Ham pr disasters 44! Will there be karma? Or will the slippery mackerel of consequences pass them by?

[jeffgoldblum]

Still not bored , still interested, if you find this thread not for you please pass us by.

I wonder why these all make such a feature of the codpiece? It must surely be about posturing between men, because I can’t imagine any women (then or now) looking at them and thinking anything other than well, that seems awfully optimistic!

I wonder if Jeff Bezos knows his name is being linked to the sponsorship of a potential ‘mass casualty event’? I don’t think emotions like ‘thrilled’ spring to mind.

Charles Spencer’s book has been discounted by 50% in Waterstones.
Perhaps cashing in on Diana’s legacy is not as lucrative as expected…

What even was the point of that bit of bilge in The Times??

They often do that with best sellers though.

I saw on SM that this new place has opened in Oxford and my first thought was that it was the Dookess! (Until I realised different spelling, of course!)

If she had been a bit more clued up when they left the RF, it could have been. It certainly looks a little like her style. Except...professional?

Edit to add: and Mediterranean! Not whatever her food "style" would be.

I am sure I read that Meghan was unpleasant about Lauren before she married JB ?
And was then miffed she wasn’t invited to the wedding .
I could be wrong ( I am tired ).

"it should have been meeeeeee!"

I don't think after paying his eye- watering advance it [Spare] turned the kind of profit the publishers were hoping for.

And yet they did it again with Spencer.

I remember when Penguin used to be a reputable publisher. When I was 6th form/student, I used to pick up their printed catalogues in bookshops and go through marking up all the serious nonfiction books I would have liked to buy and read (which realistically I never would have done, but it was nice to pretend).

Wow ! Thanks Meghan , would never have thought to prepare in advance .

Isn't it a chain? I saw one in London over the summer. Not Sussex connected, I think. Don't think she'd be suited to running a restaurant, even in a very hands off role. In spite of the advice to prepare in advance etc! 😁

@AlexandraCarrington I must admit that I have gone off Penguin slightly. I was looking at my lovely paperbacks with their different colours and all the fab authors and wondering 'What the heck!'

You lot! I leave the thread to make and eat dinner and there is an invasion of cod-pieces. I need trigger warnings for such appendages.

Ive also learned that I’ve been hosting wrong all my life as, my dinners rarely involve jam. Sigh.

There was huge controversy about Bezos sponsoring the Met Gala, protests and it was nicknamed the Bezos Ball. I think it will be another nail in the PR coffin for Invictus if Bezos is putting up the money.

🤣

Same here! Except Harry’s baldness. That’s fair game after he slagged his brother’s hair in Spare.

I'm inclined to think there may be a difference , whether this is Amazon sponsoring the IG or JB. I can see why there was the kerfuffle about the Met Gala. A large corporation sponsoring the IG , would that attract the same thing? I don't know , but I do agree with you there was a lot of discussion about Bezos sponsoring the Met Gala. If he and LS stayed away , would the same discussion arise? I don't know.

Whichever way whilst I agree with the intentions of supporting service men and women / veterans , I still think the actual cost vs benefit ought to be more closely examined.

I haven't seen anywhere that says the Invictus Amazon deal is actually confirmed.

Even the Sun report yesterday, which was an 'Exclusive', was couched in terms of 'is set to', 'is said to', a source said 'The Invictus committee are really hoping it gets over the line'.
Sun report (not archive)

Meanwhile (off topic) there is a lovely write-up about the Duchess of Ediburgh in the DM today https://archive.is/eaMoF

From what I can see, @BasiliskStare, Amazon's cloud infrastructure has ties to the Israeli military and has led to protests. I think there’s also been fundraising for Gaza by Amazon? Jeff B and Lauren S have avoided personal statements.

Oooh, Harry likes that kind of uber-wealthy fence-sitting (even though he says silence is complicity).

Reluctant as I am to defend either Invictus under Harry's 'leadership' or Amazon under Bezos, the Amazon web services infrastructure is used very, very widely by many companies and countries. So if that's now problematic because of Israeli involvement, then a lot more organisations have a big headache to deal with. It's not just an issue for Invictus.

Harry would shit a brick 😳😂

Sponging off your host's residence ?

Spare 2 …….spare hard with a vengeance!!!!!

Yes, indeed. Big headaches all round, with a need for careful diplomacy.

I suppose Invictus’s unique characteristic is the presence of combat-injured Israeli army personnel who were actively involved in an ongoing highly controversial conflict. (I don’t want to say much more than that precisely because it is so controversial.)

I wonder how (and indeed if) the Invictus PR plans to acknowledge this controversy? And I wonder how the HaM PR plan will unfold in Birmingham? Genuinely intrigued as to whether Amazon has a major role here in Invictus’s dreams as potential financier and PR smoother with donations flying in all directions including to Gaza.

That’s much like Pippa’s memorable tips for hosting a children’s birthday party!