Private Eye

[Man of Harveys]

From the latest Private Eye's "Nooks and Corners"...take a deep breath before reading on. Personally, I've always found Ian Hislop to be a geeky and repulsive little snob, as well as one of those hairy objects found at the top of women's legs. This only confirms it:

"Talking of our beloved DPM, it is not just the North that is suffering from his blinkered adherence to destructive and outdated planning policies[...] A measure of his department's skill is that it has just decided to allow the building of a 23,000-seater football stadium in Village Way, Falmer, Sussex, even though it means a huge overweening structure, with attendant nuisances and traffic, will now rise in the Sussex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty.

Brighton 'n' [sic] Hove Albion FC had sold its old stadium in 1997 to make a killing, despite not having anywhere permanent to go, which was a little foolish. The Falmer proposal was made in 2001 and opposed by Lewes District Council as well as by the unfortunate village. Well, too bad."

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I have always found him very amusing and enjoy "Have I got news for you" and Private Eye. It is not to be taken that seriously.

Although in this case........Either he is ill-informed or he is right. Brighton and Hove Albion (owned by Archer and Stanley) did make a killing at the time.

 

[Gully]

...I used to think he was funny, now I am left feeling somewhat deflated, he is nothing more than a silly little ***********! (insert your own expletive please, your choice)

 

[Man of Harveys]

I have always found him very amusing and enjoy "Have I got news for you" and Private Eye. It is not to be taken that seriously.

Ah - I guess that risible distortion of the facts is just meant to be "funny" then. I seem to be missing the joke in it myself, to be completely honest, but hey.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Private Eye doesn't have a big staff and someone - probably Hislop - obviously knows people among the Falmer antis. This isn't the first one of these over the past couple of years.

 

[Grendel]

Private Eye started going downhill a few years back now. I don't bother with it anymore.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Ah - I guess that risible distortion of the facts is just meant to be "funny" then. I seem to be missing the joke in it myself, to be completely honest, but hey.

I don't agree with it, but it is factual. You can't deny that. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, what Private eye thinks. If everyone that was abused in this rag got on their high horse and kicked up a fuss, there would be many people upset. We have the stadium. It doesn't matter what they think.

Apart from the overweening bit obviously.

 

[El Presidente]

Hislop does not write the 'Nooks and Corners' section of the Eye, FACT'

 

[The Large One]

From the latest Private Eye's "Nooks and Corners"...take a deep breath before reading on. Personally, I've always found Ian Hislop to be a geeky and repulsive little snob, as well as one of those hairy objects found at the top of women's legs. This only confirms it:

"Talking of our beloved DPM, it is not just the North that is suffering from his blinkered adherence to destructive and outdated planning policies[...] A measure of his department's skill is that it has just decided to allow the building of a 23,000-seater football stadium in Village Way, Falmer, Sussex, even though it means a huge overweening structure, with attendant nuisances and traffic, will now rise in the Sussex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty.

Brighton 'n' [sic] Hove Albion FC had sold its old stadium in 1997 to make a killing, despite not having anywhere permanent to go, which was a little foolish. The Falmer proposal was made in 2001 and opposed by Lewes District Council as well as by the unfortunate village. Well, too bad."

Several facts wrong there, but as someone who wrote in to them in 1993, I do know that their research is pretty lousy. Somone has got one side of the story, and they do not actually bother chekcing up on the facts. There is one slant on the story, with heresay and innuendo used to justify or fill in any gaps. It clearly does not mention the site's hinterlands containing a university, a major office complex, a railway line and a trunk road with its attendant nuisance and traffic.

If you write to them, you often find that they will print your letter pointing out errors.

Point in case...

1. The club did not sell the ground, the chairman did without the prior knowledge of the rest of the board. When questioned by the rest of the board, the fans and the media, he initially denied the sale.

2. The club did not make a killing, the chairman did. The initial sale was used to pay off debts. What happened from the re-sale a year later is anyone's guess.

3. The chairman sold the stadium in 1995, not 1997.

4. The Falmer proposal was made in 1998, but only went to planning committee in 2001.

5. The fact that Lewes District Council opposed it is a side issue - the vast majority of the project (and all of the stadium) is in Brighton & Hove, making it beyond Lewes' jurisdiction. The planning authority in question (Brighton & Hove City Council) overwehlmingly backed the project.

Either Private Eye was not made aware of these facts, or they chose to ignore them to have a swipe at Prescott. Either way, it's like they said - too bad.

 

[Gwylan]

I've already written the letter.

It's no good having a go at Hislop about this, he might not even have seen the copy.

Nooks and Crannies (and other specialist parts of the mag) are written by ' insiders' who claim to have some specialist knowledge. In this case, this 'insider' has clearly spent the last few years inside some some sort of institution.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

All too predictable I am afraid. The trouble with this for Private Eye is that when they write about something you do know about - and choose not to understand what they write - it makes you doubt all the rest of the articles.

 

[lost in london]

Who cares? We've got Falmer!!

:dance: :dance: :dance: :mexican: :mexican: :mexican:

 

[withdeanwombat]

Hislop is as famous for his lack of sporting knowledge as he is for his schoolboy wit.

No surprise,then,that this piece is total bullshine.

Actually,I'm surprised anybody saw this piece.Thought Private Eye was taken only by those who cannot afford a proper fly-swatter.

An Honorary NIMBY,and no more.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Hislop is as famous for his lack of sporting knowledge as he is for his schoolboy wit.

No surprise,then,that this piece is total bullshine.

Actually,I'm surprised anybody saw this piece.Thought Private Eye was taken only by those who cannot afford a proper fly-swatter.

An Honorary NIMBY,and no more.

He knows his cricket.

My friend plays cricket with him for Sissinghurst. Very genial chap, with a great sense of humour. Not to be taken personally. Perhaps a nooks and crannies follow up of nimbies is in order.

 

[Little Piggy]

Thing is you had to suspect it was going to happen. Its just a chance to swipe at politicians again, which is what the mag does best. This time it was related to BHAFC, big deal. Can you really imagine them hearing of the basic "facts" (Politician "enemy" lets football club "enemy" build home in countryside "friend" next to a village "friend") and them then coming down against the little villagers against the poor, innocent government? As often happens, they publish a "clever" piece on what they have discovered as if they just revealed the truth behind all the conspiricies in the world, even though everyone local to the issue knows all about it. Then the next week it is refuted in the letters pages and shown as rubbish.

I actually enjoy Private Eye, I think it is often interesting and funny. But I don't really take much of it seriously, its just food for thought.

 

[attila]

They are fully aware of what Archer did to us and choose to ignore it, because it doesn't fit into their story. And the 'Brighton 'n' Hove' gives it away - they are a bunch of football hating snobs! Private Eye - emergency toilet accessory rather than reading material!

 

[Rougvie]

Anyone who reads Private Eye on a regular basis would not be bothered by this in the slightest, as Alan points out its not the first time they have had a pop, in fact PI is extremely anti football anyway, Darlington, Arsenal (particularly) and Bournemouth's statia have all been victims in the last few years, Hislop detests football and makes a point of nit picking and complaining about new football stadiums, but would be the first to gloat if someone got hurt in an od rickety one.

You cant win with SATIRE.

 

[The Large One]

Does Lewes District Council's waste of £207,000 (and rising) on such a pointless exercise make them prime candidates for the 'Rotten Boroughs' feature?

 

[Bluejuice]

Does Lewes District Council's waste of £207,000 (and rising) on such a pointless exercise make them prime candidates for the 'Rotten Boroughs' feature?

Bang on!

I had already planned on writing a letter on this poorly researched piece, but that has just sealed it for me.

It is unfair to blame Hislop though, it's unlikely that he had anything to do with Nooks & Corners in this issue or any other. But it is fair to say that as a whole they are not very pro football.

It is sad they've chosen to reel off this rubbish without doing their background, and it does make you wonder about the reliability of the rest of the stories in the Eye.

Disappointing

 

[withdeanwombat]

He knows his cricket.

My friend plays cricket with him for Sissinghurst. Very genial chap, with a great sense of humour. Not to be taken personally. Perhaps a nooks and crannies follow up of nimbies is in order.

Oh yes! Sissinghurst,home of the White Garden,and host to french prisoners during the Napoleonic wars ( home win ).

Also famous for its chocolate box cottages,and lack of a football stadium. Refuge for genial chaps,and possible Relocation,Relocation venue for Falmer nimbys.

BYOD.(Bring your own ducks......for pond,and flanneled oafs.)