Sunday 26 September 2021

Nerd Church - Of Tigers And Men: 'A Killing In Tiger Bay' and The Cardiff Five


Warning: this post discusses a murder case, and related themes such as blood and violence. 

It also discusses racism, institutional racism, miscarriages of justice, wrongful conviction, borderline torture, and police corruption. 

There are brief references to sex work and drugs.






The name Lynette White is one that’s known all over Wales.

Because of what happened to her, and what happened to five innocent men after her death.

Sadly her life is often brushed over, eclipsed by the crimes of the police officers who were supposed to investigate her murder – police officers who couldn’t even manage to spell ‘Lynette’ correctly when they told the press her name.





'Of Tigers And Men: 'A Killing In Tiger Bay' and The Cardiff Five' against a grey stone background







Lynette White, a 20 year old White woman who had been working as a sex worker in the docklands area of Cardiff, was found dead on 14th February 1988.

She had been brutally and viciously murdered.

An eye-witness had seen a White man, covered in blood, leaving the flat where Lynette’s body was found on the night she was killed.

She thought he was injured, so had asked if he was alright or if he needed help. He told her he was fine, had just hurt his hand, and said someone was coming to pick him up, so she left it there.

After Lynette was found, the eye-witness told the police what she’d seen, and described the man.




This was almost certainly Jeffrey Gafoor – Lynette’s murderer.

Modern DNA evidence proves that his blood was present at the murder scene, it was through a partial match on the DNA database that police eventually tracked him down.

Jeffrey Gafoor plead guilty to the murder of Lynette White in 2003.




...But the police arrested five men for the murder of Lynette White in November 1988, with the trial starting in 1989.

The Cardiff Five were put on trial for the murder of Lynette White, and the Cardiff Three were wrongfully convicted of her murder.

It was one of the biggest miscarriages of justice the UK has ever seen.


Friday 24 September 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Umbrellas In A Burning Building

 

'"What’s the plan?" Diego asked. 

Five rolled his eyes. "Stay out of my way."'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



Last week I brought you a The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) mission fic, this week it's the turn of The Umbrella Academy (TUA).

Even though we barely see any actual missions in the TUA series, because the Academy is more-or-less defunct by the time we properly pick up the story, mission fics are still a fave of this fandom.

Sunday 19 September 2021

Nerd Church - Climbing A Mountain To My Grandparents' Grave

 

(Warning: this post deals with themes of death, grief, and graveyards)



Climbing A Mountain To My Grandparents' Grave



I climb a mountain to my grandparents' grave.

We park the car down the street, and walk past rows of houses to the cemetery.

We enter through a gate and a set of stone steps made over a hundred years ago for people with feet as small as mine.


Friday 17 September 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Sh** Goes Down At The Mall

 

'...he’s able to slink into a shadowed Pottery Barn. He makes it past the faint light cast from the skylights in the atrium, then the pain crashes over him.'


'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



I love a good mission fic.

Especially when it's a The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) mission fic.

Especially when it's a TFATWS mission fic with much Bucky whump and lots of hurt/comfort.

And it was my birthday on Wednesday, so I get exactly what I want 😜😘


Sunday 12 September 2021

Nerd Church - Bad Luck vs Catastrophizing


Warning: this post discusses: Anxiety, intrusive thoughts, cognitive distortions, catastrophizing, knives, spiders, video game deaths, and brief references to mouse killing and car crashes


Disclaimer time:
I am not any type of mental health, psychological, scientific, or medical professional. 

I am someone with a blog and personal experience of mental health problems.





'Bad Luck vs Catastrophizing' against a sparkly background