WEIRDO, MOSHER, FREEK


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Hey there Earthlings, Alternatives and Trollers. Put down that mouse and lend an ear. Welcome to The Bandersnatch blog where we talk weird, wacky and wondrous. I'm Mama Ogre and I have no idea what I'm doing.

As you should know Tuesdays is book blog day were we talk about one particular book and pretty much run with it. Today's blog is on the book Weirdo, Mosher, Freak by Catherine Smyth .
Sophie Lancaster was murdered because she was dressed differently to her teenage attackers. In a brutal assault in a Bacup Park in Lancashire in 2007 her boyfriend, Rob Maltby,was also kicked and punched senseless. This is an exclusive insight into the crime by the first journalist on the scene Catherine Smyth. A mother too, her book provides a documentary of what happened from a media and a parent perspective. It details the attack, facts about the town where it happened, the court case and mass media interest and the launch of the Sophie Lancaster foundation. It also uncovers some anomalies. The police admitted initially attending the wrong park. The ambulance service has yet to explain why it took 14 minutes for first paramedics to reach the scene just a mile away.

  • Weirdo, Mosher, Freak Goodreads page.

The book is based on the 2007 Murder of Sophie Lancaster. On August 11th 2007 Sophie and her boyfriend Robert Maltby were jumped by a group of teenage boys in Stubbylee park in Bacup, Rossendale. Both Sophie and Rob were taken to hospital where Sophie having gone into a coma, eventually died of her injuries 14 days later. Robert survived the attack but not without some serious physical and mental issues. The five individuals tied to the attack Brendan Harris, Ryan Herbert, brothers Joseph and Danny Hulme and Daniel Mallett were arrested and by September 6th 2007 the five were charged with murder at Burnley youth Court. By 27th March 2008 after a extensive trial, of the original five Brendan Harris and Ryan Herbert were jailed for murder, Harris for eighteen years and Herbert for sixteen. The other three the Hulme brothers and Mallett were also jailed having pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm, the Hulme brothers were jailed for five years and Mallett for four. The police believe that the attack may have been due to both Sophie and Robert being part of the Goth subculture.

I bought the book when I was at the 2012 October WGW, like most of if not everyone at that event I had heard about Sophie Lancaster and her murder. The Sophie Lancaster Foundation had a stall in the main building being used and as such I went to have a look. I not only bought the book I bought a lanyard and two rubber bracelets. (the lanyard broke a few years later due to my stupidity). Since the Author Catherine Smyth was rather close to the family the book follows what happened after the attack and the trial heading into the building of the Sophie Lancaster foundation rather closely. I highly recommend all teenagers and adults read it and everyone visits the Sophie Lancaster foundation website (Link in the bibliography down below) I give the book a 10/10.

Catherine Smyth was originally a professional journalist and had worked on both daily and weekly newspapers since 1988, in 2009 she opted for redundancy and became self-employed using her writing skills and experience of working in busy news rooms to create a bespoke business. The profits of the book is split three ways, a third goes to the publishers, a third goes to the author and a third goes to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. If the book is purchased through the authors website all profits go to the foundation.

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WEBSITE BIBLIOGRAPHY:






And there you have it a decent book for those who love to read So we'll be leaving this here for today please leave a comment, share with others if you want or not, Don't forget We HAVE PATREON! please consider becoming a Patreon today. Friday is random blog day and remember keep it sensible in the comments all abuse will be tracked and reported to the appropriate people.

THIS IS THE BANDERSNATCH, I'M MAMA OGRE AND REMEMBER STAY WEIRD, STAY WACKY, STAY WONDEROUS AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON...

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