84 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
84 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: STORY OF A CROP CIRCLE HOAX FILE: UFO3297
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Everyday story of a crop circle hoax
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09/08/91
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THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH London
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SERIAL OR CEREAL? Two of the longest-running rural sagas to
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grip the public's imagination coincided this weekend, fittingly at
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harvest time.
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As hundreds of devotees of the mysteries of crop circles met in
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Glastonbury, to discuss the issue at an aptly named "Cornference"
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so the millions of listeners to BBC Radio's The Archers were coming
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to terms with the fact that just such a circle had materialised in
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a field belonging to two of the soap opera's most celebrated
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characters, Joe and Eddie Grundy.
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The fascination the circles exert was reflected in their
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appearance in Ambridge. "The story created one of the most heated
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debates we've had in our scriptwriters' meetings for a long time,"
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the Archers' editor, Ms Vanessa Whitburn, said yesterday.
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"We've already had letters from listeners about it. The mystery
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of crop circles seems to appeal to all sorts of people, both those
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who believe they can be scientifically explained, or those who get
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into the realms of the supernatural or paranormal.
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"There's also the element of humour - in the Archers story, the
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circle in Joe and Eddie Grundy's field turns out to have been made
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as a practical joke by two of the village youths, 'Baggy' and
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'Snatch', using tennis rackets and some rope."
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Before the hoax was revealed, Ms Whitburn said the Centre for
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Crop Circle Studies had written to congratulate the programme for
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its even-handed approach. "I hope they weren't too sad after
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hearing the outcome," Ms Whitburn added.
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The Archers was, however, exempted from a denunciation of crop
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circle hoaxes made yesterday at one of the biggest gatherings yet
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of the phenomenon's disciples.
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"There is a campaign of mis-information and hoaxing about the
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circles," Mr Colin Andrews told the Glastonbury gathering. Mr
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Andrews recently gave up his job as chief electrical engineer with
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Test Valley borough council to work full-time studying the circles,
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after nearly a decade's fascination with the subject.
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Most controversially, Mr Andrews and his research colleague Mr
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Pat Delgado, a former computer engineer from Alresford, believe the
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circles are created by some form of intelligence manipulating an
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unknown form of energy.
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"We haven't a clue what form of intelligence this is, where it
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comes from, or its purpose," Mr Andrews admitted yesterday. The
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energy employed is probably some form of electromagnetism, they
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believe. "There is absolutely no correlation to support any
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meteorological basis for the circles whatsoever," he said in
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riposte to scientists who believe freak wind activity may be
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responsible for the patterns.
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Both Mr Andrews and Mr Delgado believe, however, that the
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changing shape of the circles in recent years in some way reflects
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a concern for the earth's ecology.
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"Mother {Earth} is crying," Mr Andrews told the meeting, to
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vigorous applause. The spiritual message was reflected in the
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Cornference organisation. "Due to the fragile and changeable
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quality of our earthly existence, this programme is subject to
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flux", an announcement read.
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While Mr Phil Goulstone, Glastonbury's assembly rooms' caterer,
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planned to meet the gathering's material needs - "I thought about
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providing cornflakes for breakfast and corn-on-the-cob for lunch,"
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he grinned - cultural needs were met last night at a "Corncert"
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featuring the folk singer Julie Felix and Chris Jagger, brother of
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the Rolling Stone.
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Across the road, rival attractions included shops such as the
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Goddess and the Green Man and the Rainbow's End Cafe.
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The Cornference was organised to celebrate the first anniversary
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of The Cerealogist, a magazine set up to chronicle the phenomenon.
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"From a first issue of 1,000 copies which we had to reprint
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twice, we've grown to a circulation of 5,000," said Mr Richard
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Adams, one of the publishers. "I've been looking forward to seeing
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what our readers are like in the flesh."
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