I would divorce my husband if he behaved like Giles Coren did

[WilheminaModel]

I read an article in the Mail on Monday about how Giles Coren abused his neighbour who is the mother of an autistic child by pretending to be a delivery driver to gain access to her house in a row about parking. I am the mother of an ASD child and would divorce my husband if he behaved like this. I can’t believe someone who is employed by the BBC has so little control over himself. No wonder he was issued with a police caution. His poor neighbour.

Link to copy of online article: https://uk-times.com/news/giles-coren-accepts-police-caution-for-verbally-abusing-neighbour-after-row-over-parking-outside-his-home/?amp=1

Ha ha at looking for photos to show his height. Not many of him with David Mitchell but Mitchell is 1.78 cm so just under 5'10". GC is more than an inch shorter here, I'd guess.

https://www.celebheights.com/s/David-Mitchell-5567.html

David Michell is 5ft 9 to 5ft 9.5 according to these comments. I love celeb heights website. I wonder if Rob is well known near red carpet events and the actors immediately stand up straighter?

Heston Blumenthal is 5 foot 7. So Giles - at 5 foot 9 - is apparently taller than him. It doesn’t look that from this photo though.

Height always strikes me as the most bizarre insecurity because you can’t do anything about it and it doesn’t actually mean much - women who will only date men over six feet tall also perplex me because it’s such an arbitrary criterion.

Re fat people criticising others, my mother is overweight. She criticises my dad (lean but healthy), me (mild anorexia) and my DP (obese) so nobody can win!

I think it’s super weird to lie, especially in print, about your height. My husband and I are both exactly the same height at 5 foot 10 If, when I’d met him, he’d told me he was 6 foot that would have been a massive red flag for me. But so many men try to pass themselves off as 6 foot, or 5 foot 9 in Giles’ case because if you’re 5 foot 6/7 there is no way you could get away with saying you were 6 foot, even in built up shoes!

He probably lies to himself too. For years I believed I was 5'7" because when I was shooting up I got to 5'6 and a bit" and thought "Wow, I'll be 5'7" in no time!" It never actually happened but I had mentally promoted myself to 5'7" and I sincerely believed I was that tall.

It is a bizarre insecurity in and of itself but not when you contextualise it. Male height is often seen as desirable by society, so it’s not hard to see why men who don’t meet societal standards might feel insecure about it.

I’m a taller woman (5’9” now, was over 5’10” when younger) and I do prefer taller men - not as some kind of acceptable standard, just from personal taste - my “type” is taller than me, ideally.

But one thing that could make me change my mind is those shorter men who really own it and don’t try to hide it, and don’t feel it has to make them unattractive. Bruno Mars, Prince, Zelenskyy. I remember when Ronnie Corbett died his much taller wife talking about how he wooed her and his confidence won her over.

it must be hard as a man feeling the pressure to be tall as part of being what’s considered an attractive man. Much like the many pressures on women. But there are much better ways to deal with it than projecting and lying.

Agree but it’s like women who lie about their age on online dating profiles. It’s a totally self defeating exercise because if things do develop with someone you are eventually going to have the come clean and will look more of a prat for not fronting up in the first place.

Lying about something which it is immediately possible to prove to be a lie is bonkers.

Incidentally having lurked throughout this thread I listened to GC and his wife’s podcast on the way to the gym and it is lamentably awful.

Why on God’s earth people think this pair of pampered whingers should have a platform to provide their views on bowel cancer and the return of David Cameron (the topics of choice) is beyond me. The entitlement and lack of self awareness was breathtaking.

I think she is even worse if anything. Her ingratiating nervous laugh and half baked opinions. He’s a cunt but at least he can write.

I think I expressed myself badly and agree with the two people who replied to me - I’m autistic and there are some parts of society that just seem nonsensical. One of them is the man-height thing and the other is the woman-age thing. I can sort of see where they come from (reproductive success odds carrying through evolution) but nowadays they have little to no relevance.

That new BBC show, "Sofas I Have Known and Loved" featuring GC in knee trembling prime position. Any sign of it yet?

I imagine The Times lets them do the podcast out of pity, or perhaps to save face since it must be embarrassing that one of their star columnists has lost all his TV work because he keeps crapping himself in public.

Esther is in the unenviable position of having to convince her husband that it’s all going to be ok. When it probably isn’t. Giles, as is typical of narcissists, has an extremely fragile ego and cannot cope with criticism. And it is her job to paper over the cracks by simpering along on the increasingly humiliating podcast, which is one of his last gigs. Giles’ biog for it reads: “Was once number one in the charts (weren’t they all?). Isn’t now.” It’s almost as if he knows it’s crap, and I’m sure Esther does too. She’s chained to the deck though and seems determined to go down with the sinking ship of her toxic husband’s media career.

I’ve always enjoyed Esther’s original blog, Recipe Rifle. Not so much the new one, On The Spike. But the podcast is so awful, they both jabber so quickly, it’s unbearable to listen to.

There really is something about him that is utterly repellent. Just a thoroughly nasty piece of work with no redeeming features. Does anyone have a good word to say about him?

I am totally here for the Jay Rayner love though. He writes like an absolute dream, and you just know he'd laugh his head off if you spilt soup on his white shirt and probably try to mop it up with some bread.

You know what - I wouldn’t put it past him to be on here, trolling AIBU under a dizzying number of sock puppet names. I wouldn’t put it past him to have started this thread, or put someone up to it.

I’m not being 100% serious, but you never know online.

I don’t doubt that Giles Coren uses alts, but if he had started the thread wouldn’t he use those alts to defend himself? This thread seems pretty unanimous in thinking he’s appalling for abusing his neighbour. When Giles was caught using an alt previously he was sending himself antisemitic abuse, presumably in the home of assuming the role of victim and making people feel sorry for him.

I can assure you I’m not Giles. tbh I think it’s more likely Jay Rayner started the thread as he’s getting so much love on it!

He’ll be spitting about the Jay Rayner love-in, if he ever reads this thread.

I hope someone buys the kid a crossbow this year.

It's the last bastion of acceptable discrimination though - small man syndrome and all that.

If people (women) stopped having a go at shorter men about their height (as if they can do anything about it, you can in most cases do something about your weight) then maybe they'd have fewer complexes.

You can in most cases do something about your weight but it’s very commonly a losing battle. But most people have at preferences, if not prejudices when they are dating. I tend not to fancy very fat women or very skinny men for example and would NEVER voice that or rule out people just on that criterion.

I'm here for the Jay Rayner worship.

The man's smart, funny, sexy, charismatic, down to earth, and enthusiastic. And loves food. How can you not love him?

Coren, on the other hand, is as appealing as treading in dog muck, no matter how amazing his sister is.

I don’t think there is anything intrinsically unattractive about being a short man. Tom Hollander definitely floats my boat (“The gays are trying to kill me!”) I imagine most women have a biological attraction or preference towards taller men. However, I find the idea of someone who lies about their height and tries to pass themselves off as being taller than they actually are, extremely unappealing though. I wonder if Esther collaborates in Giles’ lie that he is 5 foot 9.

Height doesn't bother me - I'm 5'4, DH is about 5'7. Had an ex who was 6'5 and his height conferred no particular advantage.