Murder

We were invited to a murder weekend! We have been to 4 before, all run by the same people - Padwick and Ball - and they are such good fun. 3 times we have been sleuths and this is the second time we have been involved in the storyline.

We were sent a brief description of what we were going to do on Friday evening in the post a week or so before hand so we know a little of what was going to happen. We travelled down to Guildford on Friday afternoon as we had to meet Peter and Christine (Padwick and Ball) at 6.30 so we could meet the other 6 participants.

The meal started at 7.30 and after most people had finished their meal someone died. Shortly after this a second person died and then everyone met in a conference room to discuss possible suspects and clues. On Friday evening, neither Frank nor I were suspects. After a little more discussion everyone moved into the bar to continue questioning suspects. I chatted to another Maths teacher called Lawrence who picked up on something I said, which he connected with something mentioned by someone else that evening.

Saturday morning we all had breakfast and met again to discuss suspects. This time I was added to the suspect list! Christine then gave a very interesting talk about hanging and various murderers who had been hanged - Ruth Ellis who was the last female to be hanged (1955), Timothy Evans and John Christie - both from the famous 10 Rillington Place and Derek Bentley. A fascinating talk, it has to be said.

This is a picture of Christine!

We were then free to do what we wanted for Saturday afternoon so went to Wisley Gardens. It is so beautiful. There is a fabulous glasshouse which is divided into different areas - Tropical, Desert etc. We wandered around the various different gardens, looked at the fruit festival that was there that weekend and tasted some apples. Here are some of the pictures from the glasshouse - orchids and cacti!




In the evening we met again for our evening meal at 7.30 pm and after dinner we moved once again to the conference room. Christine and Peter entertain the guests with some jokes, some music and songs before the final interrogation of suspects. A third murder had taken place during the coffee break in the morning and just before the show started there was a fourth! (Klara on the left was victim number 4).

After the show there was another discussion about who should be suspects and the final four surviving suspects were questioned by the guests. At the end of this round of questioning Frank died and so became the fifth victim.

And so to bed for our last night. Breakfast on Sunday morning was followed by Peter's talk about 'The smallest room'. As we expected this was very interesting and very funny! While this is taking place, Christine is reading all the solutions that were handed in that morning and deciding on who to give prizes to.

The final part of the weekend is the explanation of the plot and the murderers are revealed to those who have been totally baffled. The final three suspects had to stand out at the front of the room and help Peter explain what had happened. Frank had, in fact, murdered 4 of the victims and Klara had managed to murder him using poison, even though she too died by his hand. John decided it was my fault that his wife had died and tried to strangle me - but then Gary shot us both as he blamed both of us for his wife, Klara dying!



Over the weekend more of the story is revealed to us, bit by bit, and we are told what information we have to impart to our guests. It is fantastic fun and we love every minute of it!