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Tycoon Bernie Ecclestone joins Suffolk Gazette board

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Bernie Ecclestone joins the Suffolk Gazette board

Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has joined the board of the Suffolk Gazette newspaper, it has been confirmed.

The multi-billionaire business magnate, pictured above, has become a non-executive director and will bring considerable experience to the leading East Anglian media empire.

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Mr Ecclestone, 86, stepped down as chief executive of the Formula One Group this week after the sport was taken over by Liberty Media.

Born in St Peter, South Elmham, just south of Bungay in Suffolk, Mr Ecclestone went to school in nearby Wissett and still holds the county close to his heart.

The trawlerman’s son has been a keen admirer of the Suffolk Gazette since the newspaper first broke news that F1 would be heading to a new street circuit in Ipswich.

And when he announced this week he was stepping down from motor sport, the Suffolk Gazette editor was quick to make an official approach.

A joint statement confirmed: “The Suffolk Gazette is delighted that Mr Ecclestone has agreed to join the board as a non-executive director. This is an unpaid position, but he hardly needs the money, does he?

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“The board meets most Friday nights in The Greyhound pub in Ipswich, and it is hoped Mr Ecclestone will be unveiled there soon. Staff have promised to install a milk crate so he can see over the bar.”

An associate of Mr Ecclestone said: “He is a very astute businessman, and he recognises the huge potential of the Suffolk Gazette. Even though many thought he would now be putting his feet up, he wants to give something back to local business.”

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The Queen seeks second home on Suffolk coast

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EXCLUSIVE
By Jane Seymour, Royal Editor

The Queen is the latest wealthy Londoner to want a second home on the Suffolk coast, it has emerged.

She went on a secret trip last week to view properties in posh Aldeburgh and Thorpeness, including the wacky House in the Clouds – even though it is not for sale.

She was spotted by local resident Norman Quest, who said: “She had a good nose about and was particularly taken with the House in the Clouds, but was disappointed to learn it is not even on the market.”

The Royal couple were driven around by security men in a black Range Rover as they toured several properties in nearby Aldeburgh.

A Royal insider said: “They want a second home on the Suffolk coast but have not yet put any offers in. She thought the House in the Clouds was lovely, but it’s not on the market, and she would probably have struggled with all the stairs anyway.”

Aldeburgh is a haven for well-heeled Londoners, with most of the resort’s properties being owned by people from Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea. They all drive Range Rovers so the Royals would blend in seamlessly.

But not everyone is happy. Resident Frank Smith, 72, said: “These Londoners are just sending the prices sky high. Local young people cannot afford to buy a home in their own towns. Something needs to be done.”

Ipswich Town set transfer window alight by buying entire Lincoln team

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By Suffolk Gazette Football Staff

Struggling Ipswich Town have delighted their long-suffering fans by snapping up ELEVEN players in just one day – with 12 days of the of the transfer window remaining.

The Tractor Boys paid £100,000 for every one of Lincoln’s players, who include forwards, midfielders, defenders and a goalkeeper, in a clinical swoop worth a total of £1.1 million.

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Under-fire club owner Marcus Evans dug deep to splash the cash and raise morale following this week’s humiliating FA Cup replay defeat at non-league Lincoln.

A club spokesman dismissed fears that buying so many players at once could unsettle team spirit.

“Nonsense,” he said. “They have all been bought from the same team so they know each other well. They are better than us, man for man, and will all go straight into the team that travels to Huddersfield this Saturday.”

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The spokesman explained Ipswich had watched the Lincoln team closely twice in recent weeks, and felt it was easier to buy the whole lot of them and simply get them to play for Ipswich instead.

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Suffolk Liberation Front celebrates Chinese deal by taking Lincoln

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By Doug Trench, Defence Editor

The latest dispatch from the Suffolk Liberation Front reveals an incursion into Lincoln as well as a temporary evacuation of Great Yarmouth. In business news, there is talk of an unusual trade deal with China. And, as standard, there are veiled threats to the Suffolk Gazette Editor to publish this dispatch… or face the consequences.

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Sir,
First of all a thank you for publishing our regular news updates – it prevents us from having to visit The Greyhound and asking you why you’re not printing them. We might also take you to the frontline after visiting your palatial home to check for any Norfolk fighters or sympathisers, which would mean taking your home down brick by brick and leaving it in a pile of rubble. By printing our updates you continue to prevent this. For now.

Apologies for the late news update but here is the news from the Suffolk Liberation Front.

During last weekend’s storms we withdrew our forces from Great Yarmouth (to safeguard them) and left the Norfolk residents to their own fate; this created such a power vacuum in the town that the British Army had to be rushed in to stop the peasants looting what little they had left, and burning their own hovels. We took the town back from a grateful British Army, who begged us never to withdraw from the town again. The official line was the army were there to help with the floods.

Suffolk Liberation Front in LincolnA proud member of the Suffolk Liberation Front in Lincoln

We also sent a significant part of our force to Lincoln on Tuesday to ensure the safety of the brave football supporters who went there to take on a gang of fishmongers, butchers and Lincolnshire peasants. We took Lincoln without firing a shot, and are continuing to loot the city before returning home victorious. There were some rumblings about a cup, so the SLF has ordered the destruction of any cups or mugs found there.

We continue to advance into Norfolk. Only last Sunday a brave group of the SLF drove towards Norwich and turned into a dark country lane off the A140, and went for miles into the countryside to a SLF safe house where we discussed tactics and further incursion with our agents there. The stage is set and we intend on moving north and west so as to encircle Norwich further. We don’t encounter much resistance from the pitchforks as we have new weapons now for reasons that will become apparent.

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By far the biggest news is that we are currently negotiating directly with the Chinese government. We are asking for investment funds and fighters from them, so far they have armed us with a lot of weapons, vehicles and artillery, in return we are offering them slaves from Norfolk to work in their sweatshops and also the chance to operate slave camps, factories and sweatshops in Norfolk once we have invaded, bypassing the pesky Chinese anti-pollution laws which they have. It looks like we have a deal, the Chinese version of the tactical nuclear warhead will be very useful for taking down Kings Lynn.

We have a also found nuclear weapons left by the Americans in an underground bunker in Rendlesham Forest, which we have tested against Sheringham and found to be still quite lethal, so we hope Norfolk will capitulate quickly and that we can all retire to the Carribean go to a training base with you, The Editor, where we can administrate an independent Suffolk via Skype.

We are united, we are Suffolk.

Sincerely,

Suffolk Liberation Front
Commanding Officer

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Britain’s homeless saddened by courgette shortage

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Britain’s homeless were saddened today by news that a courgette crisis is sweeping the country.

Poor weather has affected the harvest of the tasty green veg across Southern Europe – and experts warn aubergines could be hit next.

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The awful news spread across social media this morning, and now the country’s homeless have joined the discussion.

Warren Smith, 36, a homeless man in Suffolk, said: “This really is awful. The idea that some middle-class family can not get hold of courgettes is heartbreaking.”

Speaking from his freezing shop doorway while being forced to beg for change to buy something to eat, he added: “I dare not even think what it would be like for Waitrose shoppers if aubergines are next.”

Courgette shortagePricey: UK shoppers aghast at courgette supply horror

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Retail experts said the price of courgettes had quadrupled, making life particularly hard for middle-class shoppers across Britain.

One man, Jordan Williams, 27, said: “I like to eat healthily between visits to the gym and barbers, and don’t know how I will cope without courgettes.”

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Ipswich to concentrate on relegation after FA Cup humiliation

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Mick McCarthy

Gutless Ipswich Town can now concentrate on relegation after being embarrassingly dumped out of the FA Cup by non-league Lincoln City.

Mick McCarthy’s team were spineless and could not string two passes together all night, allowing an overweight Lincoln bloke with a comb-over to bully and outplay them on the pitch.

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The shocking 1-0 defeat – widely predicted by this newspaper – means Ipswich can now concentrate on getting relegated from the Championship for the first time in their record-breaking 15-year stay.

Last weekend’s shock win against Blackburn put an unlikely ten points between Ipswich and the drop zone – but now the distraction of the Cup is over, that gap will soon close.

A member of McCarthy’s backroom staff said: “Mick hates the Cup – it gets in the way of insipid League performances inspired by the manager being unable to motivate the team. Now we can concentrate properly on our relegation battle.”

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Fans are furious. One said: “We played 5-3-2 against a non-league team, and two of the midfielders were defensive, meaning 7 of our 10 outfield players would not recognise an attacking move if it slapped them in the face.

“We have now lost in the 3rd round every year since 2010 – so at least we’re showing some consistency.”

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Holby and Silent Witness fans delighted about Ipswich match

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Silent Witness scrapped for Lincoln Ipswich FA Cup match

Fans of Holby City and Silent Witness have been saying how happy they are that their favourite programmes have been scrapped so the BBC can screen live FA Cup action of Lincoln City against Ipswich Town.

The titanic football match means the Beeb has cleared its normal Tuesday night schedule, and everyone is delighted.

In fact, many took to social media to reflect their excitement at watching 90 minutes of Mick McCarthy’s Tractor Boys fight gallantly to avoid a cup banana skin at non-league Lincoln.

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Kate said she was “foaming” at missing Silent Witness – a condition that might require a pathologist for herself.

Kevan Aitken clearly also thinks no one is too interested in two unfashionable football teams.

Holby City fan Clare added…

It took a Lincoln fan to come up with a ratings solution…

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Meanwhile, ITV is poised to lose a large chunk of its normal audience to the BBC – with Martin Clunes: Islands of Australia expected to be watched by nobody.

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Chinese thought they were paying £30 million a year for Costa coffee chain

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Diego Costa Chinese deal is off

The Chinese have walked away from a deal to sign Chelsea forward Diego Costa because they thought they were investing £30 million a year in a chain of coffee shops.

Middlemen got the wrong end of the stick when bosses at an Asian investment bank told them: “Get us Costa, whatever it costs.”

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They promptly put in a ridiculous £30 million a year offer to the fiery Chelsea Spaniard, who then had a bust-up with club staff when they refused to let him go.

The Stamford Bridge crisis deepened when the fixers called in a team of top barristers after further contact from China to make sure they had hired the best baristas.

Now Costa has been dropped from the Chelsea squad which travels to Leicester in the Premier League today – and the Chinese have not snapped up a sizeable investment in the Costa coffee chain.

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A source close to the club said: “It’s all been a bit of a cock-up. Costa has had a roasting from the management, but it’s not too latte for him to apologise.”

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