A George Orwell quotation sums up the current media firestorm perfectly
We at The Steeple Times thought this image of a lady holding up a piece of cardboard summed up the events of the weekend perfectly.
As a debate rages about the future of the BBC and the role of social media in the “outing” of personalities in connection to alleged stories of abuse, the words of George Orwell ring utterly true:
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.”
For this simple reason, we make it our picture of the week. This scandal should not be brushed under the carpet.
Philip Schofield and the protection of powerful paedophiles
Yesterday, when Phillip Schofield showed the Prime Minister a note containing the names of alleged politician paeodophiles who have been named on Twitter, little did he realise what he’d set in motion.
Phillip Schofield handing David Cameron a list of names of alleged politician paedophiles on ITV1’s “This Morning”
Amongst the names was that of Lord McAlpine who also appears on the website of the former BBC sports presenter David Icke along with a former MP who is now a television presenter and a number of others. The same site contains references to an MP who died in a house fire in Hampshire in 2000 and all manner of other suggestions.
Steve Messham, the victim who appeared on Newsnight to state that he’d been sexually abused in a Welsh children’s home by a “prominent Conservative” last week, has now come forward to state that McAlpine was not his attacker. Separately, the peer has given a detailed rebuttal and threatened to sue those who have accused him.
We all know that David Icke is a bit of a wildcard and that his views about aliens are just ludicrous but one has to think of smoke and fire. If even one of those Icke accuses is guilty, any investigation would be worthwhile. Whoever they may be, powerful paedophiles should not be protected and equally, however wild their views, those with relevant information should not be censored.
We’re all Saviled out. It’s been more than eight weeks since revelations about Jimmy, formerly Sir Jimmy, Savile came to public attention. Yes, the horrors of his “activities” have appalled us all but frankly why do the media really keep this story running as a main news item?
It does what it says on the tin
We’ve been as much a part of this monstrous escapade as anyone else: our editor went on the BBC to talk about the scandal and we’ve even received messages of support from Savile’s twisted “friends.” We beat the Daily Mail in being the first to report on the sale of the paedophile’s flat in Leeds and spotted Sir George Young removing a photo of him and Savile from his website before any other. We admit it: our readers plainly are as intrigued by this story as much as we were curious enough to report on it.
It suited our Prime Minister very nicely to wheel out Theresa May yesterday to announce an inquiry into the activities of another supposed child molester who just happened to be a member of Margaret Thatcher’s government. “Why so?” we hear you justifiably ask. Well, just like the spinner Jo Moore “burying bad news” on 9/11, the US elections were the perfect opportunity to dispense of the activities of a certain magnate beneath the Tarmac®. Somehow, though, and as much as she tried to smooth things over, we don’t think May’s attempts at concreting over this particular highway will set satisfactorily.
Hugo Istay discovers Jimmy Savile’s most unlikely advocates: The Daily Mail
Here are some quotes from that bastion of the country’s morals, The Daily Mail. Apparently Jimmy Savile had been collecting ones like these for years to aid his defence should the proverbial hit the fan.
A screenshot of the somewhat “sexed-up” first version of the MailOnline article
A screenshot of the somewhat “toned-down” second version of the MailOnline article
He was going to kick off his case with:
“Elle Fanning looks all grown up at 14.”
And then follow up with:
“She may be only 14, but rising star Elle Fanning isn’t counting on her good genes or youth to keep her slim. Wearing black cropped spandex jazz dance pants and orange Nike trainers, the little sister of Dakota had obviously been letting loose in the dance studio as her usually silky hair was hanging down in a sweaty tangle.”
No sexual innuendo there, then.
Next, he’d add:
”Dressed in a satin babydoll-style top, black skinny jeans and patent peep-toe wedges, Elle looked mature beyond her 14 years.”
Or this:
“She has a maturity that belies her years, so sometimes it’s difficult to remember that Elle Fanning is only fourteen years old.”
And, if all else failed:
“The 14-year-old took to Instagram to share a photograph of her Halloween outfit and wasn’t afraid to flaunt her curves for the camera.”
He then planned to sum up with:
“So it wasn’t my fault M’Lud, I was misled and egged on by the Daily Mail.”
Maybe there should be a crime of journalistic paedophilia.
As Fred Dibnah’s former home comes to the market, Matthew Steeples is reminded of a true BBC legend
As the nation continues to cringe in horror every time the name “Savile” is mentioned, memories of another BBC relic of the 1980s resurfaced when it was revealed that Fred Dibnah’s former home is for sale.
Dr. Frederick “Fred” Dibnah MBE (1938 – 2004)121 Radcliffe Road, The Haulgh, Bolton, Lancashire, BL2 1NU (originally known as Park Cottage)
For those of our readers who weren’t fortunate enough to be alive when Dibnah graced our screens, he, unlike Savile, was a legend who truly deserves the accolade of such a title. This thrice-married Lancastrian was a steeplejack who became a television personality just as his breed died out. He didn’t understand why he’d become famous and of it commented:
“It’s a funny thing, this celebrity. If you don’t wave back you’re a miserable bugger, if you do wave back you’re a big-headed bugger. I don’t know.”
Fred Dibnah in his gardenA view of the “garden”
Fred Dibnah preferred to think of himself as “just a bum who climbs chimneys” but he ought instead be remembered for his forthright manner. Amongst the legendary comments this “chimney feller” came out with were remarks like:
“The modern world stinks… We’ve become a nation of con men, living by selling double-glazing to each other… Teaching boys to bake cakes? That’s no way to maintain an industrial empire… Them fancy London types don’t know the pleasure of eating chips with fingers… I prefer the past to the present. Because life today, with all its modern technology, isn’t very good, is it? And the future looks even worse.”
Dibnah bought 121 Radcliffe Road in Bolton in 1967 for £5,000. A Grade II listed former park keeper’s lodge, the building is known as “Two Cats” locally because of the coat of arms of the Earl of Bradford on one of the gables features two leopards and is said to have been built in 1854.
The cottage was the setting of the filming of many scenes from Dibnah’s shows and it was here also in 2003, whilst undergoing chemotherapy, that Dibnah decided to embark on the construction of a replica coal mine with his friend Alf Molyneux. His rationale for this was simple: “It’s not everyone who has a coal mine in their back garden.”
An attempt to auction the house with a guide price of £300,000 to £350,000 in 2007 failed because of a boundary disputeA Bolton & District Civic Trust plaque commemorates Dibnah having lived there from 1967 until 2004
Leon and Jeanette Powsney purchased the derelict property in 2009 for £185,000 and set about turning part of it into a 5-bedroomed home for themselves and the remainder into The Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre.
Visitors, who come by the coachload, are able to tour the yard and see Dibnah’s machinery. Amongst that on show are steam-powered workshop with a circular saw, a band saw and a hydraulic hammer. The 70ft mine shaft remains and in addition there is a 50ft chimney, a gift shop and a small tearoom. The venture turns over about £100,000 per annum and is now for sale through agents Intelligent Business Transfer.
Mr Powsney, who is planning to move abroad, commented:
“We’re selling it as a going concern. It was a business set up against all the odds, we saved it from being flattened and from being redeveloped. We have worked hard to make the centre what it is, and have invested a lot of money in it. We think there’s potential for a buyer to make a tidy profit from it, but we’re looking to relax a bit more now.”
If the asking price of £1,250,000 sought by Mr & Mrs Powsney is achieved, I’m sure the legendary steeplejack wouldn’t disagree that here is a case of: “Where there’s muck, there’s brass.”
The Chief Whip erases mention of Jimmy Savile from his website
Yesterday, segments of the media shared an image of a poster taken from the website of the new Chief Whip of the House of Commons, Sir George Young.
The Right Honourable Sir George Young Bt, CH, MP (born 1941)A 1982 British Rail advert featuring Sir George Young and his family and Sir Jimmy Savile
The text on the website read as follows:
The Youngs promote cycling by rail
On 1982, along with Jimmy Saville [sic], the Youngs featured on a British Rail poster promoting the transport of bicycles by rail.
Sir George had made a critical speech in the House, having found British Rail restrictive and at times unhelpful to cyclists.
Putting his bicycle in the guards van felt like invading someone’s private space. When they responded with some improvements, BR invited Sir George to help with their publicity.
(Some of these posters were still up at stations in Ealing during the 1983 General Election campaign. Ingeniously, Sir George’s opponents argued that British Rail’s publicity programme should be added to Sir George’s election expenses. They didn’t get very far, as Sir George’s name was not on the poster.)
The text about the advert featuring Sir George Young and Sir Jimmy Savile was shown alongside the advertisement on http://www.sirgeorgeyoung.org.uk/pages/biog3.htm (removed 20th October)The updated page on the 21st October 2012 minus the advertisement and reference to Savile
Sir George, who takes over from Andrew Mitchell, isn’t typical of David Cameron’s PR obsessed colleagues but plainly one of them has been at work. This morning it’s gone.
“The Bicycling Baronet,” like many others, may no longer wish to be associated with the vile paedophile Jimmy Savile but here we preserve it for posterity.
Visit The Rt. Hon. Sir George Young Bt MP’s now amended website at: http://www.sirgeorgeyoung.org.uk
