It was on The Guardian thread after a review by Sir Andrew Motion of the book West, 24/07/10, that a commentator, ‘Melangell’ became extremely animated! (And we may say straightaway, and pin our colours to the mast, that we are completely convinced that ‘she’, ‘Melangell’, is an alias used by Jim Perrin… )
We have said before that it had never occurred to us to have a site of our own. If ‘Melangell’ (JP?) had not been so determined to ‘put us right’ at every turn or to so explicitly express Jim Perrin’s views; if she had not been so virulent in her insinuations or had not caused our first comment to be deleted, in all probability it would never have been created. We are now going to answer some of the comments that she — Jim Perrin — made.
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Some of the remarks were, plainly, silly:
‘Melangell’: ‘When I visited Jacquetta in hospital within twenty-four hours of her death, none of her family were there, Jim’s was the only photograph by her bedside.’
The reason for the latter was that our sister had no idea when she left home that day for the hospital that she would be staying — never to return, and she had taken with her only her handbag. It was Jim Perrin, later, who, brought in his own photograph; and it is certain that he would not have taken her any others!
‘Melangell’: At her funeral his were the only flowers on her coffin and he was the only person I saw weep.’
Ref. Jim Perrin: West, page 285. ‘No-one had seemed to weep for her.’
Some were overtly threatening, and with an increasing use of emphasis:
‘Melangell’: ‘Jim undertook never to write about her family though he has strong feelings on the matter.’
Ref. Jim Perrin: West, page 6. ‘The guilt of those who neglected and exploited.’
‘Melangell’: ‘… and I think was right to do so in view of the Pandora’s box this could open.’ Continue reading
