No more PS

Going to go further off the rails here ........ Talking about bank notes ........... William Donaldson ...( had a relationship with actress Sarah Miles , dumped her to start an affair / get engaged to American singer / songwriter Carly Simon , dumped her , went back to Sarah Miles again ..... ) ..... was a writer , amongst other things , who published a series of books under the name Henry Root ........

The Henry Root books showcased letters Donaldson sent , under the name Henry Root , to celebs ; politicians ; show biz stars etc. praising them for the wonderful work they were doing , saying how much he admired them and so on ....... all gently ( or not ) taking the piss obviously , a bit like Ali G `s Borat character , but in letter form , ........ ( for example , his letter to Harriet Harman MP went along the lines of " It always delights me to see an attractive young woman like you doing so well in the harsh world of politics , sometimes I expect you wish you were back at home with the ironing and the dishes ... " ) ........ that sort of thing ............ and also including a one pound note along with the letter ............. " just to show my appreciation and thank you for all your fine efforts ... " ......

The books also published the replies he received ......... usually thanking him for his kind remarks ... Standard reply letters in most cases , but always returning the one pound note ...... " We can`t possibly accept ....... etc. ... " ....

An exception was Margaret Thatcher .... who kept the one pound note ......... ( or probably her people did ) .........

An ( other ) exception to all this was his letter to Esther Rantzen ( UK TV personality ) ........ instead of falsely praising her , he told her exactly what he really thought of her ...... calling her a fat idiot , and her TV show a disgrace ....

Predictably , the letter he got back was the standard reply ... " Esther is always pleased to receive letters from the public , and thanks you for your kind remarks ... " ....

Donaldson was also responsible for bringing Bob Dylan over to the UK for the first time ...... Dylan arrived at Donaldson`s London office at about eleven in the morning ....... they chatted about the forthcoming dates Dylan was going to play ....... when that was done , Donaldson left for lunch ........ ( about three hours down the pub ... ) .....

When he got back at about 4 pm , he found Dylan still sat there in his office ......... " I couldn`t get rid of the fucker ... " , he said later .........

Now then , what were we talking about ? ... Oh yes , No more Practical Sportsbikes , that was it ..........

BTW , Sarah Miles had something in common with John Lennon ...... they both thought it beneficial to drink your own urine ...... now that really is taking the piss ....... ) ......
 
Last edited:
On the subject of celebs in pubs. I have an old mate, Dave, who's family farm is in Wiltshire, UK, not far from Shaftsbury. When my lady friend and I were in UK in 2005, we stayed a few days with Dave and his family. One night we went for a meal at the local village pub. As we walked in, Dave and his wife exchanged a polite greeting with a couple sitting in the corner, explaining to us that they owned the neighbouring farm.
After the meal, we were having a nightcap back at Daves place, and he told us that the couple they'd said hello to in the pub were actually Guy Richie and Madonna. They didn't mention it at the time because G & M liked to keep a low profile in their local pub. I suppose we didn't recognise them because they just looked like ordinary people having a meal in a dimly lit corner of a small country pub.

Back in 2000, Guy and Madonna bought Ashcombe House and the farm that came with it, making them Dave's neighbour on his southern side.
Dave initially thought it was cool to have Madonna living next door, but soon found the idea less appealing. Apparently they weren't the easiest neighbours to get along with.
 
Last edited:
I was wondering the other day how it was getting on ....... well done , ( and to Keith Nairn also I believe ) ...... looks great ......... what would be nice for those amongst us who aren`t old PSers is a before and after shot ! ..........


BTW ....... unrelated , but looking back to the early days of this thread I noticed a posting from Legs , Adelaide Hills .......... Haven`t seen much sign of him lately ..... do any of you colonials down there know if he`s ok ?

I once remember worrying I may have upset him when taking the mick regarding the Australian Navy giving some of their destroyer class warships the names Colin , or Primrose , or something like that ........ but he didn`t seem to mind ............... :) .................
 
Last edited:
He was a submariner in the Oz-built Desil Electric Collins Class Subs. Hope we catch him in November when the Sydney Club heads to Adelaide.
 
I was wondering the other day how it was getting on ....... well done , ( and to Keith Nairn also I believe ) ...... looks great ......... what would be nice for those amongst us who aren`t old PSers is a before and after shot ! ..........


BTW ....... unrelated , but looking back to the early days of this thread I noticed a posting from Legs , Adelaide Hills .......... Haven`t seen much sign of him lately ..... do any of you colonials down there know if he`s ok ?

I once remember worrying I may have upset him when taking the mick regarding the Australian Navy giving some of their destroyer class warships the names Colin , or Primrose , or something like that ........ but he didn`t seem to mind ............... :) .................
couldnt find any of triumph ones but was an interesting day
 

Attachments

  • IMG-20211128-WA0006.jpg
    IMG-20211128-WA0006.jpg
    223.9 KB · Views: 37
  • IMG-20211128-WA0005.jpg
    IMG-20211128-WA0005.jpg
    311.6 KB · Views: 36
  • IMG_20211204_103239.jpg
    IMG_20211204_103239.jpg
    186.5 KB · Views: 36
  • IMG_20211204_103232.jpg
    IMG_20211204_103232.jpg
    192.9 KB · Views: 33
  • IMG_20211128_155055.jpg
    IMG_20211128_155055.jpg
    179.4 KB · Views: 34
  • 20250609_202421.jpg
    20250609_202421.jpg
    196.7 KB · Views: 35
Back
Top