I would be amazed if John and Josie had met, although I think it may be what some might want you to believe. Let's not forget the media agent who's pulling the strings now. Kiss and tell is about all they deal in.
It was all rather convenient that John left the UK from Southend airport that only deals in flights to European destinations and suddenly up pops Josie in Geneva for no apparent reason. Certainly don't remember her tweeting anything about why she was there which of course fuelled speculation. It got people speculating then but nobody took the bait and now in light of the recent twitter war people are speculating again. :rolleyes:
I believe John went somewhere else in Europe, certainly not Geneva.
Anyway, on to the recent outburst.
As I posted earlier, the one thing that will provoke John is the use of his name. Whilst Josie protests her innocence and says she never mentioned him, she knew it would cause people to speculate and then Now finished the job by producing the online story. As John pointed out she knows how it works.
I agree that John is clearly still angry about the whole sorry saga, maybe his recent trip made him realise how it might have been if he hadn't got mixed up with her in the first place.
He seemed happy to pose for pics and engage supporters on twitter. We know he met with old housemates while he was here and I think he met with some that he chose to keep quiet about. If you remember he was here for a while before Paul joined him. What a shame he couldn't have had that when he left the BB house instead of getting caught up in the merry go round that was JJJ.
I honestly don't believe it was ever about being famous for him I think it was more about the BB experience and having the opportunity to take part in the UK version was just the icing on the cake. He had previously applied for BB Oz and if his father hadn't met with such a tragic accident and he'd gotten into the house over there (wasn't he just about to go into lockdown when it happened?) he would never have even applied for our BB. I get the impression that housemates down under disappear back to obscurity when it's all over which presumably would have been what John would have done.
He did say while in the house that if an opportunity came your way as a result of appearing on BB all well and good, but that you shouldn't go in there expecting it. I think we all remember the row with Rachel over that one.
When John left here and went back to Oz after his holiday maybe he made a conscious decision to cut ties with his supporters and disappear back into obscurity rather then dwell on what might have been. It would certainly explain his twitter silence and his facebook disappearing, which incidentally was back when I checked last week.
Unfortunately, the use of his name yet again provoked this latest response. I'll be honest I would have done the same in his shoes.
So now we wait to see if that's it or whether there's more to come.
I think his tweet saying it had taken him six months to get away pretty much confirms it was all over by the time he returned from his first trip back to Oz in October. I assume they'd signed a six month contract that would have been hard to extricate himself from, so instead he had to grin and bear it.
If the video of the 'gorilla' is for real, his life must have been a living hell for that six months. I think JJ moving in was for protection.
I agree with this somewhat but my opinion is maybe he is not as strong a personality as we think.If he had stayed or come back sooner his confidence would have grown by now.He is even lucky,he had somewhere to start not a privilege many of us had.John could have and can exist in the UK without Josie. He didnt come all the way from Australia for her in the first place.To me he some how went back to prove to himself that he can have a life there.Yes he can but probably coming back and seeing his fellow BB11 housemates doing well he thinks what might have been.I am not sure whether this stuborness is helping because emotionally he is in a different place.
I won't say any more about the book until others have contributed to the discussion but reading in CT just reminded me of something:
while I was reading it, totally out of nowhere, Gina reminded me several times of Josie with her behaviour. Does anyone else think this?
And just quickly about the other characters:
I thought she never really genuinely understood Sean and what he'd had to go through when the accident happened to Evie. Was this because she hadn't had children? She seems to have been reasonably happy within her own family as a child, so that wasn't the reason for her seeming lack of empathy. Or was it deliberately written in this way as first person narrator to show how difficult it is to put yourself in someone else's position? Personally, as I said earlier, I saw her as a totally self-absorbed person with a total lack of ability to do this with anybody - her sister, her mother, her boyfriend Connor, her lover Sean - in fact, the only one where there was a touch of empathy was with Evie in the last part. So does this mean, like so many 20 to 30 year olds these days appear to be (and yes, Josie is one of those, I would say), she never got away from being a self-absorbed teenager?
I won't say any more about the book until others have contributed to the discussion but reading in CT just reminded me of something:
while I was reading it, totally out of nowhere, Gina reminded me several times of Josie with her behaviour. Does anyone else think this?
And just quickly about the other characters:
I thought she never really genuinely understood Sean and what he'd had to go through when the accident happened to Evie. Was this because she hadn't had children? She seems to have been reasonably happy within her own family as a child, so that wasn't the reason for her seeming lack of empathy. Or was it deliberately written in this way as first person narrator to show how difficult it is to put yourself in someone else's position? Personally, as I said earlier, I saw her as a totally self-absorbed person with a total lack of ability to do this with anybody - her sister, her mother, her boyfriend Connor, her lover Sean - in fact, the only one where there was a touch of empathy was with Evie in the last part. So does this mean, like so many 20 to 30 year olds these days appear to be (and yes, Josie is one of those, I would say), she never got away from being a self-absorbed teenager?
Think you may have hit the nail on the head, there, Kay!
I'm sorry not to have been able to post anything yet. I did start something, then managed in my haste to delete it.....and despite my best efforts to set a few hours aside for our book club, real life (as it were) keeps on intervening. Just one of those days, I'm afraid
I have to go out to a 'bring and share' tonight....oh, how I love that term lol......let's just say that I'll be stopping off at the supermarket to collect my 'bring' option! :rolleyes:
Wish I were able to make something but there you go....
Hope I'll be back later because I really do want to make a contribution about this book
I would be amazed if John and Josie had met, although I think it may be what some might want you to believe. Let's not forget the media agent who's pulling the strings now. Kiss and tell is about all they deal in.
It was all rather convenient that John left the UK from Southend airport that only deals in flights to European destinations and suddenly up pops Josie in Geneva for no apparent reason. Certainly don't remember her tweeting anything about why she was there which of course fuelled speculation. It got people speculating then but nobody took the bait and now in light of the recent twitter war people are speculating again. :rolleyes:
I believe John went somewhere else in Europe, certainly not Geneva.
Anyway, on to the recent outburst.
As I posted earlier, the one thing that will provoke John is the use of his name. Whilst Josie protests her innocence and says she never mentioned him, she knew it would cause people to speculate and then Now finished the job by producing the online story. As John pointed out she knows how it works.
I agree that John is clearly still angry about the whole sorry saga, maybe his recent trip made him realise how it might have been if he hadn't got mixed up with her in the first place.
He seemed happy to pose for pics and engage supporters on twitter. We know he met with old housemates while he was here and I think he met with some that he chose to keep quiet about. If you remember he was here for a while before Paul joined him. What a shame he couldn't have had that when he left the BB house instead of getting caught up in the merry go round that was JJJ.
I honestly don't believe it was ever about being famous for him I think it was more about the BB experience and having the opportunity to take part in the UK version was just the icing on the cake. He had previously applied for BB Oz and if his father hadn't met with such a tragic accident and he'd gotten into the house over there (wasn't he just about to go into lockdown when it happened?) he would never have even applied for our BB. I get the impression that housemates down under disappear back to obscurity when it's all over which presumably would have been what John would have done.
He did say while in the house that if an opportunity came your way as a result of appearing on BB all well and good, but that you shouldn't go in there expecting it. I think we all remember the row with Rachel over that one.
When John left here and went back to Oz after his holiday maybe he made a conscious decision to cut ties with his supporters and disappear back into obscurity rather then dwell on what might have been. It would certainly explain his twitter silence and his facebook disappearing, which incidentally was back when I checked last week.
Unfortunately, the use of his name yet again provoked this latest response. I'll be honest I would have done the same in his shoes.
So now we wait to see if that's it or whether there's more to come.
I think his tweet saying it had taken him six months to get away pretty much confirms it was all over by the time he returned from his first trip back to Oz in October. I assume they'd signed a six month contract that would have been hard to extricate himself from, so instead he had to grin and bear it.
If the video of the 'gorilla' is for real, his life must have been a living hell for that six months. I think JJ moving in was for protection.
Great post Lena. I'm delighted to see John tweet again, however 'ill-advised'.
Regarding the fame, I get what you're saying but it is undeniably true that when John came out of the house he did some pretty dubious mag shoots and set up a PA schedule ...... even before Josie ran out of the UBB house to join him. So that might suggest he at least thought he might enjoy a shot at some z-list exposure. By now, he probably realises the cost you have to pay for that kind of thing. Happily he doesn't seem to have the right personality for it (that's a compliment btw! )
His recent anger is entirely understandable and consistent with his personality: "USE THE OTHERS, BUT YOU WILL NOT USE ME"!! :eek::D
That's why I'm not remotely dismayed about him 'not having moved on', as some suggest. Love him or loathe him ..... he's just back to his old argumentative self we watched in the BB house (and pre-BB the Achilles who was reputed to be a keyboard warrior!). :D
Great post Lena. I'm delighted to see John tweet again, however 'ill-advised'.
Regarding the fame, I get what you're saying but it is undeniably true that when John came out of the house he did some pretty dubious mag shoots and set up a PA schedule ...... even before Josie ran out of the UBB house to join him. So that might suggest he at least thought he might enjoy a shot at some z-list exposure. By now, he probably realises the cost you have to pay for that kind of thing. Happily he doesn't seem to have the right personality for it (that's a compliment btw! )
His recent anger is entirely understandable and consistent with his personality: "USE THE OTHERS, BUT YOU WILL NOT USE ME"!! :eek::D
That's why I'm not remotely dismayed about him 'not having moved on', as some suggest. Love him or loathe him ..... he's just back to his old argumentative self we watched in the BB house (and pre-BB the Achilles who was reputed to be a keyboard warrior!). :D
Great to see you here Alex Think you've popped in a few times recently but I have to say I am getting a bit confused about which thread I'm on .....well, just occasionally
I am one of those who has been dismayed that John seems not to have moved on....I hate to hear him sound so stressed out....so your comment in BIB is quite comforting. Thank you! There is always more than one way to look at everything
Thanks for the questions nyannie and also your thoughts kfb.
I'm also having one of 'those days' Lindy. Spent another morning and half the afternoon down at the flat with plumber and builder trying to find a way of solving the problem of rain water getting in the heating boiler. Already paid one enormous repair bill and had more water in this week, thankfully no damage this time but we've got to resolve this as we are in process of selling. Can't do anything without consent of managing company and it's for us to prove what's causing the problem, namely the new guttering which has been sited right beside the flue! I'm fast turning into a nervous wreck. :eek: Still got a trip round Sainsbury's yet, waiting for OH to get home from work.:(
It's fish and chips tonight, the kitchen is closed due to lack of interest.
:It's just my own opinion, but I think it's the experience - things we don't know about, the puppet-masters, the being controlled, the not being able to tell the truth, not having much of a life during that time, I think he's bitter about all of that - being sucked in, gullible, made to look and act a fool - and the fact that Josie continues to live in that world and that he helped her become what she is now ( what is she? ) is what he's bitter and angry about. I certainly don't think it's anything to do with any lingering affection for Ms Gibson. My own opinion obviously )
What i was thinking too,only you articulated it very well.:cool:
I agree with this somewhat but my opinion is maybe he is not as strong a personality as we think.If he had stayed or come back sooner his confidence would have grown by now.He is even lucky,he had somewhere to start not a privilege many of us had.John could have and can exist in the UK without Josie. He didnt come all the way from Australia for her in the first place.To me he some how went back to prove to himself that he can have a life there.Yes he can but probably coming back and seeing his fellow BB11 housemates doing well he thinks what might have been.I am not sure whether this stuborness is helping because emotionally he is in a different place.
Apaer from the winner,i don't see anyone doing well?:o
Great post Lena. I'm delighted to see John tweet again, however 'ill-advised'.
Regarding the fame, I get what you're saying but it is undeniably true that when John came out of the house he did some pretty dubious mag shoots and set up a PA schedule ...... even before Josie ran out of the UBB house to join him. So that might suggest he at least thought he might enjoy a shot at some z-list exposure. By now, he probably realises the cost you have to pay for that kind of thing. Happily he doesn't seem to have the right personality for it (that's a compliment btw! )
His recent anger is entirely understandable and consistent with his personality: "USE THE OTHERS, BUT YOU WILL NOT USE ME"!! :eek::D
That's why I'm not remotely dismayed about him 'not having moved on', as some suggest. Love him or loathe him ..... he's just back to his old argumentative self we watched in the BB house (and pre-BB the Achilles who was reputed to be a keyboard warrior!). :D
Agree,but tbf to her,she doesn't need to use him for weight stories.:)
One thing about John he gets people talking interest is still there in him. I would like to see some sort of closure now though.
Only a handful though,and i'm not sure there is enough interest for him telling his story,if that's what you mean with closure,also it's been 2yrs now...
Please bump this throughout the day. Just to remind you to head your discussion BooK Group Discussion in bold.
Well folks, here are the questions - hope they generate some good discussion.
1. How does Gina's relationship with Sean evolve through the story? Do you think she is every truly in love with him? Why or why not?
I dont know...I think Gina thinks she is in love with him...but I dont know if i would recognise this emotion as love, to me its closer to lust.....for them both.....
2. What is the role that Gina's parents play throughout the novel?
3. In what ways does Evie's character evolve or is it Gina's perception of her that changes.
4. What ways do the aspirations for wealth of the characters in the book are forced to contend with the reality of a broken housing market and a flawed lover? How do Gina and Fiona react?
5. Is Gina truly happy with Sean? Do you think she is searching for something? Does she find it?
3. In what ways does Evie's character evolve or is it Gina's perception of her that changes.
Oh I wish i had more time to do this properly...:-(
Evies character changes as she gets older...and as she becomes more of a real person to Gina....at the start she is just a figure on the edges.....but as time goes on...she and Gina actually become closer......until Evie feels able to share what she really feels and thinks about Gina...
which is pretty devastating....
Kay mentioned how selfish Gina is...and how little she cares for anyone else, or anyone elses feelings......and in that respect i do agree, she seems quite a bit like JOsie,,,,Its all about looking out for number one, and riding rough shod over everyone else...
and thats the part of Gina I really dont like.......she is s mistress who breaks up her boyfriends family...and wreaks havoc on his daughters life. and yet is totally oblivious to the chaos she leaves in her wake...
Gina is herself married...and leaves her own husband ...almost without a second thought.....everything in her life is so easy...and nothing really affects her...
Nyannie thank you so much for doing the questions....
. Is Gina truly happy with Sean? Do you think she is searching for something? Does she find it?
Im, not sure.......I think Gina herself is a fairly shallow character....and maybe she is the kind of woman who is happy with almost anything....she doesnt seem to care that much or have a very deep emotional connection to anyone ...but herself.....
so i do think she is probably happy in her own skin...and with the situation she has created....
Only a handful though,and i'm not sure there is enough interest for him telling his story,if that's what you mean with closure,also it's been 2yrs now...
i mean closure in enough is enough now they should either agree to disagree or talk in private sort things out then perhaps their supporters would do the same.
Great post Lena. I'm delighted to see John tweet again, however 'ill-advised'.
Regarding the fame, I get what you're saying but it is undeniably true that when John came out of the house he did some pretty dubious mag shoots and set up a PA schedule ...... even before Josie ran out of the UBB house to join him. So that might suggest he at least thought he might enjoy a shot at some z-list exposure. By now, he probably realises the cost you have to pay for that kind of thing. Happily he doesn't seem to have the right personality for it (that's a compliment btw! )
His recent anger is entirely understandable and consistent with his personality: "USE THE OTHERS, BUT YOU WILL NOT USE ME"!! :eek::D
That's why I'm not remotely dismayed about him 'not having moved on', as some suggest. Love him or loathe him ..... he's just back to his old argumentative self we watched in the BB house (and pre-BB the Achilles who was reputed to be a keyboard warrior!). :D
Im in complete agreement with you Alex........I can see why his recent anger is understandable.....and like the fact he is tweeting again...
I won't say any more about the book until others have contributed to the discussion but reading in CT just reminded me of something:
while I was reading it, totally out of nowhere, Gina reminded me several times of Josie with her behaviour. Does anyone else think this?
And just quickly about the other characters:
I thought she never really genuinely understood Sean and what he'd had to go through when the accident happened to Evie. Was this because she hadn't had children? She seems to have been reasonably happy within her own family as a child, so that wasn't the reason for her seeming lack of empathy. Or was it deliberately written in this way as first person narrator to show how difficult it is to put yourself in someone else's position? Personally, as I said earlier, I saw her as a totally self-absorbed person with a total lack of ability to do this with anybody - her sister, her mother, her boyfriend Connor, her lover Sean - in fact, the only one where there was a touch of empathy was with Evie in the last part. So does this mean, like so many 20 to 30 year olds these days appear to be (and yes, Josie is one of those, I would say), she never got away from being a self-absorbed teenager?
yes i can see where you are coming from...and think there are a lot of interesting aspects from this book to discuss...maybe we can continue discussing it tomorrow....and expand a bit on our thoughts and opinions????
cos i totally agree about some 20 /30 year olds never getting away from being a self absorbed teenager...!!!
i mean closure in enough is enough now they should either agree to disagree or talk in private sort things out then perhaps their supporters would do the same.
It should've been done months ago,but there still going on about it,and it looks like they'll never agree.
Btw after all that,one tiny positive aspect about it,John is alive and watching:pNext time he goes in hibernation,we need Now to mention his name again:p
Btw after all that,one tiny positive aspect about it,John is alive and watching:pNext time he goes in hibernation,we need Now to mention his name again:p
Yeah and he certainly keeps things interesting and not boring. That can be said for John and Josie after two years and still top of the appreciation threads they are certainly doing something right. x
Yeah and he certainly keeps things interesting and not boring. That can be said for John and Josie after two years and still top of the appreciation threads they are certainly doing something right. x
Not only upstairs,but downstairs too.....Something still in the air lol
i mean closure in enough is enough now they should either agree to disagree or talk in private sort things out then perhaps their supporters would do the same.
LOL The last thing I would do if I was John is talk to the ex without witnesses there, fodder for the trashy mags is all she would use it for, at least on twitter you see what John actually says rather than the ex's version of what he said
Comments
I agree with this somewhat but my opinion is maybe he is not as strong a personality as we think.If he had stayed or come back sooner his confidence would have grown by now.He is even lucky,he had somewhere to start not a privilege many of us had.John could have and can exist in the UK without Josie. He didnt come all the way from Australia for her in the first place.To me he some how went back to prove to himself that he can have a life there.Yes he can but probably coming back and seeing his fellow BB11 housemates doing well he thinks what might have been.I am not sure whether this stuborness is helping because emotionally he is in a different place.
while I was reading it, totally out of nowhere, Gina reminded me several times of Josie with her behaviour. Does anyone else think this?
And just quickly about the other characters:
I thought she never really genuinely understood Sean and what he'd had to go through when the accident happened to Evie. Was this because she hadn't had children? She seems to have been reasonably happy within her own family as a child, so that wasn't the reason for her seeming lack of empathy. Or was it deliberately written in this way as first person narrator to show how difficult it is to put yourself in someone else's position? Personally, as I said earlier, I saw her as a totally self-absorbed person with a total lack of ability to do this with anybody - her sister, her mother, her boyfriend Connor, her lover Sean - in fact, the only one where there was a touch of empathy was with Evie in the last part. So does this mean, like so many 20 to 30 year olds these days appear to be (and yes, Josie is one of those, I would say), she never got away from being a self-absorbed teenager?
I'm sorry not to have been able to post anything yet. I did start something, then managed in my haste to delete it.....and despite my best efforts to set a few hours aside for our book club, real life (as it were) keeps on intervening. Just one of those days, I'm afraid
I have to go out to a 'bring and share' tonight....oh, how I love that term lol......let's just say that I'll be stopping off at the supermarket to collect my 'bring' option!
Wish I were able to make something but there you go....
Hope I'll be back later because I really do want to make a contribution about this book
Great post Lena. I'm delighted to see John tweet again, however 'ill-advised'.
Regarding the fame, I get what you're saying but it is undeniably true that when John came out of the house he did some pretty dubious mag shoots and set up a PA schedule ...... even before Josie ran out of the UBB house to join him. So that might suggest he at least thought he might enjoy a shot at some z-list exposure. By now, he probably realises the cost you have to pay for that kind of thing. Happily he doesn't seem to have the right personality for it (that's a compliment btw!
His recent anger is entirely understandable and consistent with his personality: "USE THE OTHERS, BUT YOU WILL NOT USE ME"!! :eek::D
That's why I'm not remotely dismayed about him 'not having moved on', as some suggest. Love him or loathe him ..... he's just back to his old argumentative self we watched in the BB house (and pre-BB the Achilles who was reputed to be a keyboard warrior!).
Great to see you here Alex
I am one of those who has been dismayed that John seems not to have moved on....I hate to hear him sound so stressed out....so your comment in BIB is quite comforting. Thank you! There is always more than one way to look at everything
I'm also having one of 'those days' Lindy. Spent another morning and half the afternoon down at the flat with plumber and builder trying to find a way of solving the problem of rain water getting in the heating boiler. Already paid one enormous repair bill and had more water in this week, thankfully no damage this time but we've got to resolve this as we are in process of selling. Can't do anything without consent of managing company and it's for us to prove what's causing the problem, namely the new guttering which has been sited right beside the flue! I'm fast turning into a nervous wreck. :eek: Still got a trip round Sainsbury's yet, waiting for OH to get home from work.:(
It's fish and chips tonight, the kitchen is closed due to lack of interest.
View on book coming up.....
Closure as in stopping to talk about him?
What i was thinking too,only you articulated it very well.:cool:
Apaer from the winner,i don't see anyone doing well?
Agree,but tbf to her,she doesn't need to use him for weight stories.:)
Mario.The winner is 'doing well' just because her fans are loud and going on about nothing.
Only a handful though,and i'm not sure there is enough interest for him telling his story,if that's what you mean with closure,also it's been 2yrs now...
Good,what is he doing?I remember him talking about becoming a designer:)
Lol:D
My overall mpressions of this book were odd...
I quie liked seeing things though someone elses eyes whilst . finding it very hard to be sympathetic
[
Im not sure.....Her mother seems distant and not really part of her life...and her dad is dead and idolised........
Oh I wish i had more time to do this properly...:-(
Evies character changes as she gets older...and as she becomes more of a real person to Gina....at the start she is just a figure on the edges.....but as time goes on...she and Gina actually become closer......until Evie feels able to share what she really feels and thinks about Gina...
which is pretty devastating....
Kay mentioned how selfish Gina is...and how little she cares for anyone else, or anyone elses feelings......and in that respect i do agree, she seems quite a bit like JOsie,,,,Its all about looking out for number one, and riding rough shod over everyone else...
and thats the part of Gina I really dont like.......she is s mistress who breaks up her boyfriends family...and wreaks havoc on his daughters life. and yet is totally oblivious to the chaos she leaves in her wake...
Gina is herself married...and leaves her own husband ...almost without a second thought.....everything in her life is so easy...and nothing really affects her...
. Is Gina truly happy with Sean? Do you think she is searching for something? Does she find it?
Im, not sure.......I think Gina herself is a fairly shallow character....and maybe she is the kind of woman who is happy with almost anything....she doesnt seem to care that much or have a very deep emotional connection to anyone ...but herself.....
so i do think she is probably happy in her own skin...and with the situation she has created....
i mean closure in enough is enough now they should either agree to disagree or talk in private sort things out then perhaps their supporters would do the same.
Im in complete agreement with you Alex........I can see why his recent anger is understandable.....and like the fact he is tweeting again...
however ill advised it may seem...:D
yes i can see where you are coming from...and think there are a lot of interesting aspects from this book to discuss...maybe we can continue discussing it tomorrow....and expand a bit on our thoughts and opinions????
cos i totally agree about some 20 /30 year olds never getting away from being a self absorbed teenager...!!!
It should've been done months ago,but there still going on about it,and it looks like they'll never agree.
Yeah and he certainly keeps things interesting and not boring. That can be said for John and Josie after two years and still top of the appreciation threads they are certainly doing something right. x
Not only upstairs,but downstairs too.....Something still in the air lol
LOL The last thing I would do if I was John is talk to the ex without witnesses there, fodder for the trashy mags is all she would use it for, at least on twitter you see what John actually says rather than the ex's version of what he said