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Crop Watcher #17

Editorial

Welcome to yet another edition of The Crop Watcher.  By now
probably everyone in the little world of cereology will  have
heard about an astonishing new book that has just been published
by Hamish Hamilton. The book is called "Round in Circles" (it
costs # 16.99) and the author is that well known CIA agent Jim
Schnabel.  Subtitled "Physicists, Poltergeists, Pranksters and
the Secret History of the Cropwatchers", this book goes where no
book about anomalies has ever gone before - at least not in
Britain. Quite simply it is the most amusing, libellous, frank,
myth-smashing collection of allegations that you'll ever likely
to read.

I warn you, if you are a leading "cereologist",  read this book
with care.  "Round in Circles" tells most of the untold story of
how the crop circle myth was conceived and executed.  Its superb
treatment of the subject strips away all the myths and legends
which were created to promote a mystery at any cost. Its great
strength is its treatment of leading crop circle personalities.
As someone who lived through much of the crop circle era I
thought I knew more than most about the key events, the people
involved and their peculiar personal problems, but here Schnabel
reveals secrets that I never dreamed would appear in print
(including a few even I didn't know), although I've hinted
carefully at a few in these pages. For many of our leading
cerealogists this book leaves them naked and dirty, their crimes
catalogued for all to see.  The book discusses the following
topics:-
- revelations about Michael Green's apparent membership of  a
group of hooded black magicians who might even be involved in
pagan activities and animal sacrifices  (pages 242-3);

- allegations that Michael Green was once persecuted by invisible
entities that materialised as horned 'shadows' (page 136);

- Pat Delgado's crazed possession by an evil spirit during
"Operation Whitecrow" (page 105-8) and his apparent ability to
channel messages from "Zirkka", an alien intelligence (page
244);

- the claim that Colin Andrews once believed he had an alien
implant in his forehead (page 84); and

- Jim Schnabel's own admission that he created the "charm
bracelet" formation near Silbury Hill in 1992 as well as numerous
other formations.

Throughout the book Schnabel deals with the personalities and
politics of circles research by  airing some deeply contentious
issues. One issue concerns Taylor and Tuersleys' claim that they
were denied proper credit and royalties from the marketing of
"Circular Evidence".  Another concerns marital problems
experienced by several of our leading cereologists. There is even
some
interesting legal correspondence dating from 1988 but you'll have
to buy the book to see what fascinating revelations it contains !
Just to give you a brief taste of the kind of material this book
contains, here's how Jim Schnabel describes a very famous
incident that allegedly occurred during Operation Whitecrow (page
107):

"'Ahhhggggggggggggh' screamed  Delgado, as the awful release of
energy hurled him to the ground. His back arched. Strange
guttural noises came from his mouth. His head jutted unnaturally
sideways. The entity ... The entity ...

George Wingfield felt as if he were somehow under hypnosis. It
was all so unreal. He seemed to have lost his will ... his free
will ... Something made him get up and join Rita at the far edge
of the circle. The noise had stopped moving. It was close to them
now, only a few yards away, down amid the stalks of barley.

'If you can understand us, stop !' said Rita.

And ... it stopped ... For an awkward moment there were only the
muted noises of human gurgling and sobbing."

As I  write these lines the claims and allegations in this
astonishingly funny book  are echoing around what is left of the
cerealogists' fading empire.  No doubt even before this issue of
The Crop Watcher can be printed various leading cerealogists will
be desperately trying to deny  the facts presented here.  For our
part we have noted quite a few minor errors, several major errors
and quite a few important omissions, but we can still endorse 98
per cent of the book as factually correct. We will be presenting
a full review in our next issue as it is important to add a few
points of clarification.

Following all this gnashing of teeth comes the astonishing News
that John Michell is planning to hand over the Editorship of The
Cerealogist to George Wingfield and John Haddington.  Obviously
we'll have to wait and see what reasons lie behind this
remarkable handover of power.

Also, I'm sure the hoaxers amongst you will be interested to
learn that on June 15th there was an item on  Meridian TV News
(formerly TVS) to the effect that the National Farmers Union and
the police are out to prosecute crop circle hoaxers and that
numerous farmers have now closed their fields to sight seers and
researchers. An item expressing similar sentiments appeared in
some of the
Wiltshire papers a day or two earlier. Clearly the NFU have now
woken up after all the revelations about crop circle hoaxing
these past two years. In our view this action is well overdue.

Crop Circles, Squashed Animals and Unidentified Flying Objects

I expect most of you missed the following article by Andrew
Langley in the "Rural Diary" series in Weekend Telegraph, January
18th 1992. Langley claims that:

"The other day I was out looking for mushrooms.  It was a murky,
lowering, homicidal kind of afternoon, when the rooks and the
jays seem to sneer at you. I was crossing a steep hillside [A-HA
!!] when I saw the corpse. Right in the middle of the field lay a
dutiful mother, struck down as she went about her lawful
business.

It was a vixen, on the face of it nothing to get excited about.
There is no shortage of foxes in Wiltshire, and one should not be
startled to find a dead one ...

But this fox was not simply dead. She was squashed flat, crushed
with considerable force and left, outspread and moth-eaten, like
the carpet in the old dug-out bar of Broadley's. Only the
grinning head was intact.

So what ? You may think. Wild animals are flattened by cars and
lorries in their thousands every year. Not, though, in the centre
of a field, at least a mile away from the nearest lane.

I have pondered on this mystery ever since. It seems a murder
singular enough to stretch to the Great Detective himself. How
did this fox die ? Who or what had squashed her ? The only beast
big enough to do it would be a cow. And what self-respecting fox
is going to sit motionless while a bovine posterior descends upon
her ?

Perhaps the vixen had been run over by a joyrider in a combine
harvester. Perhaps she had been dropped from a helicopter at
2,000 ft. Perhaps she had been struck amidships by a hunk of
frozen urine jettisoned from a passing jumbo jet. Over to you
Sherlock...."

Well, what a strange tale. But  readers of The Circular (vol 3,
no 1, page 25) will recall that Bob Kingsley published the
following information, which was originally published in
Warminster UFO News,  Nos 14/15:-
"Don Julius, an investigator for the Westmorland UFO Study Group
turned up a report on July 18th, 1972, of a dead dog, found in
strange circumstances.

The collie was found lying on its back and all the hairs on the
dog's body had been removed except for a few. There was no
evidence of any sort of 'attack' and the body was found about 40
feet from a circular area where the grass was whipped in counter-
clockwise direction, although some grass lay in a clockwise
direction. This circular area was 6 feet in diameter. Power lines
are in the area, the nearest being about 400 feet from where the
dog  was  found.

The dog had been seen alive on July 13th At about the same time a
neighbour reported their two cats had disappeared. It was noted
that no scavengers had touched the dog's body which had been in
the area  five days. It is assumed the dog had been dead that
long, as it had a friendly nature  and  the  'Smiths' do not feel
it would have stayed away from home long. There had  been rain
during this period and the investigators could find no tracks
near the body."

So,  what do we make of this ? A dead dog near an area of swirled
grass ?? Peculiar to say the least.  But in the May 1993 issue of
MUFON UFO Journal,  Michael Strainic has written a fascinating
account of  a porcupine that had been discovered "squashed flat"
in a crop circle at Milestone, Saskatchewan. According to
Strainic:

"... the animal was found on top of the flattened  (yet still
undamaged) wheat"

and that despite this apparent lack of damage to the wheat the
porcupine was flattened "in situ - to approximately a one-inch
diameter".

Now I have to admit that  I'm not very good with biology, but
according to Strainic some porcupines weigh in at 22-27 kgs
(50-60 pounds). This suggests that this unfortunate animal was
squashed flat by some tremendous force - perhaps by a steam
roller ?

The Milestone "circle" was, in fact, three roughly triangular
areas containing anti-clockwise swirls and measuring 63 by 22
feet in total. Inside each rectangle was a central area of
standing wheat - similar to those recalled by Paul Germany in the
1930s in East Anglia (see CW9, pages 26-29).

Strainic's report concludes that

"... some weeks after the event, evidence testifying  to the
passing of the porcupine was still quite visible.  The trace
marks which were left on the ground  suggest the following
sequence of events: the animal, while attending to typical
porcupine affairs, was suddenly, and without any warning, caught
up in whatever force or mechanism is responsible for the creation
of the circles. At what point the porcupine actually shuffled off
his mortal coil is impossible to say. But it is apparent that it
was dragged - or pushed, or manoeuvred, or perhaps had even
dragged itself - through the mud and wheat from one corner of the
formation, a total of somewhere on the order of 40+ feet, to its
final resting place."

"The porcupine was discovered lying on top of the flattened
grain. The quills of the porcupine were arranged in such a way as
to suggest that they had been swirled by the same force that had
affected the wheat. Quills and wheat were intertwined.  As well,
the porcupine had been pushed right down into the mud - there was
mud on the animal and there were quills and wheat left in the
mud.  The mud, including that with porcupine parts, was highly
compressed and completely dried out.  The mud was so dry and so
compacted that pieces of it could not be broken by hand."

This bizarre scene was discovered by Joe Rennick,  the owner of
the farm, and after taking photos of the porcupine Rennick
disposed of the carcass. However, it was soon learnt that a
similar event occurred in 1989 at Estevan (also in Saskatchewan),
when the skeletal remains of a porcupine was discovered in a
charred or perhaps oily circular patch of  flattened wheat.  This
earlier case attracted sufficient publicity that the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police conducted a somewhat inconclusive
investigation.  There was a suspicion by the RCMP that some kind
of "cult sacrifice" had taken place, but this was never proven.

So, now we have a squashed fox, found in a field miles from
nowhere,  a flayed dog found 40 feet from a swirled area, a
porcupine found squashed flat inside some swirled rectangular
areas, and the skeleton of a porcupine found inside an oily
blackened patch of flattened (but no necessarily swirled) wheat.
Odder and odder ! But what's this I find in Ted Philips' Physical
Trace Catalogue:-
Case 249, November 1966. U.S.A., Gallipolis, OHIO. William
Watson's German Shepherd dog disappeared and was found a week
later in the centre of an isolated field. The knee-high grass
around the dog's body was pressed flat in a perfect circle 20
foot in diameter. Every bone in the body was crushed, no blood in
evidence. (John Keel)

Case 293sp: September 7th, 1967. U.S.A., Alamosa, Colorado. A
horse was found dead, the hide removed from the neck and head. No
blood found on the animal or in the area. 15 round imprints were
arranged in a circle nearby. A 3 ft high bush had been depressed
to within 10 inches of the ground. The depressed area was about
20 ft. in diameter. (AP and Personal Files)

Case 529, July 13th, 1972. U.S.A., Greensburg, PA. A collie dog
was found lying on its back, all its hair removed. The dog was 40
ft from a circular area where the grass was swirled in a counter-
clockwise direction. The area was 6 ft in diameter. (Skylook)

So, we now have 7 cases involving squashed or flayed animals
dating back to 1966,  all but one of which were associated with
unusual circular ground traces and three of which were actually
inside the "circle".  Now how on earth do we try to rationalise
something as this ?

In "Crop Circles, A Mystery Solved" (page 148-9) we discussed a
peculiar case from Shropshire when a dog was seen by two
witnesses to run into a strange luminous cloud. The cloud was 15
metres or so in diameter and was described as 'like a yellow
fog'.  The cloud was rotating like a whirlwind and was
accompanied by a rushing wind-like noise as it disturbed nearby
leaves and dust. The witnesses noticed a horrible sulphurous
smell (which is a common feature of unusual vortex cases in
Corliss' sourcebooks) as well as feeling their hair standing on
end (a sure sign of an electro-static field). The dog ran into
the glow and completely
disappeared. Then the cloud dispersed and the dog was recovered.
It was soaking and hot to the touch. The dog's eyes were red and
bloodshot and it was panting heavily. Although the elderly dog
recovered from this event it died less than six months later -
probably from old age rather than the event itself. CERES' David
Reynolds later showed that the event provably occurred downwind
of the nearest hill - a 300 metre high ridge. This, of course, is
a classic lee-slope situation.

Now it seems to me that despite the satanic overtones we have a
series of potentially important events.  In my opinion these
events have several possible explanations:-
Explanation 1: Errors in Reporting

All these events have been erroneously reported by writers who
saw what they wanted to see but missed other clues which were
capable of explaining the events.

Explanation 2: Hoax !

All these animals were flattened or flayed by hoaxers who also
decided to create nearby circular ground traces because they all
shared the same archetypal motif of what UFOs are supposed to do
(kill animals and leave circular traces).

Explanation 3: Animal Sacrifice !

Some previously unknown "cult" has spread around the world where
the creation of swirled ground traces and the sacrifice of
unfortunate local wildlife plays an important role in their
unpleasant rituals. Given the current outbreak of horse
mutilations in England (where at least a dozen people have been
questioned or cautioned by the Police) this scenario is not
entirely without supporting evidence.

Explanation 4: Vortex !

Some unusual atmospheric vortex mechanism descended in such a way
that it squashed the animals, or sucked their hide/skin/quills
from their bodies, and left the circles behind (perhaps in a
subsequent, less-energetic phase ?). This could be a mechanism
similar to that in the Shropshire case, where the dog was
fortunate enough to survive (the strange cloud was positioned
over a hedge so no permanent trace was produced).

Now I'm not going to leap before I look here but any combination
of answers may be possible. If readers have any views on these
peculiar cases write to the editorial address on page 36 and have
your say. PF.

Circlemakers or Rootless Flummery ?

by Robert France

As a psychical researcher and practical occultist of some years
experience, I was planning a discourse on why much of the present
'psychic questing',  brought into vogue by Andrew Collins, is a
questionable practice - plus the scrutiny of some highly dubious
aspects of his interactive novels, such as The Black Alchemist.
Such critical reviews must wait, as I have recently come into
possession of some information and a letter which is quite
interesting, perhaps acting as a precursor to any proposed 'myth-
smashing' of questing.

Our story begins on Saturday 22 August 1992 and a 'Cornference'
held in Salisbury, attending this conference was Andy Collins and
his companion, Debbie Benstead. A casual acquaintance of mine -
we will call him Steve Watts,  was staying at my home, as he
wanted to attend, and my location was fairly convenient for
trains to the venue. On the Saturday evening, upon his return
from  the first days proceeds, he held out a letter to me.

"Have a read of that", he crowed with a grin on his face.

I shrugged, took the letter  and casually perused it.  Surprise
number one was when I realised that the writer was Trevor James
Constable, author of The Cosmic Pulse of Life. Surprise number
two was when  I saw that it was addressed to Andy Collins. I
looked up at Steve and eyed him suspiciously - I asked him where
he had got it from.  "Ah, read it first", he teased.

I went back to the letter and began to read, a little more
attentively this time round. I prematurely assumed that this
letter would be an endorsement of Collins' latest release from
what seems to be a ceaseless flow from a printing press - on the
contrary, I found myself reading what seemed to be a scathing
rebuttal of The Circlemakers, from the man who Collins had
referred to at
considerable length. In a nutshell, it appears that Mr Constable
doesn't like the idea of Collins using text and photographs from
Cosmic Pulse without permission. I wonder why ?

I finished the quite lengthy text and turned to Steve, "Right,
where did this come from ?". He sat in silence for a few moments,
then between sips of coffee, told me that at the conference, Andy
had showed him the letter - he then says that Debbie then let him
photocopy it (which to me sounds a rather roundabout way of doing
things).  When I asked Steve to repeat how he got hold of it to
my colleague, Clive Potter, he did tend to fumble and mutter his
words a bit, perhaps he was exaggerating the circumstances
slightly ? I have also been given a copy of another letter, which
is Collins' published response to a review of his latest book by
Clive Potter in The Cropwatcher #13. In this letter Collins
states, "If I had the chance again, I would rewrite the book
completely". That's the least I'd do if I got such a letter from
Mr Constable. If I'd "Had the chance again", I'd take The
Circlemakers and bury it with shame in an unmarked grave (until
someone dug it up again using questing techniques and returned it
!). As I said goodbye to Steve on the Sunday evening, I decided
that I would look into the circumstances of this letter. The
obvious first step would be to verify it from the man himself,
Trevor James Constable. On the 8th October, my letter was
winging  its way to his address - where did I get that from ? The
top of Steve's letter, of course.

Constable's immediate response was verification of the letter,
plus a statement to the effect that he would not have  allowed
Collins to use his photographs in connection with The
Circlemakers - even if he had been asked ! Constable then goes on
to accuse Collins of plagiarism, taking passages out of Cosmic
Pulse and with a slight rewriting, presenting them as though they
were his own work.... Hang on a minute, Trevor, if you bother to
look at Andy's response to Clive's review in The Crop Watcher,
you will find that he clearly states.... "The Circlemakers began
as a diary entry in July 1991 and grew steadily into a 350-page
burst of inspiration...". Oh dear, perhaps inspiration is not
quite the right word. Constable suggests that Rudolph Steiner's
kind of clairvoyance is very different to the 'rootless flummery'
of Debbie Benstead's psychism.

In his '350-page burst of inspiration', Collins applies his years
of UFO research to the subject  and states that the idea of
intelligently-controlled UFOs are crap. This is one area where Mr
Constable takes the 'uncontrollable urgency in a young man' to
task. Constable states that his years of research points to TWO
distinct  types of UFO which are MUTUALLY confused. He classes
them as 'Ether-ships' and 'bioforms' - the latter also
affectionately known as 'critters' - but haven't you  heard,
Trevor, the idea of 'Ether-ships' are crap ? Collins' distortion
is found on page 15 of The Circlemakers, "Constable had expounded
his belief that UFOs are not alien spacecraft at all, but amoeba-
like life-forms existing in the upper atmosphere".

We DO have a problematic situation here, the main part of which
is that Andy is so busy scratching away at his books that
precious little time is available for any really meaningful
research. Constable makes this abundantly clear when he says that
Andy has 'genned-up' on Steiner and Reich rather than actually
bothering to study their work - he advises Andy to start by
reading "Function of the Orgasm" by Wilhelm Reich (a book which
Andy now belatedly possesses) ..... he now requires a copy of
"Contact with Space", by the same author.

I will be smug and state that at least, in his letter to me,
Constable did credit me with knowing my subject, but then as a
practical occultist, I am by definition a student.

Throughout his distorted books which are paraded as fact, he has
catered to a public who themselves do not know any different,
they are exposed only to his ignorance, and because they
themselves find a 'queer-shaped bit of flint', hail him as the
figurehead of 'questing'. It is on this foundation that they are
handed the mutated and twisted versions of Constable, Steiner and
Reich -versions which suit the world according to Andy Collins.

In Earthquest News (Winter 1992) Andrews concedes that Constable
suggested that there are two kinds of UFO - the structured
spacecraft and the bioform. He concludes the statement by saying:
"I only have faith in the second solution, which can adequately
explain the first solution". This edition of  Earthquest News has
a piccy of a 'bioform', but Collins cannot, unfortunately,
compare it with one of Constable's due to copyright
restrictions - a bit like bolting the door afterwards, isn't it ?

I have corresponded with Collins on these matters. I introduced
myself by way of submitting a true experience involving a ball-
of-light phenomenon. I let Andy think that The Circlemakers had
opened big, bright, new doorways of understanding. Andy found my
experience 'interesting', then he waffles on about the Earth-
light idea being correct. But this is only half the story because
the bioform concept embraces Earth-lights and takes the whole
thing to new heights. Apparently Collins... Sorry Constable's
ideas...Well, half of Constable's ideas, only very slightly
rewritten and mildly misinterpreted and marginally out of
context, backed up with 'plagiarised' photographs and packaged as
a 350-page burst of inspiration, can explain nearly all UFO
encounters - possibly all of them - but as Collins tells me,
he'll need another book to show how - of that I don't doubt !

In my follow-up letter to Collins (dated 8th November 1992) I
asked the crucial question, "What I would be interested in is any
comments that Mr Constable himself  may have made about The
Circlemakers". A reply was received 3 days later and Andy first
of all told me that he was glad to see that I agreed with much of
his words in the book - I never said that - then went on to say
that Constable doesn't like The Circlemakers because it doesn't
progress the understanding of orgone in a proper scientific
manner, (sorry Andy, and there was me thinking that it had
something to do with Constable's claims of you 'ripping him
off'). Collins also suggests that Constable is unhappy  that he
is commenting on a subject which the latter has studied for many
years -  it is important to note that Collins does not mention
the original letter or its true contents, even though there is no
apparent secrecy. The reason for noting this point will be
understood shortly.

While only a side-issue, there is perhaps a relevance in the
dislike which Constable demonstrates, afterall, up to now we have
been up to our bookshelves in The Black Alchemist, The Seventh
Sword, plus tapes and various other merchandise. As Andy states
in his letter to The Crop Watcher, The Circlemakers began as a
diary entry in July 1991, the book ends in February 1992 - less
than a year from beginning to end qualifies you to forward a
'revolutionary new vision of the crop-circle enigma' ? Only now
is Andy actually borrowing books from the library to learn more
about the pioneers to whom he does little justice ! Readers of
Collins' book will know that Andy's research began when a
paperback book became slightly dislodged after Debbie thought she
saw an adjacent book move. Actually I find this part of his story
quite humorous (I admit to having a rather pathetic sense of
humour). On this particular page (and remember this is after
Collins has crossed blades with rogue magicians, received cursed
death-threats, laid to rest negative energies and confronted
landscape guardians). Debbie actually says to him, "I don't want
to alarm you, and its probably nothing, but I think I saw that
book  move on its own" (my
emphasis, RF). With the activity that Collins has been involved
in, why should she for one moment think that he would be alarmed
in the slightest about a mild case of possibly over-excited
imagination, or mild telekinesis ?

Its a strange and possibly uncanny parallel, but I think of The
Circlemakers as Collins thinks of alien spacecraft. In his letter
to The Crop Watcher, Collins asks where Clive Potter has been for
the last ten years, "I see no books or ground-breaking work on
crop circles or questing by him, anywhere". Firstly, of course,
there are more than these two lines of research, and secondly
Clive has been working with me on my projects - February 1992
beginning with Shadow of Man,  a well received and thoughtful
analysis of the UFO mystery in the form of an audio tape - but
not having the capital available to produce even badly bound
books I  can't churn out my ideas (which include the use and
manipulation of orgone and so-called 'bioforms', the focusing of
this energy to retain and even retard Cancer, and so on).

Ultimately I informed Collins that whether he knew it or not,
there were copies of Constables's damning letter going around.
"No problem", came the reply, "I photographed pages and handed
them around to primary researchers to put them in the picture".
Collins then adds that plagiarism is a very serious accusation to
make against any author. He then assures me that this has not
been the case - but note, he made no mention of this until I
raised the issue directly.

In his letter to Constable dated 20th August, Collins apologises
for using photos without permission, but as he couldn't make
contact with Constable, it was a gamble that he decided to take -
he goes on to say that he does admit to sometimes writing rather
naively. Of further interest is that he states that he doesn't
consider himself a scientist, an occultist, or even a UFOlogist
or a psychic researcher. He suggests, instead, that he's just 'a
man off the street'. But on  the other hand, in his letter to The
Crop Watcher, he reminds us that between 1975 and 1981  he was an
investigator with BUFORA  and UFOIN, and that since then he's
worked extensively in the earth-mysteries fields of research. He
does sound a little confused, doesn't he ?

The dissemination of Constable's letter in what is claimed as
such a casual manner is rather curious, because if this has been
handed round to 'prime researchers', that is certainly not how I
would describe Steve Watts, who co-authored a book many  years
ago which was nothing to do with crop-circles or orgone, since
then he has produced nothing for public or private circulation -
he is even now, only on the fairly meaningless fringes of circles
research. So, as Clive suggests, for 'prime researchers' perhaps
we should read 'Collins' closest chums'. Afterall, even after
close enquiry, Collins would not have informed me of Constable's
letter or true accusations had I not stated the fact that I knew
of them.

So there we have it. I do believe this article succeeds in its
attempt to bring to public attention a situation which ought to
be known outside of the chosen few. It is the public who buy the
books so it is they who must be enlightened - do they think that
Collins has plagiarised Constable's work ? On the other hand, it
may not be fair to ask Collin's readers this question, as he does
seem to suggest that he  writes for a popular and young audience
whom he could easily lose if he were to use big words or try to
explain something which requires the use of intelligence.

One final point is that this 'man off the street', who's not an
occultist, nor UFO researcher, etc, plans to co-ordinate the crop
circle community an attempt to communicate with non-human
intelligences thought to be involved with crop-circle
formation.... Blimey, now that could be worth writing a book
about ! RF.

A Response to Robert France
by Andrew Collins

How do you even begin to reply to this [words deleted, PF] by
Robert France ? Not only has he picked and chosen sentences and
statements at random from correspondence between four different
sources, he quite clearly wants everyone to revel in his and his
group's co-ordinated campaign of hatred.

There are many accusations in Mr France's statements which need
rectifying, and for this I will have need to quote at length from
various letters and resume events stretching back over the past
two years.

In July 1991 I sampled the British phenomenon of crop formations
for the first time, having worked in the UFO, earth mysteries and
psychic fields of research as an investigator and writer since
1975. By the way,  despite what Mr France claims in his
introduction none of my books are 'interactive novels' but
thoroughly researched accounts of personal experiences backed-up
with sound historical verification.

Being let loose on the crop formations of Wiltshire for the first
time turned up various curious facts, witnesses accounts and
anecdotal stories, as well as a considerable amount of psychic
inspiration from my partner Debbie Benstead. It also became
apparent that many quite obvious links between crop circles and
the earth mysteries had never been stated before in print.

Among the synchronicities (i.e. meaningful coincidences) before
this fateful journey to Wiltshire was the rediscovery of my
`lost' copy of SKY CREATURES, a 1978 abridged version of Trevor
James Constables' 1976 book THE COSMIC PULSE OF LIFE (it simply
slid out from above another, unconnected book; no more, Mr
France).  Wondering whether it might contain any thoughts on UFO
nests I browsed through its pages for a few minutes but found
none. The book was then slotted back in its place and the whole
matter forgotten.

Statements made by Debbie during our weekend in Wiltshire
concerning orgone masses reminded me of Constable's living
entities, his so-called `critters' or bioforms, so on our return
to Essex I finally got down to reading Constables'  book. When I
came to the chapter which showed that Constable had concluded
that the Tully reeds circles of 1966 onwards, as well as other
scorched circles in New Zealand, were probably the result of his
'critters' coming into contact with the earth, I knew we were on
to something, particularly when he referred to their attraction
to bodies of water as 'cold, contractive, water-hungry energy'
(1).

His findings in connection with both Reich and his so-called
Bioforms were incorporated, with references and quotes, into
Chapter Seventeen of THE CIRCLEMAKERS. The rest of the book
previewed our own findings connecting orgone with crop circles,
UFOs and earth mysteries. I also looked at historical circles,
UFO nests, the ill-effects of orgone, and ended the book with my
own views on the relationship between pure intelligent energy
forms and the human mind, with particular reference to UFO
abductions, contactees, psychic communications. None of it had
any direct connection with Constable's own work.

THE CIRCLEMAKERS was finished in April 1992 and already I was
seeking permission to use certain photographs taken by Trevor
James Constable. Twice I wrote to two different American
publishers connected with Constable. Finally, in early June I
reached the Borderland Sciences group of Garberville, California,
who promote Constable's latter-day weather-engineering work. The
editor of their journal, Thomas Brown, rang me to say he was in
contact with Constable and that I should not worry as Borderland
held the copyright to `most' of Constable's pictures, which he
had given them. He also said there would be no problem about
copyright from either them or from Trevor (indeed, they gave me
permission to use an illustration from one of their own
publications). So I went ahead and published the book and in the
meantime wrote to Constable at his address in Hawaii.

The response from Constable was dated 15 August 1992, a month or
so after the book was published. In three pages of verbal abuse
he condemned the whole project as misinterpreting his and Reich's
work. He suggested that I had failed to comprehend the contents
of THE COSMIC PULSE OF LIFE and accused me of ignoring his
findings concerning two specific types of UFO - the structured
craft and the bioform. He also suggested that my partner Debbie's
'spurious clairvoyance' was `rootless flummery' (a stupid
statement) and that if I wanted a real understanding of psychism
I should study the entire works of Rudolf Steiner. He added: `If
you keep on along this line, Mr Collins, you will spoil your own
future unfoldment, so this is a suggestion that you eschew all
that stuff (i.e. the `spurious clairvoyance') without delay, and
before you provoke attention from the astral planes that may
cause you to wish you had never been born.'

The subject of the photographs was not Constable's main problem,
although it didn't help ease Constables' view that I was
distorting his sacrosanct findings concerning UFOs; a case of
standing on someone's foot before you've introduced yourself.

His worst claim was `You have lifted many passages out of COSMIC
PULSE and presented them with minor re-writing as though they
were your own work. This kind of plagiarism will not go unnoticed
in the world, Mr Collins.'

Despite this Constable ends on the fatherly note of `Your motives
are good, Mr Collins, but this world is currently incapable of
understanding or accepting what stands behind the crop circles.
Constable, Steiner and Reich can perhaps lead you to understand
why this is so...' and earlier on he says : `I want you to
understand clearly that I do not impugn your motives. Your good
intention to try and vindicate me is quite apparent. Such
vindication can only come long after I am gone from the earth.
The lust for vindication does not burn in me.'

Putting the letter down, I could not believe what I was reading.
There's me writing a book that completely vindicates his work,
confirms his theories and shows that Constable was a man years
ahead of his time, and all he does is throw it all back in my
face with claims of `rootless flummery' and `plagiarism', which
was simply untrue.

What I had no idea of at the time was that no one in the orgone
business has anything good to say about anyone else. Constable is
hated by many people and has been accused of distorting Reich's
work by rivals such as James de Meo and the late Jerome Eden, who
worked extensively on the relationship between orgone and UFOs
(see below).

Instantly I responded to Constable in a letter dated 20 August
1992. Here I tried to answer each and every query. I apologised
for the use of his pictures, even though he said `what is done is
done'. On his accusation of 'plagiarism' I had this to say: 'When
people ask me the best source for Reich I suggest your books,
which is why my writing has drawn largely from your words. (In
Chapter Seventeen) I was not trying to plagiarise any of your
work; I was simply trying to tell the story from your own
perspective; your own course of discovery... Yet when re-working
factual information there is only so many new words you can find
before lapsing back into phraseology that matches the original
text'. I pointed out that it was clearly 'a review of your
work... giving the reader the chance to seek out your books to
enable them to gain a deeper understanding of  their theories.'

No plagiarism took place, other than Constable seeking some
justification for seeing a resume of just one small part of his
own work in somebody else's book.

On his criticism of the book's flippant style, I said: `I write
enthusiastically and sometimes naively, this I admit. I am not a
scientist, an occultist, or even a ufologist or a psychical
researcher; in fact, I am just a man off the street with an eager
taste to dissect and speculate upon the mysteries of life.' which
is entirely true.

As to Constable's claim that I would end up `bitterly regretting'
the writing of THE CIRCLEMAKERS I said `...should I ever get the
chance to rewrite THE CIRCLEMAKERS, it would turn out a wholly
different book altogether.'  And this is true as well. Any writer
would make such a statement. However, one year later and I don't
bitterly regret writing the book at all; far from it.

On Constables' accusation that I had only cited him as believing
in the orgone bioform solution to UFOs, I pointed out that on
page 170 of my book I do state `that you retained your firm
belief in physical spacecraft, yet considered that even they
utilised some form of propulsion system involving orgone energy.

Constable's main concern was that I should have given equal space
to the physical flying saucers and cited his work relating to UFO
propulsion systems. He sometimes referred to these as Ether
Ships, whereas as early as 1946 Borderland founder Mead Layne had
talked about Ether Ships as 'thought constructs' - intelligent
entities that form bodies from etheric substances (2). To me this
is just another name for Constables' bioforms or 'critters'. In
no way do I dismiss ether ships as Mr France has claimed, I just
don't see them as anything to do with 'nuts and bolts' spacecraft
(Chapter Seventeen is called 'Return of the Ether Ships'.  Never,
and I mean never, have I ever 'stated' that Constables' views of
ether ships were 'crap' - a false accusation you use as the basis
of your malicious attack, Mr France.

Despite this the evidence in Constables' book, whether he accepts
it or not, clearly favours the orgone bioform solution to UFOs. I
therefore saw no good reason why I should spend page after page
going over theories on 'nuts and bolts' spacecraft I do not even
consider to have any basis in reality. I also saw no point is
going into the work of Rudolf Steiner as my brushes with his
extensive work have left me in no desire to continue in such a
direction, especially as his teachings heavily influenced the
rise in occult Nazism prior to and during the Second World War.

I apologised if I had caused Constable any offence and promised
to keep him informed of future developments.

The letter was sent out and two days later I attended the
Cornference at Salisbury. I felt other people in the subject
should be aware of the Constable correspondence and so openly
allowed it to be read by anyone who was interested. Robert
France's `Steve Watts', i.e. Geoff Gilbertson of Glastonbury (why
play name games?), asked if he could photocopy both letters. This
I freely permitted him to do, just as I would have done anyone
that day.  Indeed, since then I have openly shown the letters to
anyone interested in my work and many people have copies  [I do,
PF].

I had nothing to hide so there was never any secrecy involved, Mr
France, and no sneaky permission was granted behind my back by my
partner Debbie, as you imply. Furthermore, Geoff Gilbertson
showed you the photocopies out of good faith as a researcher, and
not because he thought he had something to gloat over as in "I'd
have a read of that", he crowed with a grin on his face' and
"read it first" he teased.' I know this because I have checked
with him and found out what really happened; this pastiche
setting Mr France creates is  'pure fiction'.

Robert France masqueraded his true motives in the three letters
he wrote to me between August and November 1992. I knew he was a
close colleague of Clive Potter who wrote a rather disparaging
review of THE CIRCLEMAKERS in CW13. I also knew that he claimed
to have experienced various UFO encounters. Mr France finally
came clean about his intent in a letter dated 16 November 1992.

I smelt a big rat in the questions being posed by Mr France in
this particular letter. After the words `While not attempting to
stir-up trouble' he admitted having read a copy of Constable's
letter dated 15 August 1992.  However, he did not say how he had
come to see it, but added that he had confirmed its authenticity
with Constable using the address supplied. There is no mention of
my response to Constable's letter which was given to Geoff
Gilbertson at the same time.

I got the distinct feeling that Mr France was planning to use
Constable's letter in an attack on me and my work, so made sure
that my return letter to him was lengthy, explanatory and
included copies not just of Constable's original letter by my
response as well.  I like to give people the benefit of the doubt
and assume that if they have the full facts, they may re-assess
their
intentions.

In the two-page reply to Mr France, I pointed out the situation
relating to the Constable photographs, and how I had made every
effort to obtain permission for their use before Tom Brown of
Borderland gave the final go ahead in June 1992. I also answered
each of Constable's earlier accusations. Mr France makes no
mention of any of this in his personal attack.

The same day Robert France's letter arrived, I received a second
letter from Constable dated 9 November 1992. Despite my
diplomatic response to his original letter, he made a series of
attacks on me and my work, all of which were grossly unfounded
and explained in my reply letter dated 19 November 1992.

I told him I valued criticism and comment on my work, as this was
the only way forward. However, Constable had suggested that `I
get right out of the public eye until you are well past forty
years of age' and that he had `... assured UK correspondents that
I will have no further commerce with you of any kind, and that I
regard you as a loose cannon. Please oblige me by not
communicating with me again. I wish you well, and I wish you good
luck, for you are surely going to need it.'

There the letter ended. In my reply to his words I pointed out
that many of the things he had said against THE CIRCLEMAKERS had
been said before in a review of his own book THE COSMIC PULSE OF
LIFE published in THE JOURNAL OF ORGONOMY (Vol 11, No 1, pp.
121-131), the most respected publication in the orgone field of
research.

Written by Jerome Eden - himself a student of Dr Elsworth Baker,
Reich's direct successor -  this 11-page, systematic destruction
of PULSE began by stating: `I intend to demonstrate that Trevor
James Constable has rendered a grave disservice to orgonomy by
publishing a book...' that: `Thoroughly distorts Reich's work in
a miasma of occult mystification' and `Evades and distorts the
serious
realities of ufology in a mystical maze of occult confusion.' The
attack goes on to highlight the `characteristic inaccuracy' of
the book in quite blatant terms.

In my second letter to Constable I compared these words with
almost exactly the same words he had used in respect to THE
CIRCLEMAKERS. For instance, he said of me: `This kind of
roughshod, unscholarly treatment you accord Dr Reich and his work
is really quite
inexcusable.' While Jerome Eden said of PULSE (p. 131): `It
should be crystal clear to any rational student of orgonomy that
Trevor James Constable has performed a shameful disservice to the
work of Wilhelm Reich.'

I could go on. In other words, it would not have mattered what I
wrote, it would still have been wrong. Ultimately, I had trodden
on other people's domains and livelihoods and this was the real
crime; it seems that the cloudbusters are aimed more at each
other than they are at the sky these days.

It is also important to point out that although Constable may
have crystalised the orgone bioform solution, much of his work is
totally irrelevant to my work. What's more, his research into
orgone energy should not have given him the right to condemn
other people's views just because it dissects and revises his own
personal theories. My orgone research outside of Constable was
scant, due to a lack of available books, but I made sure that
what I did say was technically sound. I certainly did the
research, Mr France, hundreds of hours of it, just as I do with
every research project or book I take on. If any errors did creep
into the text of THE CIRCLEMAKERS Constable should have pointed
them out, not launched into a tirade of verbal abuse. This I also
put in my reply to Constable.

One of the things Constable accused me of plagiarising was this
pertinent statement made by him in 1976 (put in quotes, I must
add): `By the years 2000... hosts of young investigators in
exobiology will be in full pursuit of the critters of our
atmosphere.' Well, as I pointed out to Constable, 2000 is fast
approaching and his prediction looks like coming to pass. But, as
I put it to him: `do not expect that those who are taking this
subject forward will entirely agree with your own vision of the
future, for "exobiology" also spells the death knell for the
"nuts and bolts" UFO, I'm afraid.'

Despite his claims that only `more distortions' would come of our
ORGONE93 project, I assured Constable it would be successful;
successful in its purpose and aims. It would involve some of the
most knowledgeable and open-minded students of orgonomy in this
country today, none of whom had any problem at all with THE
CIRCLEMAKERS when they read it.

Mr France got his hands on what he thought was an incriminating
piece of evidence against Andy Collins and his psychic questing
work, so he thought he would use it in some nefarious manner.
This has really nothing to do with crop circles, or the orgone
hypothesis, it is about the misguided thoughts of one man. I
believe it is your 'ignorance',  Mr France, not mine, that has
misguided you to plough your 'pathetic sense of humour' into an
attack on me which could be better described as 'rootless
flummery'.  This is especially so with the misrepresented 'Steve
Watts' verifying the situation you place him in as 'pure
fiction'; so much for your 'myth-smashing'.

>From my own point of view I shall think very carefully about
being so open concerning my personal correspondence in the
future. However, I must also accept that if you are going to put
forward new ideas, then there will always be those who will try
to knock you down; not your theories, but you, personally.

If, as Mr France says, he has some useful thoughts on `the use
and manipulation of orgone and so-called "bioforms", the focusing
of this energy to retain and even retard Cancer (strange, I
thought Reich was doing this in the 1940s - AC),' but hasn't `the
capital available to produce even badly bound books' then perhaps
he should start airing these views in journals instead of
launching
vindictive attacks on those who are actually doing the work.
Perhaps then people will start taking notice of him.

Note: 1. Constable, SKY CREATURES, p. 202.

Editorial Comments

Readers will probably have found this all a little bit
distasteful.  I have to admit that after eagerly accepting Robert
France's submission to  The Crop Watcher I began to regret
accepting it so willingly.  As Andy Collins states, a charge of
plagiarism against any author is very serious - and one which I
hardly think is warranted by the evidence presented here.  In
Andy's defence I would like to state the following:-
(1) I can vouch for the factual accuracy of all the quotations
taken from Andy Collin's letters to Trevor James Constable.  I
can also vouch for the fact that Constable seems to have a
problem with anyone daring to discuss his work. His letters to
Collins were unnecessarily vitriolic and unpleasant, so much so
that I wonder whether Constable himself is not utterly barmy !
It is a nonsense for any researcher - myself included - to impose
limits on who may discuss your work and what they can say about
it.  Indeed I only wish a few more people would comment on my
work and quote it in their books and magazines !  By contrast
Andy Collins' letters to Constable were admirably restrained and
proper given the
circumstances.  If any apologies are due then Constable certainly
owes one to Collins.

(2) Andy Collins has explained the dilemma he faced when he
wished to use Constable's photos.  I too have been faced with
similar problems chasing up people who, having published books
and
articles, then just disappeared.  It seems to me that Andy did
everything that could naturally be asked of him.  Thomas Brown's
apparent approval and claim of copyright clears Andy entirely.

(3)  I too received copies of the correspondence between Collins
and Constable during late 1992.  To be honest I didn't have the
time to read it when Andy Collins circulated  these letters -
they were voluminous and concerned matters which I didn't really
know too much about.  All they really de-monstrated to me was
that Orgone research is just as much as battlefield as UFOlogy
and "cerealogy", with everyone having a good go at each other
rather than getting down to doing some proper research ! Andy's
circulation of this material doesn't strike me as strange or
unjustified. I certainly find it interesting ! But if Robert
France is  justified in his charge of plagiarism why should
Collins have circulated this material so freely ? Surely if
Collins was guilty of doing something wrong then this would have
been playing right into the hands of his enemies  ?

(4) On balance I can perhaps understand Constable's annoyance
that The Circlemakers blurs his belief that some UFOs are
atmospheric creatures [a concept that really appeals to me] and
that others are ET spaceships. I know how annoying it is to see
others misrepresent what you have said so perhaps   Andy should
have been a little more careful in how he portrayed Constable's
work.  Of course, as Andy says, the ET spaceship interpretation
was not really relevant to his own work and he would only have
been accused of plagiarism all the more for discussing both of
Constable's personal theories if he had dwelt on this too.

(5) Ultimately writers and researchers have thin red lines they
have to tread when presenting the work of others.  Even more so
when dealing with so-called paranormal phenomena, themselves
controversial and likely to attract all manner of eccentrics.  I
am happy to place on record my own support for the way Andy has
dealt with this unfortunate situation and I hope this will be the
end of it.  As for Orgone, well I have different views on that -
let's see what happens this summer.... PF.

Jenny Randles adds her own comments: I would just like to add a
brief statement. I have known Andy Collins a long time (around 18
years now). During his time as a UFO investigator when I co-
ordinated UFOIN, and despite his then relative youth, I was
struck by his tenacity and depth of enquiry into a case. I have
no hesitation in saying that he is one of the best UFOlogists I
have ever worked with, that his case reports from the heyday of
his field studies (1976-81)  still stand as of lasting importance
and that few since he sadly moved away from UFO investigation
have matched his productivity. Since then he has been involved in
areas with no doubt more contentious pedigrees and I have to say
I have some reservations about some of them. However, everything
I have seen of Andy's work endorses my view of his skill and
doggedness as a researcher. In areas like 'questing' I always
turn to his opinions first, because I personally respect them
highly. I know little of orgone energy, do not know if Andy's
ideas are right or wrong, but found his book fascinating,
thought-provoking  and (as always) delightfully written. As a
writer I really admire his literary skills. I have read all the
correspondence and in my view Andy emerges with respect,
credibility and objectivity - which is not necessarily true of
all the players in this game. JR.

PF Notes: I am not prepared to accept any further correspondence,
either private or for publication, on these matters. Readers
should contact Andy Collins, ABC Books, PO Box 189, Leigh-on-Sea,
Essex, SS9  1NF or Robert France, Flat 1, 151 Oxford Road,
Reading, Berkshire, RG1  7UY if they wish to follow-up this
debate.

1964 Crop Circle in South-East Essex

A Report by Andrew Collins

South East Essex  is not known for its crop circles - aside from
the presumably man-made examples of recent years at Rettendon and
nearby North Woodham Ferrers. In February 1993, however,  I have
become aware of what seems to have been a classic crop circle
appearing in the then rural district of Eastwood during the
summer of 1964. It was brought to my attention by Gwen Brooker of
Eastwood after she came across my book The Circlemakers in a
local bookshop. Gwen dropped me a line and this led to an
interview with her and her husband John on  Wednesday, 24
February [1].

Our chat in the comfort of the couple's home lasted for some
hours and as it progressed I realised that both Gwen and John
were mature, articulate and sincere people not prone to flights
of fancy. Furthermore, they are also known to me through a mutual
friend, Gwen Horrigan of Leigh-on-Sea, who can confirm the
couple's integrity. Since 1962 the Brookers have lived in
Rayleigh Road,  Eastwood. Today it is a busy main road linking
the town of Rayleigh with the A127 arterial road at Kent Elms
Corner, but in 1964 it was still a pleasant country lane bordered
by avenues of trees and looking out across cultivated fields
belonging to nearby
Cockethurst Farm.

Each morning and evening Gwen or her husband would walk their
young dog - a cocker spaniel named 'Sally' - along the side of
the fields lying beyond Rayleigh Road and nearby Snakes Lane,
both of which contained only a handful of scattered houses and
cottages. Some 300 yards along Snakes Lane was Cockethurst Manor,
a late Tudor house surrounded by trees and owned by three elderly
sisters who employed the services of a farm manager.

One clear morning in late July 1964 Gwen took the dog for its
usual walk. After entering Snakes Lane she left the road and
strolled along the eastern edge of a field containing near-ripe
wheat (and no tractor tram-lines). On reaching the bottom of the
field she came to a small, fast-running brook, beyond which was a
further field of ripe wheat. Here Gwen turned west to follow the
field's northern edge. Some 150 yards further on, as she drew
level with an old oak tree on the opposite side of the brook, her
eyes picked out a large circular area of flattened wheat on her
left-hand side, estimated at around 40 feet in diameter (OSGR TQ
85008863). It was symmetrically perfect and swirled in an anti-
clockwise direction. Gwen recalls it was located some ten feet
beyond the edge of the field and there seemed to be no visible
sign of entry from the footpath. Furthermore, she was convinced
it had not been there the previous evening when she and her
husband had last walked the dog, meaning it must have appeared
overnight.

Her gaze at this extraordinary sight was broken by the sound of
her dog barking loudly. Glancing down she saw it was looking
directly at the crop circle, its shackles raised, as if agitated
by
something unseen among the corn.

The dog continued its incessant barking for some minutes  and
although nothing could be seen, its peculiar reaction was one of
the factors that convinced Gwen that she should not enter the
circle. She also decided that stepping through the corn would
only result in further damage to the crop, so instead Gwen pulled
the dog away and continued her brisk walk. Saucer Nest

On arrival home Gwen informed her husband of the flattened circle
of corn. He confirmed it had not been present when they had both
walked the same footpath the previous evening and mulling over
the possibilities, Gwen suggested that the crop circle might be
the result of a 'saucer' coming down. Such an idea was, of
course, a wild stab in the dark, particularly as there has been
no reports of UFO activity either in the area or in the local
newspapers (see below). Gwen was herself a believer, however, as
a school-friend of hers had encountered some form of unidentified
object in
Southchurch Hall Park, some five miles away, during the
mid-1950s.

Unconvinced of the 'flying saucer' theory, John accompanied Gwen
back to the crop circle that same evening. Once again the dog was
in tow, although this time the animal did not respond to its
proximity. John forced an entry into the area of flattened corn
and, despite his memory being a little hazy, he seems to recall
that the nearer he got to the centre the more the flattened wheat
appeared to be unduly 'bleached', as if the stalks' moisture had
been 'evaporated by heat'. Indeed, John feels that the actual
centre was totally devoid of any stalks, and remarked on the fact
that the earth appeared to have been 'scorched', as if 'blasted'
from the middle outwards. He too confirmed that there had been no
sign of any human entry from the footpath running alongside the
brook and so concluded that he was probably the first to enter
the circle. John became totally flummoxed by its presence, having
never seen anything like it before.

During the interview John pointed out that in 1964 there was
simply no interest in the subject of UFOs. What's more, the
location in question was fairly remote and, to the best of his
knowledge, was only frequented by people out walking their dogs.
For this reason he could see no reason why any local youths
should want to create such a thing.

After leaving the circle the Brookers returned home, perplexed by
their discovery. Gwen did telephone a few friends to inform them
of the circle's presence, but none seemed intrigued enough to
want to visit the site.  One of these friends, a woman named
Janet Phipps, told me she recalled Gwen ringing her about the
'saucer' nest and was easily able to work out the year in
question.

The Locale

The wheat field where the crop circle appeared in 1964 was one of
the many cultivated each year by Cockethurst Farm. The whole area
was entirely flat with no hills within at least three miles of
this location: it is also devoid of any known ancient sites.
Curiously enough, Gwen recalls that 1964 was the last time the
field
containing the circle was used for wheat crop. The following year
it was left fallow and within two years it had been sold to the
local council. It is now a football field attached to the nearby
Eastwood Schools, situated opposite Gwen and John's home in
Rayleigh Road.

During my interview we adjourned to the playing field at the
centre of the mystery and here Gwen pointed out the position
where she came across the circle in 1964. Interesting features
that should be noted is the proximity of running water within 10
to 15 feet of the crop circle (which Gwen intuitively feels is
important in some way) and the large oak tree on the opposite
side of the brook. Some 150 yards south of the position are east-
west running electricity cables strung between low pylons.
Unfortunately Gwen cannot recall whether these were present in
1964. However, they are certainly present on the OS map for
1968-69, meaning they were very possibly in position four years
earlier.

Gwen has spoken of ghost stories attached to various buildings in
the fields around Eastwood, but none of these lie within half a
mile of where the crop circle appeared, so cannot be associated
with its presence. There was also talk of a witches' coven
setting up in a nearby building, but this was finally pin-downed
to the late 1960s, early 1970s; not earlier.

The only other curious fact concerns Gypsies who would come from
all over Britain to this area during the months of June/July each
year. Here they would take part in an impromptu music festival
before going their own ways again. However, their rallying point
was close to the Woodcutters Arms public house in Leigh-on-Sea,
which is more than a mile away from where the crop circle
appeared, so I see no justification for linking them with its
presence.

Animal Reaction

It seems reasonable to suggest that Gwen Brooker's dog may well
have reacted to something unseen inside the crop circle, a
feature already common to crop circle lore. A prime example is
Colin Andrew's account of his family dog's violent reaction to
its approach to the Kimpton ring on 29 June 1987 [2].  Essex UFO
investigator Ron West claims that after the appearance of the
1989 single circle at Littly Green  in mid-Essex, the nearby
farmer's dog barked incessantly for the entire three weeks it was
present [3].  What's more, whenever the animal escaped from the
garden it would race across to the circle and begin digging at
its centre.

In Chapter 10 of The Circlemakers I suggest that such responses
are compatible with the idea that animals can respond to
inexplicable ultrasound emissions.  Similar  reactions have been
noted at ancient sites where anomalous ultrasound emissions have
been recorded.

With the Littly Green case in mind, it is important to remember
that dogs respond to dog whistles not because they like the sound
they produce, but because they want to seek out the source of the
noise; animals will often jump up in an attempt to snatch the
whistle from their owner's hand if the sound is continued.

Ultrasound monitoring has been included in the ORGONE93 project.

Geology

The 1964 crop circle lies close to an east-west running brook and
consultation with a local geological map shows some potentially
interesting features about this location [4]. The brook at this
point marks the juncture of five separate geological stratas;
these being alluvium, brickearth, loam (river brickearth), London
Clay, sand and gravel. Quite what this means I cannot say but it
may have some bearing on the porosity of the sub-surface levels
deemed by some to have a relationship with the appearance of crop
circles [5].

Gwen Brooker informs me that the water tables beneath the Kent
Elms area of Eastwood are very unstable and that when a bridge
was constructed across the A127 arterial road, many local houses
became flooded owing to the displacement of sub-surface water.

Sociological Climate and UFO Reports

1964 is important in crop circle terms as it was the year before
the sudden growth in popularity of the UFO phenomenon, following
the rise of interest in the Wiltshire town of Warminster.  From
Christmas Day 1964 onwards for some years there was a steady
increase in alleged UFO activity reflected in media interest
during this very same period. It climaxed with two national UFO
'flaps', one in 1967 and the other in 1973. Both years produced
record amounts of  reported sightings as can be determined from
the many pulp paperbacks that appeared on the subject during the
early to mid 1970s. Therefore, if the Eastwood circle had
appeared, say, after 1964 then it might be suggested that it was
the result of local and/or national media interest in UFOs. As it
stands, the circle occurred during a period of no local reported
sightings and very few national stories on the subject of UFOs.

The archives of Southend Central Library contain press cuttings
on UFO sightings from the 1950s to the present day. The earliest
of these was clearly a fireball mistakenly identified as a
'flying saucer' in a news-story printed in the Southend Standard
of 3 December 1953 and entitled 'Flying Saucer or Shooting
Star?'. There were no more reported sightings in the local media
until 16 March 1966 when the Southend Standard ran a news-story
entitled 'Mystery in the night sky'. It concerned a 'deep,
pulsating glow of orange in the shape of a parachute' watched for
what appears to have been some time by a Mr William Dowler as he
drove along the A127 arterial road towards Southend during the
late evening of Thursday, 10 March. 'It was moving about in the
sky as though trying to study the ground', said Mr Dowler. 'As I
passed Kent Elm(s) traffic lights it suddenly went out'. Kent
Elms Corner, Eastwood, is no more than 300-400 yards from the
position of  the 1964 Snakes Lane  crop  circle. The news-piece
claimed that Mr Dowler and 'several other car drivers' and a
Police motor-cyclist 'slowed to watch' the aerial anomaly.

Intriguingly enough the next known sighting, reported in the
Southend Standard of 2 November 1967, also featured the Kent Elms
Corner. A Mr Edward Rouse of Hullbridge watched 'a huge object
with flashing lights hovering above trees at Kent Elms Corner,
Eastwood' during the evening of Saturday, 29 October. He too was
driving along the busy A127 arterial road towards Southend when
he spotted about '500 yards' away 'a ring of fluorescent light'
that dipped below the tree-line at one point before returning as
'a red, flashing light'. He had earlier witnessed what he
believed was either the same or a similar object in nearby
Rayleigh.

Confirming my above statement about the interest in UFOs
spreading only after the advent of the Warminster phenomenon of
1965 onwards, the news-story claimed: 'This is the first report
of an
unidentified flying object in the Southend area since last week's
spate of sightings in the south of England'. It doesn't say where
in the South of England, but there is a good probability it was a
reference to Warminster. There were no further reported sightings
in south-east Essex until 1971.

Although I cannot vouch for the authenticity of either report, I
find it intriguing that the only two sightings recorded in the
Southend area during the 1960s occurred within a few hundred
yards of the 1964 Snakes Lane crop circle. I can also confirm
that no mention of 'flying saucers' was made at all in the
Southend Standard between May and September 1964, virtually
eliminating a motive for the creation of a 'saucer nest' by local
youths during this same period of time. Fortean Diary

My own research  has shown  crop circles to be merely part of a
much larger phenomenon connected with both time and space,
reflected in other unusual events and incidents of either a human
or meteorological nature. Such peculiar anomalies and their
association with the paranormal are known as fortean phenomena
(after Charles Fort, their first chronicler).

With this in mind I scanned through all editions of the Southend
Standard, south-east Essex's only newspaper in 1964, looking for
seemingly-unconnected events that might have some bearing on the
presence of the Snakes Lane crop circle.

>From the beginning of June to the end of September  the following
incidents caught my attention:

- Saturday, 18.7.64. At the height of a heavy storm on the
morning concerned police at Ghyllgrove, Basildon (5 miles from
Eastwood),  watched 'a huge bowl (ball ?)  of fire' run down the
northern side of Brooke House. A tree was also reported to have
been struck in nearby Pagel Mead [6].

- Saturday, 18.7.64. Just hours after the violent storm a fire
mysteriously destroyed the 1820 church of St Gabriel in Pitsea (4
miles from Eastwood). Police were at a loss to explain how the
fire started [7].

- Thursday, 20.8.64. Around 3pm a freak whirlwind came off the
Thames Estuary and struck the home of Mr and Mrs Ronald Sunshine
of Atherstone Road, Canvey Island (4 miles from Eastwood). It was
described as 'a swirling funnel of air' and was accompanied by a
noise likened to 'a jet aeroplane ... going to land'. It vanished
as quickly as it appeared leaving wide-spread damage to the house
[8].

- Saturday, 22.8.64. Pitsea and Vange were plunged into darkness
for nearly an hour after the electricity supply mysteriously
failed. 'Something happened to our 35,000 volt system' a
spokesman said [9].

- Sunday, 23.8.64. Around 9.30pm an unnamed elderly woman in
Rayleigh heard 'four sharp raps' on the front door of her
cottage. On peering through the window she saw a hooded figure
staring up at her from the base of the steps, described as 'a
tall man dressed in black ... wearing a dark hood'. The dog
instantly reacted by jumping up at the window while a 'man
friend' ran out into the street, only to find that the figure had
vanished from sight.

The woman told the Standard that after the door-step intruder had
disappeared her 'daughter sat in a chair as if she was
paralysed'. She had no idea who the hooded man might have been
and said that no one bore a grudge against either her or her
family [10].

Rayleigh is no more than 3 miles from Eastwood. I suspect a
logical explanation to this extraordinary incident, but one is
tempted to think of the Grim reaper sketch in Monty Python's film
'The Meaning of Life' !

Whether any of these quite separate incidents were related to the
1964 crop circle might never be  known as we have no actual date
of occurrence. However, they were well worth recording, anyway.

Conclusions

I have found no likelihood of the Eastwood circle being of man-
made construction, although the possibility of a hoax can never
be ruled out. I am also drumming up interest in the local media
in the hope that I can draw out others who either saw the crop
circle or know something of its manufacture. Until such times as
any further information comes to light, this particular example
must remain a mystery, for which reason it is unquestionably an
important addition to our gradually-expanding data-bank of
pre-1980 British circles.

Notes:

1. A tape recording was made of the interview. Full details of
the witnesses' address and details are on file. 2. Collins, A.
The Circlemakers,  ABC Books, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, 1992, pp
94-95. 3.  West, R., Essex UFO Research Group, 1989.
4. See Geological Sheets 258/259, Southend and Foulness, HMSO. 5.
Grist, B. The Cerealogist, No. 5, 'The Aquifer Attractor', pages
18-19. 6. Southend Standard, 22.7.64, page 16, Basildon slip-
page, 7. Ibid., as above.
8. Ibid., 26.8.64, page 32, Canvey-Rayleigh slip page.
9. Ibid., 26.8.64, page 18, Basildon slip-page.
10. Ibid., 26.8.64, page 32, Canvey-Rayleigh slip-page.

Editorial Notes

Many thanks to Andy Collins for allowing us to reproduce this
previously unreported case - yet another articulate recollection
of a crop circle from the pre Doug and Dave era - and yet another
case which just doesn't exist if you believe the claims of the
official skeptics movement. Yet again we have a historical case
which features just a small single circle about  40 feet (13
metres) across.  Now I do have one or two doubts here, eg the
circle was very close to the edge of the field, and the reaction
of the dog could have been because someone was crouched down
inside the circle. Furthermore we have the possible presence of
electricity transmission lines - a feature we have repeatedly
noted at known hoax sites because hoaxers believe that UFOs are
supposed to hover close to transmission lines to steal
electricity. And finally there is this alleged gypsy
association - perhaps Gypsies were involved in circle-making
thirty years before the "travellers" began their antics in
deepest Wiltshire ? And although Andy stresses that there was
little media interest in UFOs in 1964 the Charlton crater episode
happened only 12 months  before - a UFO event which made many
national newspapers throughout most of the previous summer. Could
it be that some UFO hoaxers decided to create "proof" that the
spaceships had landed - just as the United Bureau of
Investigation did 25 years later in Wiltshire ?

Of course now that there are so many groups of hoaxers on the
loose it is very easy to become a great sceptic. Really this is
just idle speculation on my part, we may never know if this was a
man-made hoax or something else.  The evidence is here, it is up
to you dear reader to decide ! Thanks again to Andy.

Book Review

Dowsing, New Light on an Ancient Art
by Tom Williamson

(Robert Hale Ltd, Hardback Edition,  219 pages,
15 b&w photos, numerous illustrations)

Readers will know that in CW7  Jenny Randles and myself withdrew
our support for the concept that "genuine" crop circles have some
kind of residual field energy which can be successfully dowsed.
This followed Busty Taylor's unfortunate experience on the
Channel 4 "Equinox" programme when he successfully dowsed the
Wessex Skeptics' hoax at Clench Common.  Oh dear ! What a pity
this book didn't come out when Doug and Dave were hitting the
headlines, perhaps then we wouldn't have been quite so dismissive
of Taylor's failure !

This is really the best book I've read about an anomaly for some
time. Williamson has  spent all his life studying dowsing - a
skill (??) his father used extensively throughout East Africa to
earn a living - and Williamson is well qualified to  evaluate the
dowsing literature, having studied geology at Oxford and then
working at the Science Museum specializing in climatology and the
history of medicine.  Although Williamson is a proponent of
dowsing he doesn't let his scientific scepticism cloud his
thinking - frequently dismissing the claims of researchers whose
work could be used to support the concept of dowsing but whose
public statements are less than scientific. The great strength of
this book is its extensive presentation of case histories and its
demonstration of the scientific method at its best.  I well
recall my astonishment at the Wessex Skeptics' vehemently
outright hostility to dowsing -"the negative literature totally
outweighs the positive results" and "there have been no
successful double-blind experiments" - well not any more they
aren't !

Williamson begins with a fascinating tour through the history of
dowsing, beginning in the mines of Northern Germany in the
sixteenth century but spreading throughout Europe,  a practice
that - like many modern-day scientific anomalies - was soon
labelled by the authorities as an anti-scientific actitivity that
led to imprisonment and even death for some of its early
proponents.  This historical section is important for it shows
how Dowsing - like many scientific anomalies - was marginalised
by science because of the fear that the mere concept of invisible
earth energies evoked.  Of course, Science itself is a power
system, so this negative response was all too predictable.
Nowhere is this more ably demonstrated that in Chapter 3, which
examines the alleged link between radon, cancer and dowsing.
Williamson  demonstrates how the concept of dowsable "earth rays"
was hijacked by the more esoteric dowsers and used by scientists
to dismiss  the whole subject. The result was fifty years of
scientific ignorance and stagnation. Now where have I heard that
kind of story before ?

It is important to distinguish between different claimed effects.
In Chapter 4 Williamson discusses archaeological dowsing whilst
Chapter 5 summarises the latest scientific research into the
effect. Williamson blasts the skeptics with an impressive
documentation of double-blind experiments where the best dowsers
scored remarkably high results that statistically would only
occur very very rarely by statistical chance alone.  Here
Williamson is at his best, debating the strengths and weaknesses
of  different trials,  emphasising the importance of removing all
visual cues and explaining how best to interpret complex
statistical results. I was particularly impressed with his
discussion of the Utah State University tests and  the "waggon"
tests conducted by the Munich group of scientists (pages 77-85).

Chapters 7 to 10 examine a variety of possible mechanisms for the
Dowsing Effect - eg. infrasonic vibrations from within the
earth's crust,  electromagnetism, fault zones, and even UFOs
feature in this fascinating review of the literature.

Part II  of the book extends Williamson's search for the answer
to the Dowsing Effect with a review of many subjects well known
to UFOlogists - ionisation of the air, earthquake lights,
piezoelectrical effects, and that old favourite earthlights.
They're all here. Unfortunately so are crop circles - and
although there is an important first hand account of the 1963
Charlton Crater (pages 164-6) some of the evidence in this
chapter is now a little redundant.  Sadly Williamson accepted our
claims that most circles were not man-made and goes on to
consider two possibilities - that crop circle dowsers are simply
responding to visual cues -the crop circles themselves - or that
they are detecting a residual energy field. This rather spoils
his otherwise scholarly approach. His final chapter attempts to
draw together all the disparate fields of study discussed
throughout his book in a kind of grand unifying theory (which
includes Meaden's ideas about stone circles and their
relationship with crop circle vortices).  For my liking this is a
little over-ambitious but nevertheless this is a fine book which
I recommend to anyone who adopts an open mind towards anomalies.
PF.




Ted Phillips' Physical Trace Catalogue

Part 2 (Continued from issue 16)

Case 124,  Nov 16, 1958. SWEDEN, Upland. Dusk.

Two men found their car stopping and lights going out when they
were three miles from Vaddo, their destination. In the next
moment they caught sight of a shining object, about 17 yards long
and 8-9 yards high, which swooped down from their right and
landed about 60 yards away. It was circular and blue, with a
shining yellow rim which lit up a circular area of 90-100 yards.
After about three minutes on the ground, the object begun to
move, then vanished into the air. After checking their car, which
now started easily, the men drove to the spot where the "light"
had been. They noticed a heaviness and "closeness" of the air,
and saw that the grass was either pressed  down or blown down .
When they lighted the area with a flashlight, they discovered a
bright, flat, thin "stone", which felt warm to their hands.
(CUFOS)

[This case was featured on page 159 of "Crop Circles, A Mystery
Solved" as a potential plasma-vortex case. Note the reference to
the unusual atmospheric sensations. This too is a clue to the
natural origin of the effect being described. We suggest that the
failure of the car engine is due to intense ionisation of the
air. PF]

Case 126, December 20th, 1958. FRANCE, Clermont-Ferrand.  1600
Hrs.

A disc 70 foot in diameter was observed and caused damage to the
ground. (VALLEE III)

Case 127, December 28th, 1958. IRELAND, County Antrim.

Joseph Bennett, a farmer, heard a strange noise and  he looked up
and saw a dark, round object 7 feet in diameter about 20 foot
above the ground. It travelled NW and went above a row of trees.
A 40 foot high oak tree, 2 foot in diameter was knocked to the
ground, 8 foot above the surface. (VALLEE III)

Case 128, 1959. U.S.A., Turner, ME.

A woman was in her driveway when she heard a humming sound. She
glanced across the road and saw strange lights flying low over a
field about 1,000 foot away. The object [sic] hovered and
descended to the ground; the lights went out. Another object
[sic] crossed the field and hovered above the landed UFO. The
objects were disk-shaped with blue lights around a central rim.
The landed object ascended and the two flew away at high speed. A
small area of singed grass was found the next morning. (John
Fuller, "Incident at Exeter")

[It is interesting to compare the behaviour and appearance of
these UFOs with those mentioned in the Upland case - both were
disc-shaped with brilliantly lit rims, and both landed on the
ground for a minute or two. The Turner case was part of a more
complex sequence of UFO events spanning several weeks but in this
particular case the witnesses were obviously too far away to
experience any of the effects described in the Upland case. PF]

Case 129, 1959. DENMARK,  Kolding.  Midnight.

"Sucking marks" found in the snow. Farmer Nielsen reported a
strange light in his field. (FSR)

[OK then readers, what kind of light leaves "sucking marks" ? How
about one generated by some obscure vortex mechanism surrounded
by an electro-static field of some kind ? PF.]

Case 130, May 20th 1959. ARGENTINA, Tres Lomas.

Two hunters saw a disc-shaped object on the ground  500 feet
away. It appeared to be aluminium and about 9 foot high with a
dome. Grass was flattened. (VALLEE III)

[An intriguing case. How much of the description is objectively
reported and how much is conditioned by witnesses cultural
stereotype of what they are supposed to be seeing ?]

Case 131, July 23rd, 1959. NEW ZEALAND, Piri Piri.

Ring  shaped trace. (UFOIC).

Case 686, August 1959. U.S.S.R., Georgia.

In the vicinity of an unnamed village in Georgia, a UFO was said
to have exploded, the event being witnessed by a 43-year-old
labourer Vasily Dubischev. There were no remains apart from one
strangely charred piece. A certain Dr. Fyodor Petrov was said to
have claimed it was not made of carbon but silicon. (UFOs from
behind the Iron Curtain, page 282, quoting Robert Charroux, "Le
Livre Des Mondes Oubliques", Paris 1971).

[If memory serves me correctly this case was later admitted to be
a hoax. PF]

Case 132, August 12th, 1959. SPAIN, Brion.

A 60-year-old farmer saw an egg-shaped object come down at high
speed and land in a field near a river. It took off vertically,
with an engine noise, not similar to a helicopter. Traces
[found]. (VALLEE III)

Case 133, September 7th, 1959. WALLINGFORD, KY.  0230 Hrs.

Disc shaped object hovered near the ground, took off vertically,
moved away horizontally. A 13 foot stained ring was found. A
spectro-analysis of the soil of the ring shows the sample
contained chromium, iron and manganese not normally found in the
clay soil of the area. (The UFO Investigator, March 1960).

[If this case can be counted as a crop circle then it was one I
didn't know about. We'll certainly try to track down more
information about it and report back. PF.]

Case 134s,  October  1959. SWEDEN, Mariannelund.  1855 Hrs.

The electrical power in the three witnesses' houses failed; when
they ran outside they saw a blinding white light, it stopped and
hovered. The object started to move, slowly descended and turned
to the right, hitting and smashing a portion of a maple tree (top
section), it then descended towards the ground. The witness was
10 foot from it. Through a large window he could see two
occupants, with large eyes; the heads were high-crowned. The
occupants were small in size. The object was oval, about 12 feet
long and 8 feet high. It was found that a gray-white substance
covered power lines. The witness was Gideon Johansson, his wife
and his son. (FSR, 11:70) .

[PF. OK, this one has me gazumped. ]
Case 736, 1960. ROMANIA, Baciu.

Imprints in a triangle, 3.2m x 2.4m x 2.4m, burnt grass.
(Skylook)

Case 135p, April 12th, 1960. U.S.A., Lacamp, LA.  2100 Hrs.

A witness reported a disc, red in colour, flying swiftly from the
south. It touched the ground about 1,000 feet away with a loud
explosion heard by many people. A flame was seen. It bounced in
an easterly direction, ascended, turned west and disappeared. The
ground was scarred in nine places and a substance like metallic
paint was found. (Science & Mechanics)

Case 136,  May 14th, 1960. BRAZIL, Paracura. 0400 Hrs,

A witness saw two landed discs on a beach, and several small,
pale-looking humanlike entities standing near them. They beckoned
to the witness, who turned and fled in fright.  Returning later
with other men he found marks in the sand where the discs had
rested. (APRO).

[I find this case dubious in the extreme.  Don't you ? PF]

Case 137, May 24th, 1960. VENEZUELA, Ocumare del Tuy.

Diamond-shaped scorched marks found. (NICAP)

Case 138, June 10th, 1960.  ENGLAND, Evenlode.

Two circles [ie rings, PF], one inside the other, were discovered
by  Bill Edwards. The outer circle [ring, PF] is 23 foot across.
Smaller ring 16 foot across, width 1.5 inches. (FSR 10:60)

[This  is the classic Evenlode case discussed in all our
published work. PF.]

Case 139, July 22nd, 1960. U.S.A., Martin, TN/ 2200 Hrs.

Shirley Sisk, aged 13, saw a hovering disc with a small rudder-
like attachment on one side. Large oily circles with a black
substance were found. (Saucers, Space & Science, Canada)

Case 140, August 1960. ARGENTINA, 1030 Hrs.

Four Italian engineers saw a luminous disc land or hover close to
the ground. It was 1,000 feet away. It then ascended and a
circular area of grass 90 foot in diameter was found. (FSR)

Case 149, 1962. CANADA, Wooler, Ontario.

25 foot circle was found, formed by an 18 inch ring. No other
details. (H.H. McKay)

[PF  Here's another historical case which could be a fairy ring
or a crop circle. I'll try and find out as much as possible for a
future article.]

Case 150, 1962. U.S.A., Minot, ND.

A witness was driving from Grand Forks to Minot when an object
flew across in front of her car and followed it. The next day a
bowl-shaped imprint in which all the grass was crushed was found.
Three indentations were clearly marked within the depressed area.
Plants and grass  had radiation of the subterranean roots. (Data-
Net).

Case 151, 1962. ARGENTINA, Bahia Blanca.

Three truck drivers saw a luminous object ahead of them. It
remained on the ground for one minute. Where the object had been
they found a wet, greyish substance. (FSR 10:62)

Case 152, May 12th, 1962. ARGENTINA, Pampa Province. 0410 Hrs.

V. and G. Tomasini and H. Zenobi saw an object on the ground 350
feet away. It looked like a railroad car and was illuminated. As
they approached it, the object ascended, crossed low over the
road, rose with a flame and separated into two sections that flew
away in separate directions. A humming noise was heard. It was
seen on the ground for one minute. A circle was burned, insects
were carbonized and the ground was petrified. (VALLEE III)

[Could the humming noise been due to an electro-static field ?
The "circle" could have been caused by considerable air pressure
inside the vortex. Or do you have any better ideas ? PF.]

That's all for now.  Readers may be interested to learn that
Keith Basterfield and Bill Chalker have sent me a draft of  "A
Catalogue of Australian Physical Ground Effect Cases", which
contains 136 cases of Unusual Ground Markings dating back to
1927. We will review this in a future issue when it has been
fully published.

A Looney A Look

by Chris Rutkowski,
North American Institute for Crop Circle Research


[PF A slightly longer version of this article was first published
in International UFO Reporter,  September/October 1992, Vol 17,
no 5]

I had just settled into bed, and was going to forego watching the
late news. I was bone-tired; the kind of tired only a parent with
an eight-month-old baby can appreciate. It was about 10:30 PM,
Sunday, August 16, 1992.

The phone chirped (telephones don't "ring" any more). It was Roy
Bauer, an associate and good friend who has accompanied me on
many an investigation, and vice versa. He told me that a teaser
for the news had a story about new crop circles in Manitoba.
Film at Eleven.  Several days earlier, he and I had gone with
another NAICCR associate to Friedensruch, Manitoba, where we
investigated the claims of a crop "triangle" in a pasture
surrounded by an electric fence. We had concluded that the
Unexplained Ground Marking (UGM)  there had been caused by cattle
accidentally herded within the fenced area. Still earlier in the
summer, various NAICCR reps had visited other crop formations
closer to Winnipeg, which were heralded by their discoverers and
the media as being
communications from the space aliens. As soon as we had seen
them, we knew they were lodging, a common field effect created by
a combination  of wind, rain, and weak plant stems.

But the story on the news that night spoke of actual formations;
circles with arrows and rings. Now these were more unusual, and
sounded more like their better-known British cousins.

NAICCR (North American Institute for Crop Circle Research) was
formed as a sister group of UFOROM (Ufology Research of
Manitoba) in 1990, in response to requests from British
cerealogists wanting information about crop circles in North
America. We had realized that, although there were a number of
people in North America who were independently investigating crop
circles, there was no comprehensive gathering of data underway.
Furthermore, like most UFO or Fortean groups, UFOROM members had
been studying crop circles for decades, long before they were
popularized in Britain. Ted Phillips' catalogue of physical
traces  [associated with UFOs] listed many such swirled circles,
along with other traces, going back before the turn of the
century. These UGMs had been cropping up (pardon the pun) from
time to time in North America, sometimes in association with an
associated UFO sighting.

So, NAICCR began investigating Canadian crop circles and
soliciting information on American cases from other investigators
and groups. (The phrase "pulling teeth" comes to mind). With the
co-operation of several researchers, NAICCR has published reports
and an annual review of North American UGMs, a feat still lacking
on the British scene. (Sure, they publish lots of pretty
pictures, but what about the data?).  But I digress...

After Roy called me, I turned on the TV and flipped channels
until I found a provincial newscast. Sure enough, there was a
short blurb about crop circles near a town named Strathblair. I
thought hard about where that was in relation to Winnipeg. I had
a funny feeling I was going to be driving a long, long way.

There was little more that could be done that night, so I jotted
down a few notes, and turned in. Again.

The next morning, I drove to work early, fearing that a barrage
of phone messages from the media would await me. On the way in, I
heard a brief clip of a radio interview with a woman  who had
observed a UFO at the circle sites. This was a rarity in
cerealogy, and was a supporting datum for the ETH [extra-
terrestrial
hypothesis]  with regards to  crop circle creation.  Colin
Andrews would be pleased, I mused.

There were surprisingly few media calls at work, and I dealt with
them quickly. Curiously, the local TV networks were not really
interested in the new cases. I had hoped to get their help in
obtaining  aerial videos of the formations, as NAICCR  hardly has
enough material for gas, let alone airplane rental. But it turned
out the media were gun-shy; they had been "burned" by their
coverage of  the previous  non-events, and were not going to do
anything further on the story. This was OK, since it would mean
we could carry out an investigation without the cameras following
us around, as in other years.

I phoned the editor of the Strathclair area newspaper, Greg
Nesbitt, and got more details about the cases. There were said to
be seven separate sites, plus a handful of UFO sightings. Since
they had been found,  at least two or three hundred people had
visited the formations. Well, so much for finding any useful
clues. But, because of the unique shapes involved, we still felt
it was worth a look. I told Greg that a NAICCR team would be out
the next day.

On Tuesday morning at around 8:00 AM, Roy Bauer, Guy Westcott and
I left Winnipeg for Strathclair. The town is about 275 kilometers
northwest of Winnipeg, and it took us exactly four hours to reach
the area. We had been told that one of the sites was clearly
visible from the highway, but we didn't notice it on our way in.
We arrived in the town of Shoal Lake, where we were to meet Greg,
at around noon.

Greg was going to be our guide, but we had an hour to kill before
he was ready to lead us out. So, being hard-working
investigators, we went to the local bar. During lunch, we made
casual enquiries about the crop circles. Everyone had at least
heard of them, and some people admitted visiting the sites. We
went over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police headquarters and
inquired if they had received any official reports. The
commanding officer barely contained his amusement with the
situation. He joked that he had the aliens in a jail cell. He did
admit, though, that they had received some calls about some
bright lights that weekend.

We met Greg around 1:00 PM in his print shop cum newspaper
office. He grabbed a tape recorder and we headed for our
vehicles. This was big news. Not only had the aliens landed, but
investigators had come all the way from the "big city" to see
them !

Greg led us back down the highway to a patch of field halfway
between Shoal Lake and Strathclair, just outside a hamlet named
Ipswich. (It was interesting how the first crop formation in the
area was at a site named for a British city). We had missed it
because from the road, the site looked just like a patch of
lodging. We had seen many such patches on the drive out, and in
fact had stopped to examine one closely.

But this wasn't lodging. Once we were led in on the well-trodden
path, the shape of the formation became quite clear. Slightly
elliptical, the site had a diameter axes of 26 and 24.5 feet. On
a northeasterly heading of 65 degrees, an arrow protruded away
from the crop circle, giving the effect of the symbol for Mars,
or "male". The wheat was about four feet tall outside the
formation, and was neatly bent and swirled counter-clockwise
inside the circle. The wheat was bent away from the circle inside
the arrow, and toward its end points. The width of the arrow
corridor was about 28 inches. While we measured, took samples and
photos, two truckloads of visitors arrived. They trampled through
the neatly-woven grain, and added  to the disturbed state of the
site.

The site was only 40 feet away from the nearest access road, and
about 100 feet from the highway. It had been found on Saturday,
August 16, 1992, by the owner of the land, and reported to the
media the following day. By that time, word had spread anyway.
Once the circle news had got out, a woman reported that she had
seen a UFO over the field on Friday evening. She had been driving
from Shoal Lake to Ipswich, and had been passing the field when
she observed a dark object with two "headlights"  and a flashing
"tail-light". The UFO moved slowly over the field at an estimated
height of  a telephone pole, and about 250 feet away  from the
witness. After a minute or so, it moved out of sight behind some
trees.  Two other people driving along the highway also glimpsed
the object before it disappeared.

After we had finished our work at the Ipswich site, Greg led us
to the next site, nearer Strathclair. This formation was visible
from the highway, situated on a slight hill so that it was
visible to eastbound travellers. It, too, was a Mars symbol. This
time, the main circle was thicker than the one at Ipswich, and
pointed on a bearing of  120 degrees, away from the highway.

Guy, Roy and I began musing about how one would go about making
such a formation. Greg made a comment about how skeptical we
seemed to be. After all, wasn't it obvious that only aliens could
have made the formation ? He related how one of the first people
on the scene had found a "dinosaur footprint" at the point of the
arrow, and how it had been suggested that the arrow could have
been made by a ramp extended from the landed, circular UFO.  Of
course, the numerous visitors to the site had eradicated any sign
of the print.

I thought about the arguments which were raging on the other side
of the Atlantic, one of which was about whether or not  it was
possible to hoax a crop formation. On impulse, I sat down
abruptly in the field. I was completely out of view of my
colleagues, a few feet away. "Let's try making a circle," I
offered. Greg was doubtful. No human could make such a formation,
surely ? (I told him not to call me...)

I looked at the wheat closely. It was planted in neat rows about
four inches apart. I got up and walked about thirty feet away
from the site, carefully stepping between two rows. I looked
back. There was no sign of my entry. I began walking in what I
thought was a circle, met my own path and began spiralling
inward. Roy joined me, and we performed a triticale pas de deux,
trampling the wheat in a circle twenty feet in diameter. In five
minutes, we had made a fair copy of the "real" circle. Stems
stuck up here and there where we had missed them, and we did some
touch-ups. I was
surprised to find that our effort was almost  exactly circular.

Grey and Guy compared our handiwork with the "real" site, and
declared it a reasonable facsimile. ("Maybe someone could have
made it," Greg mumbled).  I bent down to look at the newly-
trampled wheat, and was greatly surprised. One of the points of
contention in debates over "real" and hoaxed British circles is
that wheat stems in "real" circles are bent, not broken. When one
crushes wheat underfoot while walking in a field, it is assumed
that the wheat stems would show numerous kinks and breakage.
Virtually none of the wheat in our new crop circle was broken.
Somehow, the stems were neatly bent over in a  counter-clockwise
direction, swirled into the center, and showing no evidence of
having been trodden upon.

I never intended to show that hoaxers had made the formation this
way. Indeed, I would expect that there would have been some basic
tools used instead of one's own feet. But this formation had been
made a few days after a full moon, and the wheat was tall enough
to afford cover if a car had chanced to pass on the highway ...

There were still a few other questions about the formation,
though; the hoax theory wasn't completely fleshed-out enough to
my
satisfaction. What was the motive ? How was it done, really ? Why
would anyone bother ? And what about the UFO sightings ?

We headed for the other sites. They were all approximately three
miles south of the main highway, along a farming road. Two were
directly across a road from one another. As we drove up, we saw
that some boys were standing in front of a formation, wielding a
hand-painted sign. As we walked over, it became readable:  "A
LOONEY A  LOOK". ("Looney" is a Canadian slang term for a dollar
coin, because of the image of a swimming loon on one side).

The boys turned out to be a gold mine of information. Contrary to
what we had been told earlier, this particular formation (another
arrowed circle) had appeared over a week before. The one across
the road had appeared first, a week before that. After the second
had been found, the boys had thought to make a ringlike path
around the whole formation, so that visitors could examine the
site without disturbing it.  Unfortunately, their idea didn't
work, and what's more, the ring had been assumed to  be part of
the original formation.  The arrow from this circle pointed on a
bearing of 260 degrees. When we later plotted all the formations
on a map, we were disappointed to discover that the directions
indicated by the arrows didn't converge. Furthermore, none of the
arrows pointed toward a significant local feature such as a
native midden, burial mound, mountain or new age mystic site.
(Now, if I was going to make an elaborate hoax ...).

The fifth site was clearly lodging. However, because it was only
a mile from the two nearest formations, many people had visited
it.  While there, more visitors came by, and we asked them about
other sites. We were given directions to other fields where
formations were said to have been found, but we were unable to
verify any others.

On the drive back to Winnipeg, we stopped in at a TV station in
Brandon. The news director told us of another circle site in the
area. As it was already late, we decided to ask another NAICCR
rep, Jeff Harland, to investigate. He lives in Brandon, and had
investigated some UGMs in the area a few years ago. We dropped by
his house (by some remarkable timing) exactly at dinnertime, and
found ourselves graciously invited for supper. During the meal,
we compared notes and swapped ideas about the crop circle scene.
We drew up some maps of the formations,  and  talked for  hours
about our findings.

We learned that a TV special on British crop circles had been
aired on the Friday night that the Ipswich circle was probably
made. It could be that someone got the idea to hoax a circle from
that show, but then, two circles were found before the show was
aired. Other than that programme, there had been very little
media attention given to crop circles. There was no national or
international coverage of the North American circles during the
summer, and the media were staying away from the British
formations in droves.

We had taken both VHF and AM/FM radios in the formations. No
interference was heard. A compass was not deflected by any
magnetic anomaly. A tape recorder worked fine, and there were no
beepings or strange signals left on the tape. Animals were not
wary to enter the sites, and there was no lack of insects at the
sites. None of us felt any "bad vibes", unlike some circle
investigators at other formations. All of these effects were
checked because some
cerealogists are insistent that anomalous phenomena plague such
sites. Apart from the fact they were there, there was nothing
particularly unusual about the sites. ("Another mysterious crop
circle. Yawn".)

The wheat samples we collected will be sent to various
researchers for testing. Now that cerealogists have finally
conceded that spagyrical analysis (the "tests" which showed a
change in the "crystalline structure" of the plant cells) is
spurious and unscientific, and the supposed radionuclides found
in crop circles have been shown to be glitches in the data, the
only remaining anomalous effects associated with crop circles are
the growth studies by Dr. Levengood at the Pinelandia Biophysical
Labs. he claims that wheat from crop circles will grow more
readily than control samples. This is easy enough to check, since
we now have more seed samples. of course, these will be double-
blind tests.

Since our expedition to the Strathclare formations, we have kept
abreast of the British scene, and read with interest the reports
of investigations by the Project Argus group. North America has
only had one complex crop formation [in 1992, PF], and it was
distinctly different from the British experience. My biggest
concern with the British circle scene was the over-abundance of
formations in southern England compared with the rest of the
world. Why does Britain have so many crop circles, and why do
they look as they do ?

>From my correspondence with other researchers, between 50 and 75
per cent of all British formations are suspected to be hoaxes. I
would suggest that the actual fraction is much higher - probably
around 90 percent. Either way, there is no question that the
British data is badly contaminated. What is needed is a
comprehensive list of the British sites with indications of which
ones are likely or proven hoaxes. It seems that people are
delving into mystical philosophy and Gaiean premonitions without
first sorting out the "good" data from the "bad" data, whatever
the two sets may be. (Paul Fuller, editor of The Crop Watcher, a
British circlezine, has just reported that many "expert"
cerealogists have grudgingly begun considering the fact that
most, if not all, crop circle formations are likely hoaxes).

So far in 1992, less than two dozen North American crop circle
(rather, UGM) sites have been investigated. Despite low media
coverage and a number of hoaxers' admissions, about two hundred
sites have been found in Britain this year. What gives ? The
infamous circle hoaxers Doug and Dave probably made less than ten
formations, despite their earlier claims which were accepted
wholeheartedly by the general public. Two NAICCR investigators
caught a hoaxer here in Manitoba. Big deal. We know that crop
circles can be hoaxed, and that cerealogy "experts" cannot tell a
"real" circle from a hoaxed one. Why haven't the circles gone
away ? And a better question: Why is there still so much interest
in these peculiar UGMs ?

Cerealogy has attracted at least as many loonies as UFOlogy,
unfortunately. We seem to be looking at another sociological
phenomenon,  perhaps a reaction to our confused technological
age. I'm not particularly convinced that crop circles are alien
hieroglyphics, plasma vortex traces or patches left by mating
hedgehogs. Actually, I'm more fascinated by those who think that
there is enough evidence to adhere to a certain theory.

So with that, at least until I get my next phone call, I will lay
back and reflect on all this circular reasoning. Pun intended.
(Again). Chris Rutkowski. NAICCR.

Editorial Comments

Our thanks go to Chris and his NAICCR colleagues for providing
such an important case study. Chris' superb article reinforces
the fact that all the major crop circle "experts" (myself
included) failed to fully examine the effect of mechanical
depression on cereal crop at every stage in its growth cycle.  If
it can be so easy to make a convincing looking crop circle on
your very first attempt what can experienced crop circle hoaxers
do after 200 practice runs ? This central theme - that mechanical
depression actually damages the crop - was the fundamental
corner-stone that protected the crop circle myth from allegations
of hoaxing for many years. The disproving of this myth and the
exposure of numerous groups of hoaxers means that we have little
choice but to accept Chris Rutkowski's argument that the crop
circle data is heavily
contaminated by hoaxing - and by heavily contaminated I agree
with Chris'  estimate that at least 95 per cent of our data is
corrupt (a bit like UFO reports). Sad words but true. Thanks
again to Chris Rutkowski and his NAICCR/UFOROM colleagues. What
Dr. Armen
Victorian Didn't Say

by Dennis Stacy, Editor, MUFON UFO Journal

[Following the publication of our Swangate Update in CW16 Dennis
Stacy replies to allegations published by Henry Azadedel, the
well known international rare orchid smuggler. PF]

To correct each and every  error of fact or assump-tion that
appears in Dr. Armen Victorian's  recently distributed article,
"Disinformers, Deceivers and Their Legitimate Supporters" (March
7, 1993) would probably require a small hard drive and try the
patience of anyone who bothers to read this. However, since I am
personally described therein as "a punch-drunk editor," I think
its imperative that I set a few of Mr. Victorian's more egregious
remarks straight.

To begin with,  while he preaches accuracy in reporting, its a
principle that he himself fails to practice. He says, for
instance, that I coined the phrase "case of the century" to
describe the Linda Napolitano case currently under investigation
by Budd Hopkins. The first time I refer to the case is in my
coverage of the speech given by Budd Hopkins at the Albuquerque
MUFON
Symposium. My article appeared in the August, 1992, issue of the
MUFON UFO Journal, pp 3-10. There are 11 subheadings in that
article, only one of which is surrounded by quotation marks: "The
Abduction Case of the Century". Here is my concluding paragraph:
"If it continues to hold up under scrutiny  - and especially if
the political figure can be induced to come forward and
corroborate events - then this could indeed be the 'case of the
century'".

I understand that English is not Mr. Victorian's native language,
but he surely understands that when words are put in quotation
marks they refer to someone else's direct quote ? I didn't coin
the phrase, in other words. It sounds like a small point to make,
but there are others. And it is, after all, Mr. Victorian who is
a stickler for accuracy, isn't it ?

Next, he says that after I "faxed a ridiculous letter to Mr.
[George] Wingfield "I wrote back with the excuse that [I] was
drunk when [I] wrote the letter, therefore apologising for its
contents". Here's what I really said: "Dear George, I'd meant to
send along a follow-up fax before receiving yours of today,
mainly to apologise for the intemperate tone of my own previous
fax and remarks. Not to make excuses, but I received your
original reply late at night, and by the time I responded, quite
frankly, I was under the influence. It is, after all, that time
of year. So by the cold light of day, I again apologise for my
abrupt tone and any imperative remarks." The date of this letter
is December 12, and I asked George to forward Mr. Victorian a
copy as well.

This friendly riposte is what Mr. Victorian characterizes as my
craven "admission" of habitual drunkenness. Note, first, that I
don't apologize for the contents of my previous fax, but for its
impertinent tone. At this time faxes were being frantically
exchanged back and forth across the Atlantic, leaving and
arriving at all hours of the night and day. Note next the date. I
don't know what social circles Mr. Victorian travels in, nor do I
frankly care, but I can tell him that the Christmas season in San
Antonio is quite a festive one, with friends or family throwing a
party virtually every other night of the month right up until New
Year's Eve. I did what I thought was an honourable thing, and
admitted that I had been drinking (which wasn't the same as
saying I was drunk) and that  I probably should have waited until
morning before "shooting from the hip". For this frank openness
in a personal letter intended only for myself, George and Mr.
Victorian,  I now find myself thanked by having it held up in
public ridicule as "evidence" of my "punch-drunk" editing of the
MUFON UFO Journal. But I can guarantee you one thing: it'll be a
cold day in hell when Mr. Victorian apologises to anyone,
previous former colleagues included, for any of his actions,
however regrettable or
reprehensible.

A mere ten days later, on December 22nd, Mr. Victorian offered to
sue MUFON for libel. We consulted our attorneys, and through an
intermediary he was advised to proceed full steam ahead. We are
still waiting to hear from Mr. Victorian's lawyers.  I predict
we'll still be waiting well into the 21st century, because Mr.
Victorian knows that any such suit doesn't stand a snowball's
chance in hell of success.

Even so, Mr. Victorian was allowed the opportunity to reply to
the Schnabel article in the MUFON UFO Journal.  And we duly
published his response in the January, 1993, issue, ridiculously
lame and inept as it was. In the same issue we also published a
response by Graham Birdsall of Quest International, editor of
"UFO Magazine". Wingfield's response followed in the February
issue. (Between bouts with the bottle, I do miraculously manage
to get some work done !).

Mr. Victorian also quotes from a letter by an unnamed "couple of
American crop circle researchers," in which Robert Irving is
described as a "psychopath ... a nutter," and one of four men
dressed in black they saw coming out of a field the night before.
As Mr. Victorian himself must almost assuredly be aware, that
letter is itself now highly suspect. It was received in England
on November 12, 1992, and was supposedly written by a Ray and
Suzie Marks, then allegedly living in Berkeley, California.
Unfortunately, and to the best of my current knowledge, no such
couple exists ! So much for Mr. Victorian's own much-vaunted
penchant for accuracy. If he knows who Ray and Suzie Marks really
are, then let him come forth, say so, and adduce evidence of
their existence. Put up or shut up.

Mr Victorian also claims to have three independent voice-stress
analyses indicating that Jim Schnabel was telling him the truth
(instead of simply putting him on) when he spoke of a conspiracy
of "sinister forces" (including Satan) aimed at disinforming the
crop circle phenomenon.  Surely, then, this is physical evidence,
evidence that in the interests of accuracy Mr. Victorian should
publish  and make public, instead of just referring to it on
occasion ? Bluntly, Mr. Victorian, put up or shut up.

Mr. Victorian also claims that "some of the vocabulary [Schnabel]
used is only [used] by Intelligence officers or their recruits."
His example ? Schnabel says people sometimes become "burned out"
! Apparently, Mr. Victorian is unaware that the phrase "burnt
out" has been used by almost everyone in this country at one time
or another, from football coaches to anyone caught in a dead-end
job that they don't like.  It's even in the American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition. Look it up,
Mr. Victorian and improve your accuracy.

Mr. Victorian also told another crop circle researcher that his
itemised telephone bill would put lie to Schnabel's version  of
events.  According to Schnabel, Mr. Victorian first talked to Rob
Irving. Irving then called Schnabel and played a nearly 30-minute
tape of their conversation, thus preparing Schnabel. Mr.
Victorian claimed his phone bill would prove that he called
Schnabel
immediately after talking to Irving, and that therefore there was
no 30-minute gap, ergo, Schnabel was caught lying. Unfortunately,
the copy of his phone bill Mr. Victorian supplied didn't match
the one kept by British Telecom ! Now, who's accurate here, and
who's lying to suit their own personal agenda ? For that matter,
what is Mr. Victorian's agenda ? Again, put up or shut up.

Over the past couple of years Mr. Victorian called me several
times to ask my opinion on this or that case or individual, or to
ask for someone's telephone number, address or some other tid-bit
of information. To the best of my ability, I freely provided the
information he sought on each and every occasion. For this open
co-operation I am now being labelled "punch-drunk" and presumably
the active agent of some heinous intelligence conspiracy in
league with  the Devil yet. (And if any good intelligence agency
worth its salt - satanic or otherwise - would hire punch-drunk
editors in the first place).

The fact of the matter is that Mr. Victorian knows no shame. And
anyone in this field who continues to co-operate with him on a
personal level can't say they weren't forewarned when the worm
finally turns, as it almost assuredly will. You can learn from my
experiences, or you can learn from your own. For your help in Mr.
Victorian's personal quest - whatever  it is - you can expect to
eventually be repaid in calumny and threats of legal action
should you ever dare deviate from his paranoid world view.

Come to think of it, maybe I WAS punch-drunk. Otherwise, why
would I  have bothered giving Dr. Victorian the time of day, let
alone my own personal trust and confidence ? Fortunately, now
that I've  sobered up, I've had a complete change of heart.

Dennis Stacy.

PF: This article was first published on the "MUFONET" BBS
Network.

Swangate Update 2

Sorry folks but I've held this over to issue 18 due to lack of
space

Jim Schnabel at the Essex CCCS
on 28th May 1993

An Exclusive Report by Andrew Collins

Fresh from the release of his controversial new book Round in
Circles, Jim Schnabel took time out to answer questions at a
meeting of the Essex Crop Circle Group on Thursday,  28th May.

In his book Jim is careful on words concerning the various crop
formations he is suspected of hoaxing during the 1992 summer
season, but not so tonight. He freely admitted to single-handedly
creating the so-called `charm bracelet' pictogram that appeared
within spitting distance of the Waggon and Horses public house at
Beckhampton in August last year.

He openly spoke of dumping his circle-making equipment at Avebury
Trusloe before making his way across the open fields under the
light of the full moon and reaching his virgin canvas of ripe
wheat. The water trough had not been anticipated, he said, and at
first he had intended avoiding it completely. However, after
marking out the outer ring he stumbled over it again, so decided
to incorporate the wretched thing into his design. It acted as a
good sighting point, but was not geometrically perfect in its
positioning within the formation.

Apparently, the idea had been to construct a new variation of the
crop pictogram with the different components linked in a wheel,
instead of the more usual line of interconnected features. The
antlers, he pointed out, were meant to have been a continuation
of the fractal idea first employed in the Ickleton Mandelbrot Set
of the previous year. He claimed the blueprint for the design had
first been scribbled down on paper before being sealed in an
envelope and sent to himself; a second, condensed version being
concealed beneath the postage stamp. This, I'm sure, he will
produce to order if requested.

Jim's disclosure concerning this quite unique formation was most
extraordinary, particularly as it will be more difficult
convincing the farmer concerned that fallen crop can, as he
claims in his book, be picked up with the blades of a harvester
if  lowered sufficiently.

As the evening wore on Montague Keen, having read Jim's book from
cover to cover, fired the confident young American with question
after question concerning his accusations regarding the CCCS and
the purpose of his circle-making activities. For instance, was
Jim's book really inferring that the CCCS was a religious
organisation masquerading as a scientific body with no fixed
views on the phenomenon? No, was the obvious answer, although Jim
pointed out that it did contain certain individuals whose
religious views probably outshone the scientific commitment of
the CCCS. What's more, there were indications, Jim said, of
possible links between key members of the CCCS and the appearance
of hoaxed formations. On a number of occasions there had been
formations appearing following private predictions from within
the CCCS, indicating that the perpetrators may actually belong to
the organisation.

In his usual calm manner Montague pointed out that Jim and his
colleagues had seriously diluted the results of the 1992 Project
Argus experiments through his clandestine activities. Yet despite
this set back, various low-level EM changes had been recorded in
certain formations tested by the Argus team as can be seen in the
125-page report of the project. With a wry smile on his face, Jim
was curious to know which formations had produced these effects !

On the Doug and Dave front Jim spoke of the simple though
effective techniques the two sexagenarians had employed to
construct their own circles and formations. For instance, for a
quintuplet set one would stand in the centre of a finished circle
with a wooden cross shaped device, while the other would take out
a line and carefully move through the crop in a wide ring. When
aligned with one of the four equal angles of the cross a red
light would signal the spot where the next satellite should be
swirled. Jim admitted to `essentially' believing Doug and Dave's
claims - leaving room for doubt, even in his mind. He also said
that the two men believed they would attain more fame and fortune
than they actually received at the hands of the international
press and media.

Did he believe in a natural crop circle phenomenon Jim was
naturally asked. Yes, he revealed his belief in genuine crop
circles - probably only single circles - such as the Tully reeds
case of January 1966. He also admitted to being baffled by the
Mowing Devil case of the seventeenth century and even suggested
that ten summers of surveillance upon Adam's Grave would catch
the real phenomenon in the act. I found his answers incredulous,
and wondered whether, as a confirmed circlemaker, he was pulling
our leg at this juncture of the proceedings!

Jim was confident that most crop formations are of man-made
creation, and who knows he is probably correct. He said it would
have taken a skilled team of three people some three to four
hours to construct the Barbury Castle formation of 16/17th July
1991. So, if they had begun, say, at midnight, the team would
have finished their masterpiece by four in the morning. If this
was correct, would they have then gone on to construct the huge
and highly accomplished `key' formation that appeared the same
night only a mile or so away at Preshute Down? I doubted it very
much and Jim seemed unaware of the fact that this had appeared on
the same night. I also pointed out that this same night had seen
an
additional circle at Hackpen Hill only a few miles away as well
as the appearance of a small formation at nearby Wooton Basset.

Jim admitted constructing five formations in one night during
1992, but accepted my suggestion that at least two separate teams
must have been out on the night of 16/17th July 1991, meaning a
total of some six or more individuals involved in these nocturnal
pursuits; how long will they be able to keep their actions quiet
?

On the subject of Rita Goold, the Leicester medium, Jim said he
believed she was responsible for the White Crow letter sent
anonymously to Colin Andrews in 1989. He even believes that Colin
may well have known the authorship of the letter but deliberately
kept this to himself. Despite these allegations, Jim accepted
that Rita probably had very real psychic talents but acted like a
`trickster' character on occasions.

Throughout the whole evening our speaker was open, honest to
himself, and thoroughly entertaining in a likeable sort of way.
He won over the audience by his openness which will hopefully
allow people to more easily accept the blatant reality of crop
circles being of man-made creation; he also succeeded in taking
away the us and them concept built up by certain researchers
during the 1992 season.

Overall Jim Schnabel can offer a lot of answers to the crop
circle community, but - as he readily accepts himself  -
certainly not all of them.

More Nonsense From Colin Andrews

A Transcript of an Interview on BBC Radio Solent,  2nd June,
1993

I am very grateful to  an internationally-renowned crop circle
hoaxer for sending me a copy of this amusing interview.  This
interview didn't quite go according to plan, but I won't spoil
all your fun. The beginning of  the interview is incomplete but
Peter, the presenter, begins with some comments about how crop
circles are now generally believed to be man-made hoaxes...

PETER:  ... but a group of scientists now of international repute
claims that these strange markings which seem to appear overnight
are not made by human hand. One of the scientists who's involved
in the research is Colin Andrews, author of "Circular Evidence".
He is spending the next few months in this country undertaking
further research having been to the United States. He joins us
from our Winchester studio. And with me in our Southampton studio
is Martin Hempstead of the Wessex Skeptics.  Colin, if I can come
to you first. This seems a very high powered  piece of research
for what many people think is just a joke. What is the basis for
your research ?

ANDREWS:  Well good morning Peter. I have just flown back to the
United Kingdom from America, having spent what 3 months in a
pretty concerted effort to round up the necessary scientific
expertise to try and resolve once and for all - hopefully -
exactly what is happening with regard to those mysterious crop
circles. We have a number of scientists flying  in behind me. I
think, perhaps, the most interesting research is going to be
conducted into
establishing the electro-magnetic field across Southern England
and the magnetic field [at] one or two particularly key sites,
like Cheesefoot Head at Winchester here, Alton Barnes in
Wiltshire and a number of other sites around Silbury Hill on the
border between Wiltshire and Hampshire [sic]. Overlooking
effectively through Dr John Birk [?] at the scrollway theory he
has [??] and believes that what might be happening is that free
electrons are being released at the very boundary - that's the
acquifer boundary between the reservoir  water, which of course
is held in this carboniferous structure - the chalk - below
Hampshire and that due to the drought that existed between 1976
up to November last year these vast volumes of water - billions
of gallons of water - were being pulled back north [???] in the
reservoir releasing electrons, which he believes may be
responsible for a plasma vortex of a kind - which, of course is a
theory which you might have heard about before.

PETER:  That's quite complex, but what you're saying is ...
you're looking at a sort of geological phenomenon to explain it
rather than anything human.

ANDREWS:  That is just one research effort, Peter, there are
others going on also. We are looking at the earth grid vectors
and looking to see whether there is some other interaction
between other external components [ie UFOs, PF] and the earth
grid vector itself of the planet.

PETER: But, ... quite a lot of money is being spent on this,
right ?

ANDREWS:  Yes it is. We have funding for a number of projects -
plant analysis is going full steam ahead now because we have
major breakthroughs in the last few weeks and we have funding
from America to look at the plants themselves, analyse the plants
more thoroughly than we have in the past. In a number of
laboratories in America,  here and in Germany $ 18,000 has been
spent quite alone on this scrollway theory, which is measuring
the electrostatic and electro-magnetic field in Hampshire and
Wiltshire. A lot of money has been spent and I guess before we
get to the bottom of it a little bit more will be spent also.

PETER:  Now let me bring in Martin Hempstead, who's here from the
Wessex Skeptics - skeptical on what grounds ? That we've had the
answer ? That it's a hoax ? Or that it doesn't really matter ? Or
what ?

HEMPSTEAD:  There's absolutely no reason to believe these things
are anything but made by people. Also [I'm] amused at the pseudo-
scientific rubbish that you've just heard coming from Colin
Andrews. he didn't mention, of course, that he's got mediums
involved in this so-called scientific research, that Colin
Andrews himself has no scientific qualifications at all and has
never published anything of any value [and] that he couldn't
investigate his way out of a paper bag. I'm very skeptical of
anything he says. I'm also skeptical because he's spent years now
telling us there's going to be revelations in the next few months
that have never materialised except for him and a bunch of ardent
followers, so I think this is just more nonsense from Colin
Andrews.

PETER:  But we see circles. Are you just saying that all they are
is hoaxes [sic] by people who are just pulling the wool over
people's eyes ?

HEMPSTEAD:  Exactly that !

PETER:  Why would people go to so much trouble to do that ?

HEMPSTEAD:  People have all kinds of motivations for doing all
kinds of things. If you look through history you'll find that
people have done very peculiar things and its very difficult to
understand their motivations. For example, I remember Jim Jones
of Jonestown in South America, where he killed off hundreds of
people, most of us would find that very difficult to understand,
yet it happened. There are many peculiar things that people do
and in fact I think its quite easy to understand that fooling
people like Colin Andrews might make some people sitting round in
pubs quite amused.

PETER:  Alright, well let me bring in Colin Andrews. Its been
suggested  that you and your supporters have no scientific
qualifications. What do you say to that ?

ANDREWS:  Well first of all Peter, isn't it sad that what you're
listening to are two human being talking to eachother and simply
the energy which is coming from the scientist - the doctor that
you have sat there - who has been asked many times by myself and
the scientists working with me to join the research effort and
the best he's been able to do

HEMPSTEAD (Interrupting):  I've never been asked by you to do
anything Colin...

ANDREWS: ... is to join Doug and Dave and to tread corn down in
constructing hoaxes. I'd like to ask him, if I may, through you,
just to ask two  very simple very basic questions. Does he first
of all understand what the polyembryonic condition is. Can he
explain how it has been replicated only from plants in genuine
crop circles in Canada, Germany, Australia and Great Britain, and
this is just not replicable in plants in control samples in those
countries.

PETER:  Well, I must admit I don't know what the polyembryonic
condition is, I don't want to become too scientific-bound. I'll
let Martin answer that in the sense of do you not accept that
there may be geological phenomena that we don't fully understand?

HEMPSTEAD:  Well that's a very broad question and of course the
answer has to be yes, but in this case we don't need to invoke
any unknown phenomenon. Its quite easy  to understand why crop
circles form but the argument of people like Colin Andrews is
fairly simple its because if people like Colin Andrews can't see
how they are made he can't see how they are hoaxed he tells us
that therefore no human being could hoax them. This strikes me as
rather a high degree of arrogance - in other words  because he
can't figure out how something is done it can't have been done by
human beings. There is absolutely no reason to believe that
they're anything but made by people and its just as simple  as
that. Now all this nonsense about polyembryony is just more
waffle. Let's see it published in some reputable journals and
replicated by reputable scientists and then we'll believe it.

ANDREWS:  Well that's exactly what is going to happen.

HEMPSTEAD:  Well this has been done for a couple of years now
Colin but it hasn't been published yet. I don't wait around for
two years to publish things that have the significance that you
claim these things have.

ANDREWS:  Martin, what I would have to say is that it sounds
simply by your rhetoric that this is ..

HEMPSTEAD (Interrupting):  ...This isn't rhetoric Colin, I'm
talking facts here. Rhetoric is the kind of thing you come out
with, you don't come out with evidence you come out with
nonsense...

ANDREWS:  If I ...

HEMPSTEAD (Interrupting): ... Your book, for example, included
physical nonsense about [...] photons...

ANDREWS: If I can ...

HEMPSTEAD (Interrupting):  ... If you can speak sense then it
would be very interesting to hear that.

PETER: OK, well its Colin's turn, whether you accept that its
sense or not. Colin ?

ANDREWS:  Thank you Peter. You see this is ... has obviously
become a personal situation and Martin is referring simply to me
and I am co-ordinating and that's all I am attempting to do in
the crop circle phenomena is to co-ordinate the basis of the
world. I have scientists who are qualified  much much higher up
the ladder than Martin is. We have ..

HEMPSTEAD:  ... Qualifications do not matter - its publication
and evidence...

ANDREWS:  You see, let me just finish because I'm trying to tell
you that Nature, which you know as one of the world's eminent
papers, literary in the scientific journals of the world, and
they are just about [changing his mind] - they have accepted a
paper from Dr Levengood and he is going to announce to the world
exactly what is happening in the changes to the genetic structure
of the plants which are creating this polyembryony condition
inside plants only inside genuine crop circles and this cannot be
replicated by human beings - which is what I tried to say on
Central TV when you became extremely hysterical last time....

PETER:  Martin, is what you're saying is that you don't want any
more money spent on these kinds of projects at all. That we know
all we need to know ?

HEMPSTEAD:  If people want to spend their own money that's
entirely up to them. It seems a shame to me that the United
Nations would spend it...

PETER:  Well that was my question, that the United Nations -
Colin is going to speak to the United Nations - as I understand
it, in New York later on - they appear to be taking it rather
more seriously than you are.

HEMPSTEAD:  Well it is of course the parapsychology committee of
the U.N. rather than the entire U.N. I suspect that if you were
to talk to other members of  the U.N. they might be very dubious
about it but in fact  what does the U.N. know about it?
Absolutely nothing. They haven't been there, they haven't
investigated hoaxes, they haven't in fact hoaxed these things
themselves. Colin Andrews  well knows that he's been taken in by
formations that he thought were what he called real unhoaxed crop
circles which in fact were made by people and the U.N. has no
knowledge of things like this, they haven't been there, they
don't know.

PETER:  Colin Andrews - you'll be persevering I take it with
this, despite this kind of criticism...

[Total Silence]

PETER:  Oh ! Apparently he won't !! I think we may have
temporarily lost Winchester....

Editorial Comments

At this point in the interview Colin Andrews appears to have
simply  turned the microphone off in the tiny unmanned studio he
was using in Winchester.  Having done many radio interviews from
this same cigarette-stubbed room without experiencing any of
those "technical problems" so beloved of the Beeb I find it
difficult to understand how an electrical genius  like Colin
Andrews might have
accidentally lost contact with the BBC studios in Southampton
(only 10 miles away).

Throughout this increasingly acerbic debate Colin Andrews sounded
uncharacteristically unsure of himself.  At  several points he
talked very slowly, as if  desperately searching for the correct
combination of words to respond to  Martin Hempstead's arguments.
Then suddenly it was the old Colin Andrews we used to know so
much about.  Perhaps the "implant" in his forehead was turned up
a notch by the aliens ?

A more interesting issue raised by this interview is Andrews'
claim that a paper discussing alleged embryony in crop circles
has been accepted by Nature (arguably the world's leading
refereed
scientific journal).  Of course, if true this would be a major
scientific break-through - one which would challenge many
people's view of the crop circles overnight. On June 16th I wrote
to Nature to check this claim. As you can see from the panel,
Nature refute accepting such a paper from Dr Levengood, although
reading a bit between the lines it looks as though Levengood
certainly submitted such a paper.

Once again it seems that Mr Andrews is living in a different
world to the rest of us. And once again we expect Mr Andrews, if
he is a honourable man, to  withdraw this incorrect claim in a
public statement.

Now for Martin Hempstead. Well we've all heard that claim before
haven't we...

"There's absolutely no reason to believe these things are
anything but made by people. "

Of course not Martin. Not if you totally ignore documented eye
witness testimony, the numerous historical cases or the
established pre 1980 belief in a meteorological explanation
amongst certain sections of the farming community.  Not if you
sweep this
embarrassing evidence under the carpet without discussing it.
Strange, but I thought Andrews was the one who was supposed to be
the True Believer.

This really leaves me with just one question.  Which of these two
men are promoting a religion ? Is it Andrews, with his desperate
twists and turns to promote a "genuine" cereology ? Or is it
Hempstead, with his "Science Reigns Supreme" philosophy ?  Please
will somebody let me know.  Thanks. PF.

Get it Right !!

I must apologise to Jun-Ichi Takanashi for consistently spelling
his name wrongly in CW16.  This was caused by slow and agonising
brain death following Reading's failure to reach the play-off
finals by a mere four points.

Magazine Roundup

International UFO Reporter, 24 pages, A4 format, professionally
produced with illustrations. Subscription rates available from
the J.Allen-Hynek Centre for UFO Studies, 2457 West Peterson
Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60659, USA. November/December issue
contains a valuable account by Michael Swords of his archive
research into Gray Barker, best known for his seminal "They Knew
Too Much About Flying Saucers" (1956), the book which first
established the motif of sinister threats from  Men-in-Black
desperate to  silence UFO investigators and their witnesses for
ever. Swords makes a strong case for the infamous visit from
three Men-in-Black being a  visit from intelligence agents out to
keep Barker away from technological secrets (rather than UFOs).
George Wingfield sit up at the back there ! Richard Haines
presents a curious physical trace case from the Urals. Ole Jonny
Braenne analyses the famous Spitsburgen UFO crash of 1952,
concluding that the story is pure fiction. Editor Jerry Clarke
takes on the super skeptics.  January/February 1993 issue
contains a second fascinating article by Walter Webb
describing his 31 year association with J. Allen-Hynek, the
father of modern UFOlogy.  A must for historians of the subject.
Chris Rutkowski asks some critical questions about the extent of
crop circle hoaxing in Britain whilst Ballester Olmos describes
the release of previously classified UFO reports by the Spanish
Air Force.  Budd Hopkins takes Carl Sagan to task for his
apparent dismissal of the abduction experience whilst Kevin
Randall
questions various skeptical attacks that have been made against
the alleged crash of an alien craft at Roswell in 1947.  Two
excellent issues. Sadly the March/April issue is almost wholly
devoted to the astonishingly virulent argument that has developed
around the "Linda Cortile" case - an alleged abduction by aliens
in down-town Manhattan involving one of the world's most well
known political figures as well as several other third hand
witnesses.  A group of skeptics appear to have discovered some
highly damaging evidence about this case but their method of
presenting this damming evidence seems to have stirred up a real
old hornets nest. We even have John Mack - Head of the Harvard
School of Psychiatry -
claiming that "Linda" is "clinically, characterologically,
humanly ... incapable of such a deception". Oh dear !  Now I
predict that in a year or two that will be another high powered
academic career in ruins. When will they learn ???

UFO Times, BUFORA, 2c Leyton Road, Harpenden, Herts, AL5  2TL.
Summer issue (nos 19-20)  contains an article about the "Multi-
Stimuli Hypothesis" by Robert Moore,  who surveys numerous
rational explanations for UFO reports. Also an Investigations
Diary  and reports on the numerous misidentifications of the
Daily Star airship which attracted a lot of media interest in
1992.  The highlight of issue 21  is its emphasis on  UFO cases
from all over Europe. Issue 22  features an alleged abduction in
the Quantock Hills of Somerset plus  the controversial Mary Seal-
inspired "Global Deception"  conference.  May/June issue contains
more on the Quantock case, notes by Clive Potter and Robert
France on  "The Shadow of Man" project. Cynthia Hind dissects the
South African UFO crash case whilst Gordon Millington reviews the
infamous Villas-Boas case.

MUFON UFO Journal, 24 pages, $ 3.00 per issue. Write to 103
Oldtowne Road, Seguin, Texas 78155-4099, USA. November 1992 issue
contains Jim Schnabel's infamous "Confessions of a Crop Circle
Spy!" article, a must for all crop circle afficionados ! There is
also an Open Letter to the Secretary-General  of the United
Nations appealing  to the UN to begin funding research into UFOs.
Fat chance eh ! The most controversial and damaging aspect of the
January issue is Walt Andrus' unashamed promotion of the Gulf
Breeze hoax - this despite the discovery of the model which Ed
Walters allegedly used to fabricate his spaceship photos and
despite the fact that an alleged accomplice has confessed !!! How
dare MUFON continue to promote this blatant and deeply damaging
fraud of a case in UFOlogy's name.  The February issue
concentrates on "Fire in the Sky", the new UFO movie by Paramount
Pictures, with a revealing interview with Travis Walton himself.
Both January and February issues contain correspondence on the
Swangate hoax. March issue discusses UFOs that shoot back, the
rather predictable expose of  Gerald Anderson - an alleged
witness to the 1947 crash of an alien spaceship at Roswell, New
Mexico - and there's another facetious article by Dr Willy Smith.
Sadly the most important piece of information in this issue is
hidden away on page 15 rather than being promoted on the front
page as a triumph for  skeptical UFOlogy over the true believers.
John Coates of Houston  has recently tracked down State Policeman
R.N. Ferguson, the officer who first called at the tiny hamlet of
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1955. Coates reports Ferguson's
opinion (at the time of his investigation in 1955) that there was
nothing to the story, for he found little evidence of any
encounter with little goblins and he recalls that the witnesses
were "not the most stable people you'll ever meet". This classic
UFO story allegedly features several adults shooting at a group
of tiny alien creatures (it is pretty much without parallel in
the English-speaking UFO literature) but Ferguson found only one
bullet hole - a SQUARE hole 1 inch across - in a window, which he
concluded had been "cut out with a razor blade". Furthermore -
and you never hear this in the classic retelling of the story -
there was a science fiction film showing at the local theatre
that week. Perhaps it was "The Day The Earth Stood Still" ? The
May issue contains Michael Strainic's
fascinating discussion of crop circles and squashed porcupines.
Jim Schnabel has an important article about Munchausen's syndrome
and its implications for alleged paranormal experiences
(particularly for alien abduction claims). An absolute must for
any objective researcher.  The June issue is just out,  with a
full report on the Louisville, Kentucky helicopter-UFO chase
described in our last issue, a very amusing report on the
ultimate UFO Conference (where the UFOs just turn up to display
their supremacy to any old UFOlogist who just happens to chance
along) and there is the "inside story" of "Linda Cortile" -
currently the centre of one of the most vitriolic arguments in
American UFOlogy for many years.

The Journal of Meteorology, Vol 18, no 179, May/June 1993.  54
Frome Road, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, BA15  1LD.  Issue 174
carries further comment by David Reynolds on possible locations
for the possible crop circle at Assenuncuria in 1590 (described
in Robert Plott's "The Natural History of Staffordshire, 1686).
There is also a drawing and description of yet another circular
ice trace - in the River Don near Toronto, Canada  - this too
rotates due to the flow of water. Issue 175 carries a full report
on the damage caused by a tornado in the Norfolk village of Long
Stratton on 14 December 1989 as well as an account of the 4th
TORRO Conference on Ball Lightning held at Oxford Polytechnic on
11 July 1992. Issue 176 carries another excellent account by Dana
Mack of what its like to drive alongside a tornado in Oklahoma.
If you're interested in Ball Lightning get issue 178 - there's a
full statistical analysis of more than 2,000 BL events from
Russia and Austria. Issue 179 carries a full report on swirled
traces found in snow in the mountains of Iran (1968) and Turkey
(1975) by a university
geologist, Dr. Alan Wells. The Turkish swirls were found in deep
thawing snow at a height of around 1,800 metres in the Munzur
Mountains. The drawing shows that there were at least six anti-
clockwise swirls, all six to eight metres in diameter, with
several cases of over-lapping.  During my university studies I
did discover well documented accounts of polygonal markings
heaved out of thermafrost in the Siberian tundra, but I found
nothing like these swirled traces. There is also a good summary
of Operation Bluehill summarising Meaden's latest views about the
extent of crop circle hoaxing.

Wonderland, a sideways glance at the weird, wonderful & bizarre.
This is a new magazine published by Craig Harris of 5 Willow
Court, Droitwich, Worcestershire, WR9  9HL. 16 pages A5, 60p per
issue, # 2.00 for 4 issues per year. This is a relatively
skeptical magazine containing articles on UFOs, cryptozoology,
apparitions, men-in-black, puma sightings, etc etc. You name it
it'll be in here.

THE CROP WATCHER

The Crop Watcher is an independent non-profit-making magazine
devoted to the scientific study of crop circles and the social
mythology that accompanies them. All articles are copyright to
the authors and should not be reproduced without obtaining
written permission from the authors. Articles appearing in The
Crop Watcher do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor
or other contributors.  Readers are welcome to submit articles
for
publication and will receive free copies of The Crop Watcher in
return.  Offers of exchange magazines are also welcome.

ADVERTISMENTS

High quality aerial photographs of crop circles available from
Richard Wintle, Calyx Photo News, Marlborough House,  26 High
Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1  3EP. Telephone [phone] and
ask for Julie.

Quality aerial photographs of the 1992 Wiltshire formations. 6" x
4" = # 1.25. Posters also available. For a full list and detailed
description please send a sae to Anthony Horn, 23 Sea View Drive,
Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11  3HY.

The Crop Watcher is printed by Northern Arts Publishing, Roper
Lane, Thurgoland, South Yorkshire. S30  7AA. Telephone 0742
883235.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

The Crop Watcher is published six times a year and costs # 1.50
to UK subscribers and # 2.50 to overseas subscribers. A full
year's subscription costs # 9.00 to UK subscribers and # 15.00
sterling for overseas subscribers.  Please make cheques payable
to "Paul Fuller" (not "The Crop Watcher").  Overseas
subscribers should not send cheques drawn on overseas banks.
Cheques drawn on banks which are not part of the British clearing
system attract a commission of about # 10 per cheque.
Subscriptions can also be sent via an International Money Order.
A limited number of back issues are available.  All
correspondence should be sent to Paul Fuller, 3 Selborne Court,
Tavistock  Close, ROMSEY, Hampshire,   SO51  7TY.

RECOMMENDED PUBLICATIONS

"Crop Circles, A Mystery Solved" by Jenny Randles and Paul Fuller
(Robert Hale Ltd), # 5.99 pb. A new and extensively updated
edition will be published in August 1993, price # 7.99.

Finally, our best wishes go to Ralph Noyes, who is in hospital
following his accident. All the best for a speedy recovery.