Tony Taft writes:-
We were all pleasantly surprised by Mikes presentation, his subject being the lives of villains who lived on the wrong side of the law
One of the people he sang about was a criminal called John Babbacombe Lee better known as the man they couldn’t hang.
Lee was born in Abbotskerswell and served in the Royal Navy. His crimes were theft.
Three attempts were made to hang him and each time the trap door refused to open. It was decided that rain on the previous days had caused the wood to swell, so a law was passed that in future when a date for a hanging was posted the words “depending on the weather” were added.
Mike is a very good musician and writes the lyrics for all the songs he sings. He had a song for each of the characters he talked about he is also blessed with a good sense of humour.
We all had a good time and I hope Mike makes a return visit because he said he could have entertained us all for much longer.
Paignton Probus Club 