Page 18 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
AB:OK.
DM:Off the record. Look after yourself.
[Just tedious small-talk from here on. EC]
Text messages between me and social worker Sonia Brown, 17 June 2021:
Amanda Bailey
The baby was taken in by a family member of the teenage girl.
Sonia Brown
Who told you that?
Amanda Bailey
Someone there at the time. In the first instance they were taken to Willesden Children’s Service Centre.
Sonia Brown
I’ll ask around.
Meeting with Revd Edmund Barden-Hythe at St Barnabas Church, Sudbury, 18 June 2021. Transcribed by Ellie Cooper.
AB:Thanks [Echoey! Creeping me out. EC]
EBH:Let’s sit in the front pews. We can see the stained-glass window. It’s been dated at 1290. Until the Alperton Angels it was our claim to fame.
AB:Beautiful. Vivid colours. Could I get a little closer, just to see the detail? I have reduced vision in this eye.
EBH:Of course, go right up to it. You’ll see, it’s all original lead.
AB:Wow. Does it tell a story?
EBH:The siege of Samaria. An episode from the Book of Kings. Ben-Hadid, the figure there, has stopped food supplies to the city. The king, see him on the wall? He walks among his starving people, here. This woman stops him and says, ‘Your highness, give us your son, so we may eat him. Then tomorrow, we’ll eatmyson.’ So, the king allows his son to be killed and eaten. The next day, the people are starving again. The king goes to the woman, only to find she has hidden her son. There she is, refusing to make the sacrifice she insisted he make, and there’snothing he can do about it. [That’s dark. EC]
AB:Now we’re closer I can see it’s not as beautiful as, er, is that …?
EBH:The boiled head of the prince, yes. The story is sometimes interpreted as a pact between two mothers, rather than a king and his subject. Either way, it’s a sobering tale about faith and trust in one’s fellow human. Not to mention the things people will do and say to survive. In the version with the king, there’s also a lesson about the sacrifice and responsibility of leadership. Tea?
AB:Please. [Some clanging and pouring here, plus some dull chat about the mugs. EC]
AB:You’re the first person I’ve spoken to who actually met the angels. [He laughs at that, but doesn’t sound cheerful. EC] When did you first notice them?
EBH:I saw Holly, the girl, first because it’s unusual for people that age to be in church without their parents. I asked one of our ladies to speak to her, check she was OK. Holly told her she was an angel and lived with other angels. She was matter-of-fact about it, utterly brainwashed. My parishioner was suspicious and invited them all the following Sunday.
AB:And they came?
EBH:The leader, Gabriel, another younger man I’d later understand was Jonah, and Holly again. I spoke to Gabriel. He described himself as a lay Christian from a small community nearby. Their ethos was that all humans are angels born on earth. He contributed thirty pounds to the collection box.
AB:And that sounded plausible? Your suspicions were allayed?
EBH:I’m not here to judge. It wasn’t what he said, but how he said it. People who draw others into a fantasy world are plausible people. There is no one more convincing than the convinced.
AB:Did you see them again?
EBH:No. When the events were on the news, we were all shocked. The police took statements. We had reporters here. Their tone … They blamed us for not alerting the police sooner and perhaps preventing the—
