Sunday 15 March 2009

The heron and Princess Diana conspiracy theory




















I'm not a twitcher but I think that's a heron. Though an oddly inflated one. I often see herons when I'm cycling through the Lea Valley but they are much sleeker creatures. I spotted this specimen at Eagle Pond, Snaresbrook, yesterday. Just inside the border with Redbridge. Is it an eagle? I think not.

Eagle Pond is very close to the spot where

Barry Mannakee, a former bodyguard of Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a road crash

This fatality provides the foundation for one of the lesser Diana conspiracy theories. The driver responsible

was fined £85. Such a modest sum has, itself, fed the conspiracy rumour machine. Why was she let off so lightly?

Because lethally reckless driving is sanitized as ‘careless driving’ in our society and very lightly punished, that’s why. There was nothing remotely suspicious about the circumstances of Barry Mannakee’s death. Motorcyclists and drivers still speed along Woodford Road and impatient drivers still drive up to junctions and pull out without properly checking that the road is clear.