Sunday, March 21, 2010

Nigel Farage: 'Fighting Bull' Published Tomorrow

When a profile/interview begins with the words...
I’m quite relieved that Nigel Farage MEP has only one testicle.

... you kind of know that what follows isn't going to be particularly helpful. And so it proved with Camilla Long's article in today's Sunday Times, linked to the publication of Nigel Farage's memoirs, FIGHTING BULL (pub Biteback, £17.99 tomorrow).

She clearly didn't "get" Nigel, and probably set out with the intention of writing a rather spiteful piece. In that, she certainly succeeded. But don't let it put you off his book, which is a great read, whether you support his politics or not.

Buy the book HERE.

UPDATE: Nigel's Press Officer, Gawain Towler, has a bit of background to Camilla Long's interview HERE. This is how it concludes...

I will tell you what is odious. The fact that on Friday, just after Farage had delivered a barnstormer of a speech at the Milton Keynes conference I recieved a phone call. It was Camilla Long,
"Look Gawain", she said, "I am really sorry to ask you this but the editors have told me to",
"What's that?" I said,
"They want me to ask which one of his balls was removed after his cancer".
You want odious? I would suggest even asking that question is pretty bloody impertinent and cheap, and I told her so, but she persisted. So I agreed to ask, but told her not to expect a particularly forthcoming answer.

When I asked Farage, he was, unusually for him somewhat put out, but after saying that he though it a cheap shot he then he recovered his normal poise,
"Tell her if she is so bloody interested that she can come over and check herself".
So I called her back and told her, both that he felt is tawdry, but if she must then that is his coment.

Or as she puts it..
...two days later when I call his press officer to confirm which testicle he had removed. Farage has just given his party conference speech and is in high spirits. “Tell her to come and find out, ha-ha-ha!” he shouts over the din.
So do tell me, who is vile and odious?


What a piece of work.

17 comments:

TheBoilingFrog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Newmania said...

UKIP-is “the BNP in blazers” says Camilla Long , that is an outrageous slur. Left wing women viscerally hate right wing men don`t they. Her ardour seems to be what you might call professional ,judging by this sick making Order Of The Brown Nose entry … “.admit it. I have a secret, embarrassing crush on Gordon Brown. Actually, it's not that secret because as soon as I discovered it - right about the time he coolly chose not to wear a stetson to meet George W Bush - I started to confess it to everybody like an awkward case of athlete's foot. He's a real man,” ……..barf

Conservative Ad Man said...

It's a vile hit piece.

See here:
http://englandexpects.blogspot.com/2010/03/we-must-be-doing-something-right.html

Malcolm Redfellow said...

We know who is vile and odious. It is (reformed? re-educated?) totally-absolutely-not-homophobic, absolutely-never-ever-sectarian Adrian Watson, the UUP nominee for the final Northern Ireland UCUNF place. Funnily enough, had he been all those things and more, he'd have been a worthy contender for the Rev. William McCrea's mantle. All of which is why South Antrim is the only Northern Irish constituency without an agreed UCUNF candidate.

The only remaining question is who is the Tory that the UUP similarly black-balled.

Malcolm Redfellow said...

My previous post (which still remains in the pipe-line ... am I black-listed here, too?) wondered who was the Tory nominee unacceptable to the UUP, in the South Antrim game of mutually-assured destruction.

I hear it is the admirable Margaret McVeigh (this is now confirmed by an insider posting on Slugger O'Toole). Now, come on ... this is ridiculous.

Unknown said...

Nasty, yes. But Farage isn't exactly Mr Nice himself. If I lived in the right place, he's about the only thing that would make me vote for Bercow.

Jimmy said...

“the BNP in blazers”

Spot on I'd say.

Tom said...

Where on earth do they dig these frustrated harridans up from ?
To call schoolteachers "constipated" and publicans "depressives", is really schoolgirl scribble.

With Summer approaching I suggest that she goes strawberry picking, writing serious profiles is NOT her forte !

ukipwebmaster said...

I guess we'll have to put up with more of this as the election draws near....

PS You were right to hang up on that radio presenter Iain.

Unknown said...

Normally I'd agree with you.. uncalled for against anyone.

But after the spiteful vitriol he poured on van Rompuy, I fear the gander is tasting the sauce.

Gerry57 said...

Our unelected President deserves all the scorn that Nigel Farage throws at him. The rest of them meekly accept the imposition of a President over Europe with a higher salary than Obama. Mr. van Rompuy wants to set up a World Government and we can like it or lump it.

When 'our beloved President' finally visits his people in the former UK, I won't be one of those cheering and throwing tickertape.
As for Baroness Ashton :- couldn't they have given the job of European Minister of Foreign Affairs to someone who speaks more than one language ?
This comparison of UKIP to BNP is totally unjustified. It's like comparing Brown to Mao-Tse Tung.........oh hang on a minute !

Scary Biscuits said...

Is this the same Camilla Long who wrote in the Observer Oh, Gordon, take me now?

BushBaby said...

What she wrote was a condescending piece of work full of snide and arrogance, (well she is called Camilla)
She should stick to writing articles on polo match's or what the cognoscenti of St Moritz are wearing on the piste this year.
What a devious obfuscater she is.
Anyway the comments on her article were all deriding her not Nigel Farrage.

Anonymous said...

Iain, would this have been asked if it was a women who had,had breast cancer?

Malcolm Redfellow said...

Sorry: let me get this absolutely right.

You are complaining about the Sunday Times? Really? Why suddenly expect standards after all these years?

You are disappointed also in the personal journalistic merit of Ms Long? Don't you recall her plagiarism, ripped off from the US Radar? For heaven's sake: her CV is Vogue (allegedly as little more than an intern), then to the Tatler, and, finally, the stellar heights of deputy editor of the ST's Style (the knicker pull-out for raunchy wannabes, and for lads who can't get a knee-trembler elsewhere). Even Iain Dale has a better track-record than that!

I'm not a great student these days of Mr Dale's Diary (he chooses to iggy-button me when I post), so I cannot know whether the rest of the PressGazette blog has gone unreported. It goes like this, as Rambling Sid would have added, rollicking but redolent:

' “Look Gawain”, she said, “I am really sorry to ask you this but the editors have told me to.”

' “What’s that?” I said.

' “They want me to ask which one of his balls was removed after his cancer”.

' At Fleet Street Blues they’re impressed: “Never let it be said that the Sunday Times‘ subs aren’t sticklers for factual accuracy.”

' Sticklers for accuracy? Presumably those are the same subs who failed to spot the word “abuse” missing from a sub-head that consequently read: “Film of him hurling in Brussels got him fined £2,700 and 40,000 hits on YouTube”.

' Perhaps that’s going to be Mr Farage’s next trick.'

Jimmy said...

Perhaps there is a scientific link between the condition and an interest in far right politics.

Malcolm Redfellow said...

Gosh! I'm published again!

Because I didn't want to outstay my welcome with that earlier post [@ 7:53 PM], I omitted one detail in Ms Long's plagiarism of Radar:

"Have taken more than one cell phone picture of your genitals?", became on the Sunday Times list, "Have ever taken more than one mobile-phone photograph of your genitals?".

Now, is there a pattern emerging here?