by dianaburrell on July 21, 2009
And I’m not talking about Fred and Gladys.
A couple years ago, I became addicted to a show called Perfect Housewifes on BBC America. The host, Anthea Turner, a blond Brit, took a Martha Stewart-like role to challenge two slovenly housewives to clean up their abodes to win that episode’s title of “the Perfect Housewife.” Turner seemed harmless enough — she wasn’t bawdy like Kim on How Clean Is Your House?, but she was sexier than Kim’s counterpart, Aggie. She seemed like a perfect ratings draw for a reality show.
Then I started picking up on news stories in the UK press about Turner and her husband, Grant Bovey. They were criticized for taking corporate sponsorships to fund their wedding and honeymoon; a photo of the couple posing with a Cadbury bar at their reception drew boos and jeers. Bovey had also left his wife and children to marry Turner. They bought a huge home in the country (where Turner’s housekeeping show was filmed), and the press gleefully reported on the couple’s ill-fated battle with their local council about the tennis court they’d built. Eventually the council demanded that the tennis court be dismantled. But it didn’t matter because by the time that decree came down, journos were drooling over Grant Bovey’s spectacular business failures, which resulted in the sale of their estate to a Russian businessman. Now the couple has moved to a smaller home more fitting to their severely reduced circumstances, a home with a reported £5 million mortgage, while waiting for a buyer for their European vacation home. In the meantime, the press reports they’ve pushed their way in to Simon Cowell’s box at Ascot, been served with papers by the bailiff (Bovey), and forced to shill for cleaning products (Turner).
Why the intense dislike of this couple by the press? Is it that they take themselves too seriously? Tabloid targets like Katie Price/Jordan and Posh Spice shrug off negative press … use it, even, to their advantage. Then there are people like that Geldof girl, who’s rich and famous for being the daughter of someone rich and famous … at least Bovey and Turner have worked, and I’m not going to ridicule someone who decides to take a job to pay the bills, as Turner has done with her advertising contracts. Maybe they’re loathed because they had an affair before they were married? Good grief, then, how many celebs haven’t done that … or worse?
Explain the intense dislike in the comments section below.
by dianaburrell on February 2, 2009
Many of you may have read this already — the letter is making the rounds of the Internets — but in case you haven’t, read this hilarious complaint letter written by an peevish Virgin Atlantic customer to Sir Richard Branson about the horrendous meal he was served aboard a Virgin flight from Mumbai to Heathrow in December. The customer, who since has been identified as an advertising executive named Oliver Beale, received a call from Branson afterwards, who apologized for the disgusting slop and offered Beale the opportunity to choose meals and wine for future Virgin flights.
I love that the letter was accompanied by photos because that food does look abominable and I’m afraid the hyperbole alone wouldn’t have been as convincing. On that note, two of the best airline meals of my life were on British Airways flights to and from Heathrow and Mumbai. Maybe Virgin Atlantic should send some spies to check it out.
by dianaburrell on January 14, 2009
Cadbury announced this week they’ll be printing a new warning, in bright yellow caps, on its Dairy Milk chocolate bars. Brace yourselves. The warning is CONTAINS: MILK. And to eliminate any doubt in consumers’ minds, Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut bars will include the warning CONTAINS: MILK, NUTS.
Cynical me thought Cadbury was announcing this news to shift attention away from the other ingredient starting with “M” in their chocolate bars. But no — it’s just the government butting in with their labeling laws.
This is insane. I’m all for ingredient lists on food labels. Several of my son’s friends have severe food allergies. But an additional warning? Does the government really think someone with a nut or milk allergy will pick up a Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut bar and think, “Yummy!” (I’ll point out a young child might bite into the bar, but if he can’t read, the special warning is pointless, isn’t it.)
Here’s the deal. On average 20 people die each year in the UK from anaphylactic reactions, some of which (not all) are triggered by foods like nuts and dairy.
On the other hand, the British government reports that 30,000 deaths every year can be attributed to obesity. The Cadbury Dairy Milk bar includes 9.1 grams of saturated fat. Why not add the warning CONTAINS: SATURATED FAT ? Isn’t saturated fat killing more people? ETA: Saturated fats are a tad sneakier than the dairy in a Dairy Milk bar … after all, they’re not called “Cadbury Sat Fat Bars.”
Nothing against Cadbury Dairy Milk bars, by the way. I’m just against silly regulatatory laws. </rant>
by dianaburrell on January 10, 2009
- Few mourn US embassy relocation — “Now all is set to change, as the embassy prepares to shut up shop in central London and move to a brand-new building – in somewhat less salubrious surroundings on the south bank of the river Thames.” (BBC News)
- Do WAGS make good role models? – “Lizzie Cundy, the wife of former Chelsea Player Jason Cundy, and Caroline Jordan, headmistress of St George’s school in Ascot, discuss whether WAGs make good role models for schoolgirls.” (BBC News)
- Britain’s lonely high flier — “A resurgent Rolls-Royce has become the most powerful symbol of British manufacturing. Its success may be hard to replicate, especially in difficult times.” An exceptionally interesting article. (The Economist)
- Old time ads — “Nostalgic commercials and brands are being revived as advertisers seek to tap into recession-ridden Britons’ urge for security, predictability and reassurance.” Interesting slide show of some classic British ad campaigns. (Financial Times)
- She’s married to one of the country’s sexiest actors – so why does Emma Thompson think British men are retarded? — “The Oscar-winning actress compares her husband to a clam because he’s so hopeless at opening up — like all his ‘emotionally autistic’ countrymen.” If I had to pick a celebrity to be my friend, I’d pick Emma. (The Daily Mail)
- Blagojevich, the Iambic Anglophile — “Impeached, indicted and feeling alone, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich has found some unlikely friends: Dead British poets.” May I suggest a little Robert Browning? “I give the fight up: let there be an end, a privacy, an obscure nook for me. I want to be forgotten even by God.” (the New York Times)
- Kate’s no lady in waiting — A video from CBS’s Early Show about Kate Middleton’s 27th birthday and will Will or won’t Will pop the question soon?
