Tag: loss

The Devil’s Advocate is Back

‘The Devil’s Advocate’ Giovanni Di Stefano’s life is set to be made into a film following his forthcoming release from jail (and deportation from Britain)

In March 2014, the incarcerated conman Giovanni Di Stefano tweeted The Steeple Times to claim he had cheated “no one” before adding: “Who did I kill?” In spite of the fact that this po-faced prattler and all-round prick had been convicted and jailed for 14 years for “tricking people into thinking he was a bona fide legal professional” when he was anything but in 2013, he’s shortly about to get out of jail and after deportation from Britain will be participating in a film about his life and lies.

For plainly extremely intelligent but completely lacking in any kind of moral compass Di Stefano’s victims – whom include Tricia Walsh-Smith, a lady best known for making a video that went viral after it was published on YouTube during her especially acrimonious divorce from the then president of The Shubert Organization – this film will pile yet more misery on their already substantial losses. The film, which is to be made by six Academy Award nominated director Jim Sheridan, is based on a biography written by this “one of life’s great swindler’s” plainly anything but impartial son, Michael Di Stefano.

Currently titled The Devil’s Advocate – How to Win Fiends and Influence Despots in a plain nod to Dale Carnegie and Toby Young also, Sheridan commented of it: “It’s very easy to see this as a dramatic feature, but I think for now – the documentary form will suit the story better. This is an intriguing story and truly unique. The lead character is simply unbelievable, and we are delighted to have the exclusive co-operation of Giovanni, his family, his long-term assistant and his personal lawyer to tell the story.”

Going further, executive producer Jezz Vernon of Port Royal Media added: “The subject material is jaw dropping, we’re excited to bring Jim’s vision of the story to the screen. It’s a huge coup that Giovanni and his family have chosen to work exclusively with us.”

Summing rotten ratbag “defender of the indefensibles” Di Stefano – whose supposed clients in spite of him having no legal qualifications whatsoever up allegedly numbered ‘Moors Murderer’ Ian Brady, paedo pop singer Gary Glitter, slum lord Nicholas van Hoogstraten, deranged dictator Saddam Hussein, warped war criminal Slobodan Milošević and pensioner slayer Dr Harold Shipman – up in March 2013 before sending him down, Judge Alistair McCreath, the Recorder of Westminster, stated:

“Your victims in this case were all desperate people and people who, because of their desperation, were vulnerable… It is also about something different and great – it is about the real distress you caused to so many people… You had no regard for them nor for their anguish… Your only concern was to line your own pockets.”

Any film that suggests anything to the contrary will be nothing but claptrap.

On 11th May, Michael Di Stefano tweeted complaing his father’s prison sentence to be “arbitrary and unlawful.”

In spite of being incarcerated, in April, Giovanni Di Stefano was able to tweet his views on MI5 whilst his son claimed the “UK breaks the rules to hold him.”

Also in April, Di Stefano tweeted his sorrow about the death of the Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and claimed he’d written to President Trump to ask him to put him “on his pardon list.”

In February, this prisoner was able to post nonsense on his blog about predictions also.

In January, Di Stefano tweeted about his sadness on the passing of the murderer Phil Spector.

May 27, 2021
Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess

Nikolay Kalinin suggests that in spite of their crusade against Tory sleaze, Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer is failing to make any inroads and finds himself in a multifaceted mess

A week ago, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attempted to present himself as the superhero British politics needs in order to rid the country of Tory sleaze. He proffered that his scrutiny at Prime Minister’s Questions and photo-ops at John Lewis illustrated that Labour will annihilate the Tories in tomorrow’s elections simply because the governing party are just ‘no good.’

Yet, the truth for Sir Keir is actually far bleaker and a multifaceted mess, as ever since February the gap between the Conservatives and Labour in the polls has been increasing in the governing party’s favour and this has mostly been due to the UK government’s incredibly successful vaccination programme.

Even after the ‘Wallpapergate’ scandal, it seems like nothing much has changed, as a YouGov poll has projected that on 6^th May, Labour is most likely to lose 59 seats in ‘Red Wall’ local councils, whereas the Conservatives are set to gain 90. Furthermore, 38% of people in ‘Red Wall’ council areas have stated that Boris Johnson would “make the best Prime Minister,” compared to just 30% for Starmer.

The by-election in the Hartlepool constituency meanwhile – which has been described as the first litmus test of Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership – has also left many expecting Labour will lose their hold over the area. A poll conducted by Good Morning Britain concluded that 50% of the people interviewed in the area would vote for Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer, compared to the 33% that would vote for Labour candidate Paul Williams.

In even worse news for Labour, another GMB poll concluded that most people in Hartlepool had favourable feelings towards Conservatives (46%), compared to Labour’s 31%. Furthermore, 45% of people expressed negative feelings towards Labour, compared to 31% who expressed negativity towards Conservatives. It seems therefore like Labour is on the path to losing the seat, which has been controlled by them since its establishment in 1974.

Still, there has also been evidence in the last few days that suggests otherwise; a recent UK voting intention poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies has seen the Conservatives’ lead being slashed by 4%, whereas Labour has gained 4% in the polls, meaning that the gap between both is now a mere 2%.

As expected, Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to retain his position as he maintains a fairly stable lead in the polls, with predictions that he’ll get 61% in the first round whereas his hapless Conservative rival Shaun Bailey will achieve a mere 39%.

There’s a dangerously high chance that the Conservatives will be able to use the vaccination success in order to win over the voters in councils and in Hartlepool, who will ignore the fact that their PM has used donated money for his own expenses and didn’t even disclose it.

Why has Sir Keir Starmer, in general, failed to deliver a fatal blow to the Tories in the lead-up to the elections? It’s most likely due to lack of a uniting ideology, but more importantly due to the lack of opposition; because of the government’s role in fighting against COVID-19, it’s possible that the role of Labour as an opposition party has been substantially reduced, as they are actually unable to scrutinise the Tories like they would normally have had had there been no pandemic. In some way, Sir Keir seems to be lacking the appeal that Jeremy Corbyn had as Labour leader, which allowed the party to receive an influx of members after decades of falling membership.

So far, the sleaze scandals have not hurt the Conservatives at all – as a matter of fact support for them has been increasing – and even more surprisingly the Labour Party that has been leading the campaign against sleaze is getting pummeled in the polls. It truly is concerning that a party that has such a large lack of connection with people is leading in the polls, because this should not happen in a country that is supposedly a representative democracy. We’ll just have to wait and see, but a very important first signal will emerge with the results tomorrow.

Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess – Sir Keir Starmer certainly did not help himself when he found himself kicked out of a pub in Bristol in April. His minder’s bullyboy conduct reflected very badly upon him and the fact that his aides had not checked the venue out first shows a shocking lack of coordination on the Labour Party’s part.

Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess – Sir Keir Starmer believes: “Another future is possible,” but thus far he has failed to convince he is the man who could deliver such in post-coronavirus pandemic Britain.

May 5, 2021
Modest Madeley (And ‘Mummy’ Finnigan)

Alleged shoplifter and ‘modern day Dorian Gray’ Richard Madeley attempts to convince ‘Mirror’ readers that his relationship with alleged old soak ‘mummy’ Judy Finnigan is “normal”

Fresh from having shared his totally irrelevant and frankly insane views about coronavirus last October, alleged shoplifter Richard Madeley has sought to get himsef back in the mix in a joint interview in the Mirror this morning with his allegedly constantly pissed-off-her-skull wife, Judy Finnigan.

In a feature titled “Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan’s heartbreaks – affair, baby loss and health battles” by ‘showbiz features writer’ Frances Kindon, no mention was made of Madeley’s possible penchant for helping himself in supermarkets, but instead the focus was on how the couple first met.

Of an epic encounter that led to “the most solid union in showbiz,” Kindon gloriously remarked: “Their paths first crossed in a newsroom back in 1982 when Judy, 72, was asked to mentor a younger Richard, 64, and greeted him with the words, ‘Hello… I’m your Mummy’” before then adding that their own daughter finds “the amount of time they spend together is not normal.”

Elsewhere in the puff piece, Kindon reveled in ‘Dick and Dude’s’ “natural chemistry” and celebrated their “whole lot of red-hot chemistry” and positions as “the nation’s favourites.” She referenced “hurtful rumours” about them and then even allowed “sexual oversharer” Madeley to give a riposte. In it, he remarked:

“We’d gone away for a week to Cornwall with our children, and the mobile went in the car.”

“It was our bosses at Granada saying a terrible rumour was being put around that you’re in a self-help institution for men who batter their wives because you’ve beaten Judy, that Judy’s in a drying-out clinic and that the children are in care. We were in the f**king car.”

“We tracked it to the source… A particularly poisonous person. He’d leaked these smears and they were never published because we would have cleaned up in a libel case. But the one thing that lingered like a piece of floating sewage is this thing that Judy drinks. And she doesn’t.”

Hmm… The picture above clearly tells otherwise.

Richard Madeley’s ‘finest’ moments

In conversation with President Clinton

“I know what it’s like to be wronged by the press. I was once accused of shoplifting. Unlike you though, I knew I was innocent.”

Of women

“I’ve never met a single woman who’s happy with the way she looks, except Jordan, although I’ve never met her.”

On elephants

“So, are you telling me elephants are not born evil?”

To a man crying after paramedics saved his life

“Stop crying! This is supposed to make you happy! Anyway after the break, the biggest dog in the UK. And he really is big. Don’t miss it!”

Of old women skipping

“There’s not many better things than seeing an older woman skipping.”

Of wanting to be black

“I hope when I’m reincarnated I come back black because you age better.”

To Keira Knightley

“Can we get some make up please, get Keira looking like a crack whore, she’d make a good crack whore.”

Of an autistic teenager

“The thing with Daniel [Wakeford, a ‘star’ on Channel 4’s Undateables] is, he has autism but is very intelligent and as we can see extremely talented. Has Daniel always been autistic?”

To a caller

“I understand you have a little lad of 12. Is it a boy or a girl?”

Modest Madeley (And ‘Mummy’ Finnigan) – Judy Finnigan is best known for quaffing, flashing her boobs and falling off sofas. In October 2014, she inexcusably defended footballer turned convicted rapist by saying: “The rape wasn’t violent… He didn’t cause any bodily harm to the person.” Of his victim, she hypocritically then added: “She had far too much to drink.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=rcx3FUarNiI&feature=emb_logo
Modest Madeley (And ‘Mummy’ Finnigan) – Whilst ‘Dorian Gray-esque’ Richard Madeley is best known for helping himself to champagne in supermarkets, his wife Judy Finnigan will be forever remembered for flashing at an awards ceremony in 2000.

February 4, 2021
Moron of the Moment – Alexa Chung
Self-declared “human” Alexa Chung’s fashion business unsurprisingly flops; the “stuck-up socialite’s” company is supposedly very deservedly “in tatters”

Utterly boring, former presenter of the appropriately named show Big Mouth, Alexa Chung has hit the headlines yet again – and unsurprisingly given her audacity, annoyingness and arrogance, it’s very deservedly for the wrong reasons.

Featured in The Sun this morning, the paper’s ‘Bizarre Column’ reporter Simon Boyle reported Chung’s company, Alpha Charlie Limited, “lost almost £2.3 million and is predicting a tough 2021.”

Going further, Doyle revealed: “Shareholders had to pump in £1.7 million, then put in more money in June this year.” He then concluded:

“If Alexa really had any kind of nous, she’d have cut the ridiculous costs of her lines. But alas, the stuck-up socialite believed she knew better. Yet it seems even her posh pals have snubbed her not-so-trendy designs… Don’t go into business with a pretentious model, there’s a lesson for you.”

Previously this dopey drip of a designer has made headlines for claiming David and Victoria Beckham “begged” to talk to her at a party and even merged her Christian and surnames into one word, ‘ALEXACHUNG,’ to accompany her transition “from muse to founder and creative director.”

Now, given nobody wants to buy your tepid tat, Miss Chung, please finally copy your Amazon namesake and “Alexa off.”

Descriptions of Alexa Chung:

By herself:
- “Starlet.”
- “Human.”
- “Fashion brand.”
- “Queen of Instagram.”
- “It’s no surprise to me that I’m in this position now.”
- “I’m driven by a desire to communicate.”
- “I have an emotional connection with other people.”
- “Airports are such emotionally charged places. I travel a lot, and I people-watch. And I love that British thing of wearing your holiday outfit home but with a sensible jacket because if you are British you are never not thinking about the weather.”
- “I’m always under scrutiny – and I always feel it.”
- “[Modelling] warped my reality.”
By Lily Waddell of the Mail on Sunday:
- “Fashion royalty.”
- “The belle of the ball.”
- “The biggest designer name of the moment.”
- “A style maven.”
- “A starlet.”
- “A fashion genius.”
By Niomi Harris of the MailOnline:
- “Usually cuts a stylish figure at showbiz bashes.”
- “Stunning.”
- “Allows her dress to do the talking.”
By Kayleigh Giles of the MailOnline:
- “Sits front row at almost every major Fashion Week show.”
- “Stylish.”
- “Star.”
By Anna Wintour:
- “A phenomenon.”
By The Sun’s Simon Boyle:
- “Miserable, snooty model.”
- “Galling.”
- “Ridiculous.”
- “Does naff all.”
- “Stuck-up socialite.”
- “Believes she knows better.”
- “If Alexa really had any kind of nous, she’d have cut the ridiculous costs of her line.”
- “Don’t go into business with a pretentious model [like Alexa Chung], there’s a lesson for you.”
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In October, Alexa Chung decided to pretend she was Queen Elizabeth II. The boring 16:53-minute YouTube feature was not in the slightest amusing, but, of course, this ridiculous woman accompanied her shit-show with a vain message: “And yes, I’m 36” and an announcement that she was launching her own Spotify channel.
December 10, 2020
Runners & Riders – The Tingle Creek Chase 2020

‘The Steeple Times’ shares an analysis of the top tipsters and their selections for the ‘Betfair Tingle Creek Chase 2020’ at Sandown in the wake of Altior being pulled out

Yesterday, our racing followers were lucky to get two firsts including a 22/1 win at Exeter in the form of Findusatgorcombe and a 9/2 win for Emmpressive Lady at Sandown.

Today, after the fun we had earlier in the year there at the Coral-Eclipse, everyone was set to cheer on the dual Champion Chase winner Altior in the 1 mile 7 furlongs and 119 yards ‘Betfair Tingle Creek Chase’ at 2.25pm, but sadly trainer Nicky Henderson decided to pull him out.

Speaking to the Mail, Henderson remarked:

“It is with a heavy heart we have decided that Altior is not going to run. We simply don’t want to bottom him again given what happened last year.”

“Everyone has seen how testing the ground was today and we’re not going to ask him to do it again.”

“We’re very sorry to everyone who was looking forward to seeing him and it was a very tough decision for his owners the Pughs, but we’ve got to do the best thing by the horse.”

“It’s tough, and if there was any further rain forecast we may have left the decision until the morning, but it will be very holding ground and very hard work.”

“We’ve been talking all night, we started off at 50-50 but we’re not even 90-10 now – he won’t run.”

“Sadly, the horse could not be in better form so we’ll look at either Kempton or Ascot for him next.”

Given this unfortunate news, out of the five remaining we’re looking at each way bets on:

2.25pm Sandown (5 runners) – Harry Cobden – Paul Nicholls combo Greaneteen at 23/10 from 9/4 earlier especially given Nicholls’ being the leading trainer in the race with ten previous wins.

Racing Post says: “The improving GREANETEEN can make the most of Altior’s absence. Progressive 6yo who landed the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on reappearance; more to come.”

Also of interest in ‘The Tingle Creek Chase’ is Brewin’upastorm at 13/1 from 14/1 earlier (Guardian).

Guardian says: “A chance is taken at double-figure odds on Brewin’upastorm (2.25pm), a classy hurdler who always looked likely to make a better chaser. Inexperience caught him out in the Arkle but he faces half as many rivals here and his stable is going a lot better than when he made a disappointing reappearance.”

Racing Post less enthusiastic: “Disappointing at Carlisle on reappearance, which is far from ideal going into this.”

Happy racing.

Pictured top: Brewin’upastorm (in pink colours) heads to victory at Taunton last season.

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December 5, 2020
Sorry Hopkins

After Katie Hopkins was forced to say “sorry” to Finsbury Park Mosque, she should now be sent to where she belongs – social media’s equivalent of Siberia

Katie Hopkins’ sphere of influence has extended too far for too long and that she was forced to apologise for a false tweet about the Finsbury Park Mosque yesterday was quite correct.

Though Hopkins got off without having to pay damages as she has been insolvent since 2018 due to her previous libel loss against the equally noxious Jack Monroe, that she was forced to write the words “I am genuinely sorry” were a most deserved punishment.

That she was also made to write: “I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions made by the Mosque to society” is even more important and now, yet again, all that this childish woman has done is to again prove that the ‘C*NT’ award she was given in February was well and truly deserved.

It is now time that “sorry” Miss Hopkins finally did the decent thing and that is to permanently shut her filth filled trap.

Hopkins was forced to issue her apology via Instagram as she was banned from Twitter in June for breaching the medium’s “hateful conduct” policy.

Amongst the many lowpoints of moralising-without-morals-herself Katie Hopkins’ life was the moment she got caught having sex with a married man in a field. Of this, she shamelessly remarked: “Mark was a married man and yes I stole him. I stole my first husband as well – get over it.”

Was she really repentant? Unsurprisingly, after issuing her so-called “apology” Katie Hopkins returned to social media and uploaded a video suggesting people “clear the noise” and thus provided indication that she probably isn’t really sorry at all. She stated: “I have been through a few things in my life and they all did pass.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgd3LhvlXqI
Hopkins then also uploaded an interview in which she ranted against the Black Lives Matter movement and suggested she’d had “more men cry on her than at any time in her life.” She also bizarrely claimed she’d “be able to look after America” if “people came home.”

Some of “not so sorry” Katie Hopkins’ most outrageous moments:

On people with dementia:

“Dementia sufferers should not be blocking beds. What is the point of life when you no longer know you are living it?”

On Ramadan:

“Ramadan typically brings a spike in violence in Middle East. I get grumpy when I don’t eat – but I don’t blow things up. Religion of peace?”

On ginger haired children:

“Ginger babies. Like a baby. Just so much harder to love.”

On ‘Highgella’ Nigella Lawson:

“A self-confessed drug-taker, spendthrift, and a self-obsessed flirt determined to show other women they were imperfect.”

On tourists stranded in Egypt after the bombing of a Russian airplane:

“I think if you are going to take your children out from school, which is ridiculous in itself, stick them in a destination that is dangerous, don’t be complaining on my television that you’ve been delayed at the airport, don’t be complaining that you don’t have any information, and don’t be coming back acting like you are a refugee from a war-torn country.”

On Jewish politician Ed Milliband’s wife:

“Pollsters say Justine [Milliband] is the least popular of the party wives. He might stick her head in the oven and turn on the gas.”

On refugees:

“Make no mistake, these migrants are like cockroaches. They might look a bit ‘Bob Geldof’s Ethiopia circa 1984,’ but they are built to survive a nuclear bomb. They are survivors.”

On obesity:

“I don’t really like fat people… Would I employ you if you were obese? No, I would not… If you are obese, you look lazy.”

On suicidal prisoners:

“They should just kill themselves.”

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October 6, 2020
Stand Up Against Snitch O’Flock

Matthew Steeples condemns the government’s ludicrous new 10pm bar, pub and restaurant curfew and slams the snitch culture of the next likely lockdown

Like sheep we’re being herded towards another lockdown. Our Prime Minister doesn’t dare force us into the pen in one fell swoop, so like the true coward that this miserable cretin is, Bosie The Clown is beginning by slamming closed the doors of bars, pubs and restaurants from 10pm tonight.

Of this strange move (and remember it is not 10pm last orders, but 10pm lights out), one London restaurant owner – who quite rightly wished to remain anonymous given the snitch culture that he expects to start tonight from busybody neighbours and over zealous police officers – told The Steeple Times that though he will abide by the rules, he could not understand the reasoning for them. He commented:

“Why 10pm? Why are bars, pubs and restaurants lumped together? A restaurant with social distancing should be allowed to trade normal hours. Restaurants are primarily about dining rather than drinking and eating involves sitting at tables and not moving. Since seating can be managed and guests can be controlled, what difference does getting rid of them before 10pm or 12 midnight make to the virus? Not much, but what difference does it make to the business… The answer: The fine line between profit and loss.”

Another, the owner of a busy bar and dining spot, added:

“This is another blow to an already damaged sector. We effectively will now have to take last orders for food at around 8.30pm and as 20% of our custom for dinks comes post 10pm, our business just won’t work. That this is going to be in place over our busiest period, Christmas, and for 6 months minimum is a killer. Will we last? I don’t know, but if we close completely, I will have to let 34 people go.”

Just as with the ludicrous rule of seven children not being allowed to gather to feed a duck, whilst thirty men can assemble to shoot it, here is a new draconian imposition that will inevitably not actually achieve anything except damage to the already crippled hospitality sector.

Coronavirus is spreading not because people are dining and drinking in carefully arranged spaces, but more so in care homes and student housing. The numbers suggest that it is the old and the young that are the primary ‘superspreaders’ and not in fact middle aged restaurant goers.

Moving from ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ to ‘Drink Up and Piss Off’ is, in my view, simply stage one of further restrictions on our freedom and a death knell for a significant contributing sector of the economy. We must call out this rudderless government’s totalitarian tactic for what it is and rise up and resist it. Now is the time to support your local venues – but remember: Go early, go often and watch out for the snitches in your midst.

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“More Killjoy Cromwell than Churchill” – The words of a Knightsbridge restaurant owner when asked about his views on Boris Johnson and his government’s 10pm curfew and new desire for a snitch culture.

September 24, 2020
Wigan Wanderer Whacked Out

Woman from Wigan wins latest round in the long-running case of ‘walk in a park ruined by exposed tree root’ at the Court of Appeal

Last week, we reported on ‘elf and safety nuts going crackers over Magnum ice cream containing, you’ve guessed it, MILK. Today, we can report the outcome of another ludicrous debacle – that being the case of the woman who fell over a tree root.

Detailed in July 2019 in The Law Society’s Gazette even in an entire article by one Nicholas Dobson devoted to this long-running dispute titled: “What is a highway?,” the story of one Deborah Barlow relates to an incident on the 21^st September 2014.

On the date in question, Ms Barlow had visited Abram Park in the Greater Manchester town of Wigan. Whilst walking “along a path” (referenced yesterday by Lord Justice Bean more definitively as “the Path”), she “tripped over an exposed tree root and sustained injury to her shoulder and arm.” Naturally, she plainly subsequently consulted lawyers.

Of what became a saga worthy of Miss Marple’s attentions, Lord Justice Bean continued: “It might be thought that the question of whether she has a valid legal claim against Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (“Wigan” or “the Council”), the present owners and occupiers of the park, would be a straightforward one. Far from it.”

Subsequently, the matter was put before judges in both the county court and the High Court. Each took different views and whilst at the first Barlow’s claim for damages was dismissed by Judge Platts “since the path in question was not a highway maintainable at public expense” according to Dobson, on appeal Judge Waksman ruled to the contrary.

Yesterday, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, the matter was considered by Lady Justice Macur, Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Singh and the previous judgment was dismissed. Who’d have thought a simple “walk in the park” could have gone from something so innocent to such an almighty mess?

Remember this kids: Beware of those pesky tree roots or you might find yourself, like Deborah Barlow, in a bit of an ‘elf and safety nightmare.

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June 2, 2020
Save The Free Press

As #SaveTheSunNewspaper trends on Twitter, an analysis of the sorry state of the British press should act as a wake-up call to our nation suggests Matthew Steeples

Yesterday, ‘Save The Sun Newspaper’ was all over Twitter. Those clicking the hashtag were not taken to a page bemoaning the fact that the Rupert Murdoch owned paper has lost £68 million in the last year alone, but to a Go Fund Me campaign that has raised over £16,500 that will be donated to the Essex Coronavirus Action Urgent Food Bank Appeal.

Set up by an Essex based food bank campaigner named Simon Harris, #SaveTheSunNewspaper garnered support because of the intense dislike for a newspaper that some claim is “not fit to wipe their arse with” whilst others (especially the people of Liverpool, a city where it is mostly banned due to their crass reporting of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster) condemn it for its “lies” and “bigoted” reporting.

Whilst the ‘fake’ hashtag was about helping foodbanks, on Sunday night, the Guardian’s Roy Greenslade highlighted a genuine problem for the British press. In an article titled: “Why our newspapers might not survive the contagion of coronavirus,” the media commentator observed: “It is the bleakest of ironies: the biggest news story in a lifetime is killing off the very industry that exists to report it. Coronavirus is destroying newsprint newspapers across Britain, delivering the coup de grace to businesses that were already in the process of dying.”

Whilst it has been for long known that traditional media has struggled to cope and find a way to exist and maintain revenue streams in a period where online and social media have battered it, coronavirus, it appears, will be the death knell for many a print newspaper.

Just like, for example, the restaurant sector, which will likely see many establishments fail to reopen once this pandemic is over due to them not having the resources to get their staff back and pay their rent and suppliers, many print newspapers – most especially local titles – will not weather the storm. As Greenslade points out, “it seems inconceivable that publishers, already struggling to fund journalism, will return to the previous status quo.” Going further, he remarks: “That’s because the status quo was, itself, one of perpetual fragility in which publishers were engaged in the delicate task of managing newsprint decline while, in parallel, seeking to create a digital journalism business model.”

Here comes an epoch of change and with newsrooms across Britain currently completely empty, publishers will indeed start to rationalise when so-called “normality” returns (in whatever form that takes). Expensive city centre offices will be shut and like cancer, profitless titles will most likely be permanently closed down. This will not be a loss that should be glorified and it will not be something that should celebrated; without good journalism, we’ll all be the poorer. Those thinking we can rely on the Twitterati for news are in for an era of the emperor’s new clothes and they’re in for a future where fake news will quite wrongly reign.

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April 13, 2020
Revolving Friends

Friendship is a ‘revolving door’ suggests Matthew Steeples; embrace the unknown

One’s life, in terms of those we become acquainted with, is much like a revolving door. It is a door that operates at varying speeds dependent on some coming and staying and others coming and going more quickly than others. Sometimes, even, this door is known to repeat itself and welcome back old timers and sometimes it rightly bangs shut in such people’s very faces.

Friends, alas, are often transient in how long they remain with you and last week, after reading an insightful article by Rhik Samadder of the Guardian, I got thinking about some of the most recent ‘revolvers’ to have passed through the doors of my life. Pertinently, Samadder remarked:

“Seasons change, friendships fade, people die. But there are new relationships, jobs, houses, waiting to rise under the ground of your loss. Extraordinary things you know nothing about yet. That is why it’s good to make friends with the unknown.”

He is entirely right and in this age where the majority have become totally absorbed by social media we must embrace just such.

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September 9, 2018