Saturday, March 27, 2010

Remembering the inspirational Jill Dando


Many years ago, in 1999 Jill Dando, a beautiful news presenter was shot on her front doorstep. With the anniversary of her death approaching, I'd like to dedicate this post to a remarkable woman.

Above: The article in people discusses her life.




This website which you can view here discusses this continuing story.

Jill Dando
1961 - 1999


"Just because I've got blonde hair and haven't been to Bosnia doesn't mean I'm a bimbo. I am still a serious journalist."

Jill was 37 years old, and was famous for hosting shows for the BBC including "Holiday," a travel show, and "Crimewatch U.K.," a crime solving show along the lines of America’s Most Wanted. She was also murdered on her doorstep, thus her appearance here. She was engaged to marry Alan Farthing, a gyno. Someone once quipped, "Jill Dando was so modest, she had to marry her gynecologist." She didn’t quite make it to the altar, unfortunately. These are her final movements.

On the morning of April 26, 1999, she left her boyfriend Alan Farthing’s house in Chiswick, in her blue convertible BMW. They were going to be married the following September. She was wearing a beige calf length raincoat (always prepared) over a red jacket. She wore black trousers and boots. She was heading back to her own home in Fulham, which had recently been sold. She was more or less living with her fiancĂ©, and only returned home occasionally to pick up the mail that was delivered.

On the way, she stopped at the BP station in Great West Road for a fill up. After that, she headed to the Kings Mall shopping center in Hammersmith. She popped in to Dixon’s, to pick up a cartridge for a fax machine she kept in her home. She was captured on the security camera at 10:55. Staff at the shop said, "She came in looking for a toner cartridge for a fax but we had run out. (Big surprise.)" Little did Jill know that she would be dead within an hour. Dixon’s staff suggested she head across the road to Ryman’s office supplies. I also read a report that she bought fax paper there as well, so I called Ryman’s, and they confirmed that Jill did indeed scamper across the road and bought fax paper there. God knows if she ever got that cartridge, and knowing Dixon’s, she never would. Jill then got in her car and drove to the local fish market.

She slammed a fiver on the counter of Copes Seafood Company in Fulham Road, and snarled, "Gimme some fish." Kidding. Lovely Jill would never be that vulgar. She wanted two fillets of Dover Sole please and thank you very much. She grabbed her fish, and headed home. It was 11:26am.

She got to her house on Gowan Avenue, and parked her car. She sauntered up to the door of number 29. She was at the front door and about to open it when the killer grabbed her by the forearm so hard, that she was badly bruised. As she screamed, he took out a Browning 9mm semi-automatic pistol and shot her just behind her ear.

The bullet that was used had six tiny scratches in the shell casing

At 11:35, witnesses said that they saw a man running from Jill’s house. The police were called at 11:43am, and Jill was taken to Charing Cross Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:02pm.

There are a billion theories given about who the killer is. Some say they saw a sweaty man walking briskly to the nearest bus stop. Others claim they saw a man in a blue Range Roger parked near the house from 10 that morning. Another was that a criminal featured on Crimewatch was out for revenge. Police covered the crime scene with a tent, and the investigation began.

Jill’s body was in cold storage for almost 4 weeks, and eventually she was shipped back to her hometown of Weston Super-Mare, for burial. At 3 in the afternoon on May 21st, her flower draped mahogany casket was carried in to the Clarence Park Church while the hymn Safe In The Arms Of Jesus was played by the organist. Inside the church, there were 100 mourners including her fiancĂ©, her brother and her elderly father. The guest list for the funeral was taken directly from Jill’s own wedding list, found in her Filofax. Sir Cliff Richard and Sophie Rhys-Jones were amongst the guests.

Jill was then loaded into the hearse again, and taken to the Ebdon Road Cemetery, to be buried with her mother.

The investigation continued for over a year, with no real success. Just after the one-year anniversary, Scotland Yard announced that they arrested a man in relation to Jill’s murder. They kept him for a weekend, and finally charged him. This matter isn’t finished yet, and personally it all sounds a bit fishy to me. This guy came out of nowhere, and just when the police were getting criticized for not having any strong leads, blammo – they found a crazy person that was obsessed with Freddie Mercury. He even changed his name legally to Barry Bulsara, Freddie’s birth surname. He lived in Crookham Road; a lovely tree lined street only about 800 yards for Jill Dando’s home.


As of today, November 2, 2000, the trial has yet to begin.

UPDATE February 2003, from Findadeath friend Tony Williams:

Found guilty July 2.

Some firearms residue from the gun used to kill Miss Dando was discovered in his coat pocket and a strand of fiber that matched his trousers was found at the scene of the crime.

George, a convicted sex offender who had a history of psychological problems, had an obsession with guns and celebrities, the Old Bailey had heard.

Jill Dando's killer was obsessed with the Princess of Wales - and experts believe that after her death he switched his deadly fixation to Jill Dando, a woman whose blonde good looks were similar to Diana's.

Barry George was once arrested in combat gear outside the London home of the Princess, carrying a length of rope and with a knife in his belt.

Detectives on the case also found out he had tried to create a false alibi by telling staff at a charity and a local taxi firm about his movements on the day in question.

Update November 2008

New Findadeath friend Lisa-Marie (amongst many other very nice findadeath friends) sent us the news that Barry Bulsara has indeed been released in August of 2008. The Old Bailey (criminal court) has decided that he did NOT murder Miss Dando, and he will live the rest of his free life in luxury when he gets compensated for this spectacular screw up.






Sunday, March 21, 2010

Tea Lounge Menu

Today, I created a menu for my thesis tea lounge. I looked at examples from 'The Ritz' in London, among others and opted for the extreme golden hues. It is still being edited and proofread by a barrage of instructors, mentors and close friends, however I thought I'd share my design for you to peruse over.
The main concept words were 'elegant, timeless, sophistocated and yet simple enough to read'.

Enjoy!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Relaxing after a whirlwind past few weeks

Good evening everyone. I am enjoying a day of relaxation, after what has been a whirlwind past few weeks. Actually as I was perched on the edge of my seat while on the phone with my mom, I said to her;

“I cannot even remember the last time I had a day to myself”.

I have been awaking diligently going to classes, volunteering, attending events, babysitting and interning all day-every day for this past month. So, I’m delighted I could take this day to myself, and hope to encourage readers also to once in awhile decide to do the same.

"At my side is my newly adopted cat Milly. She is
an adorable white tabby with a perfect pink nose. I enjoy her calm nature and
company when she joins me on the couch after a busy day."

I have also had several dates with a charming guy. We met for the first time on February 27th, a crisp Saturday evening for dinner at PF Chang’s at Bridgeport Village. It was an instant connection as I walked toward him, so much so we flirted the entire night. After dinner he drove me to 23rd Avenue, in downtown Portland for drinks at Bar Mingo, a cocktail later and I decided to return home.
The following day, for our second date, we were supposed to meet for a walk along the South Waterfront, except I had just adopted Milly, and so instead he came to see my cat, and we dined at a Linn City Pub, which afterwards we decided to embark on a walk through the Mary S. Young park. We walked down to the river, and sat still on a broken tree stump, watching the ‘still’ of the night. Geez, just like in the movies.

For our third date on March 4th, after a spending my day interning, he came over to my place to cook shanghai chicken for me, we shared a nice bottle of wine and chatted long into the night. It was that night; we decide our next date would be a complete surprise to me.

Surprise, on the Saturday, he took me to the Pittock Mansion. It is a beautiful estate with meandering walks and panoramic views of the city, afterwards we decided on trying a new restaurant called Arabian Nights. We sat on the floor and shared two entrees, while sipping some divine sage tea. In our pictures, don’t we look adorable?

















When we decided to do Sunday as well, we cooked lunch together, then watched a chick flick, ‘The Ugly Truth’ I did however fall asleep, while watching the movie, so afterwards I treated him to lattes, and a trip to World Market, where we could shop for one of a kind items.

Unfortunately, the proceeding week I was tired after finals, so when I greeted him in my untidy sweatshirt and jeans, while yawning he must have had a shock, as it was a completely different side to me, one he hadn’t seen before. We bought ingredients for pizza, which he made despite me wanting to help, and so I realized, being tired, and short is not ideal for a ‘date night’.

"So what do we will do next, we’ll see. But
fortunately, with my Spring Break, I can finally catch up with things I’ve meant
to do for awhile."

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