I got this book for my 7th birthday off a weird liitle boy in my class. That was in 1986. I was enthralled by the beautiful, ethereal artwork. It is spellbinding. I knew the treasure had already been discovered. My brother told me so. Nonetheless I perused Masquerade everyday and got lost in the artwork. The Wickerman featured a buried hare and I remember thinking that there was some weird pagan connection.
I've heard about this programme, but never seen it~ thank you so much for posting it! I'm sure you know about the scandal that emerged in the late '80s which revealed 'Ken Thomas' to be a cheat, and every inch as unlikeable as this video makes him appear. I know Kit was terribly heartbroken that the jewel should be found in such circumstances, and that the two physics teachers who solved it correctly should have missed out so unjustly.
I had this book when it came out and like a lot of people saw the Catherine clue. I lived 25 miles away from Ampthill at the time. I remember there being a painting of pig with grass on its back. It got me looking for a place in my mapbook called Ham hill. I hadn't read all the Sherlock Holmes books at the time. If I had then it would have helped. There is a story called 'The adventure of the Musgrave ritual'. Holmes finds treasure in the exact same way.
ME TOO , lived in bletchley , we went to Tewkesbury and the midlands in search of it , also to the park in Ampthill, might have even walked across it ! felt sick when saw on news a darn mutt had unearthed it ! spent hours researching!!!LOL
@VICTORGIRAFFE Really glad you acknowledge the artwork. It was frequently disappointing to me that Williams' BRILLIANT talent was often overshadowed in the media by the value of the prize. I think the true value lies in the artist's absolute masterful talent.
Masquerade is a love story. Between the Moon and the Sun. Because they could never truly BE together. "The book's objective, the hunt for a valuable treasure, [became his means to this end]. Masquerade features fifteen detailed paintings illustrating the story of a hare named Jack Hare, who seeks to carry a treasure from the Moon (depicted as a woman) to her love object, the Sun (a man). On reaching the Sun, Jack finds that he has lost the treasure, and the reader is left to discover its location." - Wikp.
Wow! I love the Marti Webb version of the Masquerade song! Kudos to Rod Argent for the beautiful song. Unfortunately, the version at the end of this video is only the latter half of the song. I haven't been able to find the whole song anywhere on TH-cam. I learned that it is on her 1981 album "Won't Change Places".
I saw a performance of this at the Young Vic theatre and met Kit Williams. Later on he came and did a signing session of the book in the City. I was hospitality/ bookseller. He signed my copy to me "Fair Fortune Be Yours"
somehow found this story on the internet. amazing that williams thought he solved it, just by having the *approximate* location, not by actually stating how to solve the riddle. and he even helped him finding it. probably was just relieved that somehow was even close to it, after all those years waiting. but what a sad end to the story. thats how it goes sadly, fraud works.
I brougt the book as a birthday present for my ex wife Carol, and we both got the bug. traveeld round the UK and when it was found in Ampthil our phone never stopped. We lived in Bletchley,Milton Keynes which is 4 miles away from Ampthill. we had actually gone to the hill and the cross but not having solved the clues were not able to find it. One of my daughters called it the "Book of the golden rabbit." so near and yet so far LOL
They were the former live-in girlfriend of Kit and two male accomplices. She learned the general location from Kit and after their efforts to find it failed, they drew a map that was good enough to fool Kit into thinking they knew where it was. Sad ending to the story.
there were a couple of physics teachers who cracked the clues, but his ex-gf conned him. But now he has been reunited with the current owner of the hare - read the story on BBC www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-47671776#
Here's the detailed story of the fraud. Kit William's ex girlfriend Veronica Robertson had noted that Kit had often visited Amphtill park, and was convinced it was buried somewhere there, but did not know exactly where. She shared this hunch with her then boyfriend John Guard, who enlisted the help of two people to use metal detectors at night at Amphtill. For three years, Dugan's team scoured Amphtill all night with metal detectors but could never detect the golden hare, because it was covered in a clay casket. Then in 1982, two Physics teachers solved the puzzle (but had not yet written to Kit Williams) and dug around the Amphtill cross. In the process of digging they actually dug out the clay casket, but could not distinguish it from the dirt. They temporarily gave up. Then, Dugan's party found the clay casket amidst the DIRT that was already dug up. At this point, Dugan approached his business partner Douglas Thompson with an idea. They would create a video game with "riddles" and people who solved all the riddles would win the golden hare, and possibly even more money. So they buried back the clay casket (as though it had never been found) let the grass grow back, and Douglas Thompson posed as "Ken Thomas" and wrote to Kit Williams. Kit was suspicious, but had to give the prize to "Ken Thomas" as he had identified the location. The physics teachers immediately wrote to Kit Williams telling him that they had solved the puzzle, and dug around the Amphtill cross but found nothing. At this point, Kit had already given the prize to "Ken Thomas" and could not reward the physics teachers. Douglas Thompson/Ken Thomas designed a game known as "Hare raiser" and promised that people who solved the riddles in the game would win the golden hare he discovered. The game's graphics and format were considered to be atrociously boring and the "puzzles" were basically gibberish, framed intentionally so that they could never be solved. Critics lambasted the game, and it never sold. Then, when the company underwent liquidation in 1988, a journalist found that game designer "Ken Thomas" was actually a man named Douglas Thompson, whose business partner John Dugan was married to Kit William's ex girlfriend. Kit Williams felt intense shame that the prize has been won by scamsters and slipped into decades-long crippling depression. He even tried to buy back the golden hare in the auction for 6000 pounds but it was sold to the highest bidder who offered to pay 31000 pounds.
thanks for sharing! what is your source for: "So they buried back the clay casket (as though it had never been found) let the grass grow back, and Douglas Thompson posed as "Ken Thomas" and wrote to Kit Williams. Kit was suspicious, but had to give the prize to "Ken Thomas" as he had identified the location."
@@peorakef thefoolserrand.com/10-MQ/bitter-end.htm "There’s more. A week before Ken Thomas claimed the hare, Mark Barker was digging at the exact correct location. Unfortunately, Kit’s astronomical calculations were a tad incorrect and he had buried the hare a few feet to the left. Ken noted the ever-widening hole that Mark had dug, and in the dirt piles, not in the ground, Ken discovered the hare’s casket. Mark had dug it up and tossed it aside without realizing it."
@@summertummer2394 thanks! i wonder why the physics teachers were so keen on physically finding the hare, i must think if they had just directly written to Williams they could have claimed it before thomas, and would be digging it up together with williams. sad but typical ending.
@@peorakef Here is a marvelous detailed account of everything you need to know about Masquerade. www.planetslade.com/masquerade.html Apparerently, the US edition of the book invited readers to write in their guesses. While the UK edition made no such favors, UK people were still writing their guesses to the editor, who was forwarding the letters to Williams who was reading them and considering them as valid entries. Even after they learned that the hare had been found, the physicists had apparently no idea on how to to contact Williams and apparently wrote to the publisher who ignored the letter because he was flooded by letters. They finally used the telephone book to send a telegram to Williams with "close by amphtill" as the message, and that caught Williams' attention. Although it has never been confirmed, several sources, including this one, claim that it was very likely that Guard found the vase in the midst of the dirt already dug by the physicist. Yeah, those poor physicists. 😥
there were a couple of physics teachers who cracked the clues, but his ex-gf conned him her fella at the time. But now Kit has been reunited with the current owner of the hare - read the story on BBC www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-47671776#
I’ve worked out that he’s a nutcase and if you sat down with him and spoke about the clues for the rest of your life you would still be clueless everything will only make sense to him even if he decided to take you there you would still not find it hes probably forgot
![⭐ฮิตในTikTok!! ( หมูเด้ง MooDeng ) Ver. แดนซ์โจ๊ะๆ ReMix BY [ ดีเจกิต รีมิกซ์ ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3krsyfWUeHU/mqdefault.jpg)
I got this book for my 7th birthday off a weird liitle boy in my class. That was in 1986. I was enthralled by the beautiful, ethereal artwork. It is spellbinding. I knew the treasure had already been discovered. My brother told me so. Nonetheless I perused Masquerade everyday and got lost in the artwork. The Wickerman featured a buried hare and I remember thinking that there was some weird pagan connection.
I was that weird boy. I loved you.
I've heard about this programme, but never seen it~ thank you so much for posting it! I'm sure you know about the scandal that emerged in the late '80s which revealed 'Ken Thomas' to be a cheat, and every inch as unlikeable as this video makes him appear. I know Kit was terribly heartbroken that the jewel should be found in such circumstances, and that the two physics teachers who solved it correctly should have missed out so unjustly.
I had this book when it came out and like a lot of people saw the Catherine clue. I lived 25 miles away from Ampthill at the time. I remember there being a painting of pig with grass on its back. It got me looking for a place in my mapbook called Ham hill. I hadn't read all the Sherlock Holmes books at the time. If I had then it would have helped. There is a story called 'The adventure of the Musgrave ritual'. Holmes finds treasure in the exact same way.
ME TOO , lived in bletchley , we went to Tewkesbury and the midlands in search of it , also to the park in Ampthill, might have even walked across it ! felt sick when saw on news a darn mutt had unearthed it ! spent hours researching!!!LOL
@VICTORGIRAFFE Really glad you acknowledge the artwork. It was frequently disappointing to me that Williams' BRILLIANT talent was often overshadowed in the media by the value of the prize. I think the true value lies in the artist's absolute masterful talent.
Masquerade is a love story. Between the Moon and the Sun. Because they could never truly BE together. "The book's objective, the hunt for a valuable treasure, [became his means to this end]. Masquerade features fifteen detailed paintings illustrating the story of a hare named Jack Hare, who seeks to carry a treasure from the Moon (depicted as a woman) to her love object, the Sun (a man). On reaching the Sun, Jack finds that he has lost the treasure, and the reader is left to discover its location." - Wikp.
Wow! I love the Marti Webb version of the Masquerade song! Kudos to Rod Argent for the beautiful song. Unfortunately, the version at the end of this video is only the latter half of the song. I haven't been able to find the whole song anywhere on TH-cam. I learned that it is on her 1981 album "Won't Change Places".
I saw a performance of this at the Young Vic theatre and met Kit Williams. Later on he came and did a signing session of the book in the City. I was hospitality/ bookseller. He signed my copy to me "Fair Fortune Be Yours"
And the sad thing was the persons that discovered the treasure were cheats and frauds.
Hell has no fury like a woman scorn ... or something like that, The ex-girlfriend used privileged information
No way! Are you serious?!?! That’s what happened? It was all a lie?!!! Something definitely was off.
opps, he didn't tell her, but she guessed, her betrayal was because she thought the money would go to a good cause, so even she got coned
yes he was just a conman in the end
@@colinwilcox4266 How was Kit a conman?
somehow found this story on the internet. amazing that williams thought he solved it, just by having the *approximate* location, not by actually stating how to solve the riddle. and he even helped him finding it. probably was just relieved that somehow was even close to it, after all those years waiting. but what a sad end to the story. thats how it goes sadly, fraud works.
My parents had this book in California I thought it was just an interesting art book
I brougt the book as a birthday present for my ex wife Carol, and we both got the bug. traveeld round the UK and when it was found in Ampthil our phone never stopped. We lived in Bletchley,Milton Keynes which is 4 miles away from Ampthill. we had actually gone to the hill and the cross but not having solved the clues were not able to find it. One of my daughters called it the "Book of the golden rabbit." so near and yet so far LOL
This wasn't a movie, so why is Barry Norman doing this?
EDIT: This was an episode of Omnibus, a long running BBC arts programme from 1982.
Ken Thomas was determined to be a friend of Kits wife and didn't solve the puzzle as intended.
They were the former live-in girlfriend of Kit and two male accomplices. She learned the general location from Kit and after their efforts to find it failed, they drew a map that was good enough to fool Kit into thinking they knew where it was. Sad ending to the story.
Wow that’s crazy! Thank you Decker!
there were a couple of physics teachers who cracked the clues, but his ex-gf conned him. But now he has been reunited with the current owner of the hare - read the story on BBC www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-47671776#
Si tu cherches toujours la Chouette d'Or, donne moi un like ;-)
by hook or by crook!
Here's the detailed story of the fraud. Kit William's ex girlfriend Veronica Robertson had noted that Kit had often visited Amphtill park, and was convinced it was buried somewhere there, but did not know exactly where. She shared this hunch with her then boyfriend John Guard, who enlisted the help of two people to use metal detectors at night at Amphtill. For three years, Dugan's team scoured Amphtill all night with metal detectors but could never detect the golden hare, because it was covered in a clay casket. Then in 1982, two Physics teachers solved the puzzle (but had not yet written to Kit Williams) and dug around the Amphtill cross. In the process of digging they actually dug out the clay casket, but could not distinguish it from the dirt. They temporarily gave up. Then, Dugan's party found the clay casket amidst the DIRT that was already dug up. At this point, Dugan approached his business partner Douglas Thompson with an idea. They would create a video game with "riddles" and people who solved all the riddles would win the golden hare, and possibly even more money. So they buried back the clay casket (as though it had never been found) let the grass grow back, and Douglas Thompson posed as "Ken Thomas" and wrote to Kit Williams. Kit was suspicious, but had to give the prize to "Ken Thomas" as he had identified the location. The physics teachers immediately wrote to Kit Williams telling him that they had solved the puzzle, and dug around the Amphtill cross but found nothing. At this point, Kit had already given the prize to "Ken Thomas" and could not reward the physics teachers. Douglas Thompson/Ken Thomas designed a game known as "Hare raiser" and promised that people who solved the riddles in the game would win the golden hare he discovered. The game's graphics and format were considered to be atrociously boring and the "puzzles" were basically gibberish, framed intentionally so that they could never be solved. Critics lambasted the game, and it never sold. Then, when the company underwent liquidation in 1988, a journalist found that game designer "Ken Thomas" was actually a man named Douglas Thompson, whose business partner John Dugan was married to Kit William's ex girlfriend. Kit Williams felt intense shame that the prize has been won by scamsters and slipped into decades-long crippling depression. He even tried to buy back the golden hare in the auction for 6000 pounds but it was sold to the highest bidder who offered to pay 31000 pounds.
thanks for sharing! what is your source for:
"So they buried back the clay casket (as though it had never been found) let the grass grow back, and Douglas Thompson posed as "Ken Thomas" and wrote to Kit Williams. Kit was suspicious, but had to give the prize to "Ken Thomas" as he had identified the location."
@@peorakef thefoolserrand.com/10-MQ/bitter-end.htm "There’s more. A week before Ken Thomas claimed the hare, Mark Barker was digging at the exact correct location. Unfortunately, Kit’s astronomical calculations were a tad incorrect and he had buried the hare a few feet to the left. Ken noted the ever-widening hole that Mark had dug, and in the dirt piles, not in the ground, Ken discovered the hare’s casket. Mark had dug it up and tossed it aside without realizing it."
@@summertummer2394 thanks! i wonder why the physics teachers were so keen on physically finding the hare, i must think if they had just directly written to Williams they could have claimed it before thomas, and would be digging it up together with williams.
sad but typical ending.
@@peorakef Here is a marvelous detailed account of everything you need to know about Masquerade. www.planetslade.com/masquerade.html Apparerently, the US edition of the book invited readers to write in their guesses. While the UK edition made no such favors, UK people were still writing their guesses to the editor, who was forwarding the letters to Williams who was reading them and considering them as valid entries. Even after they learned that the hare had been found, the physicists had apparently no idea on how to to contact Williams and apparently wrote to the publisher who ignored the letter because he was flooded by letters. They finally used the telephone book to send a telegram to Williams with "close by amphtill" as the message, and that caught Williams' attention. Although it has never been confirmed, several sources, including this one, claim that it was very likely that Guard found the vase in the midst of the dirt already dug by the physicist. Yeah, those poor physicists. 😥
@@summertummer2394 horrible, just horrible
i'm so dumb i thought "why would katt williams organize a treasure hunt"
The "winner" hadn't actually solved it at all. They cheated by having insider knowledge.
there were a couple of physics teachers who cracked the clues, but his ex-gf conned him her fella at the time. But now Kit has been reunited with the current owner of the hare - read the story on BBC www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-47671776#
People have metal detectors today. Probably find it by mistake
No. It was buried in a ceramic vase to make metal detectors useless in the search. So I read somewhere!
it was encased in ceramic to block metal detectors
Metal detecting was a massive craze in the 1970s anyway
Can you speak SLOWLY please ???
Definitely round the south west somewhere they are weird people like that look no further
I’ve worked out that he’s a nutcase and if you sat down with him and spoke about the clues for the rest of your life you would still be clueless everything will only make sense to him even if he decided to take you there you would still not find it hes probably forgot