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They've been friends for years and have even spent Christmases together.
But Gordon Ramsay insists his friendship with David and Victoria Beckham is the real deal and says he leaned on them for support during his rift with his father-in-law.
Gordon's wife Tana was devastated when her father Chris Hutcheson fell out with the chef, with her mother Greta standing by her husband.
Fighting back: Gordon Ramsay, pictured at New York's JFK Airport yesterday, is looking forward to the future
As well as fighting with his father-in-law, who was his former business partner, Gordon also had to deal with financial problems at his restaurant empire.
Reflecting on the stressful 18 months, the Scot, 45, said he and his wife, 36, have 'never been so close before' and are looking forward to the future.
He credited his friends David and Victoria will being a pillar of strength for the couple when they were struggling to deal with strain.
Supportive: Gordon said David and Victoria Beckham are two of the few people they can trust
He told the Daily Mirror: 'David and Victoria were just extraordinary in terms of the help and support during this time.
'They really were great. People thought we were going to escape the UK and go and live in LA permanently.
'But I’m a fighter and there was no chance of me giving up and going there.'
Gordon praised his wife for putting the feud with her family behind her and channelling her energies into setting up her All About The Girl beauty salon in Battersea, South London.
Feud: Chris Hutcheson and his wife Greta no longer speak to Gordon and Tana
He added: 'Boys, like me and Chris, are always going to fight, but to have your mum ignore you, well that was hard... Tana and I have never been so close before.'
The problems started when Gordon sacked Chris, 63, in October 2010, with the latter branding the chef a celebrity-obsessed 'monster'.
Gordon ended up writing a public letter revealing he had employed private detectives to investigate Chris and his 'complex personal life'.
It was later revealed Chris had been living a second, secret life for three decades with mistress Frances Collins and two children.
Chris initially sued Gordon for unfair dismissal and unpaid wages, before reaching a 2million settlement in February this year - which includes payment for a 30 per cent share in Gordon Ramsay Holdings.
Last December, Gordon was awarded 250,000 costs after a judge ruled that Chris, Tana's sister Orlanda Butland and her brother Adam were liable for breach of confidence after hacking into personal emails and company computers.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Essex: Springwatch star Michaela Strachan to open new visitor centre at Abberton Reservoir near Colchester - East Anglian Daily Times
Michaela Strachan is to open a new visitor centre at Abberton Reservoir near Colchester
By Chris Harris
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
7:48 AM
TELEVISION presenter Michaela Strachan will officially unveil a new wildlife visitor centre and nature reserve in Essex.
Ms Strachan, who has just finished filming Springwatch for the BBC, will open the Essex Wildlife Trust building at Abberton Reservoir near Colchester.
The 15-sided visitor complex has been built as part of a £150million project to increase the reservoir’s capacity by 15billion litres.
John Hall, chief executive of Essex Wildlife Trust, said: “We are delighted to welcome a wildlife champion like Michaela Strachan to Abberton Reservoir to carry out the official opening duties of our new visitor centre and reserve.
“We look forward to welcoming guests and the public to what should be a memorable day. Abberton is already a hugely significant site for wildlife and our new reserve will help make it even more crucial over the coming years.
“Our fabulous new visitor centre brings people closer to that wildlife. The trust’s vision is of a ‘Living Landscape’ where wildlife and people co-exist side by side, to mutual benefit, and Abberton is a fine example of that ideal.
“Together with Essex & Suffolk Water we are making Abberton Reservoir better for wildlife, better for people – and better for future generations.”
Strachan will officially open the centre on Saturday and will be joined by the Mayor of Colchester and representatives from Layer-de-la-Haye Parish Council, Essex Birdwatching Society, Natural England, Abberton Management Committee and TJ Evers, who built the visitor centre.The opening ceremony will coincide with a special fair, which will include a birds of prey display, charity and trade stands, refreshments and a beer tent.
John Devall, operations director of Essex & Suffolk Water, said: “Abberton Reservoir is one of the most important sites in Europe for its wildlife and is also an essential part of the county’s infrastructure helping us supply water to more than a million people in Essex.
“The official opening of the visitor centre is a chance to celebrate this fantastic new facility, which provides a gateway to access this very special site.
“The relocation and enhancement of the visitor centre is part of the Abberton Scheme, which includes the expansion of the reservoir’s capacity by 58%.
“Guests at the opening event will also have the opportunity to learn more about this essential and major Scheme from the project team.”
The old visitor centre, opened in 1990, has been dismantled on low-lying land that will be flooded. The new visitor centre is on adjacent higher land, at the heart of an 80-acre nature reserve.
Source: www.eadt.co.uk
Gordon if they are your friends, you wouldn't keep using them to stay in the public eye. Don't you have any other friends? Business must be bad to drag this old hat story up again, and the Beckham name.
- My view, Milk and Beans, 20/6/2012 11:05
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