Aero Leather Clothing trial update

[Big J]

Yeah. Fascinating people. Possibly glamourous in a certain way, but very definitely not folks you'd want to cross, or even be around. I've met some very charming poeple in my time who I suspect were also paramilitary murderers back in the old country. Even the devil loves his own, an aw that. Wrapped in the contemptible flag of one patriotism or another, but ultimately no different than any other orangised crime gang. I have no time for dispalys of self-righteous chest-beating, but equally I found it pretty sickening when pointless airheads like Barbara Windsor used to take up the Krays as a celebrity cause.

Cornell... Nasty piece of work, worked as an enforcer for the Richardsons. Their big thing was drugs; the Krays were a low-level protection racket by contrast. Cornell was a very nasty piece of work.... and also stupid enough to shoot his mouth off round the East End, calling Ronnie Kray a "fat ****". (Ronnie was strangely ahead of his time with regards to being entirely comfortable with his ***uality, and unashamed of it, but he was also a very manly man type who took great offence at being called effeminate, or, indeed, disrespected in any way.) I'd never condone what Kray did, obviously, but it's hard to mourn lowlife like Cornell all the same. Jack McVitie - called "the Hat" because this vain little man (metaphorically speaking - he was six two phyisically) always kept his hat on indoors, the better to hide his bald spot - was much the same. He once threw a woman with whom he was having a relationship from a moving car because she commented on his baldness. She broke her back. Some have claimed she was pregnant at the time. So, yeah. Ronnie and Reggie were nasty people, and deserved to go to prison for murdering some other people, who were themselves pretty nasty.

They say crime doesn't pay..... I don't know about that, but certainly had the Krays gone legit when the casinos were legalised, and kept their noses clean, they'd have been fine. Earlier than that, Reggie showed promise as a boxer (Ronnie always flew off the handle too easily to have the mental control a rewal champion needs), but that was done for when they got in trouble with the law early on, while AWOL from national service. Ronnie, however, was in love with playing at being Al Capone, and Reggie would never cross him. The most interesting element of Ronnie Kray's character is his mental illness; a lot of his obsessions and violence was certainly exacerbated by undianosed problems - he was probably bipolar, and quite possibly skitzophrenic too. Quite possibly this contributed to the lack of self control that was his ultimate undoing.

I have little real sympathy for Cornell and McVitie. Those I pity were the shop owners and others leaned on for protection money, groceries for which they were never paid, and such. The 1990 film, The Krays had its flaws, but it was certainly accurate as to the type of people involved. I'm interested to see two new films due out soon; one starring Tom Hardy as both twins, the other written by a guy who live in the East End at the time and remembers the truth of the Krays, filmed on a low budget, on location in the East end. I hope they at least get the Begger right this time - the 1990 version looked nothing whatsoever like the real thing! A lot like Dillnger, ultimately, the Krays: easy to paint as Robin Hood, folk hero types unless you were the one that got hit.

Wildly off topic, but.... [huh]

Edaward, it is wildly off topic, but very interesting! Thank you!
I remember reading a book called 'Zig Zag' (IIFC) about a Brit who became a fake double-agent for British Intelligence during the war. They recruited him after his bank-robbing gang was arrested. But the thing that really caught my imagination was that his gang used to steal RR Phantoms for their 'jobs' because they were big enough to get the whole gang in. How stylish is that?
I gotta get me a black Jag...

 

[Two Types]

Yeah. Fascinating people. Possibly glamourous in a certain way, but very definitely not folks you'd want to cross, or even be around. Wildly off topic, but.... [huh]

I've known two blokes who were associated with the Krays: one as an employee in a legitimate role, the other as a fellow villain who had 'business dealings with them. The first was relatively positive in that he said they knew he was straight and, as such, they kept any dodgy stuff away from him. The second chap had a completely opposite take on them: He tried to trade some 'merchandise' with them and they just refused to pay, leaving him no choice but to get out whilst he could (who was he going to complain to?). He hated them for failing to observe the old cliche of 'honour among thieves'.

 

[Bunyip]

L

I've known two blokes who were associated with the Krays: one as an employee in a legitimate role, the other as a fellow villain who had 'business dealings with them. The first was relatively positive in that he said they knew he was straight and, as such, they kept any dodgy stuff away from him. The second chap had a completely opposite take on them: He tried to trade some 'merchandise' with them and they just refused to pay, leaving him no choice but to get out whilst he could (who was he going to complain to?). He hated them for failing to observe the old cliche of 'honour among thieves'.

Very similar to the Outlaw Biker scene here. Everyone's ripping everyone off, best to avoid them full stop. It gets pretty grim pretty quick.

 

[AdeeC]

I have known some of these types which include some of my relatives. Keep it social, avoid business at all costs and don't ask or accept favours.

 

[IXL]

There is no "honor among thieves."

 

[tonypaj]

This whole thread brings to mind Bob Marley and "Judge Not", the lyrics in that song. The judges in the legal system have had their say. I prefer to leave it there.

 

[Sloan1874]

Actually, it was the jury that had its say. The sheriff gets his next Friday...

 

[tonypaj]

Actually, it was the jury that had its say. The sheriff gets his next Friday...

OK, the legal system has passed its verdict, the punishment to come. I will still leave it there and listen to Bob Marley...

 

[Big J]

OK, the legal system has passed its verdict, the punishment to come. I will still leave it there and listen to Bob Marley...

'Judge not' as in 'lest ye also be judged?'

Well, I never stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from my employer, so I'll be as opinionated on the matter of #Will_Lauder_of_Alexander_Leathers_is_convicted_of_crimes_against_Aero_Leather

as I like

 

[Sloan1874]

Excellent point, well presented. lol

 

[hidetanner]

[QUhowhOTE=Sloan1874;1945884]Actually, it was the jury that had its say. The sheriff gets his next Friday...[/QUOTE]

 

[hidetanner]

[Qhow does slone no the calders UOTE=pawineguy;1943970]It's so hard to say. Were they afraid of KC coming back because WL had poisoned them with lies about him? Was KC a demanding boss that they didn't like? Remember also that KC re-staffed his company with people who had left Aero because they couldn't work with WL. As Fanch notes, a mess all around.[/QUOTE]

 

[Sloan1874]

I happened to be in the factory interviewing Ken for a feature the day the police were in taking statements. Actually, I had been led to believe initially that Will was the head honcho... by Will of course. I had met him a month earlier, during which he'd described Ken as his "business partner".

 

[hidetanner]

You must have now in him before then

I happened to be in the factory interviewing Ken for a feature the day the police were in taking statements. Actually, I had been led to believe initially that Will was the head honcho... by Will of course. I had met him a month earlier, during which he'd described Ken as his "business partner".

 

[Sloan1874]

Must I? Why do you think that? My first point of contact with Aero was Will, and he had been interested in doing an article about Aero. To my surprise, when I came back to him to arrange a time to chat, he had gone and Ken had returned. He was happy to do an interview about Aero and his life, even though on the day we met the police were in the building, which made for an interesting backdrop.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/interview-ken-calder-on-his-aero-empire-1-2671629

 

[nick123]

We need to get Daniel Craig here on the FL. I bet he lurks.

 

[Sloan1874]

Apparently, he's very attached to his Highwayman.

 

[thor]

If Craig's Highwayman turned out to be storse, he'd go all 007 on the culprit!

 

[Big J]

Never mind the best 007 in years, Daniel Craig, is a fan of Aero Leather, I wanna see Sloan confess!

Admit it Sloan, you aren't a journalist who interviewed Aero during a police raid, and since you were a customer, you had an interest in the trial which you covered professionally!

There never was any trial!
The whole thing is an evil trick to spoil the good name of Will Lauder. Infact, I bet Alexander Leathers doesn't even exist either!
Wait!
I bet Sloan doesn't even exist! The whole thing is just an evil smear campaign without any motivation or purpose!

Hidetanner, are you with me?! LOL

....or everything Sloan said is true. Which one makes more sense Hidetanner?

 

[DJH]

Oh, never mind.