Does anybody believe in the Devil?

[chochokeira]

It's always been presumed that the message "I hate this place" was written/gouged/carved out by Sheila, possibly not long before it all kicked off. But what if Sheila wrote those words when she was 13, and full of angst? Or what if they were Jeremy's words? With the exception of lovely Kaldin, who doesn't judge, there can't be many of us who haven't kept a diary and said terrible things that we now regret.

If this offensive graffiti had been written years previously, Nevill would presumably have sand papered it away and stained or painted over it. If Jeremy had done this prior to the fateful night, I'm sure we would have heard about this from his cousin. I can't imagine him or anyone having time for this on the night of the murders.

[shonapugs]

Well, no, I suppose. I'm sure if June had seen it, she would have got rid of it. Ralph and June obviously loved Sheila, and thought of the boys as their own, and wanted to keep the peace. I'm not really sure where to go with this, now. I think that JB might have been the pube in the vaseline..........

[chochokeira]

There's been a right bad do, recently, concerning a lady who is in the last stages of cancer, and she's been trying to defend her smallholding against some desperate pikeys, and when the police came to investigate, they took the pikeys' side, took her guns (from the gun cabinet) and warned her to calm down. Sorry if this all sounds a bit cross, but the police force was Essex Police. And a pikey tried to steal my foal today, so now I daren't leave my house. And my local police didn't want to know. Sorry, guys. It's been a scary day.

Poor you, shona. The police here didn't want to know when my car was stolen, even though I told them who the thief was, so I know how that feels. This boy stole his girlfriend's car the same day. He uses them until they run out of petrol, I'm told, then dumps and sets fire to them before stealing another: with fuel.

[shonapugs]

This totally does my head in. The poor geezer, 4 doors down from us, was broken into so many times that he installed cameras, and there was a clear image of a fat pikey crawling into his front room to steal his keys, but the police bollocked him for owning a dangerous dog (a collie). What can we do?

[shonapugs]

Gosh, sorry, everyone. I sound like the ultimate Daily Mail reader. I suppose it's like when I look at those god-awful images of Sheila. I can't look at them and see someone who decimated the only family she ever knew, cleaned herself up, took the gun to bits, placed the bible (twice), and had another go. Could you?

[shonapugs]

If Sheila had shot herself, wouldn't her  toes be pointing upwards? Her feet were stretched down, like she'd been dragged or placed.

[chochokeira]

Well, no, I suppose. I'm sure if June had seen it, she would have got rid of it. Ralph and June obviously loved Sheila, and thought of the boys as their own, and wanted to keep the peace. I'm not really sure where to go with this, now. I think that JB might have been the pube in the vaseline..........

You seem to have a quite idyllic view of June and Nevill, shona, whereas I see them as very difficult parents. I read somewhere yesterday - in David Shaw? - that June was desperate for children, yet after she adopted Sheila, June took on two nannies to look after her. Then June became mentally ill and had to be hospitalised. June and Nevill forced Sheila and Jeremy to go to boarding school, even though they hated it. I read that Sheila said there was no love in that house.

The walls of June's house were apparently plastered with scripture readings. Sheila is said to have said that she invited God into her life in the hope it would enable her to understand June.  Colin wrote to Nevill telling him of his fear that June would do to the twins what she'd done to Sheila. It's all so tragic and sad.