Update: I have checked the dates, this book was written before their time at Lalande. Nevertheless, it is something of a coincidence.
Okay, so one of the caretakers of Lalande wrote an undercover book about elderly care homes (not in English).
Many have speculated here on the wealth accumulated by the Jarvis family. As I have mentioned before, I am an old bag of bones, but I did work in London in the 80's as a Commercial Mortgage Broker. What I can also tell you about these "granny farms" is that the allowance to feed an "inmate" (as many of the investors referred to them) was GBP1.50 per day. There was a specific bank which was known to approve these loans, as other, more credible, banks would not have approved a business plan incorporating that kind of neglect. I was not directly involved with these loans but one of my close colleagues was - and deeply affected by it. I left the industry when Kuwait was invaded to go back to university but I can tell you that people with no knowledge or training were making a lot of money on these "granny farms". The only requirement was to employ a number of individuals with appropriate education, I cannot remember the ratio to patients, but I do remember that it was anything but generous. In sum, I think the agents on tattle are pretty much on the money when it comes to speculating about how Derek and Isabelle became wealthy.
So, why do I bring this up now? Well, the fact that one of the caretakers of the chateau (who is also a writer) had investigated elderly neglect in his own country, is an extraordinary coincidence. I wonder if what he heard, witnessed or experienced at Lalande triggered unpleasant memories of his investigative project some years earlier?
Well done Clara, a picture is emerging, and it is one that deserves to be in the attic.
in one of the very early threads I mentioned that on a live premiere when donations were flooding in so fast, that they couldn’t keep up with reading or acknowledging them, an (old ?) lady gave money, SJ glossed over a brief thanks and a while later the same lady came up in comments again - which to give her credit, SJ read out ... the lady said something along the lines of these are my savings (?) and it’s taken a long time to get them together, so please spend wisely.
And in control. London is not a good place to live without adequate funding. One does remember a vlog where young travelling Trotter and SJ were here in London. They did a spot of shopping in inexpensive shops like Zara and H&M, then proceeded to eat dinner in her flat, as they had spent what they had available,- and so went to party at a private club. The cash flow can't have been that healthy prior to the vlog taking off. London would definitely not be easy for her then, with her expensive taste.
Also she does not live in a particularly desirable area. Not a terribly bad area, but not good. Her little flat looked a bit shabby too. Her best bet in London would be to marry well. Interesting why she did not land that one. SJ does seem to often having been funded by her friends, ex'es, and boyfriends, getting away with that as she brings fun to the table. Lalande is a much better stage than London for SJ, and with the vlogs almost world domination!
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