True History of the Jolley Gang
March 21, 2010 8:15 AM Subscribe
In December 2008 the journalist Victoria Coren revealed the existence of a bizarre crew of professional gatecrashers, led by ex-magistrate Terence Jolley, who liked to show up at the funerals of people they'd never met, apparently in the hope of cadging some free food and drink. Their activities were exposed after Coren advertised a (fictitious) memorial service for the (imaginary) Sir William Ormerod and waited for the Jolley Gang to fall into the trap (previously on MetaFilter). Now the Jolley Gang are back in the news after one of their number, 'retired banker' Alan MacDonald, gatecrashed a party at the Dorchester Hotel and choked to death on a canapé.
I guess the Jolley Gang have one funeral they'll be invited to.
posted by Gyan at 8:26 AM on March 21, 2010 [15 favorites]
posted by Gyan at 8:26 AM on March 21, 2010 [15 favorites]
What a strange story. Is it wrong to think this sounds like a fun idea? I think I would have been happy for a few eccentric lushes to turn up at recent funerals I've attended.
posted by Lleyam at 8:29 AM on March 21, 2010
posted by Lleyam at 8:29 AM on March 21, 2010
Actually, I'm sure professional gatecrashers are far more common than one would imagine. Here in Brussels, there are so many events in and around the EU institutions, and the organisers are usually so liberal in their admission policies, that I'm sure there are quite a few people who get all their food and drinks (plus a fair few goodie bags) from such occasions. Indeed, if you go to a couple of such events, you'll quickly notice a few "regulars", wolfing down the canapés...
posted by Skeptic at 8:31 AM on March 21, 2010
posted by Skeptic at 8:31 AM on March 21, 2010
I think I would have been happy for a few eccentric lushes to turn up at recent funerals I've attended.
Just realised my family had, in fact, been in attendance so my wish was fulfilled.
posted by Lleyam at 8:35 AM on March 21, 2010 [3 favorites]
Just realised my family had, in fact, been in attendance so my wish was fulfilled.
posted by Lleyam at 8:35 AM on March 21, 2010 [3 favorites]
Hope my obit has the phrase "whilst cadging a canape" somewhere in it.
posted by aerotive at 8:38 AM on March 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by aerotive at 8:38 AM on March 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Friends of mine regularly gatecrashed events and eventually graduated onto movie premieres. Having tried the direct approach (scaling walls) and not so direct approach (wandering through the back entrance with a box of "booze" or sundries) they hit on a willing formula.
First they worked out who the PR was running things. Only a very limited number of PR companies and events companies do run things in London. They would call up on the day - when they knew things would be very hectic - and pose as the agent of a semi-famous local celeb: someone who would be welcome, but not necessarily on the original invite list. The PR company would then apologise that it was too late for them to send out tickets. At which point my friends would say this was no problem and they would send a courier.
So then one of the guys would walk into their offices in leathers and with a motorbike helmet tucked under one arm. This worked swimmingly for a year or so, several premieres, until one day they called up and the PR person said they were sorry, but xxxxx was a notorious no-show in the industry.
posted by MuffinMan at 8:40 AM on March 21, 2010 [25 favorites]
First they worked out who the PR was running things. Only a very limited number of PR companies and events companies do run things in London. They would call up on the day - when they knew things would be very hectic - and pose as the agent of a semi-famous local celeb: someone who would be welcome, but not necessarily on the original invite list. The PR company would then apologise that it was too late for them to send out tickets. At which point my friends would say this was no problem and they would send a courier.
So then one of the guys would walk into their offices in leathers and with a motorbike helmet tucked under one arm. This worked swimmingly for a year or so, several premieres, until one day they called up and the PR person said they were sorry, but xxxxx was a notorious no-show in the industry.
posted by MuffinMan at 8:40 AM on March 21, 2010 [25 favorites]
As Italians like to say:
whatever goes around goes in a circle. Or something.
posted by Postroad at 9:11 AM on March 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
whatever goes around goes in a circle. Or something.
posted by Postroad at 9:11 AM on March 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
I have, unfortunately, known a few people like Terence Jolley. His actions really aren't that mysterious; he's a classic sociopath. And his little group of hangers-on isn't so mysterious either; sociopaths can be a lot of fun to be around. Since they don't feel pleasure and pain to the same degree as normal people they can be adventurous and daring. They can be very witty. Very often they substitute little games of dominance and submission (those feelings, I guess, being mediated by different neurotransmitters and therefore still functional) for those bits life-affirming feedback the rest of us take for granted, and this means they can be very good at collecting a gang of hangers-on who will thrill to their exploits.
And because they are not deterred by normal mechanisms of embarrassment and punishment, they tend to regard little things like social proprieties and laws as inconveniences to be worked around rather than barriers not to be crossed. This can be part of the allure of their company for a normal person, but beware: If you travel in a sociopath's circle, you are never more than one moment of boredom from finding a knife handle sticking out of your back.
Been there, done that, T-shirt, etc.
posted by localroger at 9:15 AM on March 21, 2010 [16 favorites]
And because they are not deterred by normal mechanisms of embarrassment and punishment, they tend to regard little things like social proprieties and laws as inconveniences to be worked around rather than barriers not to be crossed. This can be part of the allure of their company for a normal person, but beware: If you travel in a sociopath's circle, you are never more than one moment of boredom from finding a knife handle sticking out of your back.
Been there, done that, T-shirt, etc.
posted by localroger at 9:15 AM on March 21, 2010 [16 favorites]
The Daily Mail describes the victim as Charming silver-haired Alan, a confirmed bachelor. Do they really still say that in England? I guess if it were The Sun, it would have been "lecherous, grey-haired Alan, a poofter".
posted by Nelson at 9:41 AM on March 21, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 9:41 AM on March 21, 2010 [3 favorites]
Metafilter: never more than one moment of boredom from finding a knife handle sticking out of your back.
sorry, it had to happen
posted by HuronBob at 9:44 AM on March 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
sorry, it had to happen
posted by HuronBob at 9:44 AM on March 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Skeptic, I think we've probably met over the Brussels nibbles on several occasions. I may even have photographed you. There are some journalists who are marvelously adept at living almost exclusively on food and drink they can grab at the European Parliament and similar events. Last week, I was at one NGO whose offices included a wine cellar!
localroger, sounds too much like my partner...
posted by quarsan at 9:46 AM on March 21, 2010
localroger, sounds too much like my partner...
posted by quarsan at 9:46 AM on March 21, 2010
I used to do this in college.
Not funerals (dear god how morbid) or weddings (dear god how boring) but there was a good chance that at any given time during the week, there would some kind of *thing* going in New York with free drinks, tiny snacks, and a lax door policy. A nice conservative suit and trim beard got my 18 year old ass into some of the nicer places and oddest parties.
posted by The Whelk at 9:54 AM on March 21, 2010
Not funerals (dear god how morbid) or weddings (dear god how boring) but there was a good chance that at any given time during the week, there would some kind of *thing* going in New York with free drinks, tiny snacks, and a lax door policy. A nice conservative suit and trim beard got my 18 year old ass into some of the nicer places and oddest parties.
posted by The Whelk at 9:54 AM on March 21, 2010
For some reason this reminds me of one of those etiquette askme's where the answerer said you eat before you go to one of these things so all you do is take a couple of nibbles because it is improper to wolf down appetizers to satiety with an initial empty stomach. Or that scene in The Count of Monte Cristo miniseries where the servant is giving Gerard Depardieu tips on how to eat like a royal and he said you always sip the wine and give a barely noticeable smirk of disgust.
posted by bukvich at 10:31 AM on March 21, 2010
posted by bukvich at 10:31 AM on March 21, 2010
Here's hoping that the sons, daughters and spouses -- of all the people he never knew -- all show up at his funeral.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 11:23 AM on March 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 11:23 AM on March 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
The sad thing (well, a sad thing) about this story is that, in the US, the Jolley Gang might well try and sue the operators of the event for luring one of their number in with unswallowable canapés....
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:56 AM on March 21, 2010
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:56 AM on March 21, 2010
The Newfoundland comedy show Codco had a repeating skit called "Wake of the Week" based on this idea. Sorry about the poor video quality, and possibly the lack of subtitles. I like this one because it starts with them sitting around the kitchen table trying to pick which wake to attend...
posted by sneebler at 12:32 PM on March 21, 2010
posted by sneebler at 12:32 PM on March 21, 2010
Spot-on, localroger
posted by Pressed Rat at 12:32 PM on March 21, 2010
posted by Pressed Rat at 12:32 PM on March 21, 2010
I had completely forgotten how easy it is to crash funerals and art openings.
In college we used to hang out at a friend's apartment that was very close to a bunch of galleries and funeral homes, and this free food and booze was at least one third of our diet. Food at Mexican funerals can be very good and keeps flowing until 3 a.m. or so.
We always made sure to leave nice comments about the dead person. Sometimes we left the only nice comments.
Even better, wearing a generic uniform and a radio, more than once we crashed an art gallery opening and walked out with a full box of wine bottles.
posted by dirty lies at 1:03 PM on March 21, 2010
In college we used to hang out at a friend's apartment that was very close to a bunch of galleries and funeral homes, and this free food and booze was at least one third of our diet. Food at Mexican funerals can be very good and keeps flowing until 3 a.m. or so.
We always made sure to leave nice comments about the dead person. Sometimes we left the only nice comments.
Even better, wearing a generic uniform and a radio, more than once we crashed an art gallery opening and walked out with a full box of wine bottles.
posted by dirty lies at 1:03 PM on March 21, 2010
Oh god art openings. They make up like half of an SVA student's diet.
posted by The Whelk at 1:11 PM on March 21, 2010
posted by The Whelk at 1:11 PM on March 21, 2010
quarsan Skeptic, I think we've probably met over the Brussels nibbles on several occasions. I may even have photographed you.
Nope, I'm not on those pictures, although I've got a fair few friends there...
posted by Skeptic at 2:17 PM on March 21, 2010
Nope, I'm not on those pictures, although I've got a fair few friends there...
posted by Skeptic at 2:17 PM on March 21, 2010
What parties is it ok to gatecrash (art openings, big private ones? is it ever ok?) and what, if anything distinguishes them from the ones one should *never* gate crash (funerals...)? I've definitely crashed some good ones (large student affairs are fair game). Perhaps you could use your notion of where the boundary lies to define a *real* party?
posted by fcummins at 2:41 PM on March 21, 2010
posted by fcummins at 2:41 PM on March 21, 2010
Down here in the South, it's family reunions, where they hire out a huge hall and the tribe gathers once every few years. Lots of married-in members hardly anyone knows, remote cousins, grown-up grandkids, etc. My father in law and his buddies liked to crash those when he was young.
Best part was, it wasn't for canapes, but home-cookin'. Though no wine, usually, but then being in the Air Force, they were usually half drunk most of the time already.
posted by emjaybee at 2:43 PM on March 21, 2010
Best part was, it wasn't for canapes, but home-cookin'. Though no wine, usually, but then being in the Air Force, they were usually half drunk most of the time already.
posted by emjaybee at 2:43 PM on March 21, 2010
Odd. I'd always imagined crashers to be hungry students or average nobodies like in The Wedding Crashers, not seemingly well-connected people like this guy and the ones to crash the White House.
posted by Neekee at 5:39 PM on March 21, 2010
posted by Neekee at 5:39 PM on March 21, 2010
Do they really still say that in England?
They do in the Daily Mail, where it's still 1950, the working-class knows its place, and the immigrant hordes have yet to reduce the value of your house and cause cancer.
posted by holgate at 12:20 AM on March 22, 2010
They do in the Daily Mail, where it's still 1950, the working-class knows its place, and the immigrant hordes have yet to reduce the value of your house and cause cancer.
posted by holgate at 12:20 AM on March 22, 2010
"and the immigrant hordes have yet to reduce the value of your house and cause cancer"
I think you'll find that - according to the Daily Mail - immigrants have been causing cancer, taking your jobs, sponging off your taxes and reducing house prices for everyone but key workers almost every week since... well, anyone can remember.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:03 AM on March 22, 2010
I think you'll find that - according to the Daily Mail - immigrants have been causing cancer, taking your jobs, sponging off your taxes and reducing house prices for everyone but key workers almost every week since... well, anyone can remember.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:03 AM on March 22, 2010
Do they really still say that in England?
I don't think this is so much about the Daily Mail still being in the 1950s, but more a turn-of-phrase that worked for the article. We don't generally go around calling ourselves "confirmed bachelors" over here but we might use it if it created a nice sentence flow. You know, like using the term "homosexualists" wryly. Having said that, this is the first (and, I suspect, last) time that I shall defend the Daily Fail; they are usually Islamophobic, homophobic, and racist bigots.
posted by Lleyam at 3:11 PM on March 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
I don't think this is so much about the Daily Mail still being in the 1950s, but more a turn-of-phrase that worked for the article. We don't generally go around calling ourselves "confirmed bachelors" over here but we might use it if it created a nice sentence flow. You know, like using the term "homosexualists" wryly. Having said that, this is the first (and, I suspect, last) time that I shall defend the Daily Fail; they are usually Islamophobic, homophobic, and racist bigots.
posted by Lleyam at 3:11 PM on March 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Wait, "Confirmed Bachelor" is code for homosexual? How the heck did I not know that.
posted by Mitheral at 9:26 AM on March 23, 2010
posted by Mitheral at 9:26 AM on March 23, 2010
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