# Liz Jones and fitting in on Exmoor.



## henryhorn (8 September 2009)

I'm not the slightest bit surprised LJ has found it tough going, with an attitude like hers, she'll never fit in.
To publicly slag off the very people she might need to rely on is hardly the way to make friends. 
Sadly the woman seems to think employing locals will gain her some respect, but all I reckon many will do is up their prices because she's an incomer with an inflated ego. 
To boast she feeds the rats on organic museli when many locals keep chickens to boost their incredibly low incomes is nothing short of arrogance, and no matter what she may feel about eating meat, in an area where farming is a main income, she should keep that mouth firmly closed.
I read earlier of how she wrote how dreadful a New Year's Eve party was she had been invited to, well she wouldn't be invited back if that was me!
I feel cross with myself I actually felt sorry for the woman and when she first wrote about how terrified she was about caring for her newly acquired horses sent her a friendly email with my number, saying we weren't that far away , saying she would be welcome to ring us if in trouble with any of her horses, as over the years we'd met most injuries and illnesses.
It tells you a lot she didn't even reply to that email...
I can't see how she can possibly stay living there now, I reckon she will be ostracised. I live on Dartmoor and once had a row with a local woman, who's parting shot to me was "My family have lived on this moor for hundreds of years. we were here before you arrived and we'll be here long after you've gone!"
We made it up but it did show me the depth of feeling hidden against incomers, and I'm in my 17th year living here..
Her story of how unwelcoming everyone has been to her reminds me of another, when a newcomer to a village is asked by an old boy what her previous neighbours were like. When told they were horrible his reply was that she would likely find the locals here just the same...... 
	
	
		
		
	


	




It's probably a good job she didn't respond to my email, I have a feeling she would be the type to embrace parelli whole heartedly, and down to earth horsemanship learned over many years would not be appreciated or understood by her anyway....


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## BBH (8 September 2009)

I think most of us can recognise her as being ' eccentric' rather than nasty. 

I do think there is a problem on both sides and she's not the first to notice how unwelcoming some elements of country folk are. There was a lady journalist ( who's name escapes me ) who moved back to the town because she was so ostracized.

Blowing out her letter box is hardly the way to change her opinions tbh and no right minded person would think that is very clever.


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## Hedgewitch13 (8 September 2009)

Yes she has shot herself in the foot really. I too felt sorry for her to start with but I think she has brought all the ill feeling onto herself I'm afraid.

Nothing like being rude about everyone, in a weekly publication, to put people's back's up! She's an attention seeker - end of.


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## A1fie (8 September 2009)

Isn't she a Daily Mail journalist?  - What did you expect?!!! 

I haven't seen the article, have you a link?  But I would agree that it sounds like she has a horrible attitude.  Don't be cross that you send her a friendly email - it says a lot more about you than the lack of response does about her!

It sounds a real shame that she has an attitude like that.  I'm sure the exmoor community might have been glad to have a sympathetic voice in the press but a bad attitude will likely put their hackles up. and will help keep her as an outsider.


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## Bosworth (8 September 2009)

I agree HH, I must admit I read her article and sliently fume. We moved to Dartmoor 3 years ago and love it here. We have great local friends, we have fantasitc local contractors and the people are lovely. But you have to fit in with the way of doing things, not rant and moan because it isn't London, thank god it isn't. She seems to be a typical townie tree hugger, has no idea of how life in the country is not all roses round the door and lovely fresh bread. it's hard, and people are poor and farmers need to earn to live. And to be honest what man would want to be involved with her, sh is so derogatory in print  - she sounds like a real head case who really needs a long stint in the priory to sort out her issues. I really find her column such a load of garbage and now she writes in the Western Morning news so we are subject to it there as well. I really just wish she would take her overgrown ego, her stupid rantings and her sheep worrier dog back to London and stop writing rubbish.


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## Hedgewitch13 (8 September 2009)

Hmmm she's more than aware of whatever she writes in the Mail on Sunday will be read by a lot of people who live near her. Every word has been well thought out before being put to paper - she is a journalist after all. I used to think she was eccentric but I now think she is just plain stupid.

Of course it could all be a publicity stunt!


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## Bosworth (8 September 2009)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/articl...tte-Exmoor.html

Really good respons from Boris Johnson's sister


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## TGM (8 September 2009)

That woman is such an idiot - I try to avoid reading her columns as she irritates me so much!  I honestly think she must have a screw loose not to realise how she comes over to other people.  She was talking about overhearing a conversation in the newsagents, but only she had to point out that it was while she was 'buying a £20 bottle of wine'.  I can only think we are meant to be impressed by that? 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I suppose it serves me right for reading the Mail though! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  Perhaps it is time for a change of paper as they are using her more and more!


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## BBH (8 September 2009)

Thats the thing though, nobody pertains to like her but everyone reads her ( just like katie Price ).

On the positive side she does give employment to locals, who one assumes are glad to take her money. 

No, for me I think she's eccentric and harmless.


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## CorvusCorax (8 September 2009)

Links on other threads:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...rue#Post4778567

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...rue#Post4778574


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## TGM (8 September 2009)

Well I think they might take her money with gritted teeth when she then refers to local shopworkers as having 'learning difficulties' and then bemoaning the fact that they don't know what 'Illy Coffee' is!  (I don't know what Illy Coffee is either - so I don't know what that says about me. 
	
	
		
		
	


	




)


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## BBH (8 September 2009)

Well they do don't they  
	
	
		
		
	


	






Have you not thought for once that this is all tongue in cheek, its no different imo to anyone being deliberately provocative, its just that she doesn't have the cudos to carry it off.


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## TGM (8 September 2009)

I must say that when she first started her column (before she moved to Exmoor) and was discussing every wrinkle and fart of her relationship, I didn't believe she was a real person and just thought the column was an editor taking the mickey out of the readership.  Perhaps that is true and it is all just an elaborate hoax - has anyone actually met the woman!?

However, if she is real I do genuinely believe she has a bit of a problem and perhaps should seek some help.  She seems to be alienating friends, family, partners and neighbours with her 'no holds barred' journalism.   If she carries on then she is likely to pay a high price for her fame and fortune and will end up a very lonely and bitter person (if she isn't already 
	
	
		
		
	


	




).


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## Tinkerbee (8 September 2009)

Never mind the rest of her issues, if the woman likes Illy coffee then she must have the taste buds of a sewer rat.


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## TGM (8 September 2009)

PMSL!


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## zsmm4 (8 September 2009)

is the coffee the one made from coffee beans which have passed through the gut of a cat first?


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## Tinkerbee (8 September 2009)

Haha, not quite...but probably tastes the same


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## Tinypony (8 September 2009)

Well, that's a novel way to work Parelli into a thread Henryhorn.   
	
	
		
		
	


	




I know the lady who works for Liz, and can assure you that Parelli will be far, far from their prefered training methods.
I also think it's all a bit of a shame, because I know that Liz Jones is very generous to charities and actually rather a nice person when you meet her.  I always took her comments as tongue in cheek, but thought that some might get deadly serious about it.
Surely the letterbox peppered with shot is nothing though?  Happens all over the place in areas where there is regular shooting doesn't it?


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

Hmm , I think she's eccentric , but not in a fun way .
I used to read her Sunday column but it drove me nuts in the end !
I was please when she campaigned for magazines to use larger models , then furious when she said ' She hated fat people .'
On the plus side , she appears to love her animals , but had a cat that was so ill it should have been put down to end its suffering . Whether or not she made the decision , I don't know .   
	
	
		
		
	


	





I knew moving to the country would be a bad move for her . I came from the suburbs to Norfolk in 1985 . Took a bit of getting used to , but found the people very friendly . I dislike shooting , but there are many shoots near me - I have to ignore them &amp; shrug my shoulders .

I've no idea what Illy coffee is , had no idea that Agas came in Pistachio colour &amp; didn't know that Hunter wellies were for townies   
	
	
		
		
	


	









I feel Liz Jones never wanted to grow up &amp; has all sorts of issues , but slagging off the locals isn't going to help her one bit . I could go on , but I'm not going to - I might go as crazy as she appears to be


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## embonaught (8 September 2009)

Good God, the woman is a crime against humanity. Honestly, she deserves everything that's thrown at her, and that's talking from experience. Her parting shot was that she's moving to Wales. I'm not keen on the Welsh but they don't deserve her as a neighbour.
Perhaps we could show our generosity by starting a fund for a leaving present. A one-way ticket to Ulaanbaatar might be a good call!


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## BBH (8 September 2009)

Good Lord, haven't you inbreds got anything better to do than vilify a caring, charity giving, wine drinking, animal rehoming older lady   
	
	
		
		
	


	





Now get out there and milk your cows and leave her to her coffee. Mine's a skinny, decaf, wet latte please.


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

Older lady ? She is a few years older than me , you young whippersnapper !  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I've a lot to learn - thought all coffee was wet


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## henryhorn (8 September 2009)

Having lived in Wales for three and a half years, if she moves there she'll get far worse than shotgun pellets I can guarantee..
Upset the Welsh and they retailate swiftly and with with no mercy, I got on great there but the feuds between neighbours had to be watched to be believed!
The sad thing is she seems to think how she and others look to be the most important things in life, well when your water supply stops, the electricity fails, you sure don't look at what your rescuer looks like, or what they are wearing, you're just grateful to be helped..
I'm afraid I do know what colour a pistachio Aga is (mine's wedgewood blue which is a rather lovely sky blue), but Illy coffee escapes me. 
As for saying the shelf stackers look slow what an insult, perhaps some do have learning difficulties, and how hurt must their parents' feel after her nasty remarks. 
I have a couple of female friends who moved as she did on their own to Exmoor, they however are of the hunting type and fitted right in.. Seems a bit mad to me for LJ to go right to the very heart of the most dedicated hunting fraternity in the UK and then slag them off..
We've all heard about her insecurities, her dreadful marriage etc, and it must at some point be obvious even to her the fault lies within. 
By all means feed your fur babies (spoilt brat cats to the rest of us) on fresh prawns and live your life exactly as you choose, just don't write about it in a manner that hurts others. Has it ever occurred to LJ I wonder that in nearby villages people can't afford prawns for themselves never mind her damned cats?
Rural poverty is something people tend to keep well hidden, but it's a fact wages in the S West are awful..
In this area there are some really rich people, not just well off as LJ is, but mega rich. You wouldn't be able to tell them from the rest of us locals however, because they make sure they blend in and don't flaunt their wealth.  One old chap who used to deliver leaflets for his tourist attraction always turned up in a disreputable old van held together by chicken wire. He was well spoken with lovely manners so it was no surprise to hear he owned over 1000 acres plus two of the finest listed houses in Devon..
Miss Jones will need to do an awful lot of bridge building if she wants to stay living where she does, but it may well be too late for that now. 
I do have a sneaky feeling that deep down this shotgun incident will have given her just the excuse she wanted to hightail it somewhere else. 
I think the fantasy she envisaged never really happened for her, real life living in the country rarely lives up to it , instead of lazing by the pool you're far more likely to be removing the frogs and toads from the inlet where they have putrified, and instead of wandering meadows of wildflowers you're out there picking ragwort...
I think she would be far happier in the outskirts of London, where town is near and she could still have her animals. (and the locals of Exmoor can sigh knowing they won't read about themselves in next week's Daily Mail magazine...


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

I think you're right - I came from Epping Forest area - worked in London , but had the peace of the village to come back to &amp; the forest to ride in . Why did I leave ? ( got married &amp; couldn't afford to buy as much as a garden shed there ! )

BTW - I used to shelf stack a few years ago to help with the livery bills for my horse . We used to start late , but if there were any customers in the store they had the same attitude as L.J - ' No use asking her where the maple syrup is , they're all thick '- grrrrrrrrrrrrr


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## cronkmooar (8 September 2009)

QR

Is there no one on here that can enlighten me as to what illy coffee is  or is everybody as much as a philistine as I am ??


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## Mithras (8 September 2009)

I think one of the reasons there is so much bad behaviour in Britain today (lager louts, football hooligans, neds, feral children, petty vandalism) is due in part to the readieness to verbally crucify people for being "slightly annoying".  

Liz Jones' trademark journalistic style is slightly tongue in cheeck and brutally honest.  If she were a man she would be viewed fondly as a Jeremy Clarkson type figure and feature on a "Wierd Fancies" list.  But because she is a single woman and *gulp* goodness forbid, a single childless woman, she is subjected to all sorts of vicious criticism.  

There are so many women out there who are scared to voice an opinion, so firstly I admire one who is not afraid to, even if her opinion may differ from mine (particularly in relation to her fashion column...).  

And secondly, I admire her for not being afraid to speak her mind.  Walk around your average British supermarket and you do see the characters she describes.

However, I do think Liz Jones would be much happier in Surrey.  Surrey was clearly made for her and vice versa.


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## Mithras (8 September 2009)

btw I do belive illy coffee is Islington Coffee.


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## cronkmooar (8 September 2009)

Thanks so much - it has been bothering me all day that I didn't know what it was !!


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## Spudlet (8 September 2009)

Illy coffee is an Italian brand of coffee for cafetieres and percolators and things..... you plebs 
	
	
		
		
	


	













As for Liz Jones..... good grief


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## cronkmooar (8 September 2009)

Any more explanations of what this damn coffee is ??? 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I am happy to admit I am that pleb 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 but in my defense I don't drink coffee - what ever is the matter with a nice cup of Tetley ??


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

I don't drink coffee either - prefer yer actual Tetleys with loads of sugar


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## Spudlet (8 September 2009)

Tea? TEA?????? 
	
	
		
		
	


	






I would die without coffee... there is no blood in my veins just caffeine! 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Having read through some of Liz Jones' archive out of sheer curiosity / boredom I actually feel a bit sorry for her - boy does she ever have issues! Just a shame she chooses to do her therapy in a national newspaper... 
	
	
		
		
	


	





ETA: Nescafe instant works for me though. I need to get my caffeine hits fast!


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## red marksman (8 September 2009)

I heard her on Woman's Hour this morning. She said that the only person she had ever criticised was herself . I have never read her columns and was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt but I did get the feeling that she was very defensive and a bit prickly- not ideal characteristics if you are trying to fit into a community. However I don't think her comments warrant physical attacks on her property- they will be shouting 'Witch!!' next - I thought we had moved on as a civilisation from all that.


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

Not in Norfolk , we haven't  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 . A woman wrote to the local paper saying Norfolk people were thick &amp; inbred - she had to be moved to a safe house   
	
	
		
		
	


	





After nearly 25 years living here , I am still ' A Foreigner '


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## Spudlet (8 September 2009)

I moved to Norfolk too and I'm still alive 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 TBH if you write nasty letters in the local paper expressing your distaste for a huge group of people you have to expect grief - although needing police protection does seem a little severe!

However I have a pressing question - Hunter wellies. Are they really for townies? Really??? Cos I've had mine for years and they're great and I don't want to feel the need to get new ones....

In mitigation they have mud and poo on them and the buckles have gone rusty - does this help?


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## kombikids (8 September 2009)

im with you - a revolting woman from her portrayal in her column/book. i wonder how much she writes is actually true, because if it is she does have serious issues. i guess tho if she wrote about how great and happy she was she wouldnt get so much publicity.

i wish someone would come along and take all her money away and then she would actually realise how bl**dy hard it is to live in the west country for the majoirty of people and would start having to worry about real issues rather than all the rubbish that she thinks is important.


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## muffinino (8 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
 Her parting shot was that she's moving to Wales. I'm not keen on the Welsh but they don't deserve her as a neighbour. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Sh&amp;t, I'm moving to England then! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Also, what's wrong with the Welsh, may I ask?


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## Spot_the_Risk (8 September 2009)

I have no idea who Liz Jones is, obviously never buying a national paper is a good move!


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
I moved to Norfolk too and I'm still alive 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 TBH if you write nasty letters in the local paper expressing your distaste for a huge group of people you have to expect grief - although needing police protection does seem a little severe!

However I have a pressing question - Hunter wellies. Are they really for townies? Really??? Cos I've had mine for years and they're great and I don't want to feel the need to get new ones....

In mitigation they have mud and poo on them and the buckles have gone rusty - does this help? 

[/ QUOTE ]


I got a pair of Hunter welies when I first moved here - lived in a village that had no pavements , so they were ideal for crossing the green to get to the shop . They lasted for years &amp; were only replaced when I had to stop riding . Got Joules ones now , although the fit is poor ( baggy around the ankles .)

I think a lot of people don't realise that poverty isn't just confined to inner-city &amp; urban areas . Public transport is very poor here - you really do need a car to get you to your job ( &amp; jobs are scarce . )

Living in Essex , we had great public transport - the tube , buses , etc . My husband ( owner of black Hunter wellies , btw  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 ) , took driving lessons as soon as we got here which was just as well .

I'm with you though - what wellies should we incomers wear ?


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
I have no idea who Liz Jones is, obviously never buying a national paper is a good move! 

[/ QUOTE ]

Trust me - you're better off not knowing


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## cronkmooar (8 September 2009)

Have to agree with the hunters comment - never owned a pair in my life.  They have always given me the impression that those that wear them are just playing at being the out door type  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 sorry all hunter fans

What you need to do is get down the local traders and buy some of the dunlop steel toe cap ones £11.99 last for years total bargin


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## zsmm4 (8 September 2009)

LOL


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## k1963 (8 September 2009)

Aw , I loved my Hunters 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Mind you , I'm a surbanite really , so might get myself a pair


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## Ravenwood (8 September 2009)

Grrr - don't get me started again!!

She does NOT live on Exmoor - her house is outside the National Park Boundary.  She is on the outskirts of a village just a couple of miles out of town - she is NOT isolated, remote or on the moors.   

Come on everyone, sit up and smell the coffee - she has just released a book and now she has a peppered mail box that has caused hysteria in the media - what do you think?

She thought it was fine that her dog worried and killed sheep for Gods Sake - she cannot ride her horse without her horse behaviouralist walking with her, etc etc. 

The house she bought was beautiful and ok so yes she has had builders in and employs a gardener - so do most of the retired Home Counties people that buy houses here.

I could go on and on - but it just makes me so cross!


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## CorvusCorax (8 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]

Come on everyone, sit up and smell the coffee  

[/ QUOTE ]


Would that be Illy coffee?

God, I am an Irish muck savage and even I know it is a swanky Italian brand


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## PippiPony (9 September 2009)

"even I know it is a swanky Italian brand "
In a shiny silver tin with red writing.
*the only reason i know is coz i went &amp; looked for it in waitrose yesterday to see what the fuss was about*


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## BBH (9 September 2009)

I've a lot to learn - thought all coffee was wet  [ QUOTE ]


[/ QUOTE ] 



LOL - Wet = without foam/ froth whatever you wanna call it


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## k1963 (9 September 2009)

Thanks - I get it now


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## Spudlet (9 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]


What you need to do is get down the local traders and buy some of the dunlop steel toe cap ones £11.99 last for years total bargin 
	
	
		
		
	


	





[/ QUOTE ]

Sod that, I refuse to buy new wellies until my current pair actually disintegrate and fall from my feet - now that's country


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## Weezy (9 September 2009)

ARGH this woman gets my goat - good on (bugger, forgotten her name already) Johnson for saying her piece.

When I moved here no one came to say hello either, I felt rather insulted, but over the 5 years we have been here we have got out there and made friends!  It is no good sitting and griping if you have not made an effort either.  I was lucky that I had made a couple of local friends from here (great for that sort of thing!) as I was leaving all of my *real* friends behind - all of these new people are now my *real* friends and the others are good friends who I see once or twice a year!

Shot pellets in the mail box - HA HA, she was asking for that by putting something shiny and new on her fence!


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## Swirlymurphy (9 September 2009)

You're nothing until you've worn plastic bags in your wellies because they've got so many holes in 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I live in Surrey and I didn't know what Illy coffee was either - does that make me an outsider too?

Nor do I shop in Waitrose actually.  I don't have Hunters either.  And oh larks, my children go to state school.

Blimey I'm such a pleb


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## Spudlet (9 September 2009)

Do bread bags under your riding boots to stop your feet from freezing right off in winter count?

I don't think we have a Waitrose round here


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## the watcher (9 September 2009)

QR

To address a couple of issues - I don't think Liz Jones is being vilified because she is a woman specifically. Yes Jeremy Clarkson makes many similar observations but he does it with wit and charm, he is hugely supportive to the community in which he lives, giving up his time to charitable events, shopping locally (and if he wants fancy Italian coffee he has the good sense to go to the nearest Waitrose and not whine). LJ appears to have very few of these redeeming features.

The critical mistake she has made in her column is to be too personal, to identify herself too clearly, so that what might have been an occasional entertianing read, but work partly of fiction or at least exaggeration, is now interpreted as the truth and her opinion.


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## HumBugsey (9 September 2009)

Can I point out that Illy coffee isn't even very good..... it's just another brand, not "real" coffee. You get it in vending machines! lol

Oh I have hunters! I love them, but they are the only pair I've ever had and are 10years old and still going strong! I like fitted wellies and I think they were on offer when I got them... lol

It makes me laugh about her being "on" exmoor, everyone in ND thinks they are on exmoor. South Molton is apparently "The Gateway to Exmoor" yet.... it's 2 miles from the border and to get to it you have to cross a spur of the moor! PMSL


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## k1963 (9 September 2009)

A Hunter welly fan !( Mine were a bit manky as they'd been in the shop window &amp; were a bit sun damaged . ) Lasted for years though &amp; I got them cheap as they were shop soiled .  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I've been to South Molton , very nice , but hardly the back of beyond - now if we were talking about The Isle Of Skye , I could understand - thought I was going to fall off the edge of the world , if you see what I mean


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## Swirlymurphy (9 September 2009)

Bread bags....good idea! 

Digressing slightly - did anyone hear Stephen Fry on Just a Minute when he said the purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the oiks out of Waitrose?  Hysterical, until I realised that meant I was an oik!

Let's face it there will always be places where 'newcomers' find it difficult to settle in - but it doesn't have to end in open warfare.  Get active in village life, get out there, get involved with the schools/hunt/pony club etc etc and start meeting people.  

I think as someone said earlier, it is no coincidence that Ms Jones has a book out and the publicity - good or bad - will mean that sales go up.  She's a canny operator.


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## zsmm4 (9 September 2009)

I've just read the Rachel Johnson article from the link. Excellent, well put, to the point.


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## Spudlet (9 September 2009)

Sainsburys? You posho, I'm an Asda and Lidl girl myself so goodness know what that makes me in the eyes of Ms Jones - one step up from pond scum I expect 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Re bread bags - they never really worked that well, I just ended up with sweaty yet cold feet that had Hovis printed across them where the printing on the bag rubbed pff and crumbs between my toes 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Now I just wear as many pairs of socks as I can fit on instead!


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## k1963 (9 September 2009)

I've got a Waitrose where I live - ner , ner , ner , ner , ner  
	
	
		
		
	


	









Can't join in the bread bag debate as since becoming Mrs . Menopause , I feel boiling in the coldest weather !

Wonder if Ms.Jones has read any of this thread ?


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## JM07 (9 September 2009)

she is a whinging old trout...

typical townie moves to the country...


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## fatpiggy (9 September 2009)

Ha, the Welsh will probably burn her house down!!!  The woman is revolting and not even a good writer. She does nothing but moan on about her lot. I heard her on the radio a couple of days ago and frankly, to hear a grown adult talking like that, it was pathetic.  Nothing but poor little me, mainly because I'm childless and single. Well, no man would go within a million miles of her frankly. The only thing she is interested in is money and how to lord it about over people. She knows full well that she is insulting people but is such an attention-seeker that she just keeps on doing it. So she gives loads to charity - big deal. I personally know of a gentleman, now sadly dead, who single-handedly raised over £1M for charity and entertained lots of people in the process. He wasn't rich, just an ordinary person in the street. He was never recognised for his efforts, and probably didn't want any recognition either. Apparently she lets all the locals ride their horses in her school for free. Ooh, wow,  - more fool her.


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## henryhorn (9 September 2009)

I had an embarrassing moment then, thinking do I claim to live on Dartmoor when the actual moor is 5 mins up the road, then realised I do live within the National Park so reckon I'm not telling porkies..!
Interesting to read so many people agree with me, I would place bets on her selling up and moving after the recent fuss, but learn any lessons? I very much doubt it...


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## combat_claire (9 September 2009)

What Liz Jones has done is cause untold damage to a fragile economy that relies hugely on tourism. People are reading what she writes and staying away, that combined with showing no desire to integrate has rightly gotten people hot under the collar. 

The articles paint everyone on Exmoor as smelly, unfriendly, with crap food and 70s decor. Having recently returned from holiday in Exford I can confirm that she couldn't be further from the truth - slightly eccentric locals, but their food was excellent, the beer a little too drinkable ;-) and everyone more than welcoming. In fact it is so good I'm going back to see my new friends on Friday for the weekend.


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## Swirlymurphy (9 September 2009)

oooh where are you staying in Exford?  Our friends have just bought the Edgcott House hotel there and are doing it up.  They've had a fantastic welcome from everyone and wish they'd made the move sooner.

Just wish we could make the move too.  With any luck the only people that will believe Liz Jones will be people like her and frankly who wants them.

Just off to empty the bread bag so that I've got something to wear tomorrow (when trolling through Waitrose having a sneaky look at the Illy coffee before going to Sainsbury's to do my shop)


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## Tinkerbee (9 September 2009)

For all you inbred barbarians 
	
	
		
		
	


	




Illy coffee is a very average yet over priced  brand of coffee. It is typically served in naff little "coffee shops" that like to think they are continental and chic, but are in fact drab, and the type of business that keeps the paper doily industry alive.


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## Tinypony (9 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
  People are reading what she writes and staying away

[/ QUOTE ]  Oh come on, that sounds a bit unlikely.  How can you prove that?  That's certainly not reflected in the comments she gets for her articles.
I tell you one thing, I don't think I'll write my book about my horsey experiences yet - people might recognise themselves.


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## Sugarplum Furry (9 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]

I tell you one thing, I don't think I'll write my book about my horsey experiences yet - people might recognise themselves.   
	
	
		
		
	


	









[/ QUOTE ]

That's half the fun of reading a book written by someone you know isn't it?


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## spaniel (9 September 2009)

The sooner that awful woman gets off the moor and shacks up in Windsor the better.  She makes my blood boil and gives credence to my long held view that anyone wanting access to the area should be required to apply for a short term visa.


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## Tinypony (9 September 2009)

I wonder what would happen to her little menagerie of animal unwanted if she moved away?  Like any of us, I'm sure she would be devastated to have to lose them.


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## spaniel (9 September 2009)

Im sure they would breathe a collective sigh of relief.  It must be overpowering being one of her 'pets'.


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## zsmm4 (9 September 2009)

does that include the rats?


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## MooMoo (9 September 2009)

QR

I've only recently heard about this Liz woman recently through HHO. Got to say she sounds a total cow. I couldnt give a toss she's been through a divorce or whatever, so do many people these days but not all of them start slagging of random groups of people in the press!

I'm a "townie" but one day I hope I'll be able to live in a rural place. Luckily for me I have the gift of (at least a little) common sense so hopefully no-one will be shooting a my property (or me!).


Sorry, but you cant expect to insult people in a national newspaper and for them to turn around and say "no worries! we'll like you anyway". 

Cant stand the heat n all....


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## BeckyD (10 September 2009)

Who is Liz Jones?


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## Mithras (10 September 2009)

I digress, but I had a rather odd experience with my Hunters.  I never wanted a pair but a blue pair appeared in my tack box at my livery yard, in exactly my (extremely small) foot size.  I tried leaving them outside it, in the hope they would go away.  No-one touched them.  In the end I've been forced to wear them, and really, at a muddy show, considering they were free, they are not bad!


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## k1963 (10 September 2009)

Were they size 3 ? I'd had have them   
	
	
		
		
	


	





Or even - I'd have had them ( sorry , late &amp; very tired  
	
	
		
		
	


	




  )


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## Mithras (10 September 2009)

4 1/2.  Exactly 4 1/2.  It was very strange.  Seemed new or newish.  Maybe I have a wierd stalker who leaves me horsy presents in my tack box.  If so, I wouldn't mind a new winter t/o rug...


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## k1963 (11 September 2009)

Sounds like you might have a secret admirer on the yard - hope it's not a stalker tho


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## bahumbug (11 September 2009)

Have to confess I used to read the Mail on Sunday - got a sort of sneaking pleasure of being so irritated by this woman's fatuous behaviour but when she started writing drivel about a married man I called time on buying the stupid paper. 
She clearly doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself and her self obsession and lack of regard for her fellow human beings is frankly abhorrent. 
Feel sorry for her poor animals!


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