I heard this week that X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson, 24, has started dating One Direction pipsqueak, Zane Malik who has just turned 18.
Rebecca portrayed herself as the picture of elegance and class throughout the series so slapping my friend across the face when she told me Rebecca had started dating someone who probably still finds fart jokes funny was a perfectly reasonable reaction.
Now before you start thinking I’m ageist, my other half happens to be a fair few years older then me so I am not one to judge an age gap, but I can’t help but think Rebecca has gone the wrong way.
She already has two beautiful young children does she really want to put them to bed and then be clock watching for the next hour until she has to tuck in Zane?
But good luck to them. I have to say me and him don’t notice the age gap, so maybe they don’t either but I hope this is just a holiday romance (they are on tour together) and when Rebecca finds drool on her Chanel bag and her couch cushions turned into a fort she will come to her senses.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Sexist vs Sexy
Somewhere between the furore over the Sky Sports sexism scandal I heard a whisper (not saying its true!!) that this is the excuse Sky have been looking for to finally oust sexist, Andy Gray, in favour for sexy, Jamie Redknapp.
I was going to write a whole entry listing the reasons why Sky should stick the boot in and get rid of him so we can see more of Jamie in those, oh so tight, Marks and Spencers trousers, but that would be sexist wouldn’t it?
In fact this little rumour has made me change my whole opinion of Andy and Richards comments. Like every other woman who read the story I thought ‘how dare they’ (and then secretly thought ‘I hope no one asks me to explain the offside rule’).
I realised working in a male dominated environment I had heard a million comments far worse than what they said. And worst of all, I had said most of them.
While discussing Fernando Torres’s new haircut (go back blonde) someone commented that he wasn’t as good looking as he used to be and I said (as a joke) “Yeah, you still would though” at which point our office sexism bell started ringing off the hook.
My female colleague and I introduced that bell long before this started and it became a bit of a joke. When someone made a passing comment on a girl’s picture in the paper and so on we would ding it (we started it after someone in the office said ‘women had ruined Christmas’)
When Andy and Richard were discussing Sian’s appointment someone else present in the studio apparently said Miss Massey was ‘a bit of alright’ Andy looked out the window and said ‘No, I definitely wouldn’t’ (I felt that one for you Sian, and to feminists everywhere, I am sorry, but if I was Sian, that is the comment that would have hurt me the most - knock my potential in my career if you want, like Sian and her spot on (so I’m told) on-side decision , I will prove you wrong 10 times over. But call me a bit of a dog and yeah I’ll be really gutted.
Should they be sacked? I don’t think so. Yes they have shown a huge amount of ignorance. I think they both have daughters, how would they feel if they had received the same treatment, but then I would be sacked for half of the things I have said this morning. EVERY man in this office and every other would be sacked, because everyone is guilty of it an I know that doesn‘t make it OK.
I think my forgiving attitude stems from the fact that I have never been judged based on my gender, not to my knowledge anyway. As I said before a lot of jibes do get bounded round the office but they are said for effect and to be honest a lot of them are just funny.
It is such a boring and dated thing to say the game has gone mad because women are becoming more prominent in the industry (Jamie would never have said it) and Karen Brady’s contribution should have been an example of their success, instead of a source of ridicule.
So in light of Andy and Richard’s public flogging, will the men down the pub watching the footie think before they something along the same lines? No they won’t.
And if a woman on a girls night out says: ‘Hurry up and finish your drink so I can get the fit waiter over again’ Will her friend turn to her and say ‘Actually, Sharon that was really sexist, and I think you should go.’ Nope.
It will be interesting to see what happens to them Richard, for the same reason Alan Hanson will always have a job, is a firm ‘mums favourite’ so I can’t see him going, I don’t know about Andy, more has been made of his comments but whether that is a result of the company purposefully fuelling the row who knows.
P.S I heard this rumour from ‘him’ and I HATE it when he hears gossip before me. I won’t hear the end of it when he reads this.
And another thing, when one of my male colleagues read this he said: "Every man in the office is sexist? A woman would say that wouldn't she."
When will they learn....?
I was going to write a whole entry listing the reasons why Sky should stick the boot in and get rid of him so we can see more of Jamie in those, oh so tight, Marks and Spencers trousers, but that would be sexist wouldn’t it?
In fact this little rumour has made me change my whole opinion of Andy and Richards comments. Like every other woman who read the story I thought ‘how dare they’ (and then secretly thought ‘I hope no one asks me to explain the offside rule’).
I realised working in a male dominated environment I had heard a million comments far worse than what they said. And worst of all, I had said most of them.
While discussing Fernando Torres’s new haircut (go back blonde) someone commented that he wasn’t as good looking as he used to be and I said (as a joke) “Yeah, you still would though” at which point our office sexism bell started ringing off the hook.
My female colleague and I introduced that bell long before this started and it became a bit of a joke. When someone made a passing comment on a girl’s picture in the paper and so on we would ding it (we started it after someone in the office said ‘women had ruined Christmas’)
When Andy and Richard were discussing Sian’s appointment someone else present in the studio apparently said Miss Massey was ‘a bit of alright’ Andy looked out the window and said ‘No, I definitely wouldn’t’ (I felt that one for you Sian, and to feminists everywhere, I am sorry, but if I was Sian, that is the comment that would have hurt me the most - knock my potential in my career if you want, like Sian and her spot on (so I’m told) on-side decision , I will prove you wrong 10 times over. But call me a bit of a dog and yeah I’ll be really gutted.
Should they be sacked? I don’t think so. Yes they have shown a huge amount of ignorance. I think they both have daughters, how would they feel if they had received the same treatment, but then I would be sacked for half of the things I have said this morning. EVERY man in this office and every other would be sacked, because everyone is guilty of it an I know that doesn‘t make it OK.
I think my forgiving attitude stems from the fact that I have never been judged based on my gender, not to my knowledge anyway. As I said before a lot of jibes do get bounded round the office but they are said for effect and to be honest a lot of them are just funny.
It is such a boring and dated thing to say the game has gone mad because women are becoming more prominent in the industry (Jamie would never have said it) and Karen Brady’s contribution should have been an example of their success, instead of a source of ridicule.
So in light of Andy and Richard’s public flogging, will the men down the pub watching the footie think before they something along the same lines? No they won’t.
And if a woman on a girls night out says: ‘Hurry up and finish your drink so I can get the fit waiter over again’ Will her friend turn to her and say ‘Actually, Sharon that was really sexist, and I think you should go.’ Nope.
It will be interesting to see what happens to them Richard, for the same reason Alan Hanson will always have a job, is a firm ‘mums favourite’ so I can’t see him going, I don’t know about Andy, more has been made of his comments but whether that is a result of the company purposefully fuelling the row who knows.
P.S I heard this rumour from ‘him’ and I HATE it when he hears gossip before me. I won’t hear the end of it when he reads this.
And another thing, when one of my male colleagues read this he said: "Every man in the office is sexist? A woman would say that wouldn't she."
When will they learn....?
Monday, 24 January 2011
Not a good start for a gossip blog, but I need to get this off my chest.
This isn’t actually a rumour, unfortunately it is the bitter truth. The neighbourhood has gone to the dogs, the good old days are dead.
By the dogs I am referring to the little runts who tried to break into our house recently. They tiptoed up the path and smashed the window that looks into the hall. Either they are very small, very clever - in that they knew the exact point they needed to enter, or they are very stupid - they smashed the smallest window in the house.
Maybe they gave up? Or were disturbed? Or perhaps they looked in and could see there were no keys on the hall table to reach in and pinch, for whatever reason they left - but not before letting us no they were a bit miffed they hadn’t been able to have off with a car or the TV - they egged our windows to show their distaste. A real two finger salute to double glazing.
Even though they didn’t get in, I (over reacted and) made a pledge to make sure next time they wouldn’t get as far as the drive way.So, Welcome to Fortress Ashfield Drive where cars are now driven up against the windows, car keys are hidden in lots of little boxes like a Russian doll, but a Russian doll made of steel surrounded by motion sensors and the guards stare threateningly out the windows while wrapping a thick chains around their fists. (Ok, I made that up, but what is a small lie if it embellishes an already too familiar story? Everyone locks their doors at night but the sad truth is - it's not enough, is it? We locked the doors, they came anyway.)
When you hear a house alarm ringing do you initially think ‘Call the police, someone is being burgled’ or ‘I wish they would turn that off I can’t hear Corrie.’ and your right, I think the same - it is a very annoying noise isn’t it?
Looking at the cracked window gave me shivers down my spine to say the least. The thought of someone even looking through our window into our house made me feel sick, let alone the thought of them actually getting in and touching our things.
It was my idea to send the house into lock down. I asked my Dad to close the front gate and then drive his car against it, so without his key there was no way in, and no way out. I asked him to drive my mum’s car up against the smashed window so they couldn’t come back and finish the job.
And during my nightly phone call to ‘him’ I said my Dad was patrolling the perimerters and joked I was booby trapping the house ‘Home Alone’ style and though I might not have gone as far as throwing paint tins over the banister, I did consider greasing the door handles. (But Im not allowed to touch vandal grease after what happened last time…..)
And I did look out of my window, albeit a little bit menacingly, wondering was there someone out there looking back at me waiting for us to go to bed?
Alright, not only am I a gossip I am overly dramatic, giving a dirty look out of your bedroom isn’t likely to ward off burglars - neither would putting my picture on the front door (A measure which has been suggested one too many times for my liking)
It makes me absolutely rage (I did say I was dramatic) that we even have to think of things like this. The only time I want to use a burglar alarm is to give one of these little idiots a crack over the head. The thought of someone crying after they have woken up and see their car gone or feel afraid in their own home is a bit unbearable to be honest. I hope there is at least a flicker of conscience. When they ride the bike they stole just after Christmas, or when they spend the money they took from the 80-year-old granny I hope that they at least feel a twinge. Will they? I doubt it. I hope the house they go calling at tonight is just as prepared.
By the dogs I am referring to the little runts who tried to break into our house recently. They tiptoed up the path and smashed the window that looks into the hall. Either they are very small, very clever - in that they knew the exact point they needed to enter, or they are very stupid - they smashed the smallest window in the house.
Maybe they gave up? Or were disturbed? Or perhaps they looked in and could see there were no keys on the hall table to reach in and pinch, for whatever reason they left - but not before letting us no they were a bit miffed they hadn’t been able to have off with a car or the TV - they egged our windows to show their distaste. A real two finger salute to double glazing.
Even though they didn’t get in, I (over reacted and) made a pledge to make sure next time they wouldn’t get as far as the drive way.So, Welcome to Fortress Ashfield Drive where cars are now driven up against the windows, car keys are hidden in lots of little boxes like a Russian doll, but a Russian doll made of steel surrounded by motion sensors and the guards stare threateningly out the windows while wrapping a thick chains around their fists. (Ok, I made that up, but what is a small lie if it embellishes an already too familiar story? Everyone locks their doors at night but the sad truth is - it's not enough, is it? We locked the doors, they came anyway.)
When you hear a house alarm ringing do you initially think ‘Call the police, someone is being burgled’ or ‘I wish they would turn that off I can’t hear Corrie.’ and your right, I think the same - it is a very annoying noise isn’t it?
Looking at the cracked window gave me shivers down my spine to say the least. The thought of someone even looking through our window into our house made me feel sick, let alone the thought of them actually getting in and touching our things.
It was my idea to send the house into lock down. I asked my Dad to close the front gate and then drive his car against it, so without his key there was no way in, and no way out. I asked him to drive my mum’s car up against the smashed window so they couldn’t come back and finish the job.
And during my nightly phone call to ‘him’ I said my Dad was patrolling the perimerters and joked I was booby trapping the house ‘Home Alone’ style and though I might not have gone as far as throwing paint tins over the banister, I did consider greasing the door handles. (But Im not allowed to touch vandal grease after what happened last time…..)
And I did look out of my window, albeit a little bit menacingly, wondering was there someone out there looking back at me waiting for us to go to bed?
Alright, not only am I a gossip I am overly dramatic, giving a dirty look out of your bedroom isn’t likely to ward off burglars - neither would putting my picture on the front door (A measure which has been suggested one too many times for my liking)
It makes me absolutely rage (I did say I was dramatic) that we even have to think of things like this. The only time I want to use a burglar alarm is to give one of these little idiots a crack over the head. The thought of someone crying after they have woken up and see their car gone or feel afraid in their own home is a bit unbearable to be honest. I hope there is at least a flicker of conscience. When they ride the bike they stole just after Christmas, or when they spend the money they took from the 80-year-old granny I hope that they at least feel a twinge. Will they? I doubt it. I hope the house they go calling at tonight is just as prepared.
What's not true?
Just like me you must be a huge gossip. If you weren’t then you would never have clicked on this page
I wasn’t really sure what to do with a blog if I’m honest. As a journalist I’m surrounded by others blogging away their views on the week’s top stories. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to say.
After writing news stories all day the last thing I wanted to do is carry on gabbing on about them after they had gone to press, until I realised there is one aspect of current affairs I never stop talking about (the emphasis being on 'affairs').
And as I still haven’t been given a gossip column in the paper and my colleagues are sick of me coming into work every day and saying “Oh my god have you heard…..” I thought this was the perfect outlet.
The title of the blog says it all really, a lot of what you read on here may not be true - but it is true that I have heard it!
That’s the thing with gossip, you never care if it is not true or not do you? just as long as it is a good story (I hope John Terry's wife never finds this blog!) so from now on I’ll keep my ears open for the juiciest news not just from the papers, but from real lives too, because lets be honest who doesn’t love a story that starts “Do you know my friend Susan? Well you won’t believe this but, her next door neighbour’s cousin’s boyfriend……..”.
I wasn’t really sure what to do with a blog if I’m honest. As a journalist I’m surrounded by others blogging away their views on the week’s top stories. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to say.
After writing news stories all day the last thing I wanted to do is carry on gabbing on about them after they had gone to press, until I realised there is one aspect of current affairs I never stop talking about (the emphasis being on 'affairs').
And as I still haven’t been given a gossip column in the paper and my colleagues are sick of me coming into work every day and saying “Oh my god have you heard…..” I thought this was the perfect outlet.
The title of the blog says it all really, a lot of what you read on here may not be true - but it is true that I have heard it!
That’s the thing with gossip, you never care if it is not true or not do you? just as long as it is a good story (I hope John Terry's wife never finds this blog!) so from now on I’ll keep my ears open for the juiciest news not just from the papers, but from real lives too, because lets be honest who doesn’t love a story that starts “Do you know my friend Susan? Well you won’t believe this but, her next door neighbour’s cousin’s boyfriend……..”.
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