Thanks

I am in London next week.

First, I want to start by thanking my paid subscribers who continue to support me. I haven’t thanked you in a while but I really to appreciate your continued support. It helps to keep this Substack mostly free to read especially my coverage of the trial of the murder of baby Preston Davey, a subject I would never paywall. Your subscriptions also in a roundabout way supports my many Tweets, which although it sounds ridiculous, were important this week.

I was able to Tweet out the Victim Impact Statements of Sandra and Paul Cooper, baby Preston’s foster parents. They are an extraordinary couple. Their loss should be remembered. The couple fostered 43 children over 27 years. Preston was meant to be their last baby. After they were informed of his death, the council then asked if they would foster three siblings. Paul and Sandra Cooper came out of retirement and said they would continue to foster. Some people are just better. Sandra and Paul Cooper are those people.

Sandra Cooper in her VIS, said, “Paul and I will often watch the videos we took of Preston when he was happy with us laughing and giggling, playing with his toys smiling. Preston’s face would light up when we looked at him; he was joyful, so content and happy, with sparkly smiling eyes. That is how we want to remember him. I will often dream about Preston and I feel that he is still alive, but when I wake up I realise he has died and I go through the trauma again of knowing he has died and how. I just want to see his smiling happy face again. I am devastated about his death and I struggle when I think about what pain and torture he has been through before he died.”

Paul Cooper, concluded his statement said “As a foster carer you have to put so much trust in the system and the persons responsible for caring for a child. What happened to Preston has caused me to lose that trust, thus affecting me socially and through being a foster carer. I don’t see being a foster carer as employment, more like a vocation. Preston had his whole life ahead of him, one that should have been a happy life with a new family. I will never ever forget him. I cannot express enough the pain that I am going through to even speak about this and the way his life was cut so short. I will never forget you Preston.”

Many of the jury members returned to hear the sentence and were crying, including the men. Please keep Paul and Sandra Cooper in your prayers.

I discuss the legal team that put the case together here.

I am away in London at the ARC conference next week. There will be only blog, and interview with Matthew Elliott, Lord Elliott who was head of campaign Vote Leave.

And I also want to thank those of you who have bought me a coffee, an English breakfast tea and strong brandy. I really appreciate your support. Whoever invented that scheme which works well for some readers is a genius.

Have a peaceful weekend.

(Dec 2025.)