Liz Jones - I do feel a tiny bit sorry for her but she still has no self awareness

[QuebecBagnet]

Article in the DM today about how she's getting evicted from her rental cottage as the landlady wants to sell. Focus of the article is renters with no security - which I agree is an issue.

So she talks about how when she was made bankrupt she struggled to find somewhere to rent. Had to put all her nice furniture in storage. She has spent 59k "decorating" this cottage - new kitchen, underfloor heating, etc and has now lost all that.

I'm sorry but 59k would be a 50% on a 2 bed terrace in many cities in the UK. I don't know maybe she couldn't get a mortgage for the rest. Though surely she didn't spend all her savings on this cottage. And how did she have 59k if she was made bankrupt a few years ago?

Anyway the thing which really bugged me is she says women of her age have had it harder than "generation rent". Really? Had it harder when she had the opportunity to buy property (and did so) when it was a quarter of the price it is now. She spent years writing about her luxury lifestyle, her horses, trips to Paris, expensive skincare, expensive yoga classes.

I have limited sympathy for someone who has spunked a very good income on frivolous shit and moans about being skint especially when they continue to make shit financial decisions.

Still wish I knew who the Rock Star was. Was Jim Kerr the most likely suspect?

@BobbyBobbyBobby

I expect you are one of those people that cry ‘Leave her alone!’ when a celebrity is papped walking down the street after some perceived tragedy and don’t realise it the celebrity or their management that has called the paps so that they can be photographed.

Thanks for the condescending little lecture and off-target insight into my views. I totally understand how it works. I worked in this world for 20 years. She is obviously exploiting it for her own gain.

That doesn't alter the fact that she is mentally ill.

But why when Liz Jones lives in a Yorkshire?

Isn't that the Isle of Wight?

I think the point is, surely you can only live where you can afford to live. If you can't afford to live in Surrey, you can't live in Surrey.

bravo on finding the listing. She’s worked hard to pay that much for such a tiny kitchen. And the amount of money she’s spending on Bamford and Aesop products is pretty eye watering too!

She can't get a mortgage because she's been bankrupt... and she couldn't possibly live in a home without a 12k Neptune kitchen...

Horses in Richmond area cost a fortune to keep
The only people who had them in my childhood had stables that came with the house and not much turnout.
Many stables have been converted to human accommodation since then.
Horses cost a lot to keep “Well”.
I hope she can keep them.
Maybe move somewhere cheaper?

@Stunningscreamer
She is renting in Richmond, North Yorkshire. Not Surrey

I remember back in the early 2000's when my mum used to read her articles and tell me bits about this (rather mad) woman, I often wondered whether Liz Jones was a fictional character created by an anonymous writer. Her life just sounds too insane to be true. And surely no one can be that (repeatedly) terrible with money.

She seems to have enjoyed herself down the years, which used up everything that she earned, so there’s no need for sympathy; it was a valid choice and this is the old-age which she’s chosen.

I agree with this. And one way or another, she will always be living somewhere very nice, and she will never be reduced to using budget products or turning the heat down, because something will always come along to set her afloat again. I know plenty of people like that!

@Stunningscreamer sorry. Didn't see your reply.
Lovely place is Richmond. Really pretty

I live locally, didn't know she lived there. They're vastly overpriced which is why they're not selling. I also don't believe the rent figure quoted which is really high for the area.

Three dogs, no private garden and no room for a horse?

The woman is barking, anything she writes is vastly exaggerated.

There's no way she's spent +£50k on that property is there, look at the neighbouring houses for sale.

No sympathy whatsoever, she could have used her pension money as a deposit to buy a small house with a private garden for the dogs/paid a mortgage.

Fact is that you don't need a £3k bed, underfloor heating, smeg fridge etc., etc., to survive in the world.

Why did no one say to her "Liz...you really shouldn't do this. You don't own this property. It's not yours".

In the article she says they did but because living in a dump depresses her and she has to work from home she has to put in heating and make it nice.

I totally get that but even though I got a HA flat after my ex did a bunk with every asset we had and left me homeless, I’ve not done anything that can’t be taken to another flat if needs be. Apart from painting it that is. Liz sounds like she can’t deny herself every top of the range luxury item she wants, regardless of her finances. I can’t judge too harshly in case it’s a symptom of a MH issue. She’s anorexic so I imagine if you are very malnourished that alone could be a barrier to making good decisions. She judges her worth by the quality of her possessions and lifestyle which is very sad and in this case, ruinous.

I agree that tenants and renters should have better rights. But no adult would spend £60k on someone else's property. She has the brain of a toddler - impetuous, thinks she can write the rules. I find her curious but irritating. I wouldn't wish her homeless but she;s an idiot to have spent that amount on a rental.

Oh, FFS. I understand buying new curtains or fixing something because it's less hassle than getting someone to arrange it for you, but making major improvements on a home you don't own is a waste of your money. I'm also surprised she was allowed to do it as well - most rentals won't let you paint or even hang pictures.

Good luck finding somewhere to rent with pets, though.

Nirpal Dhaliwal? He always came off as a right twat. I remember reading her in Marie Claire 20 years ago and then weren't they having a go at each other in the slightly more upmarket tabloids and stuff?

According to Wikipedia she was born in '51 and is 71. I didn't realise she was as old as that. God, what a position to be in.

That "woe is me" article just irritated me though. I'm finding it hard to muster sympathy. The money she has just frittered away is obscene.

And she admits people warned her not to spend that money on a rental??

Crazy.

I wonder what happened to the money she earned from Celebrity Big Brother?

I’m convinced the Rock Star was a work of fiction.

Why did no one say to her "Liz...you really shouldn't do this. You don't own this property. It's not yours".

What on earth would she write about if she was encouraged to be rational and sensible? It is part of the image which she sells.

I haven't read her columns in years, but always struck me that she was a bit of a fantasist. I thought that was obvious, but I might be wrong. Certainly a car crash of a life if it was all true.

Is she still around, I’d assumed she’d crawled up her own a.hole and disappeared yonks ago

The DM bosses probably sit down together every few months to come up with crazy scenarios for dotty Lizzie's next mishap. She was like that to begin with but they take it to another level.

Glad others have thought the same as me - mentally ill with a serious shopping addiction/financial risk related disorder. Because there is just no explanation for any of the decisions she has made financially over the years. She needs real help and oversight but i suspect she has unfortunately exhausted her friends and family.

I once sat in the seat in front of her on a train from Devon to London (standard class). I would of course never have had a clue who was sitting behind me, except that she made a phone call, doing lots of stage whispering, introducing herself in a dramatic way as 'Liz J-o-n-e-s' as if that might stop anyone nearby identifying her. I had a sneaky look round to see if she was that Liz Jones, and she was. She was trying to get the person she was speaking to to put her through to Mary Portas, but they didn't.

That's the end of the anecdote!

The explanation is that it's all made up for your entertainment.

I thought that was obvious!

You could buy one outright for that in parts of E Lancashire.