Monstering Inc.
David Cameron's postcards home from his TWELVE holidays in three years
Like Judith Chalmers (in a drag outfit of dark polo shirt, shorts and loafers) he’s been chillaxing for England
Getty
The Daily Mail newspaper does a hatchet job with the nasty piece below on Bob Crow, the leader of the RMT trade union, whom I happen to think is one of the more honest and straightforward of Britain's union bosses - even if I disagree with much of his politics.
I have deleted all the accompanying photographs from the Daily Mail piece as I think it's a gross invasion of Bob Crow's privacy and that he's entitled, like anyone else, to relax while on holiday and to do what he likes with his own money.
All I would point out is that other people in the public eye should expect the self-same treatment, even Government ministers, yet every holiday time the tabloid newspapers do their best to reduce politics to an ugly pantomime.
If you ask me, all this 'monstering' of people in the public eye is a disgrace and whoever is on the receiving end, the newspapers involved should be ashamed of their behaviour - particularly in the light of the Leveson Inquiry which was supposed to be about standards of behaviour in the press, and not just phone hacking.
And it's not just the Daily Mail that behaves in this way, of course, because the strap line and photo at the top of this post are from The Mirror newspaper.
High life of Bob, the lobster-red baron: With his members set to bring misery to commuters this week, rail union boss Crow escapes to sip cocktails in Rio sunshine
£145,000-a-year union firebrand enjoys £10,000 holiday
Sizzles on Copacabana beach after enjoying £7,000 luxury cruise
'Sang karaoke and quaffed wine and champagne from poolside bar'
Now back home at to his tax-payer funded London council house
Last month he called for militant action to stop ‘rich getting richer’
By LOUISE ECCLES and MATT ROPER
Sipping contentedly from a coconut and baking on a golden beach in his Bermuda shorts, union boss Bob Crow enjoys a £10,000 holiday as his members prepare to go on strike.
While his comrades working for London Underground prepare to lose money in a bitter dispute, Crow found time for a luxury cruise from Barbados to Brazil.
The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union returns from a three-week jaunt this morning, three days before 10,000 members walk out, threatening travel chaos across the capital for rain-lashed commuters and tourists.
The £145,000-a-year union chief had left his taxpayer-subsidised council house to sail from Barbados to Rio, where he sunned himself on Copacabana beach and shopped in designer boutiques.
His sun-soaked antics may not impress his union members though, who begin their first of two 48-hour strikes in the capital on Tuesday.
Only last month Crow, 53, urged members to take militant action to stop the ‘rich getting richer’.
He said: ‘2014 will be a tough year for Britain’s workers as the Government ratchets up its attacks on workers’ rights and public services.
'Only militant and co-ordinated action across workplaces and communities can stop the bulldozer of austerity.’
But Crow appeared to have dodged the bulldozer of austerity himself, paying £7,700 for a two-week journey aboard the Silver Spirit cruise liner for himself and long-term girlfriend Nicola Hoarau, an RMT office manager.
Those aboard the ship could indulge in unlimited champagne, sushi and caviar. Crow’s suite included a private balcony, marble bathroom, and walk-in wardrobe, while the ship boasts a casino, champagne bar, theatre, spa and beauty salon, and six restaurants.
He boarded on January 15 in Bridgetown, Barbados, and enjoyed stopovers in Grenada; Devil’s Island off French Guiana; and Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon.
He also visited Recife and Salvador, which has some of the most beautiful beaches on the north-east coast of Brazil, before mooring in Rio on January 29.
While in Rio, Crow apparently found time to attack London Underground’s planned closure of ticket offices and Tube chiefs’ efforts to keep the service running during the walkout.
A press release dated January 30 in his name said: ‘RMT is once again appalled that TFL are trying to fool the public into believing that volunteer “ambassadors” can run a safe service as an alternative to experienced and highly trained tube staff.
'That is dangerous and provocative nonsense with potentially lethal implications.’
Another press release said: ‘Important groups of staff will be left vulnerable to abuse and assault as enforced lone working is bulldozed through.’
And last night a third press release quoted him demanding face-to-face talks with mayor Boris Johnson.
Fellow guests aboard the liner said Crow ‘held court’ during the cruise and basked in the attention of ‘hangers-on’.
He was the first up to sing at Monday’s karaoke night and serenaded guests with Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, which includes the apt line: ‘Good times never seemed so good.’
One British holidaymaker told the Daily Mail: ‘He was very loud and pretty rough, which some of the other guests did not like. He sat by the pool most days in a prime position nearest to the bar and drank wine and champagne.
‘He was always showing off. He volunteered to be the first to sing at the karaoke. He was full of swagger, but his singing wasn’t terrible.’
Despite his taste in holidays, Crow continues to live in a three-bedroom council house in Woodford Green, North-East London.
He said recently he had ‘no moral duty’ to move out, saying: ‘I was born in a council house, as far as I’m concerned I will die in one.’
The holidaymaker said: ‘Bob says one thing publicly and then lives a champagne lifestyle. If you go around saying, “Tax the rich”, you probably shouldn’t go on a six-star Caribbean cruise.
'He lives in a state-funded council house, which enables him to go on these kinds of holidays, while the rest of us sweat trying to pay off our mortgages. It is hypocritical.’
On Tuesday Crow left the cruise ship and checked into a £250-a-night five-star hotel on Copacabana beach, before taking a cable car up Sugar Loaf Mountain to take in the views.
Onlookers said he and his girlfriend also spent an hour-and-a-half at top-end jewellers Ben Bros, before emerging with two full white carrier bags containing jewellery boxes.
On Wednesday Crow was seen turning a deep lobster red after lying in the 104F (40C) heat for three hours without reapplying his sun tan lotion.
Suffering from sunburn, he was later seen hobbling painfully back to his hotel, the Windsor Atlantic, with a towel around his neck.
Now back home at to his tax-payer funded London council house
Last month he called for militant action to stop ‘rich getting richer’
By LOUISE ECCLES and MATT ROPER
Sipping contentedly from a coconut and baking on a golden beach in his Bermuda shorts, union boss Bob Crow enjoys a £10,000 holiday as his members prepare to go on strike.
While his comrades working for London Underground prepare to lose money in a bitter dispute, Crow found time for a luxury cruise from Barbados to Brazil.
The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union returns from a three-week jaunt this morning, three days before 10,000 members walk out, threatening travel chaos across the capital for rain-lashed commuters and tourists.
The £145,000-a-year union chief had left his taxpayer-subsidised council house to sail from Barbados to Rio, where he sunned himself on Copacabana beach and shopped in designer boutiques.
His sun-soaked antics may not impress his union members though, who begin their first of two 48-hour strikes in the capital on Tuesday.
Only last month Crow, 53, urged members to take militant action to stop the ‘rich getting richer’.
He said: ‘2014 will be a tough year for Britain’s workers as the Government ratchets up its attacks on workers’ rights and public services.
'Only militant and co-ordinated action across workplaces and communities can stop the bulldozer of austerity.’
But Crow appeared to have dodged the bulldozer of austerity himself, paying £7,700 for a two-week journey aboard the Silver Spirit cruise liner for himself and long-term girlfriend Nicola Hoarau, an RMT office manager.
Those aboard the ship could indulge in unlimited champagne, sushi and caviar. Crow’s suite included a private balcony, marble bathroom, and walk-in wardrobe, while the ship boasts a casino, champagne bar, theatre, spa and beauty salon, and six restaurants.
He boarded on January 15 in Bridgetown, Barbados, and enjoyed stopovers in Grenada; Devil’s Island off French Guiana; and Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon.
He also visited Recife and Salvador, which has some of the most beautiful beaches on the north-east coast of Brazil, before mooring in Rio on January 29.
While in Rio, Crow apparently found time to attack London Underground’s planned closure of ticket offices and Tube chiefs’ efforts to keep the service running during the walkout.
A press release dated January 30 in his name said: ‘RMT is once again appalled that TFL are trying to fool the public into believing that volunteer “ambassadors” can run a safe service as an alternative to experienced and highly trained tube staff.
'That is dangerous and provocative nonsense with potentially lethal implications.’
Another press release said: ‘Important groups of staff will be left vulnerable to abuse and assault as enforced lone working is bulldozed through.’
And last night a third press release quoted him demanding face-to-face talks with mayor Boris Johnson.
Fellow guests aboard the liner said Crow ‘held court’ during the cruise and basked in the attention of ‘hangers-on’.
He was the first up to sing at Monday’s karaoke night and serenaded guests with Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, which includes the apt line: ‘Good times never seemed so good.’
One British holidaymaker told the Daily Mail: ‘He was very loud and pretty rough, which some of the other guests did not like. He sat by the pool most days in a prime position nearest to the bar and drank wine and champagne.
‘He was always showing off. He volunteered to be the first to sing at the karaoke. He was full of swagger, but his singing wasn’t terrible.’
Despite his taste in holidays, Crow continues to live in a three-bedroom council house in Woodford Green, North-East London.
He said recently he had ‘no moral duty’ to move out, saying: ‘I was born in a council house, as far as I’m concerned I will die in one.’
The holidaymaker said: ‘Bob says one thing publicly and then lives a champagne lifestyle. If you go around saying, “Tax the rich”, you probably shouldn’t go on a six-star Caribbean cruise.
'He lives in a state-funded council house, which enables him to go on these kinds of holidays, while the rest of us sweat trying to pay off our mortgages. It is hypocritical.’
On Tuesday Crow left the cruise ship and checked into a £250-a-night five-star hotel on Copacabana beach, before taking a cable car up Sugar Loaf Mountain to take in the views.
Onlookers said he and his girlfriend also spent an hour-and-a-half at top-end jewellers Ben Bros, before emerging with two full white carrier bags containing jewellery boxes.
On Wednesday Crow was seen turning a deep lobster red after lying in the 104F (40C) heat for three hours without reapplying his sun tan lotion.
Suffering from sunburn, he was later seen hobbling painfully back to his hotel, the Windsor Atlantic, with a towel around his neck.
The next morning he went on a tour of the Christ the Redeemer statue and bought himself a baseball cap.
Asked what RMT members might think about his luxury holiday, he said: ‘Well, I’m on leave at the moment.’ Miss Hoarau, 49, said: ‘Oh my God, get a life.’
The RMT and TSSA unions have called two 48-hour strikes on February 4 and February 11.
Asked what RMT members might think about his luxury holiday, he said: ‘Well, I’m on leave at the moment.’ Miss Hoarau, 49, said: ‘Oh my God, get a life.’
The RMT and TSSA unions have called two 48-hour strikes on February 4 and February 11.
