This weekend, newspaper and TV celebrities descend on Camber. One might have thought that in these days of austerity, to say nothing of the unfortunate publicity attached to certain papers only a year or two ago, that the day of the extravagant company jaunt was over.
Not so at the Sun. According to Private Eye, newspaper boss Rebekah Brooks, back in charge after a brief interlude in the dock, has decided that it is time for a “meet the readers”, weekend. So, gathering together the big beasts of the Sun – Rod Liddle, Jane Moore et al – the limo convoy will be clogging up the road to Camber on Friday.
And where will they be staying? Pontins? Maybe, but perhaps La Brooks will be be luxing it at the gorgeous Gallivant, or possibly will have acquired one of the million pound houses on the sea shore for the weekend.
Every party, of course, has to have a theme, and for the Sun weekend it is Bake-off. Oh, you might think, that sounds fun, everyone doing a bit of cooking and then being rude about everyone else’s efforts. Not a bit of it. This is Rebekah Brooks, remember, she who once hired Bruce Forsyth for £45,000 to host a Strictly Sun Dancing weekend in Yorkshire, to say nothing of a personal trainer for six weeks beforehand, to get herself in shape.
Bake-off would not be Bake-off without one of its stars, so Mary Berry herself is apparently being helicoptered in to judge the contestants offerings, doubtless for a nice fat fee. All this when the paper is about to sack 25 of its sub-editors (these are the vital people who re-write the journalist’s scribblings and turn them into readable English), so with that saving, there shouldn’t be any problem paying the bill.
Source: Private Eye