To Being Completed ……
Three cheers and a huge hip hurrah for my sister! She arrived in the Philippines last week suitcase full of my important stuff I had left behind in England.
The Holy Bible that Dad bought for us all when we were kids. It must have cost a fortune then back in the day and boy! It’s heavy! Five kilograms in weight! I love that Book, not just because of the Scriptures, but also because it is replete with prints of famous Rembrandts and Reubens paintings depicting Biblical scenes.
As you are aware, from my newsletter, I have a “forthcoming book” in the pipeline. It is my story. A true story of a remarkable part of my life as an undercover detective on Operation Julie. The writing of it has been on hold for a while waiting for my sister to bring some photographs, but more importantly a daily log of my undercover activity. It is an essential aid to the completion of the book.
The B&W Photos
It was a little weird poring over the old black and white photos and the police papers that are now in my possession. The photos brought all the memories flooding back. The paper work reminded me of something I had completely forgotten about.
I started writing this book in earnest earlier this year. During that period, I did a few Google searches using the words “Operation Julie”. One search turned up a fairly recent book written by one of the conspirators jailed as a result of this massive drugs bust.
I’m sure you know that there is a facility with books on Amazon to read small snippets of it before you decide whether to buy or not. I read the part of the drug dealer’s book where he had written about me. In it he said that I had interviewed him following the busts. My reaction was one of disbelief. I had no recollection of that whatsoever. Anyway, on going through the papers that my sis had brought over from England, I found a witness statement of mine. I had interviewed him!
But I still object to what he said about me. In his book, he said I rested my long legs upon the interview room table. I never did that once in my 14 years as a police officer and anyone who knows me will tell you that sort of thing is not me at all! I know it’s only a minor thing but strange how little things can bug you especially when it’s an untruth!
Skinny Dipping
The photos reminded me what a gloriously hot summer it was in 1976 in the U.K. My undercover partner and me, were living out of the van you can see in the picture. We were in the mountains of mid-Wales. We washed in the stream every morning and ventured further up the mountain to skinny dip in a large rock pool in order to cool down. The days were often spent up there chilling and watching the kites circling overhead. The evenings were work time. Time to seek out the target drug dealers, mix with them, socialize and gather intelligence and evidence.
We spent a few months living out of that van until the winter arrived and we were forced into renting a small cottage.
The nature of the work took its toll. It’s not possible to be an effective deep undercover cop without using. Not only did the drugs take its toll, but also the amount of alcohol consumed in playing “the part.”
Take a close look at my eyes in two of the photographs. I rest my case!
You can read the rest of the story when the book is published. Soon, I hope!
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