05/12/2004
After over a year and a half, Marlowe is still almost certainly dead.
You can however, now buy a very funny book that digs a similar vein that Marlowe did, it's called "Morris Telford - A Salopian Odyssey", a travel diary like no other based on the cult BBC hit. Available to buy here and here and here.
01/10/2003
After 5 months of silence, we can only assume the last message received was some sort of sick joke or hoax and Marlowe is infact lost to us forever. His last confirmed diary entry read "storm worse rain hurts soaked cold". Meteorological reports from that date show a number of violent tropical storms in the Borneo area and after such a long period Marlowe is now officially considered Missing Presumed Dead. Thankyou for all the Emails of support sent to this website over the past few months, the loss of Marlowe Bidforth is not just a loss to his friends and family, but a loss to the world of backpacking. Our thoughts are with Marlowe's parents, Mike and Trudy at this difficult time.
Looking on the bright side, Marlowe was the first Weblog writer ever to die online, so a number of posthumous awards have been sent to his family home and have pride of place on the mantelpeice. If you still wish to show support for Marlowe, then you can always buy the T-shirt, or travel to Borneo and try and find what's left of him.
08/05/2003
A message has been received via Marlowe's old Email address.
"I don't have long, please help, they have me in a small wooden cage and they feed me nothing but confectionary all day. If I don't have something savoury soon I fear I may not last the week. I am being held at"
And there the message ends. An attempt at tracing the origin of the message is being made.
11/04/2003
Still no concrete news about Marlowe or his whereabouts, but no bodies have been washed up and identified as Marlowe yet either so no news is good news. We have had a number of dubious Emails claiming sightings-
From Miss H.Darby
"I saw a man matching the description and photographs on your site while on holiday in the West Indies. He was half-naked, caked in filth and kept bothering cars at traffic lights by looking in their wing mirrors and licking his reflection. I sent him your regards, but then he followed me, laughing maniacally until a bus hit him."
From Ted in Cambridge
"A man was arrested in my local library climbing the bookshelves and throwing Jeffrey Archer books at anyone who tried to get him down. He looked like Marlowe."
From Mr S.Payne-
"I believe I have seen Marlowe Bidforth shopping in Cleveley's England. However I think He must be on the run from someone as he was disguised as an elderly lady, and from the dazed expression on his face I am assuming it must be Drugs related."
+++ UPDATE - STILL NO DIARY ENTRY SINCE 09/02 +++
The site has had a number of Emails asking about Marlowe, we still have no confirmed sightings or news. There was a news report of a man stranded near Borneo on a small island, but it turned out to be an unusually shaped tree. Please contact the site if you have any news.
This is the longest period that Marlowe has not updated his diary since the incident with the border guard in 1999.
Given the difficult situation he was in (A tropical storm) during his last entries, it may just be an equipment failure preventing him getting in touch, but I have had no contact, no Email, no phone, no sightings, since the last diary entry.
If you are backpacking and see Marlowe, please Email the website and let the world know that Marlowe Bidforth will live to backpack again.
28/09/2002
The wind is making it hard to type this, and the connection keeps cutting out. sand is blowing around and the sea is getting choppy.
I'm going inland to try and stop getting swept out to sea if the storm get any worse. The sky looks like it is boiling to the east, and flashes of lightening are following by cracks of thunder that make my bones hurt. I'll admit, I'm a bit worried.
27/09/2002
I think a storm is coming, the sky to the east (I think) is black and the wind is picking up. There isn't much shelter on the island, but I am trying to build a shelter that might withstand a mild storm.
I tried checking the weather websites, thought I might get some idea where I am from the approachng stormfront. The only severe storms are in Central America, and I'm pretty sure I'm not in Kansas (anymore).
25/09/2002
I tried to imagine going to the cinema today. I lined up some rocks as seats, even wove a popcorn container out of seaweed. I left before the film ended though, I imagined someone beside me kept talking and ruined the film.
24/09/2002
No sign of the plane returning, so my spirits are low today.
Thanks for all your Email. Janice Gruber emailed me with a lengthy message about positive thinking and visualisation. I'd like to say it was helpful Janice, but it wasn't. Especially the bit about "imagine yourself on a beach with nothing but miles of sand and the gentle lapping of the waves". I don't have to imagine it Janice, IT'S ALL I CAN IMAGINE BECAUSE IT'S ALL I'VE SEEN FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG.
