Isaac Bickerstaffe

PLUMMY-VOICED AA spokesman Conor Faughnan says his favoured methods of relaxation include spending time with his family, walking in Glendalough and occasionally ‘going out for a pint with the old school pals’. He also reveals: ‘I’m an appalling golfer, which is the best game in the world to be bad at.’ Rory McIlroy might beg to differ, in fairness. BEST known here for her role in the 1970 film Ryan’s Daughter, which was mainly filmed in Co. Kerry, Sarah Miles has been reflecting on her earlier appearance opposite Dirk Bogarde in The Servant. The 71-yearold actress, who has famously admitted to drinking her own urine for the claimed health benefits, says of director Joseph Losey’s filming style: ‘Joe did linger on my feet a lot. He had a bit of a fetish for that sort of thing: shoes, feet, the ends of curtains.’ Steady! THE head of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, has offered to put his Church’s assets – estimated at nearly €5billion – at the country’s disposal to help pull it out of its banking crisis. The archbishop has said the Church would mortgage its wealth to save the country – a breathtakingly generous offer that underlines the close ties between the Church and the Cypriot people. In an interesting contrast, agreeing a 50:50 share between the Irish Catholic Church and the State to cover the estimated €1.3billion cost of paying victims of clerical abuse through the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund remains elusive. To date, the religious orders have pledged just €110million, and actually stumped up €40million. A bit light... SPEAKING about starting to cultivate his own vegetables, food writer and TV chef Donal Skehan admits to having ‘absolutely no knowledge’ about what he was doing at first. The 26year-old elaborates: ‘The first year I did it I grew 25 cabbages all at once. What can you do with 25 cabbages except kick them?’ What indeed? However, should Mr B ever find himself dining chez Skehan, suffice to say that he will make do without a side order of the king of veg. SAUDI Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the 15th richest person in the world, says: ‘When you make a mistake you lose $10million, $50million, $100million. But when it’s $200million, $500million or $1billion, that’s a blunder.’ Mr Bickerstaffe was just saying that very same thing to Mrs B over breakfast. Oh my, we all do have our problems... POP star Jessie J, pictured, 25 today – happy birthday, incidentally – says she won’t date anyone on the BBC edition of The Voice, which she co-judges with Tom Jones and oddball American Will.i.am, but adds: ‘Unless Tom asked me out, of course.’ Is Tom, 72 , still a ladies’ man? Married to wife Melinda for 56 years, he is said to have bedded up to 250 admirers a year at the height of his fame. DESCRIBING her marriage to Sky’s Belfast-born presenter Eamonn Holmes, his wife and co-presenter Ruth Langsford sighs: ‘Our relationship is very passionate. We’re like Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.’ With our very best wishes to the lovebirds, of course, we can’t help feeling that might be just a bit of an overstatement. Romance by all means, but without the alcohol, drama and divorces, naturally!