Don’t cock a snood at Andy...
NEVER mind what the women were (almost) wearing on Ladies Day — Andy Murray turned up in a snood at Cheltenham. A snood, forsooth! The last time a man was seen wearing one of these woolly cowls was about 30 years ago, during that brief moment in the Eighties when male snoods were fashionable. Nik Kershaw was a big fan. Limahl from Kajagoogoo? Possibly. Bee Gee Barry Gibb regularly sported a chunky number — or was that just his beard? Whoever, whenever, all these men bowed down to the superior snood power of Sean Connery playing William of Baskerville in the 1986 film The Name Of The Rose. Maybe it takes a Scotsman to wear a snood with style? After all, they are no strangers to the silliness of the sporran or garters on their socks. I think Andy (right) wears it best, but I am biased.
In the midst of the Brexit frenzy this week, one man stood out for buffoonery above and beyond the call of public duty. ‘I was in the Army, I wasn’t trained to lose,’ boasted Mark Francois from the european Research Group. this was before one crucial vote, which his side then promptly lost. Listen, Mark. I was in the Brownies, and I wasn’t trained to sit around when there were sausages to sizzle, old ladies to help across the road and dib dib dibs to be dob dob dobbed. So get a grip. We can all tell when someone’s military career, like yours, was five minutes in the territorial Army before your mum called you in for your tea. Real soldiers who actually fought and proper veterans who went to war don’t talk like that. Unless they happen to be Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army. Good luck to Eleanor Tomlinson, the Poldark actress going off to seek fame and fortune in Tinseltown. Meanwhile Line of duty star Vicky McClure is reluctant to try to forge a Hollywood career. Why? of the two talents, Vicky is the one who could end up, just like olivia Colman, clutching an oscar to her chest.
‘My mum would love to see me in a Hollywood movie,’ she said. ‘But there is nothing nicer than chilling in a nice, clean house. I like normality and stability.’
So many stars ask so much of fame. others are happy with their lot. Eleanor and Vicky must choose their own paths, the one right for them and nobody else. dESPITE objections from Gerry and Kate McCann, Netflix releases its controversial documentary series about their daughter today.
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann features archival news footage, re-enactments of the night the three-year-old vanished, interviews with investigators from the case, and other key figures.
However, it won’t feature her parents, who refused to take part.
They have condemned the series, claiming that it could potentially ‘hinder’ the ongoing police investigation, which received another £150,000 of Government funding last November.
Yet surely it might actually help? In the 12 years since Madeleine vanished, the mystery around her disappearance has only deepened.
Somebody, somewhere knows something. one might have thought that the McCanns would welcome such a high-profile documentary, which will be watched by millions who will then make up their own minds.