Duncan Harley

A blast from the past about the 2007 child-murder of eleven-year old Rhys Jones inhabits the back pages of a national rag today. Penned by Carol Midgley, the odd piece includes the notion that policepersons are always heroes and should not be challenged. Be that as it may, the Jones investigators did a good job and secured 22 years-worth of convictions. Shot dead as he walked home from football, the tale of the unfortunate Rhys is indeed tragic but, as a keen fan of the likes of Interceptors and Judge Judy, one has to wonder if the reportage has much, if any, real relevance. I recall that in my far-off days in Glasgow, policemen were called hurry-hurry up men in reference to their predisposition for banging the heads of suspects against the door-frames of police-vans following Saturday evening street arrests. Additionally, in those admittedly far off days, street police-boxes – nowadays better known as Dr Who Tardis’s – came complete with a local gangster stocked bar and, on oc...

Been a windy day. Some Storm Frank or other passed overhead and blew horizontal rain all over the shire. The man in the paper-shop commented that it had all started out so well but that after he arrived at work at 6am, all hell had taken over. I assumed he was discussing the weather and made an attempt at a nod. “Yes, I hate the wind but love the rain” I told him. Not impressed he asked if I needed a receipt, to which I said “no”. The new book, of course, pounds on and I just need to add some seven thousand more words plus a good few wee edits. A chapter entitled Bravehearts  now includes the story of shop-window mannequin Helena Torry. Interviewed on the Andrew Neil Daily Politics show some years ago Helena’s political agent Renee Slater revealed that she - Renee, not the dummy - had in fact spent time in custody after being charged with electoral fraud. “I was in a police cell for around 6 hours and they wouldn’t let me out until I handed in Helena. It was a sort of priso...