Joan Collins on Men and Sex
This was from the Evening Standard last night.
Joan Collins is a minx. Asked by Shelf Life which literary character she would share a bed with, she picks Gone With the Wind’s Rhett Butler “for sheer macho magnetism”. And what book would she give to a lover? The Joy Of Sex.
Joan certainly doesn’t pull her punches.
The Boxer, The Philosopher and The Model
It sounds like the title of one of those jokes, but it is a story I picked up in Wikipedia.
Years ago, C used to know the late Dee Wells and her sister. Dee was a respected journalist and was married at the time to the rather famous philosopher Professor A. J. Ayer. I was browsing through his entry and found this story.
He taught or lectured several times in the United States, including serving as a visiting professor at Bard College in the fall of 1987. At a party that same year held by fashion designer Fernando Sanchez, Ayer, then 77, confronted Mike Tyson who was forcing himself upon the (then) little-known model Naomi Campbell. When Ayer demanded that Tyson stop, the boxer said: “Do you know who the fuck I am? I’m the heavyweight champion of the world,” to which Ayer replied: “And I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic. We are both pre-eminent in our field. I suggest that we talk about this like rational men”. Ayer and Tyson then began to talk, while Naomi Campbell slipped out.
Does this illustrate that words are stronger than fists?
Is This A Surprising Omission?
With the sad passing of Sir Jimmy Savile, the UK has lost an iconic character, who gave more pleasure and did more charitable works than anyone else in recent years.
He was also well-known for his adverts for British Rail, where he promoted the iconic Inter City 125 or High Speed Diesel Train. There’s one of the adverts here.
So why has none of the nearly 200 power cars been given his name? Especially one on the London to Leeds service.
On the other hand, Sir Jimmy may have been asked and said no! Or do we not name trains, whilst people are still alive?
The Man Who Brought You OK!, Brings You The Health Lottery
The Health Lottery is launched today by Richard Desmond, who owns Channel 5, the Daily Express, OK and other media interests.
Surely, with the state the country is in, we don’t need a venture like this. This is an extract from the BBC article.
Some charity leaders have been critical that less will go to good causes than from each National Lottery ticket.
The Health Lottery will donate over 20p per £1 ticket, compared with 28p for every National Lottery ticket.
That has been branded a “pretty disgraceful development” by Sir Stephen Bubb, of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations.
I shall not be buying a ticket. In addition, I shall not be buying anything from any shop that sells the tickets either, as now is not the time, to inflict another tax on the poor and the stupid.
One point about the Daily Express and the Daily Star is that if you click on their web sites or arrive there through Google, you immediately get a new browser window with an advert. How long before these windows are advertising the Health Lottery?
I also like this bit from the Independent diary of March 2nd, this year.
More sterling work from brand synergy specialist Elisa Roche, showbusiness editor of the Daily Express, who yesterday managed to squeeze an entire two-page spread from the news that her boss – philanthropist and former publisher of Asian Babes, Richard Desmond – had launched “The Health Lottery”, a new lottery game designed to raise money for health charities. Admittedly, almost half of the aforementioned spread was taken up by a large picture of Desmond (who owns Television X, Express Newspapers, OK! magazine and Channel 5) and his girlfriend, flanked by fellow guests at the “star-studded” launch. “Celebrities who were keen to show their support for the fantastic new lottery,” the optimistic Ms Roche dutifully reports, “included Kirsty Duffy, from Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, [Channel 5] weathergirl Sian Welby, OK! TV’s Matt Johnson and Kate Walsh, Zoe Salmon of Fiver’s The Love Bus and Channel 5 news presenters Emma Crosby and Matt Barbet.”
I’ve never heard of any of those celebrities at the launch of the Health Lottery, but then I’ve never read OK magazine.
Farewell Amy Winehouse
From my bedroom in Cockfosters, I could see Southgate School, which Amy Winehouse would attend many years later.
I can also remember my sister and the other girls at the school coming and going innocently in the road in front of the house.
Now, after a later life of abuse, the obviously talented Amy is gone. How many of the other boys and girls in her year have gone the same way? Probably only a handful, if my feelings are correct. This is based on the fact that most of my late son’s school friends are still here. And some have not been without drink and drug problems.
So when we remember Amy, let’s remember the good things, like her music and her success. And never ever think that her drink and drug problems are something to be admired.
Sadly, it seems that if you’re in the music industry, you attract those criminals, who want to sell you drugs, so they can have a large slice of your money.
Kim Kardashian Sues Over Look Alike
I gather that Kim Kardashian is quite famous. Perhaps it is famous for being stupid as she is suing a company because they used someone who looks like her, according to this report. She ought to thank the company for the publicity, especially as I don’t find the lady the least bit attractive. So perhaps she should sue The Times for showing a picture of her, that I don’t like.
You can rest assured that her lawyers will trouser a few dollars, so they will at least been paid well for their time.
Growing Old Gracefully
Joan Collins gives a superb interview in The Times. Buying the paper was worth it just for this quote, after she was asked how many men ha been her lovers and the interviewer had been surprised – “As I’ve been married five times, I’m more of a serial bride than a mattress!”
I did meet her once and from the pictures in the paper, she probably looks better now. But another of her comments about Bette Davis (difficult and ascerbic and coered in cigarette smoke) does suggest that she has given up the evil weed.
If she has, good on you, Joan and long may you keep us amused and entertained.
Ryan Giggs Again!
According to the Daily Mail, Ryan Giggs is good at playing away.
I always remember meeting a First Division star in about 1990, at a lunch at Newmarket Races, where we were all guests of a company, who transported racehorses to races abroad. He was with an attractive lady, who was a few years younger than himself, but the name cards showed that they shared a surname. He explained to C, who was sitting next to him, that his wife was ill and that he’d brought his younger sister instead. But he also told her, that he hoped the photographers didn’t get a picture of him and his sister, that they used inappropriately. C jokingly said she was a divorce barrister and he joked that if he ever needed one, he’d give her a call. A few years ago, we met them again at Newmarket and they were good enough to recommend us to a friend, who needed a stud to board a mare.
This footballer played before the high salaries of today, but it does show how worried some are about getting ensnared by those who want to make a quick killing.
Frock Horror
As a man, this is a problem I don’t have!
I suspect though that the two women cared!
Although one might have cared more than the other, as she actually paid for the dress.
But who are Bar Refaeli and Victoria Silvstedt anyway?
The Anonymous Widower 