Colcam

Oh dear, Anonymous has got all excited again. He's not the same one every time, but because of the common thread of rudeness and outrage most of them share, I just treat them as one.

Fortunately, I seem to annoy the anonymous people who comment here more than they annoy me, otherwise I would block anything from writers who are simply too rude, or scared, to identify themselves.

My post about Mohamed al Fayed got this Anon on his high horse, in a piece about him screaming about housing in Scotland, and telling the 'peasants' here how to run their affairs. I quoted The Times, and pointed out that Fayed lives in Switzerland.

Anonymous writes:


Do you really believe everything you read !!

Mr Al Fayed has never, and is not living in Switzerland.

The whole of Scotland ( not just the Cairngorm National Park) has vast areas of land ( adjacent to settlements and in rural settings )
where restrictive planning laws prevent development. What Mr Al Fayed is saying is , be imaginative, and select areas where there is a need, and develop these for the benefit of the community.

For Example. Land under trees is worth about £200 per acre. If the Council bought this land of a Landowner for £10,000, the Landowner would be thrilled. The council would then have a piece of land that could support 4 new houses at a plot value of £2,500 each ( instead of £70,000 per plot which is the price that local crofters are selling their land to incomers )

Mr Al Fayed has invested in Scotland for the last 34 years, creating business's and employment. Ask the local communities who he has supported what they think of him, and you will get an honest ( chip free ) response.He has done far more for Scotland than most Scots ( I am a Scot )

His plea is for a business approach to problem solving. Sadly most of the current solutions are put forward by people who have never run a business, and have been cushioned within the ever expanding public sector.

It is so easy to rubbish good ideas, when ,in fact, the idea is imaginative , creative and in the best interests of those who need really affordable housing.



Perhaps the anonymous creator of this public relations spiel on behalf of Fayed should write an angry letter to The Times as well as nipping my head. As it happens, I don't believe everything I read, and in this case, as usual, I took the time to check certain facts before publishing the piece about Fayed.

If indeed Fayed has never, and is not, living in Switzerland, then it is Fayed himself who is not to be believed. CNN/Fayed Quote: " After 35 years in Britain, al-Fayed has decided to base himself in Geneva ... for the moment... have been forced to leave because they cannot settle my tax agreement, but it is my country, I am going nowhere," al-Fayed told CNN.

At alfayed.com he states: He will permanently reside in Switzerland.

Or: EXCLUSIVE: AS HE LEAVES HIS BELOVED BRITAIN FOR GOOD, THE INTERVIEW THAT MOVED AL FAYED TO TEARS , and while I might not normally believe the slush the Daily Mirror churns out, this is from the al Fayed site. It's an extraordinary rant, by the way, worth reading for it's own sake - if only for amusement.



Of course, Switzerland may have not suited Fayed. Like old King Farouk, Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed has finally decided to set up residence in Monaco. "Switzerland has not proved so benign, and a recent change in the local law excluding foreigners from a loophole to avoid inheritance taxes has prompted his move to Monaco."

And I could go on.

Anonymous would seem to suggest that Mohamed al Fayed is a liar. Is he suggesting that Fayed was trying to get one over on British tax officials?

Finally, our anonymous Scot suggests that housing our poorer residents in areas of felled tree plantations is "creative, and in the best interests of those who really need affordable housing." Nothing to do with the fact that these plantations have become next to worthless in recent years, of course.

What he is really saying is that what he - and Fayed - want, is the less well heeled to be shunted into cheap affordable housing, to leave the quality, desirable properties for those more deserving and suitable and, perhaps, more pleasing to the eye of Fayed and his likes.

Social engineering to suit business and the landlord might seem creative to them, but most people would find the idea as disgusting as I find Anonymous and Fayed.

I, as always, thank Anonymous for his comment, and would welcome more from him - if he has the manners and the cojones to identify himself.