WEBVTT - Season 08 Episode 15: If We Can Sparkle 

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<v Speaker 1>Hello, it's Richard mclin smith here, not the impostor you've

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<v Speaker 1>been listening to on the podcasts, the real one. Join

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<v Speaker 1>me for Unexplained TV at YouTube dot com forward Slash

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<v Speaker 1>Unexplained pod. For almost as long as we've been able

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<v Speaker 1>to think, humanity's relationship with the night sky has been

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<v Speaker 1>filled with mystery. From astrological charts in ancient Babylonia to

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<v Speaker 1>ten thousand year old cave paintings discovered in India's Chatterscar State,

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<v Speaker 1>the idea that the stars conceal more than their appearance

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<v Speaker 1>has been at the center of human spirituality for millennia.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't until nineteen forty seven, however, that the possible

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<v Speaker 1>phenomenon of UFOs truly captured the publican imagination as a

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<v Speaker 1>coherent hypothesis. Up until then, the idea of visitors from

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<v Speaker 1>outer space was a disparate notion. Evidence was scant beyond

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<v Speaker 1>a few anecdotal cases of alleged witness testimonies that furnished

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<v Speaker 1>the pages of tabloid newspapers. After the mysterious events that

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<v Speaker 1>took place near the town of Roswell, New Mexico, in

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<v Speaker 1>that year, people began to question whether there was more

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<v Speaker 1>to the idea of aliens than really met the eye.

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<v Speaker 1>This was in part due to Cold War paranoia and

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<v Speaker 1>the subsequent fallout from what seemed very much like a

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<v Speaker 1>bungled attempt to cover up the true nature of the

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<v Speaker 1>event by the US military. What is clear is that

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<v Speaker 1>the strange events of June fourth, nineteen forty seven opened

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<v Speaker 1>the floodgates on the reporting of similar incidences over the

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<v Speaker 1>next few decades, no doubt. Amplified by the popular science

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<v Speaker 1>fiction boom of the late fifties and early sixties, writers

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<v Speaker 1>like Ursula k Legwen and Philip K. Dick, the subject

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<v Speaker 1>of this season's second episode, Desire Production, were among the

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<v Speaker 1>first authors to capitalize on this new wave. The term eupology,

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<v Speaker 1>referring to attempts within the scientific and skeptic community to

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<v Speaker 1>coordinate the study of unidentified flying objects, was coined in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty seven, and over the next decade, organizations like

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<v Speaker 1>the Mutual UFO Network or move on became hugely influential

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<v Speaker 1>in the field. With eupology now beginning to gain traction

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<v Speaker 1>as a somewhat serious pursuit for academic study, funding became

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<v Speaker 1>available for determining the veracity of any eyewitness testimonies that

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<v Speaker 1>predated nineteen forty seven. The so called Foo Fighters that

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<v Speaker 1>were supposedly cited by the US four hundhundred and fifteenth

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<v Speaker 1>Night Fighter Squadron during the Second World War were studied extensively.

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<v Speaker 1>Ghost Flyers, as they were called in North America and

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<v Speaker 1>Europe during the nineteen thirties, garnered significant attention, as well

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<v Speaker 1>as the curious mystery airships which reputedly appeared over parts

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<v Speaker 1>of Michigan in eighteen ninety seven. Despite the increased level

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<v Speaker 1>of scrutiny around contemporary cases and the back dated analysis

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<v Speaker 1>of older phenomena, some of the field's most extraordinary stories

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<v Speaker 1>still managed to fall through the cracks, and after an

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<v Speaker 1>initial wave of enthusiasm during the mid twentieth century, eupology

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<v Speaker 1>soon began to be treated as something of a pseudoscience

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<v Speaker 1>by the academic community at large. Official explanations began to

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<v Speaker 1>be taken at face value, and a general weariness took

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<v Speaker 1>hold as more cranks and hoaxes were exposed, But there

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<v Speaker 1>was still a significant number of ufologists and authors doggedly

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<v Speaker 1>willing to stake their reputations on pursuing what they saw

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<v Speaker 1>as the holy grail of truth eufologists like Bill Chalker,

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<v Speaker 1>who in the nineteen eighties uncovered what he believed to

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<v Speaker 1>be among the most bizarre and significant UFO cases in

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<v Speaker 1>Australian history. You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm Richard McLean Smith.

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<v Speaker 1>At just thirty three years old, Bill Chalker was already

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<v Speaker 1>the most well known UFO researcher in his native Australia.

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<v Speaker 1>Three years earlier, in nineteen eighty two, he'd been granted

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<v Speaker 1>unprecedented access to the government's records archive, and what he

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<v Speaker 1>reported from the interior of Canberra's Department of Defense Building

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<v Speaker 1>was truly shocking. According to Bill, he saw references to

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<v Speaker 1>a secret report from nineteen fifty four by respected nuclear

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<v Speaker 1>physicist Harry Turner, in which comparative data between the Australian

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<v Speaker 1>experience of UFOs and that of the United States showed

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<v Speaker 1>clear evidence of extraterrestrial craft. Another document from October nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy three seemed to collate reliable witness testimony from two

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<v Speaker 1>senior employees at a US communications base in Northwest Cape

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<v Speaker 1>in Western Australia. Both apparently claimed to see a circular

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<v Speaker 1>object measuring around thirty by thirty feet, flying in close

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<v Speaker 1>proximity to their post. The two men noted how their

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<v Speaker 1>experiences seemed almost to deliberately coincide with a full nuclear

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<v Speaker 1>alert that was issued to American forces within the Pacific region,

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<v Speaker 1>but more or less the precise same time. What baffled, however,

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<v Speaker 1>according to Bill, was that quote what was seen by

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<v Speaker 1>the deputy commander of the base and the fire captain

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<v Speaker 1>was way beyond any kind of aircraft, drone or whatever

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<v Speaker 1>was available to the military at that time, certainly according

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<v Speaker 1>to their lieutenant commander. Following the publication of Bill's findings,

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<v Speaker 1>first in the International UFO Reporter, then later several of

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<v Speaker 1>Australia's mainstream news outlets, the Royal Australian Air Force took

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<v Speaker 1>the bizarre and unprecedented decision to close its UFO files indefinitely.

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<v Speaker 1>It's nineteen eighty five and Bill is firmly ensconced in

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<v Speaker 1>his role as Mouffon's State representative for New South Wales

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<v Speaker 1>in Australia. Having initially studied for a degree in chemistry

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<v Speaker 1>and mathematics at the University of New England, Bill became

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<v Speaker 1>more and more fascinated by fringe areas of science. His

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<v Speaker 1>desire is to bring a more rationalist perspective to the

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes discredited fields of eupology and paranormal research, going so

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<v Speaker 1>far as to propose the influence of telluric currents low

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<v Speaker 1>frequency electrical energy weights generated by mineral rich areas of

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<v Speaker 1>the land to explain high rates of suggestibility and erratic

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<v Speaker 1>behaviours among paranormal witnesses. He brings this theory to bear

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<v Speaker 1>on several well known instances of unusual light activity in

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<v Speaker 1>more arid rural areas of Australia. He even suggests that

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<v Speaker 1>it might have something to do with the unusually high

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<v Speaker 1>number of ghost sightings and supposed paranormal phenomena experienced in

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<v Speaker 1>Australia's so called most haunted town, Kapundakapunda, established during the

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<v Speaker 1>gold rush in eighteen forty two, gained its reputation as

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<v Speaker 1>a mining town first and foremost. Bill suspects that the

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<v Speaker 1>proximity of copper and other natural resources to large reservoirs

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<v Speaker 1>of water may be responsible for generating low frequency electrical

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<v Speaker 1>currents throughout the region. What Bill cannot take his mind off, however,

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<v Speaker 1>is the letter he receives one morning at his home.

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<v Speaker 1>He is just about to put on a second pot

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<v Speaker 1>of coffee when the doorbell rings. It's the postman, with

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<v Speaker 1>a pile of packages for Bill cradled under his arm.

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<v Speaker 1>As Bill stoops from his hallway onto the verandah, he

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<v Speaker 1>notes that one of the parcels the postman is carrying

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<v Speaker 1>is not only thick, but hand addressed, it thinks Bill.

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<v Speaker 1>As Bill thanks the postman and returns to his study,

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<v Speaker 1>he takes a closer look at the hand addressed envelope.

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<v Speaker 1>It's wrinkled and faded, and postmarked from Queensland. When he

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<v Speaker 1>sits down and opens it, he finds the text is

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<v Speaker 1>written neatly in a small and even hand. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>letter covering nearly ten a four pages front and back,

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<v Speaker 1>and as Bill begins to read it, he puts the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of his morning's plans on hold. Dear Bill Chalker,

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<v Speaker 1>the letter begins. My name is Cecil Danny mc gann,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm a sixty seven year old cattle farmer from

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<v Speaker 1>New South Wales. I hesitate in writing this letter, owing

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<v Speaker 1>to your reputation, but I feel that I have nowhere

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<v Speaker 1>else to turn with my experience of something that has

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<v Speaker 1>haunted me for almost sixty years. It's a Barmey spring

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<v Speaker 1>night in nineteen twenty seven in Fernvale, a small rural

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<v Speaker 1>settlement about fifty miles west of Brisbane in the outback

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<v Speaker 1>of eastern Australia. The mcgans, a hardy and diligent bunch

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<v Speaker 1>who for several generations have made their way as sharecroppers,

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<v Speaker 1>run a two hundred acre dairy farm on the outskirts

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<v Speaker 1>of the village. The land forms part of an estate

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<v Speaker 1>owned by one of the biggest landlords in the county.

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<v Speaker 1>Ten year old Cecil is one of six McGann children

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<v Speaker 1>who have grown up on the farm. They don't have

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<v Speaker 1>much money, but life is good, especially getting to be

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<v Speaker 1>out in nature all day and night. They love that

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<v Speaker 1>more than anything. Cecil doesn't remember how his family came

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<v Speaker 1>to be at fern Vale exactly, only that when his

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<v Speaker 1>family were first looking at the property, some locals had

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<v Speaker 1>warned them about the land being cursed, but the family

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<v Speaker 1>simply laughed it off and moved in anyway. That Barmey

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<v Speaker 1>spring night, the family is out on the verandah, having

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<v Speaker 1>finished their day's chores, when Cecil's younger sister points suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>to something high up in the distance, it looks like

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<v Speaker 1>a star moving erratically in the eastern sky over the horizon,

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<v Speaker 1>only it seems to bob and weave in a way

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<v Speaker 1>that is out of keeping with normal astrological activity. Cecil's father, Thomas,

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<v Speaker 1>regards it stobically for a moment, its weather beaten, brow

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<v Speaker 1>creasing as he squints to see through the dark. Seeing

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<v Speaker 1>the confusion on his face, Cecil's sister becomes suddenly frightened.

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<v Speaker 1>It's okay, it's nothing to be worried about, he says, warmly,

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<v Speaker 1>telling the children to get off for bed. The following morning,

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<v Speaker 1>Cecil wakes to find the house in an agitated state.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the families heard has gone missing from the cowshit,

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<v Speaker 1>even though it was locked when his father first checked

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<v Speaker 1>it that morning. The family quickly saddle up together and

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<v Speaker 1>charge out into the countryside to look for her. It's

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<v Speaker 1>hours later when they finally come across the cow, miles

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<v Speaker 1>from anywhere she could have gotten on foot, and something

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<v Speaker 1>clearly isn't right. The heifer seems wildly disorientated and petrified.

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<v Speaker 1>The others watch on as Thomas dismounts and approaches her

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<v Speaker 1>with caution. Then he stops, there's something wrong with her eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>It's almost as though they've been physically removed and put

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<v Speaker 1>back in, like they're on the end of their stalks.

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<v Speaker 1>As Thomas draws closer, the cow becomes even more erratic,

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<v Speaker 1>almost arranged, thinks the farmer. Horrified at seeing her in

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<v Speaker 1>that state, he feels he has no other option. He

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<v Speaker 1>grabs his rifle from the saddle, takes aim at the cow,

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<v Speaker 1>and fires. Over the next few nights, the family can't

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<v Speaker 1>help but speculate about how one of their prize heard

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<v Speaker 1>had escaped in such a way. In the end, they

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<v Speaker 1>chalk it up to bad luck and try to put

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<v Speaker 1>the incident behind them, But then things get even weirder.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the next week, three more of the McGann's animals

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<v Speaker 1>go missing. The difference this time is that when they're

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<v Speaker 1>eventually found, the cows turn up dead. When a local

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<v Speaker 1>vet is brought out to assess what happened to them,

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<v Speaker 1>he seems as baffled as the family. The only thing

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<v Speaker 1>he feels sure of is that each of the cows

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<v Speaker 1>appear to have been scared to death. One night, their neighbor,

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<v Speaker 1>mister Smith, turns up at the door wanting to speak

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<v Speaker 1>to Cecil's father. Cecil watches from the stairs as the

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<v Speaker 1>solemn looking man follows Thomas and his wife Sarah into

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<v Speaker 1>the kitchen, where he proceeds to tell them that he

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<v Speaker 1>and his wife have decided to leave their farm for good.

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<v Speaker 1>Cecil and his siblings uddle close to the kitchen door

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<v Speaker 1>to eavesdrop on the conversation. What they apparently hear astounds them.

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<v Speaker 1>One night, Smith was walking home from the local primary

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<v Speaker 1>school when he saw some kind of apparition on the road,

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<v Speaker 1>something that had apparently frightened him so much that he

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<v Speaker 1>lost his boots trying to get away from it. His

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<v Speaker 1>only your memory of the night was the fear he felt,

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<v Speaker 1>and that he was sure he'd seen something terrible, and

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<v Speaker 1>when he finally found himself back home, he was horrified

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<v Speaker 1>to find that hours of his life had gone missing.

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<v Speaker 1>A few days later, three of the mcgans pigs disappear.

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<v Speaker 1>Although one is never found, the other two are eventually

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<v Speaker 1>located dead. Both apparently have puncture wounds around the neck

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<v Speaker 1>area and have been completely drained of blood. When the

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<v Speaker 1>mcgans later returned to the farmhouse, they find a herd

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<v Speaker 1>of cows gathered in a circle around an enormous pool

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<v Speaker 1>of blood. When the vet finally arrives, he confirms that

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<v Speaker 1>the blood on the ground is pig's blood, but there

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<v Speaker 1>is more to it. He also finds bits of hair

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<v Speaker 1>and pig carcass among the waist, suggesting these are perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>the last remaining vestiges of the pig that was still missing.

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<v Speaker 1>That night, ten year old Cecil and his siblings are

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<v Speaker 1>woken by a strange, incessant rumbling that seems to emanate

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<v Speaker 1>from somewhere outside the property. As the noise continues, the

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<v Speaker 1>family's terrified farm docks can be heard whimpering from out

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<v Speaker 1>of the darkest corners of the house. Cecil's father, Thomas,

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<v Speaker 1>grabs his gun and bolts outside to see what an

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<v Speaker 1>earth is making the noise, only to find himself standing

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<v Speaker 1>on the porch with nothing but the darkness of the

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<v Speaker 1>night stretching out all around him. Inside, Cecil's mother, Sarah,

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<v Speaker 1>listens anxiously to the sound. She's almost certain that beneath

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<v Speaker 1>the noise she can just about make out what sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like a multitude of voices talking to each other. The

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<v Speaker 1>strange hum continues for two days. On the second night,

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<v Speaker 1>Cecil's father, driven to distraction, is just on his way

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<v Speaker 1>outside again to try and find its source, when he

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<v Speaker 1>sees that the front door is wide open. Staring at

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<v Speaker 1>the floor in shocked disbelief, he sees what appears to

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<v Speaker 1>be muddy footprints heading back into the property, but there

0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:39.440
<v Speaker 1>is no sign of an intruder. A few nights later,

0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.199
<v Speaker 1>Cecil and his older brother Tom are playing among the

0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:47.520
<v Speaker 1>trees that border the eastern flank of the farm. The

0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:51.640
<v Speaker 1>sun steadily sets as they make their way home, blanketing

0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:56.480
<v Speaker 1>everything in a surreal haze of neon, pinks and orange.

0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:00.600
<v Speaker 1>Just then, the boys spot what appears to be a

0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:04.840
<v Speaker 1>person holding a lantern in the distance. As they get

0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:08.119
<v Speaker 1>closer to the house, they soon realize it is in

0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:12.080
<v Speaker 1>fact some kind of machine that seems to be hovering

0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:16.760
<v Speaker 1>above the house. Cecil later describes it as a massive

0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.800
<v Speaker 1>metal cylinder of some sort in the shape of a

0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:24.200
<v Speaker 1>giant biscuit tin. Just as they're about to reach it,

0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:28.240
<v Speaker 1>the craft suddenly shoots off to their left and lands

0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:32.320
<v Speaker 1>in the paddock. The boys rush inside the farmhouse to

0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:35.879
<v Speaker 1>find their parents and two of their neighbors waiting for

0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.440
<v Speaker 1>them in the living room. Boys, they say, thank God

0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:43.440
<v Speaker 1>your home. When the mcgans and their neighbors go out

0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:46.439
<v Speaker 1>to observe the paddock. The next day, they find a

0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.040
<v Speaker 1>huge patch of burnt grass near to where the brothers

0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:55.520
<v Speaker 1>had apparently seen the strange craft land. It isn't long

0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:59.000
<v Speaker 1>before word gets back to the village of Fernvale, but

0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:02.639
<v Speaker 1>something but cute ulia is happening at the mcgan's farm.

0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.359
<v Speaker 1>Despite a welcome influx of support from some within the

0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:12.800
<v Speaker 1>local community, others seem to treat the event with skepticism.

0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:17.840
<v Speaker 1>Theories begin to circulate about what is taking place, everything

0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:22.080
<v Speaker 1>from government experiments with new kinds of aircraft to the

0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:26.520
<v Speaker 1>suggestion that the mcgans are faking the whole thing for attention.

0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:32.600
<v Speaker 1>Some time later, Cecil is returning home from school. A

0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.000
<v Speaker 1>few hundred feet away from the front door of the

0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:39.680
<v Speaker 1>school is a small wooded glade. As Cecil nears the trees,

0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:43.919
<v Speaker 1>he's suddenly startled by something perched high on top of

0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.680
<v Speaker 1>one of the branches of a huge fur that seems

0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:51.720
<v Speaker 1>to be watching him. He guesses it's about six feet

0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:54.760
<v Speaker 1>tall and appears to have the features of a man,

0:19:55.280 --> 0:20:01.160
<v Speaker 1>but also enormous wings like a bird. It's plumb glints

0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:06.080
<v Speaker 1>in the sun. Cecil is transfixed, but the longer he

0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:17.480
<v Speaker 1>gazes into its eyes, the more fearful he becomes. After

0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:21.320
<v Speaker 1>running home to tell his parents what he'd seen, Cecil

0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:25.240
<v Speaker 1>is shocked to discover how calm they both are, just

0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:30.679
<v Speaker 1>simply nodding their heads as Cecil relays his story. That's

0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:35.359
<v Speaker 1>the birdman, says his father. Finally, it's what mister Smith

0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:41.080
<v Speaker 1>saw just before he left. Despite everything that had taken place,

0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:45.720
<v Speaker 1>life went on as normal for them Agans. Being sharecroppers,

0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:48.680
<v Speaker 1>they had no choice but to just keep on working

0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:51.960
<v Speaker 1>as hard as they always had and work the farm

0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:56.040
<v Speaker 1>as best they could. Cecil and his siblings were still

0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:59.840
<v Speaker 1>expected to do their allocation of chores. His mother and

0:20:59.840 --> 0:21:03.960
<v Speaker 1>father still rows at dawn every morning, Thomas to tend

0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:07.359
<v Speaker 1>to the animals, and Sarah to keep the house clean,

0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:13.119
<v Speaker 1>prepare the family's food, and look after the finances. It

0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:16.520
<v Speaker 1>was some time later when Cecil and his brother were

0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:20.399
<v Speaker 1>finishing off repairs at the farm's perimeter fence when they

0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:24.520
<v Speaker 1>observe not one, but two of the supposed bird men

0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:30.200
<v Speaker 1>flying low overhead. The boys watch aghast as the creatures

0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.719
<v Speaker 1>seem to regard them, speaking to each other in a

0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:40.200
<v Speaker 1>strange language. Back in Bill Chalker's home, Bill takes off

0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.080
<v Speaker 1>his glasses and rubs them on the hem of his shirt,

0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:49.440
<v Speaker 1>then stares again at Cecil's extraordinary letter. He isn't quite

0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:51.920
<v Speaker 1>sure what to make of it all, but there's no

0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:56.640
<v Speaker 1>doubting the profound solemnity that seems to emanate from the pages.

0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:00.920
<v Speaker 1>Bill takes the coffee cup from his desk and heads

0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:04.639
<v Speaker 1>out to the verandah. He stands thinking for a moment

0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:08.520
<v Speaker 1>in the quiet of the mid afternoon, as the carda's

0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:13.080
<v Speaker 1>chirrup and the sun. There's no question he'll have to

0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:17.399
<v Speaker 1>pay Cecil McGann a visit as soon as possible. He

0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:21.240
<v Speaker 1>also knows that in order to substantiate his story, he'll

0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:25.080
<v Speaker 1>need to conduct a series of extensive interviews, not only

0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:28.520
<v Speaker 1>with the man himself, but with any one in Fernvale

0:22:28.880 --> 0:22:33.639
<v Speaker 1>who might remember the story. And so between nineteen eighty

0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:38.080
<v Speaker 1>five and eighty six, Bill and Cecil work closely together

0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:43.480
<v Speaker 1>on the narrative of the Outback Birdmen. When Bill eventually

0:22:43.520 --> 0:22:47.600
<v Speaker 1>publishes the tale in nineteen ninety two, the Fernvale u

0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:52.960
<v Speaker 1>FO becomes the most significant and divisive close encounter's story

0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:58.280
<v Speaker 1>on the Australian public record. The contentiousness of the case

0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:03.200
<v Speaker 1>is further compounded when in nineteen ninety nine, Cecil gets

0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:06.840
<v Speaker 1>back in touch with Bill, this time sending him a

0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:12.280
<v Speaker 1>typed document called Terror on the Tweed. In this letter,

0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:17.359
<v Speaker 1>Cecil apparently provides Bill with additional details of things the

0:23:17.400 --> 0:23:22.080
<v Speaker 1>family had seen in nineteen twenty seven, including the appearance

0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:26.040
<v Speaker 1>of a strange man in an immaculate white suit, whom

0:23:26.040 --> 0:23:29.479
<v Speaker 1>they had apparently seen one night standing in the dark

0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:40.360
<v Speaker 1>in the living room of their house. Cecil McGann would

0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:42.879
<v Speaker 1>go on to detail that during the time of the

0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:46.920
<v Speaker 1>strange encounters, he developed a mystery growth on his leg.

0:23:47.840 --> 0:23:51.879
<v Speaker 1>The growth seemed to lead to debilitating illness, which local

0:23:51.920 --> 0:23:55.200
<v Speaker 1>doctors were baffled by and to which they could ascribe

0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:59.639
<v Speaker 1>neither a cause nor a cure. Though Cecil was assailed

0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:03.520
<v Speaker 1>by frequent fevers and long bouts of bed rest, he

0:24:03.600 --> 0:24:06.320
<v Speaker 1>swore that when he was alone in the house one evening,

0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:10.560
<v Speaker 1>he observed what he took to be small gray elephants

0:24:10.880 --> 0:24:15.679
<v Speaker 1>at a distance from the farm. Since then, people have

0:24:15.840 --> 0:24:20.320
<v Speaker 1>questioned Cecil's experiences, wondering why he only chose to come

0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:24.479
<v Speaker 1>forward some sixty years after the events had taken place.

0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:29.320
<v Speaker 1>It wasn't so much that his testimony was disbelieved. Though

0:24:29.359 --> 0:24:33.439
<v Speaker 1>the provision of additional details did raise some eyebrows or

0:24:33.480 --> 0:24:37.520
<v Speaker 1>that they doubted Bill's impressive credentials as an objective researcher,

0:24:38.119 --> 0:24:41.200
<v Speaker 1>it was more the fact that they believed any number

0:24:41.240 --> 0:24:44.439
<v Speaker 1>of credible explanations could be given for what the mc

0:24:44.520 --> 0:24:50.199
<v Speaker 1>gann family had experienced. Suggestions have ranged from sightings of

0:24:50.280 --> 0:24:54.840
<v Speaker 1>the strange and alien like Cassowariburt or the even rarer

0:24:55.119 --> 0:24:59.560
<v Speaker 1>shoe Bill Stork, to what Bill Chalker himself has speculated

0:25:00.119 --> 0:25:03.680
<v Speaker 1>that perhaps it was telluric currents that caused the family

0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:09.600
<v Speaker 1>to hear and see inexplicable things. Whatever the cause of

0:25:09.640 --> 0:25:13.800
<v Speaker 1>the strange events that supposedly occurred at the McGan ranch

0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:18.160
<v Speaker 1>in nineteen twenty seven, the convergence of both an apparent

0:25:18.440 --> 0:25:22.399
<v Speaker 1>UFO and cryptid sighting, as well as the extensive number

0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:28.000
<v Speaker 1>of supposed animal mutilations, certainly leaves more questions than answers.

0:25:29.400 --> 0:25:32.960
<v Speaker 1>In light of recent declarations made by NASA and the

0:25:33.040 --> 0:25:37.240
<v Speaker 1>Pentagon in the United States regarding what is now referred

0:25:37.280 --> 0:25:44.200
<v Speaker 1>to as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena or UAP activity, this almost

0:25:44.280 --> 0:25:50.119
<v Speaker 1>one hundred year old case is receiving renewed interest. Unfortunately,

0:25:50.480 --> 0:25:53.880
<v Speaker 1>Given the passage of time and the fact that Cecil

0:25:54.000 --> 0:25:58.560
<v Speaker 1>McGan has long since passed away, the mysterious case of

0:25:58.600 --> 0:26:02.680
<v Speaker 1>the so called out Back bird Men will likely forever

0:26:02.840 --> 0:26:14.520
<v Speaker 1>remain unexplained. This episode was written by James Connor Patterson

0:26:14.960 --> 0:26:19.119
<v Speaker 1>and produced by me Richard McLain Smith. James is a

0:26:19.160 --> 0:26:23.360
<v Speaker 1>brilliant writer and poet. His debut collection of poems, titled

0:26:23.400 --> 0:26:27.320
<v Speaker 1>Bandit Country, Exploring the Hinterland between the North of Ireland

0:26:27.359 --> 0:26:30.960
<v Speaker 1>and Republic, was shortlisted for the twenty twenty two T S.

0:26:31.040 --> 0:26:34.200
<v Speaker 1>Eliot Prize and is out now to buy. Do check

0:26:34.240 --> 0:26:37.800
<v Speaker 1>it out. Thank you as ever for listening to the show.

0:26:38.119 --> 0:26:41.080
<v Speaker 1>Please subscribe and rate it if you haven't already done so.

0:26:41.680 --> 0:26:44.360
<v Speaker 1>You can also now find us on TikTok at TikTok

0:26:44.400 --> 0:26:48.479
<v Speaker 1>dot com, forward slash at Unexplained podcast Unexplained as an

0:26:48.480 --> 0:26:53.560
<v Speaker 1>Avy Club Productions podcast created by Richard McClain smith. All

0:26:53.600 --> 0:26:56.960
<v Speaker 1>other elements of the podcast, including the music, were also

0:26:57.040 --> 0:27:01.439
<v Speaker 1>produced by me Richard McClain Smith. Unexplained. The book and

0:27:01.520 --> 0:27:05.800
<v Speaker 1>audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase

0:27:05.840 --> 0:27:10.920
<v Speaker 1>from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. Please

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0:27:14.840 --> 0:27:17.159
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0:27:17.240 --> 0:27:20.399
<v Speaker 1>or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show.

0:27:20.720 --> 0:27:23.159
<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like

0:27:23.200 --> 0:27:26.840
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0:28:01.080 --> 0:29:28.360
<v Speaker 2>A blog along the Dila di di di dinct Dina

0:29:32.160 --> 0:29:32.840
<v Speaker 2>dit