Mandy Rice-Davies RIP

[Alain Maréchal]

An elderly lady acquaintance of mine was a Windmill Girl in her younger days. She has always maintained that Stephen Ward was framed. She and many of the girls went to him for Osteopathy, and she described him as a perfect gentleman who would never have descended to procurement. The nearest she admits is that girls might be included in parties with the possibility of being introduced to suitable men. As she points out, there is nothing surprising about that, it has always been a common way to a meal ticket, preferably involving marriage, for girls with little to offer but beauty and social ease. I can think of several highly respectable members of the upper classes who started in the chorus line, or the corps de ballet. (The lady herself married a wealthy Russian whom she adored, even when he lost the fortune and had to sell her jewels.)

[amateur51]

Good piece in today's Guardian - http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/sb-t...royal-glasgow/ - referring to the forces ranged against Stephen Ward & how MRD, although called as a witness for his prosecution, did her best to defend him.

The link is for ballet tickets, Flossie!

[Flosshilde]

Ooops

I'll amend my post.

[Karafan]

Journalist Tom Mangold made a BBC programme broadcast a few years ago in which he described being with Ward in his last evening. If anyone is going to find missing material it is the redoubtable Tom Mangold

I remember hearing the phrase "society osteopath" in connection with Ward and its context conjoured up all manner of depravity in my young mind


Later the explanation seemed impossibly mundane

MRD's famous line sums up the era so well

And you're right Ammy, 'society osteopath' is how he should be described (not to mention a talented amateur artist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBg1Wl7XH80), but perhaps not as 'manipulator of bones' (Channel 4 News yesterday) which conjures up ever more lurid images!