Strange Stories UK

What is the largest fish caught in British freshwaters and are they dangerous? This episode is about a huge creature that lived in Martin Mere that was said to feed on swans! Some of the podcast is rather silly but all of it true. There is a Slightly boring opening about geological features, folklore and drainage systems, this lasts about five minutes, so maybe skip that part. As usual please be warned this is a lo fi production by someone that often stumbles over words and records in one take without any editing. CFZ have a facebook site

This case was committed in Boscombe, part of Bournemouth during August 2023. The case has come to Winchester Crown Court this month, starting on April 11, it is expected to finish in late May, more likely early June 2024. I am not sure how to describe the case in a line or two. A gregarious extrovert couple with addiction and mental health problems commit an atrocious act. The trial is live, so please follow it in the media. I dont think I will post another podcast on this case unless there is something to justify another podcast. I intend to post a couple of lighter podcasts, non murder cases. Perhaps a paranormal podcast, Also a podcast about the Beatles and John Lennon, I am aware that I have not posted a cryptozoology podcast for some time.

Confrontations and Closing Speeches. This is the fifth podcast on the Constance Marten and Mark Gordon trial. This one concentrates on the last month of the trial which only sat for a few days. The trial has again been delayed halfway through the Judge's summing up speech. I don't think that there will be a verdict until around 29 April 2024. The Strange Stories podcast is not a corporate podcast, there are other podcasts being made on the case, it is recorded in one take, without any editing but attempts to be rich in detail. I am assuming anyone listening to this podcast has a good knowledge of the case, otherwise please listen to previous episodes.

Please be aware, this podcast is recorded in one take without editing. This is a case that was heard at Winchester Crown Court between January 2024 and March 2024.

I am posting this before the retrial of the Nicholas Billingham / Fiona Beal case which is due to be heard at the Old Bailey in the late Spring of 2024. This is a retrial of a case abandoned during June 2023 for no apparent reason. I am giving the background to the original trial. It is told in one take without editing. I will post another podcast when the case finishes probably at the end of June 2024.

A Famous murder of its time in 1964, almost forgotten today. The case was famous for its forensic breakthrough. Recorded as usual in one take without editing.

This is the fourth podcast of what is proving to be an extraordinary case. I was expecting this to be a one podcast case.T his podcast concentrates on the events of week 7 of this case being heard in Court 5 of the Old Bailey in London. This is being posted before the expected start of week 8 on March 25 2024.

Recorded in lo fi without editing. I don't think you would have heard of this story from Portsmouth, UK in March 1973.

I am posting this podcast after week 6 of the trial. The case is intriguing with many odd and unexplained aspects . Week 7 is about to commence with Constance Marten continuing her defence. I am wondering how the jury are going to come to a verdict on which they all agree. As usual, this podcast is posted without editing and the presentation is not of a professional standard.

This is part 2 of the Constance Marten, Mark Gordon trial at the Old Bailey. Some reflections on the first five weeks of the trial. As always the podcast is recorded in one take with no editing.

The Constance Marten and Mark Gordon trial is at present being held at the Old Bailey, it started January 2024 and is scheduled to finish on 8 March. It seems to have caused great interest and a number of podcasts have been commissioned by newspapers and the BBC. This podcast is lo-fi and is not a polished corporate effort. I have tried a different approach , concentrating on the background and events leading to the arrest of the couple in part 1. I will post a second podcast (part 2) after the trial, this will be the story of the trial. What should be noted is that Constance Marten and Mark Gordon believe that they have not done anything wrong, so it will be interesting to see how the trial plays out.

This is a short podcast about a totally senseless murder last August in the West Sussex town of Crawley. Condolences to the family of Harrison Tompkins.

Two characters with links to the Elephant and Castle area of South London. Alfred Hinds probably unjustly imprisoned in 1953 and determined to do something about it. Shirley Pitts born into poverty and determined to do something about it. Recorded in one take in lo-fi with a dog next to me.

Cleator Moor is a small town near the East Coast of Cumbria in the North of England on the Eastern edge of the Lake District a few miles away. It is an area quite isolated and probably quite dull for young people living there. 23 August 1974 there was a horrific crime committed there which seems totally forgotten now, 50 years later. Those involved seem totally forgotten.

This started as a podcast on the Bethnal Green Tube disaster in 1943. I was surprised to learn about other crowd crush disasters that I had never heard of before. I have gone into some detail on the Bethnal Green story but then give an overview on the other disasters. The last three crowd crush disasters reported on here are exclusively child death disasters, so not a podcast for everyone.

In January 2021 there was news reported that shocked the people of Brighton and Hove. Prominent and popular businesswoman Sue Addis was stabbed and killed in the bath while at home. This podcast is lofi, recorded in one take with no editing.

This is a story that has not really been told with any accuracy before. Feckless youth struggling to find an identity, wanting to prove their worth to the skinhead group they identify with. There is important information missing from police files although some interesting reports giving psychiatric reports on those involved. These events took place during Easter 1972 when a fatal stabbing by youths was a rarity. This is recorded in one take and is lo-fi and there is a disastrous attempt to include a popular skinhead anthem. Please do not listen if you are expected a professional production as this podcast reaches new lows. There is some bad language as I have told some of the story in the street talk of the time, as told by those involved.

This a shorter and quirkier podcast than usual. I read a book which moved me and I wanted to make a podcast about it. It is essentially about the life of a sparrow. I suppose most of us had a time when we tried to rescue an infant or injured bird, usually with an unhappy outcome. In this story an interesting relationship develops between a special woman and a special sparrow. I know its doomed to a low download figure, but I enjoyed making it. As per usual please be advised that it is low-fi, recorded in one take and I am not a good narrator. I will upload this pod on Christmas day.

The first haunting considered is that of Hinton Ampner, then the podcast moves onto the East Riding and West ridings of Yorkshire for further cases of supposed paranormal activity. The Podcast is recorded in one take with animals in the room. I mispronounce words and stumble over words, so apologies for that. I wish anyone reading this a Happy Christmas and all the best for 2024.

This is the first episode of Season 7. I spent a couple of weeks at Winchester Crown Court watching a few cases. There was a murder trial in Court 1, a stabbing on the Isle of Wight, there were a few Organised Crime Gangs ranging from drug smuggling to human trafficking. I found it difficult to accept the description OCG, especially when applied to a 'dodgy' roofer who worked with some other cowboy builders cheating vulnerable house owners. An Albanian gang snatching items from elderly people in deserted car parks. There were of course the usual historic sex cases and County Lines cases. Court 4 had a home grown terrorist downloaded and sharing illegal content. The podcast ends rather abruptly and I did not thank the people at Winchester Crown court, or Damselfly for the background music, or those that downloaded and listened. I have some rather quirky episodes planned, some shorter podcasts than normal that may not be to everyone's tastes. I aim to post the normal paranormal episode for Christmas.