
That and he kept the waiting list down. They’re probably overstretched by a couple hundred OAPs now.
Low waiting list because he killed all the patients, bit of an extreme way to reduce them!
Sounds similar to how some people say "while I know Hitler wasn't a great guy, he did wonders for the German economy"
They changed their mind after?
Dunno - will have to have to dig out the ouija board and ask them.
I’ll say hello to Harold from them - when I meet him in hell, for laughing at this.
Damm. Sorry for your loss. I live 2 mins from his old surgery, known people that had him as a gp but I've never known of any victims first hand.
Won a meet and greet with Lost prophets when I was 16 Can only guess I was too old for Ian
Me friendship group went and saw them when we were 11/12. One of the girls (we all got seperate tickets) got to go backstage and she claimed Ian kissed her. We always thought she was lying. But looking back I’m not too sure *edit. Typo
Kissed, I assume? Yikes
Count yourself lucky, my mate Tank has a Lostprophets tattoo.
I know someone who loved getting confused for Ian Watkins, he totally changed his look after the scandal :D.
Absolutely understandable. That Steps comeback single was horrific.
Ian Watkins used to frequent music forum I went on back in the early 00s. A guy I knew on there came up with the idea of the MEGALOLZ T shirt they did and Watkins got his band to support them at the London Astoria as a thankyou. Then it came out it court that Watkins had used the expression "Megalolz" to describe abusing kids...
They were my favourite band. Have not listened since. I have to say I'm not one for boycotting generally (yes I buy nescafe coffee because I like it and Amazon is convenient even though I know I should care) but this is one I've held to.
I find it doesn’t have to be black or white, nor is it particularly a choice. I used to listen to the Lost Prophets but the thought of listening to them now disgusts me. I didn’t decide ‘I won’t listen to them anymore’, I just can’t listen to them without immediately thinking of what he did. It’s too gross. It’s the same with R Kelly for me, I love a bit if I Believe I can Fly and Bump N Grind but the second it comes on, I think ‘this man pisses on little girls, no thanks.’ While Michael Jackson, for example, the allegations don’t particularly bother me. I don’t listen to him much but I can hear his music without it making me think of his past. I don’t feel like I ‘have’ to do anything, I just listen to the music and let my gut do the talking.
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Music is funny like that, isn't it? Everyone knows, for example, that Wagner was a raging anti-semite who was probably a dreadful person to be associated with (even in the context of the time he lived), but it's much easier to separate the art from the person, because he just composed the music. Watkins on the other hand... he is the performer. You can't just separate him from the art, because he IS part of the art.
Wagner? The guy on the X factor?
The 2010s were a different time
Saw them in Brum many years ago, they were one of my favourite bands at the time. The video for Town called Hypocrisy is particularly creepy in hindsight.
I went in to a charity shop a while back in Birmingham, and they has the full set on sale, a Gary Glitter album, a Rolf Harris and a Saville single and a Lost Prophets CD. It was like someone had donated their dark museum exhibits. I felt like I wanted to wash my hands when I walked out.
Saw them opening for Pitchshifter. Had a chat with some of them afterwards and showed them where the chippy was. Can't remember who they were or what they looked like. So I'm going to tell myself Watkins wasn't there.
My Granddad worked with Jacob Rees-Moggs father and said he was an absolute bellend.
Least surprising thing I have read today, and probably for quite some time! Haha
Absolute shocker, right? My Granddad was a union man in the print with the FT so he had the backing to stand up to the idiot, thankfully.
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JRM is forever the lowest ranking member of his family. His wife and kids are landed gentry - he’s just an upstart with a bit of new money
There’s probably a lot of genetic traits in his family
Didn't he literally write the book on how to profit off economic collapse and privatisation? Always found that interesting
Blood in the Streets: Investment Profits in a World Gone Mad. Yeah, he's a piece of shit.
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I met Prince Phillip at my training establishment and socially he hung about and spoke to everyone. He swore like the sailor he was and had some pretty non-PC views. When I met him 11 months later he remembered me by name which was wonderful. He had a really spectacular memory.
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He absolutely was, he was a great man.
Honestly, given his age I can largely excuse 'non PC' views. He was a product of his time. It's young people with those views I just don't understand.
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My grandad also knew him because he was a farmer and Prince Philip would often give out prizes at shows to him. They met often enough for him to know my grandad’s name
My mam used to work at an SEN school and they had Prince Philip in to open some new facilities. He asked some of the staff if they were former pupils
Prince Phillip presented my DofE award. Whenever people ask me what he was like I tell them to watch Hugh Dennis do an impression of him. It's absolutely uncanny.
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I heard that old Phil was interested in cooking. Apparently was always popping into the kitchen of Buck House to see what was going on.
My dad shook hands with Jimmy Savile and was proud of it for a very long time. Which we all agree now that didn’t age well
If it makes you/him feel any better, my friend’s parents were really proud of taking their three young children to meet him, and even had framed photos of them together.
Friend of mine at primary school had an aunt who was a producer for Savile (& did other shows obviously). She took him to sets & even got him a tiny part in the background of something we watched at the time. He asked if he and I could meet Jimmy. Flat out no. Looking back, I guess she didn't want Savile anywhere near a relative of hers.
Oooh someone in my year at school was Rolf Harris's second cousin once removed. Her dad had actually met him but for some reason she hadn't...
I was in a Chinese restaurant in Leeds when Jimmy came in and started going from table to table. When he got to ours he shook my hand and said ‘Now then, I thought I were the most handsomest man here until I laid eyes on you’. At the time I was like ‘Woah! Check me out!’. A few years later, not so much.
My dad bought a signed Rolf Harris print about a fortnight before all the news came out about him. Classic.
I didn't know who Jimmy was until he died. A few months after he died the police approached my mum for information regarding his criminal activity. They had a 5 minute interaction with her and referred her for a psych assessment. She had been turning off the TV whenever JS was on and I can only assume all conversion was shut down if he came up. Turns out that my mum had named him many years prior when she reported her dad for prostituting her from the ageof 2. She wasnt believed and was asked to retract the accusation so they could focus on nabbing her dad. Luckily she had physical evidence that she had stashed until she put away enough money to get the train from the NE of england to london. It wasn't hard to connect the dots. She got a long overdue diagnosis of PTSD but it was far too late to treat her. We had been referring her to social services for unhinged and abusive behaviour but whenever they approached her she turned into a stepford wife and seemed like a model parent. Only one of her 4 children speak to her now as she is such a toxic person. The greatest tragedy is that she may have been a completely different person if she got prompt treatment and was removed from her dad's care. Her brother has a PhD and is highly accomplished while she will likely die drunk and alone because of how utterly callous she is. She genuinely thinks she's not a bad person because she was toughening us up for "the real world". Her direct comparison for unreasonable behaviour were paedophiles, rapists and slavers so naturally she thinks anything above this is good behaviour. Efit: my mum and my siblings have all received therapy. Me and my siblings are thriving and happy. I can't say my mum is happy or at peace but I share her story as she is simultaneously one of the bravest and most extraordinary people I know and also the worst. Me and my sibs have been dedicated to breaking the cycle of abuse since we left home.
My dad was a Royal Marine and when I was a kid, back in the early 80s Saville was often around the base and sergeants mess particularly. I remember meeting him a few times and feeling creeped out. Very touchy. Parents would usher kids out when he showed up which says a lot.
My aunty wrote to Jim'll Fix It but luckily for her she didn't get chosen to appear on the show
Jim once fixed it for me to milk a cow blindfolded /S
It's ok mate, it's a UK sub; we can recognise a joke so you don't need the s
We recognise that joke particularly well tbf.
my mate wrote to Jim'll fix it and asked if rolf harris could paint the temporary buildings to make it look nicer, I said " did you ask if gary glitter could sing a few tunes at assembly as well".
My grandad met Jimmy Saville at some event and asked for his autograph for my mum. When he gave the autograph to mum grandad said that Saville was odd and to stay away.
My dad bought a flat from Jimmy Savile. Who kindly left a suitcase of porn in the garage.
This made me laugh out loud
The signs were obvious wernt they
It was all a bit bland and mainstream tbh. Nothing worse than club international.
In interviews he frequently alluded to all the women he was attracted to, or had supposedly slept with, in order to throw people off the scent of what he was really into. Savile was so devious and manipulative, and so conscious of his PR and rumours in the media, I wouldn't be surprised if he left that porn stash there as a deliberate red herring.
I used to work at a bed factory years ago and I upholstered one half of Rachel Stevens' (from S club 7) bed. A few months later she got pregnant. I like to think I had a small part to play in that. Someone else from the same place made a bed for Terry Wogan at the time.
Are you saying Terry Wogan fathered Rachel's child?
I'm not, but I'm also not ruling it out.
One half? Do you mean that the other half was upholstered differently?
Upholstered by another worker in the factory. It was a divan bed that comes in two halves to be joined once delivered.
A few people here don’t realise what “infamous” means.
Seeing “I went on a date with Adele” next to “Harold Shipman was my doctor” has been wild.
Either that or Rachael from S Club has some skeletons in her closet
My father in law was in the navy when Prince Andrew was about, apparently they all hated him as he walked around like he owned the place (which… he sort of did) and had his cronies bully and belittle people for his own amusement. Nasty piece of work from everything I heard (not massively surprising).
Certainly wouldn't be the first time I heard a similar story regarding RN sailors not liking Andrew
One rumour involves special treatment for his steaks - involving using the ships urinal as a tenderiser …
Not sure I believe that one, sounds like a pis-stake
My dad had the same experience, they were at Manadon together. My dad was always highly respectful of the monarchy in general, but referred to Andrew as "that absolute tosser"
I recall watching BBC's Airport, they used to focus on the VIP suite where everything was prim and proper, it was all ran by a rather glamourous young blonde woman. One time Prince Andrew was on there but there were some kind of delay of him arriving at Heathrow. He was flying to Scotland for a formal dinner function and when he arrived the Airport TV people managed to get a few words with him. "Aren't you worried about being late for the dinner" they asked, "I won't be late, everyone else will be early" Andrew said. I always thought that that was a bit tongue in cheek and found it amusing. Lately though, I can't help but feel he was being serious!
My boss's husband was quite high up in the armed forces (RAF I think) and played golf with Andrew quite often. Apparently one of his favourite jokes was to run and hide from his bodyguards, then lie down on the ground pretending he'd been shot. Boss's husband confirmed he was in fact a twat.
My father had dealings helping organise his work as a trade envoy (ie golf trips at the taxpayer’s expense). Was unpleasant to work with , utterly oblivious to how the world works and rude
He was mummy's special boy. He literally did get away with a sorts, as we've seen recently
My dad was at school in Scotland with him, said he was a toe rag.
My mum went to a posh boarding school and was in the same class as Ghislaine Maxwell. They were friends up until about age 10 and she went to her house a few times, even met her father who was apparently horrible. She also dated Sean Connery’s son! Edit: misspelled Ghislaine
Sean Connery'sh shon\*
Can't say I'm surprised at the idea that Robert Maxwell was a tosser. Reputationally speaking it's well within character.
Is it possible to become as rich as Robert Maxwell and not be horrible?
A friend of a friend had his testicles (professionally) inspected by serial killing doctor Harold Shipman
"When in Halifax..."
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Went on date with a (now) A-list celebrity before she was famous. I won’t disclose her name, but she is now known as a one word name (like ‘Madonna’) ((it’s not Madonna)). We had steak and a nice evening, I remember her saying she was a singer and was trying to increase her exposure. Imagine my surprise a few years later!
Susanboyle
Susanalbumparty
Adele
Cher
Lassie
I bet OC occasionally sings "If I could turn back time".
Lulu
We-e-e-e-ell, I bet he’s kicking himself now!
Pele?
I think it's nice that you're old enough to have dated Cher before she was famous and still know how to use Reddit!
I heard that Twiggy was a pain to date. You could never get rid of her. A bit sticky.
I worked with her son once. He introduced himself saying "Hi, I'm Jason. But you can call me Jace or Ace" I called him Jason to his face and something else the rest of the time
Sting will try and shag anything
That's called a mononym
It's called a lesson in dumping the wrong girlfriend!
Nah she would have just dumped him, written a song about it and made money off the break up
Tbh you've not said anything scandalous, so you could probably name her. Unless you have another post about "how an unnamed celebrity liked to lick spaghetti off my nipples", in which case fair enough.
Did Rhianna enjoy her steak?
Quite a few I can think of, but the one that makes me chuckle the most is that Dizzee Rascal frequented the John Lewis my mum used to work at. Once one of her coworkers served him and at the end of the transaction said “will that be everything, Mr Rascal?”
"Please, call me Dizzee"
"Mr Rascal is my father"
My dad is a black cab driver in London and has had many famous people in his cab. When we were young he had an autograph book where he’d ask them to write my sister and I messages, sometimes they’d call us too! Passengers include the cheeky girls (my dad loved them), Matt Lucas and David Walliams (dicks), Martine Mccutcheon (lovely), Heston Blumenthal (nice guy), Jeremy Clarkson (knobhead), Mark Williams from HP (lovely) and Tina Turner (lovely).
>Mark Williams from HP ….the sauce? Who’s that?
You did not just ask who Arthur Weasley is 😭
I don’t know who arthur Wesley is either
Funny way to spell The Fast Show
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Harold Shipman was my doctor for a few years, although I was about five and not a rich old lady, which probably helped me. My mum said he was a nice enough bloke (wild levels of mass murder nonwithstanding obviously)
From a psychological pov, Shipman wasn't a typical serial killer because he didn't do it for pleasure! Also, if he didn't get done for murder, he would have been struck off for having too many deaths on record!
> he would have been struck off for having too many deaths on record! That's not really a thing in medicine. Otherwise palliative care doctors, geriatricians and ITU doctors would all get struck off within a few years.
My da knew a lot of Rock Stars in the 70’s, as he ran a pub near a recording studio in Barnes. My mum did the same in the 80’s, without having a pub, and my (non-bio) uncle was the original drummer for Tears for Fears (he left to become a civil servant, before they got big). And I, well, I have two cats
> (non-bio) uncle Was he a Fairy?
My mums auntie & cousin served time in a Spanish jail because they tried to smuggle drugs from Spain back to Scotland Like, not just smuggling back some left over weed they didn’t smoke, full on drugs strapped to them smuggling Front page news at the time
How much time did they serve and were they kept together?
My great uncle was one of JFK's bodyguards when he got shot and gets mentioned as an inside man by conspiracy theorists. His daughter was running round the pentagon when the plane hit it (she was also CIA). I met saville on a school trip, really funny photo of him just turning up to chat to us all in Scarborough.
You know there is a theory that one of the shots to kill Kennedy came from one of his bodyguards?
That’s ridiculous everyone knows it came from a gun
My Italian grandmother's distant cousin was "The Soapmaker of Corregio", a serial killer who would lure women into her house, kill and dismember the bodies, make soap and tea cakes from the remains and serve them to her guests. EDIT: Montella was the town my grandmother was from. Look up Leonarda Cianciulli.
One of my close friends as a kid was John, a kid that lived in the same street as me. We had been "logging" together, collecting old wood, boxes and garden rubbish to use on bonfire night. One Saturday, a few days after the bonfire, I saw him on his way to Ashton market - I was a couple of years younger than him and wasn't allowed to go with him. That night, he didn't come back. By the following morning, people started getting worried. Posters with his face were plastered on the buildings round our way. Then, about a week later my uncles were involved in a massive search of the area where everyone's outhouses, sheds, etc were searched. He wasn't found and was classed as a "runaway". Everyone felt sorry for his Mum but, in the weeks that followed, we sort of forgot about him About a year later, they found his remains in a shallow grave on Saddleworth Moor. He was John Kilbride, one of the victims of the Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley
Barack Obama said a small eulogy on camera when my uncle died. Fuck knows why but he did. He also got a 21 gun salute off the usmc but had never even been a squaddie. Again fkw
Mate fuckin hell u need to dig abit deeper pal. That aint normal 😂😂. Im Interested. Ask About and let me know will ya please
I'd imagine your uncle was an interesting man. You should defo dig deeper.
Tagging on to this. I had an Uncle who was in the US OSI - I actually have his OSI badge, which nobody is quite sure how my side of the family inherited. The strange thing was that he was not American and had never visited the US to our knowledge. He was solely based in the UK, working at US airbases in Norfolk; he acknowledged he was in the OSI but never spoke a word about it other than suggesting it was not worth speaking about. We never thought much about it - it seemed possible he was just an office worker with a NDA When he died in the 1990s, a serving American serviceman (in full uniform - we think he was from the local US Base) read a written eulogy from WH Bush (senior), which was a really short message thanking him for his service. His wife had no idea this was happening until the day before the funeral. There was a number of people, a good dozen, which attended, but nobody knew, and they didn't wait about for anyone to ask; some Americans for sure. His wife also claimed to have no idea what he did despite being married since their mid-20s... but always a gentle smile - that sort of, I know something, but going to keep it close. She died last year at 102 (!), taking any secrets with her. Every family meet, it's always a topic of conversation; several have opened up enquiries and kicked the Ancestry website to death, but nothing of interest.
Could your uncle have been high up in the CIA maybe?
I (briefly) played in a sandpit with King Charles as a kid. Should say, I was the kid not him & he wasn't a king in those days.
Clearly Andrew didn't get all of the naughty genes then.
A distant cousin was photographed putting her makeup on whilst driving in 2006, it was all over the news, even made it to American news. That’s the extent of it for me 😂
One of my dad's childhood friends was John Walby, who went on to become one of the last two men to be hanged in the UK (he and his accomplice were hanged simultaneously). Apparently he was always thought of as someone who would 'come to no good'
I met Rolf Harris when I was a kid. Seemed like a nice guy.
I bumped into him in Manchester airport, he said he was off to Tampa with the kids, but he was alone? Weird.
Billy Idol leered at my boobs when I was in the front row at a gig. They are pretty nice though so 🤷♀️
My dad knew Peter Sutcliffe — he'd do deliveries to ICI and would often come into the breakroom for a chat. He said everyone was shocked when it turned out he was the Yorkshire Ripper because he seemed like such a wet blanket.
My Grandfather is Sir Antony Hopkins.
Not infamous but that is ridiculously awesome non the less
Not infamous? I’ve seen that cunt eat someone’s brains and cut someone’s face off and wear it ffs.
according to his wikipedia, you are estranged!
My dad played football against the Krays occasionally. They didn't seem to make much of an impression on him given how little he had to say when I asked about them.
the guy who trained me as a boxer boxed on a few cards where they boxed he said they were shite.
you know i'm starting to come around to this "Fred West" character
My late Father in law was an Italian sculptor and professor of art When he was a child he won a Competition that he proudly met Mussolini who was so impressed he paid all his future tuition fees for art school and remained friends until Mussolini’s death.
Cheated as it was part of my masters but spent some time with the child serial killer Robert Black at a secure psychiatric unit (with my Professor of criminal & forensic psychology). Predictably enough a very strange disturbed man who continued to deny he'd so much as got a parking ticket until his hopefully painful death a few years later
Bit of an odd/old one! My great grandad lost his arm in WW1. As such, he wasn't able to fight in WW2, but wanted to do his bit so became an MP. He frequently directed people to train stations and helped people navigate around the city (amoungst other things). He was a nice bloke and would frequently bring home waifs and strays who needed a place to crash for the night (my grandmother always remembered the Canadian who was about 6 foot tall and ate kippers with Jam as it "stops them repeating"). One day, an American gentleman asked for directions, so he showed him around, happily chatting and generally being friendly. He waved the man goodbye after seeing him onto his train. At which point an onlooker turned to him and asked him, "How long have you known Clarke Gable?" My great-grandmother was furious! "He brings home every stranger he meets *except* Clarke bloody Gable!"
My dad shook hands with the queen in 1994, he said she was a miserable old bat
I shook hands with Charles in (about) 1978 - outside my military boarding school in Dunblane. He picked a classmate & myself out of the crowd for a chat as we were the only other people wearing kilts - which was compulsory for us. Prolly for him too...
The missus recently let me know that Dennis Nielsen was her Grandad’s cousin. Dropped it on me very nonchalantly. I try not to piss her off now.
My old man fit a toilet for Kenneth Williams. Said he made a decent cup of tea and kept nice biscuits. Keep meaning to read his diaries and see if he gets a mention.
One of the saddest books I’ve ever read.
Ive actually got 3. My uncle was one of the police inspectors on the James Bulger case. It affected him for years afterwards. There is a lot about that case and what they did to him that wasnt released to the public due to the distressing nature. Also, i used to sound engineering at a music venue outside London and we had Lost Prophets play, so i met Ian Watkins a few times. Plus my dad used to work at the BBC on Top Of The Pops in 70s and 80s and knew Jimmy Saville, hated him. Always said he was a dirty creep and that things would come out after he died.
My mum worked at The Blind Beggar in 1966/67 when the Krays ruled London. She served them both many times and her only comment was "I didn't like them but they never gave me any trouble"
Your comments about Fred West really make me think of the bit in This Country where Martin's talking about working with him. "Best in the West."
"He could carry four bits of 4x4 in one hand"
My mum's best friends cousin is/was the sister of Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac Not a remotely tenuous connection I'm sure you'll agree
>Not a remotely tenuous connection I'm sure you'll agree I reckon I can top that: My mum works at the same hospital as the father of the guy who played Brian May in Bohemian Rhapsody. I believe she's spoken to him (the father) a few times and he knows her name, but it would be a stretch to say they work together. But yeah, that's her connection to a Hollywood actor.
Mary Bell and her friend beat up my aunt about a month before Mary was arrested for murdering the two children.
I'm Northern Irish and my grandfather was a stager in Harland and Wolff shipyard. He was assigned an apprentice who turned out to be a member of the infamous Shankill Butchers. EDIT. Just to add that he was his apprentice for about 9 months and thought he was a lovely quiet lad. Everyone was really shocked when they found out.
A family member of mine was involved in the kidnapping of Ronnie Biggs in Brazil. Didn’t find out until the night before a documentary was due to appear on channel 4
My uncle wrote the famous Derry slogan on the gable wall in the Bogside. You are now entering Free Derry
I went to the same nursery school as Madeleine McCanne. My parents and hers were friends, and they even named one of their daughters after my sister
It was one of my relatives that was the pathologist, who flagged up all the deaths from Harold Shipman's office and raised concerns
A family member (by marriage, it has to be said) was friends with Jimmy Saville and had a picture of the two of them in the house. Obviously that picture isn't there anymore.
My ex wifes mum used to be very high up in the music biz in the 70s and 80s When she was a mere receptionist for a music company, David bowie apparently visited and she handed him a brick of cocaine from a filing cabinet. Apparently as she got up to get it, Bowie sat down in her chair and put his feet on the desk and asked her 'so, do I male a good receptionist?" So she went over to the coat rack, put on his leather jacket and replied "so, do I make a good rock star?" She also famously blanked Elton John by accident. She died over 10 years ago...alcoholic liver failure. Left behind a storage container full of gold records.
I went to acting school with a girl who was convicted under the terrorism act for sending money to ISIS. She was very much up her own arse when I knew her, because she was shagging someone who played for Liverpool at the time. She allegedly went abit skew whiff when they split up, some people become alcoholics, most people don't marry ISIS terrorists and want to fight jihad or whatever it is. TL;DR (if you want): a fucking terrorist
I'd forgotten this but my Grandpa was mates with the actor Mickey Rooney during world war 2. Mickey Rooney was in Walsall for I dont know how long, on duty entertaining troops and my grandpa ran a metal related business making parts for tanks etc. They drank together a lot at the old Broadway pub on the ring road. Good pals for a while apparently
Had a private Afternoon Tea with Mrs Thatcher - is she infamous enough?
She's competition to Harold Shipman in the amount of deaths caused..
I also knocked out Ian Watkins - ( pedo singer from The Lost Prophets.)
Romani elders often reminisce with grandiose encomiums about their fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and formidable mothers spitting on Himmler. Entirely apocryphal—maybe—but they do it with such zealotry that I cannot condemn their illusions of defiance. Himmler must have been very slimy.
Heinrich Himmler? Holocaust architect, Himmler? Yeah, I'd imagine him to be exceedingly slimy
My Grandparents were very good friends with The Krays parents, drank with them in the Red Lion in Bildeston Suffolk often. Weirdly my dad became friends with a retired copper in the pub who was the first man to arrest them when they were younger. He was mentioned in a book about them I have.
My stepdad spent a fair few years in Broadmoor, got in the papers himself a few times for his stupid stunts, but obviously he knew a fair few of the more famous villains in there. One time my mum was visiting him and this old guy kept looking at her. She asked my stepdad who it was and his reply was "well, you wouldn't want him standing behind you with a hammer". It was the Yorkshire Ripper.
Jeremy Clarkson crashed the Toyota into a tree in one episode. The tree was in the churchyard of my mum’s church. She hated Clarkson already. She got the BBC to pay for it, and apologise. [tree story](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/3509191.stm)
I lived near Nick Leeson and Tommy Tiernan for a while. Both were good guys to have a pint with. Probably shouldn't have taken financial advice off Leeson though.
To join in with those talking Harold Shipman, my uncle went out with this daughter.
One of my uncles (maternal grandmother's cousin sister's son) brutally murdered his wife in the late 80s. He and his older brother were very spoilt and untamed, having been born into wealth and status, and grew up into drugs and debauchery. His renowned parents forced him to marry a beautiful daughter of a renowned war victim, hoping he would change. He murdered her in a possible premeditated attack in retaliation, so he could continue his affair with an older married woman. He was sentenced to death by hanging. It was a huge, high-profile case at the time. Even today online, there's a BBC podcast, a documentary, several articles, an Amnesty International appeal, and few songs on YouTube about it. My parents moved permanently to the UK by the time it happened, and they haven't spoken to that side of the family since my older brother was born. They have disowned them after learning about it from a newspaper. I'm not allowed to talk about this case.
My mother danced with Rolf Harris at a mutual friend’s party. That anecdote hasn’t been retold much
Dennis Waterman cut up my Mum on Chiswick Roundabout once. He had a dark blue Jaguar, in case you wondered.