My instant reaction was “Oh God!” when I was asked to write a year-ender. But I am now glad that I was ultimately forced to do it. I would have otherwise missed jingling the memory about revelations like luscious strawberry being dangled between the lips of a charming young thing by her lover of the moment. Or about the cocktail of aphrodisiac or special hot and cold treatment by another young lady who brought many famous on their knees.
Indeed, 2004 was a great year for romantic interlopers. A year of femme fatale! One does not have to confine oneself to the mundane political happenings, which occur year after year. It is far more interesting to review a surfeit of seductions and about the plight of the seduced rather than talk about Blair almost getting booted out for failing to find Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. Or pro-hunt lobbies swamping London to pressure the Government or women MPs revealing the wolfish male chauvinism of their colleagues or the long-time media favourite Diana lamenting on videotape the lack of sex interest in her Royal husband. We all know why her husband had little interest in her.
We know too that Blair, despite various embarrassing and damaging inquiries and deadly lampooning by his own, is likely to retain his Downing Street tenancy after the next election. We know too that Al-Qaeda, whose 1000 activists are said to live in anonymity in Britain, will in all probability never attempt to blow up Parliament or Canary Wharf, despite the warning of terror attacks throughout the year. Where else in the world would Al-Qaeda's mandarin find a safer haven, where judges in upholding liberalism and individual freedom jail the owner of the house and let the criminals breaking in with intent to burgle go free.
I recently heard of a case, which would provide great encouragement to any potential burglar. A lady phoned the police when she heard an intruder coming up the staircase. The force arrived and found that the intruder had not been able to do any harm. So he was honourably driven to his place in the police car.
{{/usCountry}}I recently heard of a case, which would provide great encouragement to any potential burglar. A lady phoned the police when she heard an intruder coming up the staircase. The force arrived and found that the intruder had not been able to do any harm. So he was honourably driven to his place in the police car.
{{/usCountry}}But, many famous and powerful were not as lucky. Rebecca Loos, a private school educated sophisticated young lady, rattled David Beckham by detailing her alleged affair with him, which mad her appear as an alternative wife for him in Madrid, while Victoria was away and busy pursuing her singing career. What followed was a deluge of titillating descriptions of tender moments. It got Loos many headlines, interviews and more importantly hundreds of thousands of pounds. But while she disappeared after a short interregnum of fame, Beckham, one is told, is still trying to salvage his marriage and gain his wife's trust.
The worst sufferer was of course Blunkett, the Home Secretary who got infatuated with a woman, Kimberely Quinn, whose list of alleged conquests is said to be still incomplete although four have already been identified. And then there had surfaced a beauty queen from the sub-continent, Faria Alam, who shook the powerful bosses of the Football Association, once she came out clean about her affairs with one powerful official and the England coach Eriksson. While the boss and Alam quit, Eriksson survived. His long-time girlfriend Nancy made angry noises but is said to be back in his house. The Swede lost nothing.