Londoner's Diary: Anti-EU brigade makes a fudge of its campaign

Sweet sensation - David Cameron
WPA Pool / Getty
11 December 2015

As David Cameron continues his “seemingly endless European renegotiation tour” (Angela Eagle’s words), the pro- and anti-EU campaigns are stepping up their games. Earlier this week, Leave.EU launched a new publicity stunt: The Great British Fudge Off. The cross-party organisation is planning to deliver 10,000 bars of David Cameron-branded fudge to No 10, to protest against negotiations which they think are going nowhere. For a mere £5 supporters can contribute their own bar of fudge, or even buy some for themselves or friends.

The Londoner, in fact, was given one a few days ago and noticed that it was made by Radfords Fine Fudge, a small company based in Somerset. British sweets for British independence — how lovely! Even lovelier is that Radfords’ business was allowed to take off thanks to, er, the European Union.

As a project from a rural area, Radfords proudly announces on its website that its Sugar Mill sweet-making project is, through various channels, “part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development”.

Isn’t this all a bit awkward? The Londoner — in this case a reporter with a distinctive French lilt — telephoned Leave.EU to ask about its unexpected EU ties. The phone was answered by a distinctly continental-sounding man, and the irony of discussing Somerset fudge in a foreign twang was not lost on either party.

So had our new friend heard that Radfords was supported by the EU? “No... not at all.” We were told that a more informed Leave.EU bod would call us back and are still longingly waiting by the telephone. Oh, for something sweet and British to snack on while waiting for that answer...

Update: a Leave.EU spokesperson did eventually give the Londoner a call back. "Yeah, I knew about [Radfords being supported by an EU scheme]", he told us. "Lots of companies receive EU funding [...] but most people in the UK would rather pay less taxes than having to deal with Brussels bods who know nothing about business". Fair enough.

***

Think twice before getting a permanent tattoo or you’ll end up looking a right square. Sir David Tang reflects on his, courtesy of Kate Moss, in his FT Agony Uncle column this week. She “pushed me into it in a godforsaken bar in Thailand. I didn’t want to appear a weed and ended up with a boring black square, as I was doing a crossword at the time and thought it inspired.” Cryptic, but not much help with four across (3, 1, 4).

BBC pals rally round departed Yentob

As we predicted, the tributes are flooding in for Alan Yentob from his infinite stash of contacts (although Jay-Z still hasn’t spoken out). Last week it was Antonio Carluccio and Harry Enfield; now, writing in this week’s New Statesman, former BBC exec Roger Mosey — now a blunt critic of the corporation — regrets seeing another “executive barbecued by the outside world, then finding there isn’t enough internal support to withstand the flames”.

A eulogy follows, insisting the former creative director stayed in a management role for more than the “183,000 reasons per annum” — his salary.

Mosey himself had a mere 241,230 reasons to be director of the BBC’s London 2012 Olympics coverage.

Jemima mingles in Marylebone

Journalist and charity campaigner Jemima Goldsmith was in Marylebone last night to toast the opening of designer Bella Freud’s new shop, which rivalled nearby Chiltern Firehouse for celeb-spotting. Actress Kristin Scott Thomas, make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury and model Kate Moss all made an appearance. She has recently finished filming a cameo in the Absolutely Fabulous film.

Freud is unlikely to be showing up on celluloid as well: the first episode of the comedy series referred to the showbiz family of authors, artists and PRs as “a bunch of no-talents with an ancestor”. Is that what one would call a Freudian quip?

Gwynnie's clubbing it in Hollywood

Gwyneth Paltrow
Matthew Eismann / Getty

Watch out Nick Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow’s coming for you. She and property developer Gary Landesberg are set to launch an outpost of the private members’ Arts Club in LA, just as Soho House founder Jones expands his empire Stateside. Let the battle for Hollywood creatives begin.

Plans filed in the US in July establish that closed pornographic magazine store Hustler has been sold and will be razed to make way for a hotel and a near-identikit version of the Arts Club. It’s only a few doors down from Soho House on Sunset Boulevard.

Landesberg, chairman and principal shareholder of the 152-year-old Mayfair club, and Paltrow, pictured, who bangs the gavel on prospective newbies as head of the membership committee, are leading the charge by bringing the Arts Club’s manifesto (“to provide a haven for those people who have professional or amateur relationships with the arts, literature or sciences”) to Hollywood.

Membership fees are likely to be the equivalent of the £2,000 a year plus the £2,000 joining fee currently charged at the original Mayfair outpost, the freehold of which was put up for sale in October — it is said to be worth around £90 million, which should pay for a few nice knick-knacks for Gwynnie and Gary’s new home. Or a bag of pistachios on Goop.

We're keeping up with the Joans

The Londoner, a little tired of the old dress codes, perked up when an invite to the Sunday Times Style Christmas party landed on the desk. The sartorial code: “dress like Joan”. Actress Joan Collins, late comedian Joan Rivers or even Joan of Arc?

One male Londoner’s Diary reporter took up the challenge and went the full Joan Crawford, pussy bows and all. On arrival he went to the cloakroom. “No wire hangers, ever!” he shouted at a baffled attendant, before heading on to drink martinis with guests including Graham Norton and drag queens Raven Mandella and Joan Oh. “Oh, you’re Joan Crawford,” one reveller realised. “If you wanted to see the girl next door,” he replied, “go next door."

Unexpected book of the month: since John McDonnell threw one at George Osborne, Mao’s Little Red Book has gone up more than 200,000 places on Amazon. Cheers comrade!

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