To think Liz Jones is a bitter and twisted old hag?

I warm to CB.. though I only know her via her TV work..never met her or read much by or about her. She may be an awful person but nothing I have gleaned about her from my limited experience suggests this!

LJ I did not know until I read a comment on this thread about her being the woman who moved to the country and upset the locals ... I read about that in my daily (not Mail!)

I have never read anything by her. I agree that cruelty to animals should not be condoned but if I had a newspaper column cruelty to animals might not be my priority causenor would slagging of other women in such a 'bitchy' way. If CB does condone excessive use of the whip in horse racing then write about that!

LJs style of writing (if the OP article is typical) is cheap and shallow.

The famous ones often do have the time of their lives, crimson. It's the unsuccessful ones who are sold or abandoned that deserve a good turn. Liz Jones is doing them no favours.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L02Ovb-83Vs

Can't argue that there isn't a dark side to racing but the above [if it works] interview at least shows the sort of life that Ballabriggs has had thus far and will have on retirement.

Jeez. There's a Clare Balding appreciation society a goin on (must be some music to accompany that). She does a great job commentating on various sports.

Horse racing - and the ethics thereof, another issue. Crimson nice you follow a blog about your favourite racehorse but why do you think he races - he likes it?

Liz Jones: just seems to bring out so much vitriol in people, not sure why. I like the fact she cares for her animals (child subistutes ok) at a huge expense to herself. She pays for her Mum in her care home, she funds various relatives. She likes Prada and massages - so what? She pays for them herself and never asks a man to pay for anything. Completely self made woman. Go sisters {grin]

Perhaps if she stopped telling us how much she helps her family we would like her more - and so would they!

She isn't real!

Sel; I'm bemused by your somewhat sneering attitude towards my love of racing given that you admit that you have bought, raced and sold on horses without any thought of their future welfare.

Could you define my 'sneering' attitude Crimson, given what I have said?

I googled LJ to find out about her ..this was the top of the Google list!

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/16/liz-jones-inundated-cash-offers

Lots of people help their family, and make no secret of it. What's wrong with that, Greatnan?

Ughhh, Can't stand Liz Jones, she appears to expect everyone to bow and scrape to her, we too moved to the West Country and contrary to her reports of the people being horrid to her, we have found them great, it all depends on how you treat people yourself, if she is always miserable and argumentative, that is what she will get back,she needs to learn that you can get a lot more with a spoonful of honey or sugar than you can with vinegar. O.k.she has helped out some of her family but she seems to want them to continuously bow and scrape to her in gratitude, you can't buy love you have to earn it. Oh I must stop preaching, but by reading her diaries in the YOU magazine on a Sunday I would say she is a very sad unhappy person and whoever tries to befriend her she turns them away, how sad.

Crikey, Crimson, is that link supposed to show people who actually care about the horses or itetify men who've made huge amounts of money out of them?

She's a fiction!

nanaej that was 2010

No she's not, Lilygran. Why do you keep saying that?

Lilygran she isn't. I'm pleased to say.

We're turning into Mumsnet

Did you actually watch the link Sel. The man breeds endangered breeds of horse and also breeds racehorses. He made his money in other ways. How dare you critiscise him when you just sold yours on to the Arabs. Did you make a profit on them by the way or did you just want to get rid because they weren't winning races for you?

Liz Jones (whose columns I admit to regularly reading) appears to me to be a very clever journalist who has invented a character about whom she writes.

Crimson jump racing is very different to the flat. How dare I ? I was trying to tell you that horseracing is a business, nothing more, nothing less. Just don't bring horses into it - as animals. That's why I do have respect for Liz Jones. Depends really if people who think racing is some sort of benign 'sport of kings' believe it. And having listened to the whole of the link...what on earth did you think he was referring to, other than the value of the horse to him?

Lilygran I would agree with you but as regards animals, she actually seems true to what she writes. Hopefully

'old hag' is a nasty phrase.

I used to love her Sunday Times column about the search for a boyfriend - then at The Mail she wrote very wittily and poignantly about her short-lived marriage and break-up. I used to look forward to her column but it went seriously downhill with the move to Somerset. Now I don't bother to look at it most weeks, all that rubbish about how poor she is and the secret rock star boyfriend!

I'm not a racing fan so until the Olympics didn't know much about Clare Balding, only the publicity when she humiliated a winning jockey live on national TV by referring to his terrible teeth!

I'm quite bemused by the press and BBC who are being overly generous in their praise of CB, trying to turn her into the nation's favourite lesbian and a 'national treasure'

riverwalk I agree, she's good but this good? She's being elevated beyond anything I've known. Wonder if she'd been male would everyone get so excited {smile]

And what is the value of Ballabriggs then?