SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011
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Ed and Joanna Thornton, and one of their cats, this one is called Jane, seen inside their house near King’s Cross in London. They are aiming to let their house during the week of the Royal Wedding on April, 29, 2011, for them it fits well as they have a wedding to attend in Australia at the same time, and would help off-set the cost of their trip. — AP
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he Japanese emperor is a quiet, studious type. The paragon of respectability. But, oh, what a family! In a country where old folks still remember when it was a serious crime to defame the imperial household, Japan’s tabloid-style weekly magazines just can’t get enough unflattering gossip on its royal family - and especially the women who marry into it. Emperor Akihito, 77, is portrayed as beyond reproach, but his
In this file photo, Japanese Empress Michiko (right) honorary president of the Japanese Red Cross Society, and Crown Princess Masako (center) honorary deputy president of the society, and Princess Kiko smile during the awarding ceremony of the 39th Florence Nightingale Medals at Japanese Red Cross Society headquarters in Tokyo. — AP
wife, who had epic battles with her in-laws when she was young, is painted as, well, let’s say sensitive. And their daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Masako? What a tragedy! Still no son. Masako, the Harvard and Oxford educated wife of the heir to the throne, is a favorite target. Any piece of trivia will do. “Lady in Waiting Quits: ‘They Won’t Let Me Do My Job,”‘ screamed one recent headline. Another took aim at Masako’s 9-year-old daughter: “Aiko Holed Up In Limo - Refuses To Go To School.” The story, accompanied by blurry photos, acknowledged the young princess stayed in the limousine only about 15 minutes. As Britain gears up for its royal wedding in April, Japan - taking a page from the British tabloids - is firmly in soap-opera mode. The constant and often ungenerous scrutiny has taken a toll. It has been linked to serious bouts of depression in Masako, 47, and Empress Michiko, 76, the two who get the most attention. Those in the business say they are simply giving readers - predominantly women what they want. They argue that the public has a right to know the royal family better than the largely uncritical, one-dimensional picture in the mainstream media. “There are times when, to be honest, I feel sorry for the royal family,” said Shu Hatakehori, who is in charge of imperial coverage for the Shukan Josei, a weekly magazine with a circulation of about 700,000. “But we are responding to the needs of our readers.” —AP
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he Recording Academy is finally getting some satisfaction, with Mick Jagger’s first appearance on the Grammy stage. The Rolling Stones frontman will perform at the Feb 13 ceremony as part of a tribute to soul great Solomon Burke, who died last year. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer opened for the Rolling Stones several times during his career comeback late in life. Jagger will perform with soul singer Raphael Saadiq during the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, which will air live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles (8 pm EST, 0100 GMT). “We’re thrilled, delighted, excited and very much looking forward to Mick doing his debut on the Grammy stage,” said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy. “It’s extraordinary to many of us that the fact is, this will be the first time; he has never performed on the Grammy stage.” This won’t be Jagger’s first appearance on a Grammy telecast. In 1986, the Rolling Stones were given a lifetime achievement award by Eric Clapton, and they performed on the show by satellite. “We did a remote from London, and it was at least three o’clock there,” said show producer Ken Ehrlich. “I think they had been celebrating a little time before we went on camera,” he said. “It was quite a moment.” Ehrlich has produced the show for 31 years and has always wanted Jagger and the Stones to perform, but it didn’t work out until this year. Ehrlich said it was Jagger’s admiration for Burke that brought him to the Grammy stage.
Mick Jagger
for the London 2012 Olympics, but expanded once inquiries about the wedding streamed in from owners looking to cash in. “People love the royal family,” said Parker. “So a lot of people are willing to pay top dollar to actually be near them.” After seeing friends pocket sizable sums for renting their apartments during Wimbledon, Jonathan Thornton decided to try his luck for April.—AP
Jagger set for first time on Grammy stage
hey may not get chocolate on the pillow - but at least they’ll have a pillow. Tourists eager to soak up the pomp of this spring’s royal wedding will be hard pressed to find a hotel room, as an estimated half-million others will be here with the same idea. But for those willing to pay a premium (and do without amenities) there’s a solution: their very own London flat. “Hotels are going to be very full,” says Jane Ingram, head of Savills Plc’s rentals unit. “People are going to need to look at private apartments as an alternative.” London’s roughly 120,000 hotel rooms are nowhere near enough to accommodate the hordes of royalty buffs expected for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. That means many Londoners plan to do what they always do whenever a big event hits town - rent out their homes for a huge profit. Homeowners have been known to rake in up to 50 percent more than normal rental rates during big ticket occasions such as Wimbledon, but around the April 29 wedding date, apartments are expected to go for three to four times normal. But that won’t put off die-hard royal watchers eager to hear wedding bells chime. “It’s not every day that a royal gets married,” says Kim Bourke, who booked her ticket from Melbourne, Australia as soon as the wedding date was announced. She opted for a “guerrilla approach” to accommodation hunting by posting an ad on the UK’s Gumtree website in hopes of finding a nice, cozy apartment to rent to witness the latest chapter of a “real life fairytale.” What she found was a sobering reality - offers from homeowners asking sky-high rents. “I don’t want to pay for someone’s holiday,” she complains. Still, after surveying the market, she’s resigned to having to pay a royal wedding premium. “It’s a special occasion,” Bourke says. “I have to be realistic because it’s going to cost a little bit more.” Some property websites are specifically geared to connecting homeowners with people looking for housing during major London events. Matthew Parker’s londonrentmyhouse.com started as such a matchmaker