Chas Smith, Esq. is on the case.
Oh this surfing life we live, this surfing life we love. Cold mornings, cold water, ice cream headaches, reef cuts, fin cuts, late to work, late to pick up kids, calling in sick to work, surfing. We’re all masochists, no? Or at the very least have a little masochist in us and definitely a lot of deviant.
Well, in a case roiling the British press, a self described “professional surfer, shark enthusiast and musician” has been charged with fraud for allegedly surfing in a contest and performing in a music video “boasting of her skills” and it is only appropriate to learn more of this heroine. This symbol of our best qualities. Or at the very least our most accurate qualities.
A musician, 36, got £27,000 benefits after claiming was too ill dress or wash herself despite allegedly saying she competed in a Boardmasters surfing competition, a court heard.
October Hamlyn-Wright, of Newquay, Cornwall, is on a fraud charge after authorities found evidence of her jet-setting lifestyle.
She toured Australia and Scandinavia, and played Glastonbury despite receiving the disability benefits across two years, it was alleged.
Hamlyn-Wright, now of Surrey, also made a music video boasting her surfing skills.
According to the Sun, Prosecutor Andrew Price said: ‘In the biography on her October Rocks website, she says she is a professional singer, songwriter, surfer and shark enthusiast and a surfing competitor with Boardmasters.’
This is despite providing a ‘considerable number of ailments and illnesses’ in benefit applications in New Malden, Surrey, in 2013 and 2015.
On the story goes and of course October is fighting the charges but… might a surf journalist lend his hand and solve the case?
I was very curious about the music video with the boasting but couldn’t find. What I did discover, however, was reference to the surf contest wherein Ms. Hamlyn-Wright placed 3rd.
The English Adaptive Surfing Championships.
Innocent!
Innocent, I say!
Now, would you like to hire me as your lawyer? Your barrister? Got a tough case?
I promise to bring a certain flair to courtroom proceedings. And a mind like a steel trap.
Icecream an hour for the first 2 hours. Further time spent will be paid in hotdogs for 2 hours. Beyond that, he will only accept tacos.
Point being, it’s not a surfing term, it’s not even just a non surfing beachgoers term, it’s a well known multinational inland based term that has been used for a bit more than slightly more than you thought….
The name ‘Andrew Price’ is a little too close to name ‘Prince Andrew’ for my comfort.
Sometimes if I don’t achieve a clean snap it is easier just go surfing. Solid case there.
According to Wikipedia it was first used in print in 1937 in a book about Quakers in Russia.
Incidentally, that’s the year my mother was born and she (a non surfer) always used the term when I was a kid in the late ’60’s onward….
Volcom Pipeline pumping.
John John dropped out.
Nathan dropped in on Makai… Acai bowl 2020?
Yago advancing.
Sal awful announcer.
Sal honestly sucks something else. Something truly else. And why did JJ drop out? Knee? Over it? Surfing iz lame?
He said to give his leg a break, I suspect it was to give his bro a shot.
An hour ago his name was out of the draw on the wsl site.
Just checked again now and shows that he’s back in heat 8.
Maybe decided his knees ok since his bro got knocked out with the interference…
Just 2 heats away, so guess we’ll see!
YES
jjf back out
Kiwi in and straight into the lead haha
YEESSS !
Yes that Sal bloke certainly has the character traits of a major league felatio division entrant.
You could maybe say he’s a Pipe specialist!
You could also say he lives for throaty barrels. We won’t even talk about the spit.
Every professional athlete wants to be a rock star, and every rock star wants to be a professional athlete. The only thing that separates ‘will’ and ‘ill’ is a double you.
Apparently 7-11 has trademarked the term “ice-cream headache.” Corpo bastards!
Not sure what this does for her case..but none of the poms wash.
We all know that.
Apparently, there’s a brand new public bath in Bristol that rates each bathers bathing ability. Maybe they don’t want that knowledge being made public, even though their smell is.
I lived with one, I found out they are pretty tight as well.
Surfing’s proud history of work dodging dole bludgers continues! I was worried the VALpocalypse in all it’s upwardly mobile, Venice adjacent spirit would taint our legacy, but it’s good to see some still carry the torch.