Lies of Longleat

THE recent death of the Marquess of Bath inspired FRANK THORNE to recall one of his great Daily Mirror scoops.

Frank said: “The recent death from coronavirus of Alexander Thynn, the 7th Marquess of Bath, came as a shock to me and it brought back memories of the time soon after he inherited the title as the new Lord Bath. The eccentric hippie artist announced at the time that he would not be talking to the Press for three years.”

“Well, he broke his self-imposed rule when I told him that a manager at his Longleat Safari Park was selling rhesus moneys for live experimentation and vivisection.”

(Image: thanks to Mirrorpix) Go to All Our Yesterdays

Tony writes again…

Ex-Sunday People man turned novelist TONY BASSETT has a new book out – The Lazarus Charter. Go to Members’ Noticeboard for the full story

Pension contribution deferral agreed by Reach

An extract from Reach plc’s four-month trading statement to investors:

“On 6 April, we confirmed that a number [of] cash conservation and cost reduction measures had already been introduced. Further to these actions we also announced additional measures including pay reductions, suspensions of all 2020 bonus schemes and furloughing of a number of colleagues, as well as the cancellation of the 2019 final dividend. These changes were successfully implemented shortly after the announcement. In addition, we began discussions with pension funds about a three-month deferral of monthly contributions which has now been agreed.“

This says it all

Our world has been turned upside down, but there’s a wealth of life experience among your AMP committee, so I asked them to share their tips and advice on how to survive self-isolation. But anyone can join in, so why not send us your isolation motivation via the Contact Us page? Stay safe. Ed.

Garton and friends

WE asked how people are managing in the COVID-19 lockdown. Here’s John Garton’s Florida take on it. He and wife Bobbey thought it would cheer up their neighbourhood in St Augustine to see these magnificent beasts.  John, former Daily Mirror sub and promotions hack, is the one in the centre.

Reach/COVID-19: discussions on deferment of pension contributions

IN the light of the current COVID-19 emergency, Reach plc has announced furloughs for almost 1,000 staff; pay cuts across the company of between 10 and 20 per cent; suspension of annual bonuses and share dividends for 2020 – and asked “all stakeholders” to contribute to “ensuring the company is in as strong a position as it can be”.

Stakeholders includes pension funds, and as a result “the company has requested discussions around a deferment of current contributions to all the group pension funds”.

More information when we have it. Meanwhile, you can read the full statement here: https://www.reachplc.com/news-releases/news-release-details/covid-19-update-key-mitigating-actions

Andy’s virtual lunch

CHEERS to ANDY GOLDEN, former Sunday Mirror journalist, editorial FOC and pensions trustee – and current pop star, bon viveur and all-round good egg, for this for this report and selfie.

He writes: Covid-19 prevented my attendance at the Curmudgeon’s recent quarterly meeting at the Chelsea Arts Club in Chelsea, London. To drown our sorrows at missing the Lady Day luncheon [Lady Day marks the Feast of the Annunciation], members embraced self-isolated drinking. There could be no abstentions and photographic proof was required.

The Curmugeons is a mixed bag of ne’er-do’wells, ranging from a mattress-cleaning self-made millionaire (his company de-bugs the mattresses of the stars: true!); a fallen property magnate (he fell off the wagon!); a West Country crimper who abandoned his scissors in favour of catching crabs off the Devon coast; a Saatchi advertising director (retired); a jewellery shop magnate who sold his gem empire to become a hearse driver and coffin carrier; an advertising copywriter; and a deputy headmaster at some posh school. Apart from myself there is one other former Mirror man, our esteemed chairman whom we call “Lord” Roberts, aka Mike Roberts. Maxwell employed Mike as CEO of the Mirror TV-listings magazine.

We meet quarterly and drink for the UK! Lunch starts at 12.30pm and has been known to go on till midnight, during which well-spent time we curse and curmudge and generally put the world to rights! A serious business.

What the Dickens…

THE Journalists’ Charity, founded by the great Charles Dickens, has launched a competition to discover the kind of people living today who might have captured the writer’s imagination and would be his great inspirational characters.

In just 300 words – with Charles Dickens’s descriptive flamboyance – can you pen a portrait of a 21st century character you think would have deserved his attention? Who are today’s heroes and heroines who might capture your imagination?

Launched with the support of the Dickens Fellowship, funds raised from the competition will help the Journalists’ Charity assist those journalists who are now facing hardship because the coronavirus pandemic has had a serious impact on their livelihoods.

The competition is open to everyone, and although free to enter, participants non-participants alike are encouraged to make a donation to the charity. Full details and rules can be found at www.journalistscharity.org.uk/dickens

In the present climate we might be inspired by Dickens’s own thoughts from Christmas Carol: “It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”

The judging panel will include board members from the Journalists’ Charity together with Ian Dickens, the great, great grandson of Charles Dickens and president of the Dickens Fellowship. They will be joined by Professor Malcolm Andrews, editor of The Dickensian, and Professor Jenny Hartley, editor of The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens.

The winning character will be brought to life in a unique illustration by one of Britain’s greatest cartoonists – Stanley McMurtry, MBE – better known as MAC

Dickens began his glittering career as a freelance parliamentary reporter and helped set up the Journalists’ Charity which, since 1864, has supported journalists and their families in the UK and Ireland who may have fallen on hard times.

Ian Dickens of the Dickens Fellowship said: “This is such a wonderful competition, full of rich potential and modern-day relevance. The joy of Dickens is the range of characters that inhabit every page. Drawn from acute observation of those he knew and those he chanced upon, they connect with the reader because we all recognise elements within them. And such rich pickings continue to place themselves firmly in front of us every day, if we bother to stop, listen and imagine. I can’t wait to meet them.”

Ramsay Smith, chairman of the Journalists’ Charity, said: “We are delighted to launch this competition with the support of the Dickens Fellowship. As a pioneer of the charity, Charles Dickens embodied a remarkable charitable spirit that has remained at our core for more than 150 years.

“Journalists the world over are doing a brilliant job reporting the coronavirus pandemic, but the reality is that many, particularly freelance journalists, are facing an extremely challenging time. This competition provides a great opportunity for people – journalists and non-journalists alike – to put their creative skills to work. We hope everyone who holds the works of Dickens dear will take part.”

It was Dickens who said: “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’, consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.”
So, get writing and good luck!
Entries:
Entries must be received by the charity by 5pm on June 9 2020, the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens. Entries online can be sent before the same deadline to [email protected] or by post to Dickens House, 35 Wathen Road, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1JY.
The winner will receive a certificate and the original drawing of their character by Fleet Street cartoonist Stanley McMurtry, MBE.
The Dickens Fellowship has 56 branches worldwide. The winner will be announced on the Fellowship website, on the Journalists’ Charity website and the Dickens Fellowship website on July 15 2020.

We’re all in this together – the sequel

WE ASKED the Mirror Group diaspora for some help and advice to cheer us all up during the CV-19 lockdown. Thanks guys. Here are some funnies, and some more serious – additions to follow.

Let’s start with this gem from STEVE ATKINSON: Why did the toilet roll fall down the stairs? To get to the bottom.

Two classic and hilarious videos suggested by FRANK THORNE. Watch the late, great Victoria Wood’s spoof on the step class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObOkhXGu7oY
And another take on keep fit for oldies by retired Gaelic Amateur Athletics star Kevin Cummins (contains swear words): https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/watch-hilarious-video-retired-gaa-17968430

From DOUGLAS BENCE: This link isn’t fun exactly, but will give those that need it something to do. Slag off religion, politicians and national selfishness. Should stimulate debate!
https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/wintoncovid1?ucam-ref=read-this-next

Advice from Polly McLeod: I have one easy suggestion, both practical and hopefully entertaining, which I’m going to put into practice tomorrow evening: meeting a friend for a virtual drink. It can be on FaceTime, WhatsApp, Messenger… Plan the date and time rather than simply picking up the blower; on the coffee table next to your v comfy sofa have a bottle of great wine, some olives/nibbles/wo’evva, and put your phone on some cushions on another table/chair to keep it upright so it doesn’t interfere with your pouring/drinking/eating etc. It’s kind of a lock-in during lockdown, although not as most Mirror folk know it.

A serious blog from ALASTAIR CAMPBELL:
https://alastaircampbell.org/2020/03/twenty-tips-for-guarding-against-depression-and-anxiety-in-the-era-of-self-isolation/

And his 20 reasons to look on the bright side (you can read why on Alastair’s blog): Cleaner Air. More Kindness. More Volunteering. More Respect For So-Called Unskilled Workers. More Appreciation For NHS Staff. More Solidarity With Other Nations. More Sharing Of Funny Videos. Events Being Cancelled. More Music. More Time For Books. No Issues With Bbc Transport. Strange New Things Happen. New Enterprises Spring Up. The Dog Is So Happy. The Birdsong Is Louder. Everyone Is Talking About (And Noticing) Trees. Burnley Are Basically League Champions. Old Football Is Sometimes Better Than New. The Olympics Postponement Is An Opportunity For Some. I Have Found A New Blog Format.

From an inertia-ridden MAGGIE HALL: My immediate response is: how pathetic I am – I can, despite being basically house-bound, still find an excuse not to do all those things I never got round to doing – like going through those boxes of photos, cleaning out a cupboard, sorting through never worn clothes – because “I don’t have time”. Great idea you’ve got here. You’ll get some fun responses – and some that will put me to shame.

MIKE MALONEY: I’ve just come back from the doctor’s. I told him I have a big problem – I keep thinking I’m Tom Jones. He said: “It’s not unusual.”