Flatmate email backfires for admin man
Thursday 11th September 2008, 1:00PM BST.
ARE you a young woman who can cook and clean and is reasonably nice to look at? If so, fiduciary administrator Paul Eley (pictured) wants you.
He sent an email to colleagues at Concept Group – quickly circulated around the island – asking if they knew of a girl who would be interested in being his rent-free flatmate. But there were conditions:
Firstly, she had to be between 18 and 26 years old and ‘preferably someone who is very tidy and reasonably nice to look at’. Mr Eley added in his email that instead of paying rent, he would expect his tenant to:
- Clean the whole apartment once a week.
- Clean the kitchen every day and keep it tidy.
- Do some of his washing and ironing.
- Occasionally cook for him on a weekday if he was working late ‘nothing difficult, something like sausages and mash,’ he said.
The arrangement would not be permanent because if he got a serious girlfriend, his tenant would have to leave at one month’s notice. And his final point was: ‘She can have other friends round as long as they are women.’
Mr Eley claimed yesterday that the emails were not serious. ‘It was only meant as a joke and was not meant to be anything serious.’
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How desperate do you have to be? Saying the emails were a joke was no doubt a damage limitation exercise, but look how fast this has circulated!
Not only has he compromised his chances of really finding a girlfriend, but no doubt affected the reputation of his workplace as well.
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I’m struggling to find what was so bad with the email?!
Lets face it – what he wrote is what goes through every mans mind when faced with looking for a flatmate – the rest of us just dont have the guts to actually write it!!
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So….whats he done wrong, you dont want an ugly lasy flatmate.. do you?
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I think that this was meant to be an immitation e-mail of something similar on Radio 1 not too long ago…
However, knowing the guy, I think there was definitely something genuine chucked in there!
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Hmmmm I think for a start Mr Lee means ‘lazy’ and if W H Bonney thinks that every man thinks like that then he is mistaken… Only small minded men think on that level or maybe they are trying to ‘big’ up in other areas that they are otherwise lacking….!!!!
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Was this a slow news day or something? If this was a geuine email, it is still clear thtere was no motive to cause anyone distress. Why has this made it to the press? What is it doing on the website? Why is the person that wrote the article a member of the Facebook group that is denigrating this character on the web as we speak? Is that impartial? Or is this an attempt to point score with other idiots on the island, no matter what the cost to this man’s personal life on what is a goldfish bowl of an island?
Incidentally ‘Doorien’, I’ve seen the email that you replied with and you’ve made yourself out to be a much bigger tool than he ever did. Is that enough innuendo for you?
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Neil Lee…Haha…funny reply mate. Forget the spelling, that made me laugh. Sam, i think you are right. He didn’t intend to offend. But it is funny and although he will suffer from some bad press he is also becoming something of a local celebrity with more people seeing the funny side than not.
Seriously, do you think John Gollop would be so popular if he wasn’t a bit on the odd side. I think the same result may come out of this episode for our man Eley. Also, i think it makes our little island sound a hell of a lot more interesting with characters like him making nat press! I sincerely hope he doesn’t lose his job over it though. I think there would be a big lobby for his reinstatement if so!
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Surely there must be a few people out there that have got a sense of humour, I don’t know Paul Eley but it sounds to me as though it was sent to his colleagues for a laugh…… fair play – it cheered me up when I read it!!
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Starting to feel sorry for Paul Eley and sincerely hope his employers see the funny side. I think he genuinely thought that this was a good deal. Rent free accommodation for a little housework and cooking. Not that bad a deal really.. Surely he is entitled to seek a flat-mate that he would feel comfortable with i.e. a good looking, tidy female. Who wants to live with a fat ugly slob…. Hope he finds someone suitable. Now will that make the news?
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If i were to say that i was suprised to hear that this kind of thing happened in Guernsey then i would be lying. And by that i mean the fact that the press thought it worth while news to publish it. It just goes to show the mentality of the island and how completely insane it is that now it’s in the national papers. This whole thing reminds me of why I left the island in the first place. It was a joke, ok the guy may be a bit odd but it was a email to his mates at work, and to be fair in a perfect world you would have a flat mate as he jokingly asked for, and anyway if you don’t ask you don’t get. Next time try and publish something worh while, like an OAP not stopping at a yellow line.
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Tim, it wasn’t a joke. I know various people who know him and they vouch that this is simply the way he is. The situation that developed was because so many locals found it simply very funny, and it was so because it was obvious to everyone except Mr Eley himself that it was pretty sexist.
As to your point about a perfect world, i would ask, who’s perfect world? Certainly not the flatmates.
Finally, if you dislike the island that much why are you writing on a website devoted to local news. It may not be the best place in the world, and there are real problem issues for those of us who choose to stick it out, but its a lot better than a lot of places i have lived in the UK. I assume, though, that since you are clearly superior to us poor bumpkins over here, that you won’t lower yourself to visit again.
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When can I move in?xx
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I think this is hilarious!! at least it made everyone laugh and lets face it….why not?!?! Live and let live I say! more news like this to brighten our day please hehe.
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Simon, wether it was a joke or not is completely besides the point, I agree that its funny, but do you really think that that is worth while news? Well probably for Guernsey but Not for the national news papers. I do not know the person, so im looking at this from a different perspective. I do not dislike the island as a place, i have lived there most of my life, its more some of the people in it. Your last sentence proved that with your childish mentality.
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Tim
The very essence of your first post was that this was a joke email. You said:
“It was a joke, ok the guy may be a bit odd but it was a email to his mates at work, and to be fair in a perfect world you would have a flat mate as he jokingly asked for, and anyway if you don’t ask you don’t get”
So to claim that it is completely beside the point is a bit of an about turn from your original argument (or statement, since there seems to be precious little application of logic).
The very fact that national newspapers did consider this worth printing (not to mention newspapers in India and the U.S.) clearly show that they thought it worthwhile news. So your division between Guernsey and the rest of the world, in terms of narrow minded gossip mongering, I suppose, does not hold up either.
My last sentence was directed at your comment suggesting that you left the island because of the mentality of the island(ers). As an islander I take, obvious, offence to this. Far from childish, I suggest it contained an element of irony which a child of average intelligence (or perhaps you) would fail to appreciate.
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This was so obviously a joke. Things like this taken to far ruin peoples lives.
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Ex pupil has the right idea. Some people (like Simon)…. have nothing better to do than make fun of others, and blow things completely out of proportion and ‘get off’ on other peoples misery (Simon)
I suppose i’d better be careful otherwise this petty and pointless argument may get published, blown out of proportion and who knows, it may be in the sun next week!!!
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Tim. Small minded, opinionated, tiresome morons might end up getting annoyed at this post (Tim). Nothing is getting blown out of proportion from the individuals here. A lot of people found it very funny, and it is this mass reaction (of humour) that is the news, not the email itself. Figure it out mate. You are the one taking it all very seriously. Over here, we couldn’t give a stuff. You hated it so much it made you leave….hmmmmm, now who is really taking things too seriously.
Ex pupil. We have been through this before. It was meant seriously. The colleagues he sent it to can vouch for that, and our office was sent the email direct from the office of Mr Eley; from one of his colleagues, with a comment to the effect that she truly believed him to be serious, because she knows him.
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Ha ha ha, I couldn’t care less mate…… far more important things to worry about.
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