The Chateau Diaries #12 Carry on grifting

[MojoDublin]

Well said, before he posted the video, a lot of disgruntled fans were posting on the fb groups about how they had enough and were no longer going to be patrons or simply stop watching MPK because of his broken promises and lack of content. A lot of them also delved into his crappy work ethic to the point that some of the comment sections on fb, seemed almost identical to the ones on tattle.

Now, everyone is suddenly team MPK and going to fight his battles by sending abuse to D&A. MPK might think he’s won the battle, but seeing how cunning and business savvy D&A are, he will most certainly NOT win the war.

ah yes they were quite vocal

Named patrons were Openly challenged- rightly so

 

[Pno]

If I were D&A I would be screen shotting every comment on the YT videos - the crank fans can delete their own comments and might just do that. What stumps me is how no-one is saying to the bleating twit that his post might be somewhat defamatory...!!! and take it down. Also, I have to wonder does he have some super rock solid iron clad case... surely anyone in his orbit with a modicum of common sense would tell him to take his vlog down - he hasn't - he has made a major attack on Brand Strawbridge - something they have been tirelessly cultivating for years and to see all those commets on the YT videos... and look at Dick's army background, I'd say he has contacts and influence coming out his ears, but meanwhile, on line, they and their brand are being annihilated.. MP, Billy, Gwen and all associated could be paying for this for years!

ETTC started airing last month on HGTV. I’m not knocking Channel 4 but HGTV is one of the largest cable networks in the US and they will send PR and lawyers to protect their assets. Or god forbid get YT involved which could shut down MPK.

 

[FrannyBee]

I am interested as to why no one notice the advent of the very expensive dog just after asking for more money!
Also he is young and well aware of the plus n minus of SM.

Nina Rose Post 3655179. I am sure if it is questioned it will be passed off as a guard dog and a genuine business expense. Then more money can be filtered into the "guard dog expenses" account for vet fees, food, fancy expensive collars (with Swarovski of course) boarding when she goes away and doesn't want to take the dog - what breed of dog is it? Don't know if it can pass the guard dog test if it's a Poodle. If she hangs in there for a couple more CATC she'll get enough "pretty" and "exquisite" collars, and dog coats, dog beds, dog kennels, (all hand made by her devoted patrons of course). I wonder how much it costs to ship a dog bed or kennel from Omaha Nebraska or Gullible Town Pennsylvania?

 

[Pno]

Life as you know it .....

whilst been totally INIT together with sir trotter
LOTL and FRK was back out in force with .... milk bottles .. again

clearly the hostess chatelaine had no experience in flower arrangement so FRK needed another studio
The mind boggles

Look! No indoor !!!!!

 

[Croquet_Stripe]

Hello Everyone!

I have started reading the saga from the beginning but thought I'd post and say hello.

I find myself agreeing with a lot of the comments. Definitely found myself drinking the Smoky Earl Grey Cool-Aid for a moment. Now I have a bit of Fortnum Fatigue and find myself advancing the videos more often than not.

 

[NotAChatelaine]

Life as you know it .....

whist been totally INIT together with sir trotter
LOTL and FRK was back out in force with .... milk bottles .. again

clearly the hostess chatelaine had no experience in flower arrangement so FRK needed another studio
The mind boggles

Jeez, you don't think FR was doing A Tutorial? "How to shove a dandelion in a jam jar". Heavens to Murgatroyd, Anna would have been better looking at flower arranging by a professional on YouTube,

 

[Lieileen]

Hi everyone...I've been a tattle fan for a while but only just came across this particular thread so thought I'd join in!

As someone who actually lives in France and has close connections to the renovation world, including with chateaux....I thought you might be interested in some background information in the legality of how things should be done here...and I mean "should" very strongly because as with most things in life there will always be people who look to bend or ignore the rules. So apologies if my post is a bit long

When I last looked you can set yourself up in the UK as a self employed anything...a carpenter, plumber, electrician whatever without any real verification. In FR it is totally different. So assuming you go through the proper channels , you cannot advertise or accept money for services (not just in the construction field) for which you are not registered for. To obtain your registration you have to provide various papers to authenticate your qualifications or experience and in some areas like electrics you have to re-sit assessments based on FR standards. And if your skill set is related to anything related to construction or renovation of properties you are also legally obliged to provide a certain insurance cover on your work for up to a 10 yr period. So pretty much any activities up to the painting stage is required to be covered in this manner. So for this reason you don't see so many multi made "builders" in FR - just because if you offer more than one trade you have to be registered & insured for each individual skill set

You then have a level of "handyman" type people who register themselves as a bit of a "jack of all trades" and don't have to provide insurance - however..what they are not allowed to do is larger scale works. It should only be smaller jobs taking just a few hours or days a week. So for example you can change one new light fitting but you cannot rewire a house. You can build a small garden wall but you cannot build an extension, you can replace 20 broken roof tiles but not replace the whole roof etc etc The principal being you cannot undertake works which takes away the opportunity for a more professional registered artisan

Most chateaux available for sale here are all in similar conditions...so literally nothing done to them for maybe 50+ years if not more. A good rule of thumb is that whatever you pay for the purchase of the house, you will need at least double if not treble the amount again to complete the renovation . So a "bargain" of €300k will end up costing you a good €1m in total outlay if you assume all the obvious things need repairing or replacing...and assuming you use these registered professionals I already mentioned . Say you have a 40 room chateau - new roof? not much change out of €100k, new electrics? €40k, new plumbing/heating? €40-50k, repair of exterior walls? €75k..and this before you look at interior finishes & decor etc

The average day rate labour charge for a registered & insured artisan tradesmen here would be around €350 per day, certainly €300. A handyman will charge somewhere from €150-€200 per day .So what happens is that these chateau owners start on the road of sourcing their labour force through the proper channels and then after connecting themselves with other owners via social media or whatever they soon become aware of the option to cheapen their Reno costs by working their way down the labour force ladder. So forget the professional at €350 per day, move to the handyman level...forgetting the fact he is not legally allowed to rewire your house!....and then as time goes by...forget the handyman - move onto the "free" volunteer workforce where you might bung them €50 a day and/or provide a bed & a bowl of stew at night...and even better, see if you can get a total freebie workforce ! Look at Dick & Angel's website...they actually charge you €75 per day to go and garden for them....so you pay them for the privilege of working in their grounds in return for some sarnies & a cuppa!

In FR it is actually illegal for someone to undertake works he is not registered or insured to do. and especially so if he receives any form of payment for that work. Both the tradesmen AND the homeowner can be heavily fined. No one stops you if you are a DIYer ..if you want to DIY fine, no probs...but don't supplement this approach by using the wrong paid for labour force. Volunteer workforce is only supposed to undertake a limited number of hours of "work" per day per week...and again, it would not be expected that they were doing high level things like fitting your new bathroom!

The reality is that most chateau owners are greedy and arrogant - thats how they found themselves buying the bloody house in the first place! They would far rather spend their money on a fancy chandelier or antique table than pay for something they deem to be of less value or that they know they can be done by someone else at a fraction of the outlay. All they are interested in is the short term benefits. What they won't be thinking about are the longer term repercussions -so when they come to sell & cannot authenticate some of the really significant works with invoices or insurance papers then the house will be difficult or even impossible to sell. Any capital gains tax charges cannot be offset by the money they have invested on improvements as they won't have an invoice for it. And god forbid they ever had an insurance claim for something like a fire! I know of someone who did not get their cheap electrics authenticated by the proper channels & when the house burned down their insurance would not pay out because they could not prove who did the works. And on top of that the fire brigade charged them for coming to put the fire out!!

Right , time for. cuppa....thanks if you read to the end! Keep up the good work

PS - I forgot to add that I get really pissed off too when I see these chateau owners either pleading poverty and encouraging financial donations or whatever ..its total BS. I just wish some of these people who like to live vicariously through other peoples fake IG life could see how they were being used

FYI in the UK setting yourself up a self-employed trades person doesn’t entitle you to actually sign off on those works without the requisite qualifications. Individual trade standards/regulations apply as well as general building regs and any works not meeting standards will void insurance at a minimum, with other consequences coming in depending on the severity or type of breach of standards.

I assume that there is some facility by which works can be ‘signed off’ in France too otherwise DIY itself would be in effect illegal, no?

 

[MojoDublin]

Look! No indoor !!!!!

At last .. was my first thought what inside .. with modern heating like normal ppl ...

Thanks you made my night
DB9 parked on your drive way

 

[Jeeves]

Jeez, you don't think FR was doing A Tutorial? "How to shove a dandelion in a jam jar". Heavens to Murgatroyd, Anna would have been better looking at flower arranging by a professional on YouTube,

The only thing Anna and SSB have in common is that they are both blond!
Anna is talented and productive - the wallpaper that she designed for the bedroom is gorgeous. That's how you do it, MP! Anna is, of course, a trained textile designer and not an amateur dabbler.
Their Chateau is understated and elegant and Anna and Philip work hard to produce a comfortable (and warm) family home. Philip is witty and they don't need to resort to the carry ons and continuous begging (although I understand that they do have a Patreon account.)
I really hope that they don't continue to associate with SJ or the Trotters in the future. They certainly don't need them.

 

[Definitely Maybe]

@Jeeves you have ditched barmy Brenda I see - good man !

 

[Jeeves]

@Jeeves you have ditched barmy Brenda I see - good man !

It made me jump every time I saw it. I felt as though I was being stalked by a Hannibal Lecter/ Mrs. Doubtfire hybrid!

 

[Anfield Annie]

FYI in the UK setting yourself up a self-employed trades person doesn’t entitle you to actually sign off on those works without the requisite qualifications. Individual trade standards/regulations apply as well as general building regs and any works not meeting standards will void insurance at a minimum, with other consequences coming in depending on the severity or type of breach of standards.

I assume that there is some facility by which works can be ‘signed off’ in France too otherwise DIY itself would be in effect illegal, no?

My comment was originally directed more to the point that to even advertise in the first place here you have to go through a lot more hoops, before you even begin to be able to trade. And also, it is far harder to be a general builder. As for DIY it is the same as in the UK I imagine, if you decide to do up your own place then thats your look out. The only thing you need official sign off for is the electrics. So no DIY is not illegal. It is the paying for unregistered personnel that is illegal. I think there’s a difference between being in breach of building regs and having the gendarmes turn up on site. I’ve seen examples where they literally ask to see your papers and in fact a lot of them have a system in their vehicles to look up your registration numbers. In some cases people have been removed from the site! Hopefully to be seen again at some point

 

[NotAChatelaine]

The only thing Anna and SSB have in common is that they are both blond!
Anna is talented and productive - the wallpaper that she designed for the bedroom is gorgeous. That's how you do it, MP!
Their Chateau is understated and elegant and Anna and Philip work hard to produce a comfortable (and warm) family home. Philip is witty and it's they don't need to resort to the carry ons and continuous begging (although I understand that they do have a Patreon account.)
I really hope that they don't continue to associate with SJ or the Trotters in the future. They certainly don't need them.

Couldn't agree more. They both seem grafters rather than grifters, come across well and have achieved an enormous amount. I so hope they don't become infected by the contagion I referred to/made up in the last thread...Pernicious Avarice.

 

[MojoDublin]

Flashback Sunday in review

Seems tattlers don’t rattle

Here’s oct 14 th 2020


Julkie
Member
Oct 14, 2020
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#1
@Lululime had the most votes with this great title

We just need a recap of the last thread for anyone new joining us and of course for us to relive the most cringeworthy moments

I’ve had a go at a recap, feel free to add anything else I might have forgotten - we covered a lot of ground in our inaugural thread!

It all started with.....

Our relief at finding a place where we can share our opinions, not welcome on the ‘super fan’ pages

Tomazgate kicked off and we got our first glimpse at the sheer madness of Queen Brenda, self appointed head of the super fans

We found common ground on our love of Steohanie’s style, approach to vlogs/videos and life in general

We’ve started to unravel the mysteries of Lalande - what really happened to the lake? Is Mummy in charge? Has Hanni become the new BFF? Is Selmar a secret sex god? Where does he go in the camper, maybe it’s not the ‘beach’?

We’ve enjoyed the continued renovations at the Chateau with the new windows, gardens and courtyard beginning it’s transformation

We cringed in harmony at Cadeaux at the Chateau - how many peacock themed items does one person need?

Queen Brenda showed up trying to re-brand herself as our favourite Irish Mammy. Who is she fooling with her poor attempt at vlogging?

Let the fun continue....

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Chateauguy
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Oct 14, 2020
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#2
I'm loving the new courtyard, I was wondering when SJ was gonna tackle the grounds...I've really enjoyed the CD during lockdown but now I'm getting 'cult' vibes. Agree with previous threads talking about the Pethericks- wow what a bunch they are, apart from Gwen who is lovely. One thing I don't get is why didnt Michael just convert a wing into his own apartment instead of tackling that grotty little cottage?
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Takeaway
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Oct 14, 2020
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#3
Julkie said
Don’t forget the Trotters dealings & their hostage the beautiful & sad Lady Gwendoline. Michaels lack of DIY & who is Ryan really? (Who reminds me so much of the car salesman in only fools & horses, it’s the voice) I’m sure he tries to sound like them apparently he is a web designer with no internet footprint? the list is endless
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Hemerocallis
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Oct 14, 2020
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#4
Chateauguy said:
I'm loving the new courtyard, I was wondering when SJ was gonna tackle the grounds...I've really enjoyed the CD during lockdown but now I'm getting 'cult' vibes. Agree with previous threads talking about the Pethericks- wow what a bunch they are, apart from Gwen who is lovely. One thing I don't get is why didnt Michael just convert a wing into his own apartment instead of tackling that grotty little cottage?
And I find it selfish of him to let his father do the work for his (Michaels) cottage. Michael is having a beautiful room in the Château but did you see the state of his parents cottage ? Plaster crumbling from the walls, tools and other stuff kept in there.....
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Seems sir trotter haven't changed one jot

 

[Jeeves]

This little beauty objected to someone referring to AS as Angela Trump. Says it all really!

 

[Espe]

Life as you know it .....

whilst been totally INIT together with sir trotter
LOTL and FRK was back out in force with .... milk bottles .. again

clearly the hostess chatelaine had no experience in flower arrangement so FRK needed another studio
The mind boggles

I only have to see that photo of SJ with her arms stretched out on both sides and her claws spread out, to feel irritated. She is so self-conscious and unnatural. I hope Anna stays away from her, she is so different in personality and so much more dignified.

 

[Kotare]

The OG appalling artwork

Stepping back a bit, it makes me wonder who thought it was a great idea to sink a ton of money into a semi derelict pile, and leave Stephanie, of all people, in charge, for 15 years, in the first place? WTF? And what has she done with it? Nothing. Until covid and YT, this year, and no-one saw that coming. And yet still essential works remain undone and apparently ignored.

I wouldn't trust her to house sit for one week, let alone anything else!

Contrary to your concerns, SJ has excellent relationships with her two fellow owners and they and their spouses appear to have the utmost respect for her. This is no mean feat for such a longtime shared ownership model of anything, let alone a decrepit old chateau in need of a zillion tasks being done. I see SJ as an accidental blogger success. Everything about her backstory screamed unfamiliarity with digital media as it pertained to her career as a BnB and event host. She was encouraged by friends after exposure through ‘DIY’ and has become a success. I feel she brings a warm and welcome breath of fresh air to this now crowded Brit Chateau arena.
JMHO

 

[Croquet_Stripe]

The only thing Anna and SSB have in common is that they are both blond!
Anna is talented and productive - the wallpaper that she designed for the bedroom is gorgeous. That's how you do it, MP!
Their Chateau is understated and elegant and Anna and Philip work hard to produce a comfortable (and warm) family home. Philip is witty and it's they don't need to resort to the carry ons and continuous begging (although I understand that they do have a Patreon account.)
I really hope that they don't continue to associate with SJ or the Trotters in the future. They certainly don't need them.

I like their chat o too Jeeves. Its big but I understand it's layout and where they are going with their designs. They aren't filling the rooms with stuff but making clear choices. She did work for Balmain so obviously she has an eye for design and the drive to make it in a competitive industry, I look forward to seeing their journey.

 

[MojoDublin]

This little beauty objected to someone referring to AS as Angela Trump. Says it all really!

View attachment 400920

were so f****d

remember put your own mask on first - befor you try to aid others

Contrary to your concerns, SJ has excellent relationships with her two fellow owners and they and their spouses appear to have the utmost respect for her. This is no mean feat for such a longtime shared ownership model of anything, let alone a decrepit old chateau in need of a zillion tasks being done. I see SJ as an accidental blogger success. Everything about her backstory screamed unfamiliarity with digital media as it pertained to her career as a BnB and event host. She was encouraged by friends after exposure through ‘DIY’ and has become a success. I feel she brings a warm and welcome breath of fresh air to this now crowded Brit Chateau arena.
JMHO

 

[OhIDontKnow...]

ah yes they were quite vocal

Named patrons were Openly challenged- rightly so

I starting getting a hint of Michael’s problems with delivering on promises about 4 months ago. I was a patron, but when I saw all the LV luggage and figured out he was wearing a $350 cologne, I quit with him. He’s also stated in Patron vlogs that he failed at hairdressing because he started hiding from his clients who needed their extensions dealt with, even though he was making really good money.

Seems this is his pattern. He’s gets where he’s doing well and then just crashes. It’s either a personality disorder or a character flaw of some kind. This latest video was just god awful. I’ve noticed his brother dragging him in his videos for not getting his videos out. I think the family is quite used to his behavior and doesn’t appreciate it. However, he does have a bit of star quality and they need him for that, so I’m sure they tolerate it. As you do with family.

I voted with my pocketbook so I’m not sore. I just don’t expect anything from him, and he doesn’t deliver, so that’s that.