Reply to: Rolf harris

[NotAllThere]

The letter that was publicised was addressed to a man and doesn't mention a 'K' - or if it does, it was redacted.
Was it another letter?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...victims-father

Different letter.

[PerfectStorm]

One of my friends met Rolf a few years ago. He told this story:

his eventual conviction was based upon a letter of apology he wrote to a lady called K who had once lived in his garden with his daughter

The letter that was publicised was addressed to a man and doesn't mention a 'K' - or if it does, it was redacted.
Was it another letter?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...victims-father

[xoggoth]

Are they sure he's dead? Passed a bloke who looked a lot like him in the supermarket today.

[NotAllThere]

One of my friends met Rolf a few years ago. He told this story:

Rolf Harris died a few weeks back.
An Australian entertainer, and artist.

I recall an incident in the early 1980s
.
A Yugoslavian Au Pair; T, worked for an Arab family next door to Rolf's home and while the family was in Oz for 6 weeks she was asked to leave her employment without any notice.
.
Rolf's daughter Bhindi lived in a hut in the garden with her friend K, and this friend let T stay in Rolf's garden.
.
Rolf's place was a few miles up the road in Bray where his garden backs onto the River Thames
.
T called me up and asked if I would come down to this address and play a trick on the lady she was staying with by dressing up as a policeman
.
I was shocked !
.
I told T that my uniform was not a joke.
When I wear it I represent the Crown
It embraces the general respect of the public through continual professionalism by rank-and-file officers across the country.
What you are suggesting is unbecoming
.
T said; "oh go on"
I replied; "alright then, what's that address again?"
.
... within an hour I was in police uniform holding a clipboard and knocking on the door of a portacabin in the garden of Rolf Harris
.
The lady in question (I shall call her K) was shocked to see me and asked what was the reason for my visit
.
I just asked her if there was a T living there and I glanced at my clipboard as I said her name, I tried to come across as officious
.
K said T was inside and after asking permission to enter I stood before T.
T was suppressing a giggle which K thought was the wine and tried to impress on T that this was serious
.
I asked a succession of questions,
Name
Nationality
I reminded her as an Alien she is registered with the police as living next door, yet I find you living here in a garden hut... etc
.
K bravely defended T, saying the Arab neighbour was a male chauvinist pig who had thrown T out onto the streets without notice because she dared to speak back to him.
.
I told K to be quiet or I'll arrest her for harbouring an illegal alien
K shouted back that she doesn't care
.
T dropped to her knees and because she is a lot shorter than me (see photo), her head was now at the level of my groin (all improv, no pre-planning)?
... she wrapped her arms around my waist and pleaded to not be sent away with a muffled;
"I'll do anything"
.
A horrified K screamed;
"T... NO"
.
After this, we both came clean and grinned at her
... K needed a second before the penny dropped
.
I got another invite a month later, Rolf and family were back in Bray.
.
I said hello to Rolf in passing he was busy giggling to himself in the living room as he played with a video recorder and making preliminary sketches of Tom and Jerry for his Cartoon Show on the BBC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf_Harris_Cartoon_Time
Rolf's wife was courteous and charming and a really great artist, I mistakenly thought the art in their home was all down to Rolf.
.
I sat with the daughter Bindi outside (also with K and T, we were all roughly the same age, between 19 to 22) and I got a vibe that she was a struggling artist in her own right but unable to gain respect because others saw her as nothing more than Rolf's daughter
.. or at least that was how I interpreted this expression of respect for her father while holding some reservations
.
Decades would pass before learning that several women accused Rolf of sexual misconduct and his eventual conviction was based upon a letter of apology he wrote to a lady called K who had once lived in his garden with his daughter
.
Thinking back I may have incorrectly interpreted Bindi's expression and I say this as I read up on her more recent press reports of her conflicted feelings
.
My condolences are to K for what is hopefully closure and to the Harris family as they come to terms and move on.

[vetran]

Ok, I admit it, he was my dad.

Didn't know he was THAT old!

[vetran]

Based on what? When you look at leaders of parties like BNP, etc, they seem to have been hateful long before they got in the public eye.

People loved Jezzer the Anti Semitic and One cannot say a word against Saint Diane of the Abbot who has some very weird views. Thatcher got Cyril a knighthood. SNP & Alba have some unpleasant plans to review MAPs.

they are all pretty odd. At least you know the BNP are horrid.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Once you can fake sincerity you've got it made.

[GJABS]

That's the entire point about being a groomer/pedo - you have to get people to think you are nice so your victims aren't believed.

Very true.
Even now, despite knowing that he was guilty of this disgusting conduct, I still feel a certain affection for him, or rather the image of the "him" that he projected. I must be a bad judge of character.
How does someone project an image of integrity as he did? Either it is a skill that he learned, or alternatively that in his own mind he was doing nothing unethical, and therefore he didn't have to act a part.

[xoggoth]

Ok, I admit it, he was my dad.

[d000hg]

You never really know what people are like behind the scenes. In his earlier days, before his public speeches, you could probably have had a chat over a cup of tea with Adolph and think he seemed a nice bloke.

Based on what? When you look at leaders of parties like BNP, etc, they seem to have been hateful long before they got in the public eye.

[xoggoth]

Ah Red Dwarf. What would we do without Google?

[NotAllThere]

You never really know what people are like behind the scenes. In his earlier days, before his public speeches, you could probably have had a chat over a cup of tea with Adolph and think he seemed a nice bloke.

Not to say there aren't false accusations at times. Was dubious about the whole Michael Jackson thing.

I think they're our favourite hosts. If you don't count the Hitlers. Providing you avoid talking politics, they're an absolute hoot. ... We don't talk about his work. We just have a few laughs, play canasta, and enjoy the odd game of mixed doubles with the Goerings.

[vetran]

You never really know what people are like behind the scenes. In his earlier days, before his public speeches, you could probably have had a chat over a cup of tea with Adolph and think he seemed a nice bloke.

Not to say there aren't false accusations at times. Was dubious about the whole Michael Jackson thing.

Michael Jackson seemed more damaged than evil.

[xoggoth]

That's the entire point about being a groomer/pedo - you have to get people to think you are nice so your victims aren't believed plus you need to ensure they don't talk to one another.

Anyway loads of people in the public eye are a nightmare in various ways.

You never really know what people are like behind the scenes. In his earlier days, before his public speeches, you could probably have had a chat over a cup of tea with Adolph and think he seemed a nice bloke.

Not to say there aren't false accusations at times. Was dubious about the whole Michael Jackson thing.

[NotAllThere]

What point are you trying to make?

None at all. Just quoting the headlines. What point did you think I was trying to make?

Apparently Michael Palin is quite decent. There's a Palin scale of niceness. Michael at one end and Sarah at the other.