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The year was 1908. A Remarkable Wager. A man wearing an iron mask... Pushing a pram full of postcard photographs... Must find a wife along the way... Visit three towns in each county of England... Make his way around the world visiting each country and city on the list... And it would take 6-8 years... But the person who did it would win the princely sum of $100,000 An astonishing tale…. IF TRUE. Following our findings into Harry Bensley, the legend who trekked through Edwardian England in... Read Full Story

We recently highlighted the ‘banker’ who splashed out £71,000 on a drinks binge at a top London nightclub in one single evening - and with just nine money-making wannabees. Now, in our follow up exclusive, TheBigRetort   uncaps the bottle. At the bottom of the glass we discover a 'sponsored' jolly for  a top model agency and a publicity stunt gone awry. Our report pours ice on a little-known drink someone has styled 'Methuselah'... What do a bunch of party-going models and a drinks... Read Full Story

Jerome Isaac, 47, has been charged with murder and arson following the death of Deloris Gillespie, 73. The victim was set alight after being sprayed with a flammable liquid when her lift stopped on the fifth floor of her apartment block. The incident was captured on CCTV together with images of her attacker dressed as a pest controller who was seen entering the lift in Brooklyn, New York. The video went white as the woman was set on fire. Dorinda Thomas, 56, told the New York Post. "She was a... Read Full Story

Following the much-publicised introduction of the new Routemaster bus, reports just in...  Boris Johnson’s new bus, named the “Son of Routemaster”, has broken down on a motorway just south of Luton. The new Routemaster took the unscheduled stop leaving its driver looking forlorn. The Routemaster, which has its hazard lights flashing, is flanked by police in a lay-by. Read Full Story

I n our last Retort, we reported on the City hedge fund banker who received national publicity when it was revealed that he blew £71,000 on a single night out for ten in a London nightclub. Added to the largess he left a tip for one lucky young lady... of £10,000. TheBigRetort exclusive... Since we ‘outed’ the lucky 'Rose Club' waitress at our last retort the recipient of the windfall has now posted a photograph of the receipt - showing a tip made out to her to the value of ten thousand... Read Full Story

The new alternative to the hated Bendy-Bus was seen on London streets today as LBC's Nick Ferrari, and former MP Michael Portillo put two very large bums on seats.   Their verdict: a big thumbs up for Mayor Johnson's "Boris Bummer.". The old Bendies never did find much popularity (except amongst fare dodgers) and if Ferrari and others are to be believed, the Boris Bummer is likely to bring in the punters due to its lighting and sleek glass design, which also manages to retain the heritage of... Read Full Story

When newspapers recently reported the largesse of a mysterious hedge fund manager who is said to have frequented a London club where he spent £71,000 on a single evening out - TheBigRetort  couldn't resist querying the bill... The Evening Standard, together with the Mail and various additional newspapers of note recently carried a feature on the 13 th December that came in for a lot of scrutiny by we poor due to the amount of money that is said to have been spent, in a single evening, and by... Read Full Story

It was back in June 2010. The Kepler space telescope discovered over 750 extrasolar-planets culled from data that it had collected in its first 43 days of observations of the cosmos. Marked "candidates" - since then astronomers have gone on to confirm hundreds of planets orbiting alien suns light years beyond our own little solar system. But one planet alone has drawn the most excitement. We name it “Keptoo-toobe”. The recent discovery by astronomers of an extra-solar planet designated Kepler... Read Full Story

George Hallam, an economist at Greenwich University,  has been nominated as the London People Before Profit candidate in the forthcoming bye-election in Feltham and Heston. But can he do it? The challenge by Mr Hallam follows the death of MP Alan Keen (Labour), who passed away this November aged seventy-three. Mr Keen had been ill with cancer for some time. The London People Before Profit movement grew out of what was the former Lewisham People Before Profit (LPBP). People Before Profit was... Read Full Story

On the 12 th October 2011, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) set up a perimeter around a leafy southeast London street. Residents were prevented from entering their properties, and police officers refused to comment. A telephone call to police later established that if the nature of the incident was made public it may, in the emotive parlance of the fuzz, 'cause panic'. The following is the result of one man’s painstaking attempts to bring the police to book. But be warned… it may tax all... Read Full Story