Jeremy Clarkson
(Picture: Amazon)The Londoner donned a pair of wellies and trekked up to the Cotswolds on Saturday for the launch of Jeremy Clarkson’s new cider at the Hawkstone Live Sessions. But it seems security contractors at the rural booze-fest mistook it for a trendy festival, stationing a sniffer dog at the entrance.
Clarkson wasn’t happy about the security overkill. “I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous,” he raged, vowing “I’ll find out who’s responsible for the drug dog.”
When Clarkson isn’t dealing with overzealous bouncers, it’s the pesky neighbours who complain about his Diddly Squat Farm. He has a theory that only the poshest locals have a problem. “There’s half a dozen people in the village that were a nuisance,” he explains. “Everyone who supported us had a house number, and everyone who is against us had a house name. That says a lot.”
“People that have a house number, they say it’s brilliant. The locals around here absolutely love Diddly Squat, everybody loves the farm shop,” he said.
And he does get on with some of his wealthier neighbours, too. We spotted Rebekah and Charlie Brooks arriving at the tasting, though there was no sign of other famous locals David and Samantha Cameron. When we asked Jeremy when the rest of the so-called Chipping Norton set would be arriving he said “the Chipping Norton set doesn’t exist.” News to us, Jezza!
Angry Nandy
It seems Conference sponsors get richer as the Labour Party climbs the polls — last night’s New Statesman reception was part paid for by BT (as well as Amazon and Paramount). But in her speech Lisa Nandy, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for levelling up, pulled no punches about ongoing strikes by BT workers. “I would just gently say to BT that if you can afford to pay for a drinks reception and give your CEO a 32 per cent pay rise, you can afford to pay your staff properly.” Hoots and applause came up from the crowd, but the events team didn’t look too happy. Will Keir Starmer be pleased to hear about one of his team wading into another industrial dispute?
Mantel’s publisher gets the axe
After Dame Hilary Mantel’s unexpected death last week, her publisher Nicholas Pearson has been out securing the author’s legacy. He has written over the weekend about discovering Wolf Hall, her breakout novel, and getting it published. So HarperCollins’s decision to drop him in a “redundancy process” last month now looks particularly wrong-headed.
Blair’s a prankster
Actor Olivia Williams, who stars as Camilla in the new series of The Crown, is used to powerful spouse roles. Back in 2010 she played a Cherie Blair-like character in The Ghost Writer. It was such a good performance that, years later, she was approached in a café by a young man who said “hello, Mum!” It was, Olivia says, Leo Blair, Cherie and Tony’s youngest son.
Parties and premieres
Donatella Versace threw a party in Milan on Saturday to celebrate Vogue editor Edward Enninful’s new book. She had a little help from Kate Moss. Meanwhile, Naomie Harris kept the Soho scene together at a screening of Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde, along with fellow actors Tom Bateman and Daisy Ridley. Helen Hunt came to town for the Eureka Day premiere and acting scion Freddie Fox appeared at the launch of his new movie, Mrs Harris Goes To Paris.
