liadnan

I am having a brief Reggie Perrin moment. I fancy just walking out the door and going to Cairo to sell carpets in the Old Bazaar there, if only because there's a song about it.

Actually Istanbul would be more to my liking... (replace song with "Istanbul not Constantinopole... why did Constantinopole get the Works/That's Nobody's Business But The Turks..." well given the answer is "as part of the de-Hellenisation of the region post 1922" some might think the Greeks have a view but I digress...)

Sorry. Ignore me: this happens from time to time. To save me the tremendous effort of googling, what was the name of the UK MP who faked his own death?

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From:

hano.livejournal.com

His name was John Stonehouse and iirc he was the Postmaster General. I'm a bit vague on the details but he was discovered in Austrailia a few years after his 'death' and may well have been prosecuted for fraud. He only died a few years ago.

From:

hano.livejournal.com

Ah, here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/14/newsid_2534000/2534073.stm) we go.
'14 Aug 1979: Disgraced ex-MP released from jail
John Stonehouse, the former government minister who faked his own death, has been freed from prison.
Mr Stonehouse was led out of jail an hour before other prisoners due for release on Tuesday morning.
He was allowed to leave earlier on health grounds as he is still recovering from open heart surgery and has had three heart attacks during his time in prison.
Mr Stonehouse was released on bail after serving three years of a seven-year term for theft, fraud and deception.
The charges related to a string of failed fraudulent businesses set up by the ex-Walsall MP before his disappearance in 1974.
He stood trial in 1976 after being arrested in Australia.'

From:

fairymelusine.livejournal.com

... must - resist - urge - to - sing ...

that song is the ONLY one in creation where my name can easily be slipped in ... when i'm in an excessively silly mood, I sing of Kirstentinople ...