PR Disasters Part X

[AtIusvue]

For all Meg and Harry PR shenanigans

Thank you @Indianrollerbird
I think I made ten jars from two kg of Seville oranges. All long since scoffed as DH adores it and I won’t be modest, I do love my home made marmalade which in my opinion has a much stronger flavour than any commercial ones. I hadn’t made any for several years but maybe I’ll up the quantity slightly next year, it’s nice to give some away too.

As for collaboration - it’s Waitrose own recipe which I’ve done for years. Meghan is welcome to the recipe.

I do take a long time slicing the peel as thinly as I can manage (which is still fairly chunky - definitely not Golden shred). Also I think the Waitrose recipe advises to steep the peel overnight before boiling but for some reason - maybe back in the mists of time I misread the recipe - I boil it and then let it sit overnight. The next day I bring it back to the boil and add the sugar etc. A friend swears this improves the flavour but the main reason I do it is to spread the work over a couple of days. It gets boiled for ages so I’ve no idea how the judge found the peel slightly undercooked, maybe the oranges I buy have tougher peel or something. Personally I think a bit of bite is nice but that’s the thing about homemade preserves - it’s all personal, the recipes and individual preferences.

Here it is for anyone interested:

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/classic-seville-orange-marmalade

If he’d had any sense he would have bought a smaller place outright. He doesn’t want to spend his inheritances.

A lot of the celbs in california seem to rent rather than buy - it may make sense if mortage rate is less than the interest you can get from investments - but I'd have one outright owned property and enouch money put away for taxes - just in case it all goes tits up so have a roof and time to get back on feet.

Quiet a few seem to get scammed by mangers and financial managers out of their money - I do wonder how good the prevailing wisdom/group think actually is out there.

Thank you.

May try that or send it family members way - he makes his own jam as a hobby and seems to really enjoy it from mix of home grown and forged items and bought produce. I did try making rhubarb curd last year doubt it would win any awards but made a change.

Ooh lovely, thank you. But I fear that, in allowing your husband to scoff all 10 jars, you have missed the opportunity to do a high price point collab with the Duchess of Sausages, and announce on Instagram, in breathless tones, that you sold out in under 20 minutes!

Next time, you could add some flower sprinkles!

I had a browse of the properties for sale in Montecito. There were some very beautiful houses at $5-6 million mark. But these wouldn’t be enough for the megalomaniacs amongst us.

@ShamedBySiri Congratulations! What a lovely update.

It sounds great @ShamedBySiri - and you have the official certificate to prove it!

I made marmalade for the first time this year - the classic recipe from this book. Slightly more bitter than intended (I didn't increase the sugar quite enough for the amount of fruit) but the intensity of flavour is wonderful.

Pam Corbin Book of Preserves

@AprilMizzel They're adults with enough cash to get expert monetary advice - the security bill should have been considered before any move if they can't afford their lifestsyle they'll have to make changes - they've more options still than most.

Harry himself said that he never thought his security would be removed . Clearly he thought the RF were bluffing to keep him there so it must have been one hell of a shock to find they weren’t bluffing .
Do they really need 24/7 security?

Yes, they add up what her salary reportedly was per episode and it does add up to a few million.

However, they forget to factor in: taxes, agent fees, PR fees, living costs, food, bills, clothes, travel etc. Apparently the apartment she was staying in in Toronto was provided by the production company/studio - so that may actually have been taken off her wages also. She also rented her car.

She was absolutely earning good money, no doubt, but I've never known a millionaire who didn't invest in property or own their own home.

I expect he didn't want to realise they weren't bluff - expect it was pointed out to him in detail and he assumed he was special enough it wouldn't happen. None so blind as those who will not see territory.

When it was clear it would they could have pivoted built bridge back - despite their actions - interveiws and book - they did get a recent chance to mend bridges - PR people met and it was leaked and Harry had meeting then made comments about Kings health.

Even now they could move somewhere remoter and easier to secure - and do less public events but that's not what they want to do.

Apparently the apartment she was staying in in Toronto was provided by the production company/studio - so that may actually have been taken off her wages also. She also rented her car.

Apparently a lot of singers find that - they get a top notch hotel booked - or rented house which the record company sorts and pay for then bills them later for. It saves them time but can end up costing them more than if they dealt with it themsleves - it's often come up as an expensive financial lesson for them in interviews in later stage careers.

On a different note, I'm puzzled by this Marcus Anderson guy. What's the deal with him? I've heard that he's a big wig with Soho House but why is he so often with Meghan? I noticed he accompanied her to the Balenciago show - why didn't Harry partner her, he's her husband after all, plus he went on their Australian tour. Is he on their payroll? He seems to hide in the background but is always around Meghan. I wonder how Harry feels about his as I imagine he feels very possessive about her.

My ex-employer actually employed an ex-DJ who was kinda famous. Did Glastonbury, toured with and opened for top artists, Ibiza residencies etc

She did exactly as you've said - rented the expensive apartment, the fancy car, bought various bits and pieces. Management push them to spend and enjoy themselves, because it's a good way to reel in artists and keep them working for all the "fun" stuff. Then left with little to show for it. She was cleaning hotels when we took her on.

The best marmalade I have ever made was made with frozen Seville oranges.
I bought them, got flu (real flu) and I had read that they could be frozen so rather than waste them I bunged them in whole
Didnt marmalade them till June -utterly fab.
I have since read freezing them makes the marmalade better - but it also means you can do two batches a year
Well done on your award btw,

I laugh when I read the SS saying Meghan was a multi millionaire who paid for her own wedding dress (region of £200k allegedly).
I never believed it.
She (by estimates) earned 5 million dollars over her career -so take off taxes, agents fees, all of her travel , clothes , living expenses - there’s no way she had £200k in liquid funds to pay for a dress.

You write this so well …. AI would struggle to do better 👏

Amongst other things, George VI had to "buy back" Balmoral and Sandringham, because they had been left to David in a personal capacity. I think the King also paid them an allowance. But they did also write books and sponge off their society pals, so.....🤷‍♀️

Where do you get the oranges @ShamedBySiri ?

They are in season (only a short one) in January -I get mine from the market then. Some supermarkets get them in too.

The King -George Vl - did indeed pay them an allowance which suddenly stopped when he died.
TheDuke of Windsor had to come to England to meet with his niece to ask for it to be re Instated.
The Duke of Windsor had secreted away over £1 million from the Duchy of Cornwall which he took with him when he abdicated. The new king was not aware of this when he made the agreement for an allowance.
The Duke of Windsor was left the Duchy of Lancaster (which provides the monarch with a private income) Sandringham & Balmoral by his father. He owned these properties lock stock and barrel -there is no entail- so giving him a lifetime allowance was the correct thing to do. But the royals (well some of them) were utterly furious with David and would have happily cut him off without a penny -once he signed everything over of course.
He lived his entire life beyond his means- his wife was treated abominably by her lawyer ‘Suzanne Bleume (sp)’. So many artifacts -paintings, silverware, jewellry, objects d’art -which the Duke had specified in his will must be returned to the RF after the death of the Duchess were in fact sold by the woman while Wallis was left in a crumbling cold property in a tatty dirty bed.
The last 10 years of Wallis’s life were dreadful. She was utterly abused .

Dan Wootton now reporting on the lifeguard incident

m.youtube.com/watch?v=DiDHhzrXS-0&pp=ugUHEgVlbi1HQtIHCQlQAqO1ajebQw%3D%3D

What a good idea. Now I think about it my jam pan wouldn't hold a bigger batch and I think in the past when I made more I did two batches a week apart. It's quite a lot of work and there's a need for lots of jars and then storage space so
freezing oranges to make a mid year batch is the obvious solution,

As Daisy said they are only available for quite a short time in January. I used to get them from a greengrocers near me but the lady retired and it's closed down so I get them from Waitrose. Not all supermarkets stock them presumably there isn't the demand in some areas.

Does anyone remember the tins of oranges ( and occasionally lemons or limes) made specifically for making marmalade? , I’ve forgotten the name and have not seen them in ages but I made some very successful marmalade with those!

That looks an interesting book. I have a National Trust Country Kitchen Store Cupboard book I bought 2nd hand which has all sorts of recipes for preserves and chutneys etc. TBH I think I've only made a couple, I bought it more for historical interest. I think homemade seville orange marmalade is more bitter than commercial, so it will taste quite different if you've never made it before.