Also in today's guardian....Liz Jones's house attacked

[ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight]

by a disgruntled neighbour. Apparently he shot at her letterbox in protest at being described as toothless and inbred in her book.

Not condoning letterbox shootings at all, but really.

I've just listened to the "Woman's Hour" interview and I think she got a very easy ride. Jane Garvey could have quoted some of Liz Jones's more outrageous comments such as the people in the local shops "having learning difficulties" to her and asked her if she seriously expected people to like her after those sorts of comments.

I was also extremely irritated by the "I employ local people" line. It is not as if she has set up a major industrial unit in the nearest town. She employs ten workmen on her house. Big deal. How long are they going to be employed for? Most people when they move into a new house have work carried out on it. They don't expect the local community to express gratitude for this.

Also, the bit about how she is publicising Exmoor. Isn't there a local tourist agency? Does she think no-one had heard of the place before she went there? Grrrr.

PS I've now read the article she wrote about her breasts and her anorexia. This woman is sad and needs help -please ignore my previous posts.

found it - Clive the Geordie If Liz had any friends I could imagine her having them round to dinner while she parades the tame locals in a similar fashion.

PMSL - Rachel Johnson has responded to the shooting here. Oh dear....

'leaning against the pistachio-coloured Aga'

pmsl

she makes some good points

No Rachel, don't hold back, tell it like it is.

Pure Class.

... and omg, just scrolled down to her letterbox. I'd assumed this was on her front door, but it looks like it's attached to a boundary fence. Hardly Reservoir Dogs.

Blimey. Journalism will eat itself. Soon all the columns in newspapers will be journalists analysing the behaviour of other journalists.

"It's like 'country folk' are some other species and townies need to master the art of 'country folk whispering' in order to tame them."
I couldn;t agree more! I grew up in a national park. went to school in a city. lived in a southern city for 6 years then London for 14. now I'm back in a village in the same national park. I;ve found each transition pretty easy - and have found none of them a culture shock. I've found clever, interesting friendly people in each of the places I;ve lived in. and illy coffee. and I've never had the urge to refer to "the locals". it's an awful frame of reference. (although I do sometimes refer to townies. when they drop litter and play loud music up on the moors)

absolutely frosty. Liz J is beneath disdain imo. Have you seen some of the comments on the article? I'm convinced that one of them is LJ or her friends supporting her.

Like Rachel Johnson is a bloody local herslef. They probably loathe her even more.
Love the way sorts like her think everyone else is an outsider apart from them.

Rachel Johnson is Boris's sister, fact fans.

I keep tryig to find the words to describe Liz Jones but she is so awful in so very many ways that I find it impossible. She has beaten me.

ROFL at the way that LJ tries to make out that she is 'in' with the locals because she is asked to judge some competition. Any fule kno that Judging is a poisoned chalice and to be avoided like the plague by sane people.

agree moondog!

''opening a horse show at nearby Knightshayes, when I donated a day with me at London Fashion Week and lunch at the Ivy as first prize in the raffle. ''

Second prize, two days with her ....

I've read her book Liz Jones's Diary: How One Single Girl Got Married (based on her Guardian columns about dating and marrying her now ex-husband) and concluded that both LJ and the husband (Nirpal Dhaliwal) were so weird that they deserved each other. In a way it would have been better for them to stay together to avoid contaminating the dating pool for everyone else. Both people with serious issues.

My kindlier self wishes she had been able to make a go of it in the country but looks like it's going downhill. At least her cats are probably enjoying it.

(but what do I know? Never heard of Illy coffee either! I'll get me coat....)

LOL at finding Illy coffee. We're just offering on a house in a village, so relieved to hear that we can still get such necessities. Will I be able to source tapenade still ?

oh sure, I send Mrs Thing to the most divine little farmer's market near Bridmouth once a month to stock up on neccessities like organic sheep's milk and lavendar foot lotion for the pigs (their little feet are so much softer since I discovered this!)

One thing it doesn't take a genius to work out is that all the people who have contributed to this thread deserve a newspaper column far more than she does.

I cannot feel sorry for her in any capacity. She has made her bed, she should lie in it.

Exmoor is one of those most beautiful places on earth. I feel like it has been greatly defiled by her writings on it.