Witchcraft & nail clippings:weird world of Cherie Blair

by **emad** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:58 am

Witchcraft and nail clippings: the weird world of Cherie Blair? By Cahal Milmo Published: 20 September 2005 Even by the standards of the alternative therapies said to be used by Cherie Blair, submitting her husband's toenail clippings to a health guru's pendulum is taking her alleged New Age obsession to a higher level. Mrs Blair, a human rights lawyer, has long been the subject of claims about her fondness for weird and wonderful treatments, ranging from a Mayan rebirthing ceremony to eating strawberry leaves to cure swollen ankles. But a book published yesterday about the Blairs has taken tales of odd practices inside the prime ministerial household to new extremes. Such was the eyebrow-raising nature of the claims made in Tony And Cherie, A Special Relationship that Downing Street issued a forthright denial. The book, written by Paul Scott, a journalist, uses alleged conversations with members of the couple's entourage to paint a picture of Mrs Blair as ambitious and intelligent but in the thrall of a series of bizarre practices. Among the techniques said to be employed by Mrs Blair was to take jars containing hair and nail clippings belonging to herself and her husband to Jack Temple, a retired market gardener turned health guru. Temple, who died in 2004, is claimed to have "dowsed" the jars by waving a pendulum over them to detect "poisons and blockages" that could affect the Blairs. Quoting a number of unnamed "Blair court insiders", the book claims: "Temple told Cherie that his pendulum could tell her when it was a good time or bad time to make major decisions." The author, who also makes lurid claims about the Blairs' sex life, said he had written the book because of the way the couple had sought to portray themselves in the public eye. Scott, who has written for the Daily Mail, said: "The Blairs have sold themselves as a ... sort of celebrity couple. It is important that in the face of this carefully-constructed image we know what goes on behind the scenes." The couple's relationship with Carole Caplin, the former glamour model turned lifestyle adviser, is also revisited in the book, which claims that Ms Caplin personally bathed Mrs Blair as part of her service. Scott also claims that Mrs Blair has been locked in a feud with the Princess Royal since they first met in the wake of Labour's election victory in 1997. The Prime Minister's wife is alleged to have said: "Do call me Cherie", to which the Princess is said to have replied: "Actually, let's not go that way; let's stick to Mrs Blair." When they met again a few years later, the Princess is claimed to have turned her back on Mrs Blair, prompting her to remark: "That bitch completely blanked me." Downing Street has reversed its usual policy of silence on the Blairs' private life to rubbish the claims. A spokeswoman said: "This is a mixture of recycled gossip and pure fantasy; in particular the remarks about Mrs Blair and the Royal Family, which are totally untrue." Even by the standards of the alternative therapies said to be used by Cherie Blair, submitting her husband's toenail clippings to a health guru's pendulum is taking her alleged New Age obsession to a higher level. Mrs Blair, a human rights lawyer, has long been the subject of claims about her fondness for weird and wonderful treatments, ranging from a Mayan rebirthing ceremony to eating strawberry leaves to cure swollen ankles. But a book published yesterday about the Blairs has taken tales of odd practices inside the prime ministerial household to new extremes. Such was the eyebrow-raising nature of the claims made in Tony And Cherie, A Special Relationship that Downing Street issued a forthright denial. The book, written by Paul Scott, a journalist, uses alleged conversations with members of the couple's entourage to paint a picture of Mrs Blair as ambitious and intelligent but in the thrall of a series of bizarre practices. Among the techniques said to be employed by Mrs Blair was to take jars containing hair and nail clippings belonging to herself and her husband to Jack Temple, a retired market gardener turned health guru. Temple, who died in 2004, is claimed to have "dowsed" the jars by waving a pendulum over them to detect "poisons and blockages" that could affect the Blairs. Quoting a number of unnamed "Blair court insiders", the book claims: "Temple told Cherie that his pendulum could tell her when it was a good time or bad time to make major decisions." The author, who also makes lurid claims about the Blairs' sex life, said he had written the book because of the way the couple had sought to portray themselves in the public eye. Scott, who has written for the Daily Mail, said: "The Blairs have sold themselves as a ... sort of celebrity couple. It is important that in the face of this carefully-constructed image we know what goes on behind the scenes." The couple's relationship with Carole Caplin, the former glamour model turned lifestyle adviser, is also revisited in the book, which claims that Ms Caplin personally bathed Mrs Blair as part of her service. Scott also claims that Mrs Blair has been locked in a feud with the Princess Royal since they first met in the wake of Labour's election victory in 1997. The Prime Minister's wife is alleged to have said: "Do call me Cherie", to which the Princess is said to have replied: "Actually, let's not go that way; let's stick to Mrs Blair." When they met again a few years later, the Princess is claimed to have turned her back on Mrs Blair, prompting her to remark: "That bitch completely blanked me." Downing Street has reversed its usual policy of silence on the Blairs' private life to rubbish the claims. A spokeswoman said: "This is a mixture of recycled gossip and pure fantasy; in particular the remarks about Mrs Blair and the Royal Family, which are totally untrue." <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article313787.ece">news.independent.co.uk/uk...313787.ece</a>

by **emad** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:32 am

`EXPLOSIVE': Although former Downing Street spin doctor Lance Price pulls punches in his soon-to-be-published memoirs, the book contains some saucy details as well THE GUARDIAN , LONDON Tuesday, Sep 20, 2005,Page 6 Advertising It's not exactly former US president Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. But on Sunday revelations of a romp on the sofa in British Prime Minister Tony Blair's inner sanctum were among some of the secrets divulged in the soon-to-be-published memoirs of the Downing Street spin doctor Lance Price. Billed "explosive," The Spin Doctor's Diary is light on the killer punches that Price might have landed on bodies in the Blair administration. Instead, it seems likely there will just be a great many blushes. Price, 47, recounts how on the night of Labour's second election landslide victory two Labour officials had sex on Blair's sofa, while the rest of the Cabinet celebrated down the corridor. Even more bizarrely, he claims he interrupted their frolics while looking for sun cream, having fallen asleep on Brighton beach in the midday sun. The man who was the prime minister's deputy communications adviser for most of Labour's first term points out some Blair vanity, saying that the premier does not like being seen wearing his glasses. He adds that when he expressed a desire for a pair of Calvin Klein frames, Blair's choice was overruled by Alastair Campbell, who said that he should sport a pair of National Health Service specs. As well as sex at No. 10, there's profanity too. Price -- a former BBC journalist -- reveals that an angry Blair shouted: "Fucking Welsh" when it looked like Labour might lose the first assembly election and said that he couldn't stand "fucking prelates." Campbell was not shy of calling his boss a "dickhead" to his face. On Sunday, the Mail on Sunday reported that Downing Street tried to intervene to have some of the book's more embarrassing revelations removed. Serializing the book, it said that the Cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, tried to prevent its publication and accused its author of "betrayal." Under civil service rules, Price was obliged to submit his manuscript to the government for clearance. He was then asked to make cuts. The newspaper claimed that one of those cuts was an account of Blair's mood when he sent British bombers on joint raids with the US over Iraq in 1998 during Operation Desert Fox. "I couldn't help but feeling that TB was relishing his first blooding as PM, sending the boys into action. Despite all the necessary stuff about taking action `with a heavy heart,' I think he feels it is part of his coming of age as a leader," read Price's original version. The censored account read: "I couldn't help feeling that TB had mixed emotions about sending the boys into action. He said he did it with a `heavy heart,' but at the same time he must have known it would happen sometime and maybe it's part of his coming of age as a leader." Price also sheds light on the close relationship between Blair and the media proprietor Rupert Murdoch. The Mail on Sunday claims he wrote: "Apparently we've promised News International we won't make any changes to our Europe policy without talking to them," and that the Downing Street censors came back with this wording: "Apparently, News International are under the impression we won't make any changes without asking them." Price alleges that an instant policy on asylum seekers was dreamed up after Blair became rattled by "tabloid stories about professional beggars." Price also reveals that New Labour is not quite as "New" as it should be. Asking his assistant about his sexuality -- Price is gay -- the prime minister said: "I hope you don't mind me asking, but when you see a beautiful woman, doesn't it do anything for you?" <a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/09/20/2003272436">www.taipeitimes.com/News/...2003272436</a>

Witchcraft & nail clippings:weird world of Cherie Blair

Witchcraft & nail clippings:weird world of Cherie Blair

Ex-spin doctor tells of romp on Blair's sofa

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