Men, this is how much culinary ignorance could cost you
He tried hard in the original hearing. Glossing over his career as a City trader, his lawyers argued he was a kind of innocent fledgling, plucked from the nest and sold into gilded marital servitude. Having grown used to luxury, he could hardly be expected to support himself. He claimed for all sorts of spurious concessions; he wanted £36,000 per year for flights alone.
Most outrageously, Entwistle wanted £26,000 a year for 'meal plans', as he was hopeless in the kitchen. 'I can't even cook an omelette,' he pleaded. Perhaps not, but you'd have thought he could run the numbers. Even given today's prices, £500 a week will buy a man a lot of breakfast.
I realise it was for a noble cause, but in completely denying any kitchen prowess, Entwistle has let the man side down. Jamie Oliver has been on TV for a quarter of a century. As with tax fraud, ignorance is not an excuse. Nobody is saying you need to memorise the entire Larousse Gastronomique, but in 2025 every man ought to have at least seven pairs of pants and the same number of recipes up his sleeve. A minimum of two should be midweek dinners that do not involve piling up every pan in the kitchen and kicking back to glug the claret while one's partner sets about the washing up like Hercules approaching the stables.
Speaking for myself, I have found cooking at home a good way not to feel like a spare part. This time five years ago, my wife and I had our baby daughter at home. Caring for a one-month-old in a lockdown was a good lesson in gender essentialism. Cooking was one of the few things I could do. (I am told 'making some money' would also have been popular.) And it is not hard. Put a chicken in the oven for 45 minutes*? Brownie points. Huge batch of pasta sauce? Brownie points. Bake some brownies? You guessed it – a pat on the back.
An irony for Entwistle is that if he had bothered to get his head around a couple of one-pan dishes – and even washed them up afterwards – he might have come off better in the original ruling. Traditional divorce awards were a reflection of sacrifice as well as need. Women gave up their own careers to devote themselves to their husbands and children; it was right they shared the pot. Martyred apron guy is a more persuasive vibe than entitled whinger.
Instead, the judge was having none of it, and awarded Entwistle just £325,000. It must have stung all the more given Helliwell had previously offered £800,000. Mr Justice Francis commented: '[Entwistle] said to me, 'I can't even cook an omelette.' Well, my answer to that is, 'Learn.' It is not difficult. You do not have to be a master chef to learn how to eat reasonably well.'
And then there was this zinger: 'Being married to a rich person for three years does not suddenly catapult you into a right to live like that after the relationship has ended.'
As Entwistle had spent £450,000 in legal fees, his pleading culinary ignorance left him down £125,000 net. I wonder how he likes them eggs.
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BBC News
17-07-2025
- BBC News
'I don't want any other family being told their child has died'
"I don't want any other family getting the 4am knock on the door, I don't want them being told their child has died," said Keena Entwistle, who lost her son Ethan when the car in which he was a front seat passenger crashed into a tree in Entwistle has been using her experience to educate sixth form students at St George's Church of England Foundation School in Broadstairs about road safety. Ethan was a pupil at the school."If we can stop one crash, if we can stop one injury, one fatality, then Ethan didn't die in vain," she Hyde, director of the school's sixth form, said she was more concerned about the safety of young drivers following Ethan's death. "We were all there at the funeral, we've followed the family the whole way through, so it's nice to come full circle and be able to see that Keena's now able to educate the next generation of drivers," she said."Hopefully we don't have such a close connection and this kind of accident happening again."The driver of the car in which Ethan was a passenger in 2023 admitted causing death by dangerous driving and is due to be sentenced in Entwistle wants to see the introduction of graduated driver licences which would see young drivers forbidden from carrying passengers of a similar age. According to national road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, a fifth of all collisions in 2023 involved a young Entwistle was among a group of bereaved families who met MPs in June to advance the case for graduated driver licences.A spokesperson for the Department for Transport previously said the government was not considering graduated driving licences but recognised "that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads". 'Scary on the roads' Lacey, 17, is learning to drive and is one of a number of students at the school who support graduated driver licences."I think it's so important that we're mature enough to know what we're being held responsible for and who we're looking after," she student Kaitlyn said the idea of taking to the road as a qualified young driver was "almost daunting"."You could be the safest driver in the world but it's what other people are doing that impacts everything else," she who has just passed his test, said he tried to avoid driving at night."There's a lot of people out on the roads that are speeding they're obviously drunk sometimes as well," he said. "It's quite scary to be out on the roads."He added that he would be more cautious on the roads after hearing Ms Entwistle's story.
Telegraph
01-04-2025
- Telegraph
Men, this is how much culinary ignorance could cost you
You can count on the divorce courts for a sense of the frontiers of gender equality. Last month, Simon Entwistle found himself in the papers when he appealed the sum he'd been awarded following his split from his ex, Jenny Helliwell, on grounds of 'gender prejudice'. She is an heiress with an estimated fortune of £61.5 million. Entwistle's argument is basically that he is so useless he ought to be given lots of money. He tried hard in the original hearing. Glossing over his career as a City trader, his lawyers argued he was a kind of innocent fledgling, plucked from the nest and sold into gilded marital servitude. Having grown used to luxury, he could hardly be expected to support himself. He claimed for all sorts of spurious concessions; he wanted £36,000 per year for flights alone. Most outrageously, Entwistle wanted £26,000 a year for 'meal plans', as he was hopeless in the kitchen. 'I can't even cook an omelette,' he pleaded. Perhaps not, but you'd have thought he could run the numbers. Even given today's prices, £500 a week will buy a man a lot of breakfast. I realise it was for a noble cause, but in completely denying any kitchen prowess, Entwistle has let the man side down. Jamie Oliver has been on TV for a quarter of a century. As with tax fraud, ignorance is not an excuse. Nobody is saying you need to memorise the entire Larousse Gastronomique, but in 2025 every man ought to have at least seven pairs of pants and the same number of recipes up his sleeve. A minimum of two should be midweek dinners that do not involve piling up every pan in the kitchen and kicking back to glug the claret while one's partner sets about the washing up like Hercules approaching the stables. Speaking for myself, I have found cooking at home a good way not to feel like a spare part. This time five years ago, my wife and I had our baby daughter at home. Caring for a one-month-old in a lockdown was a good lesson in gender essentialism. Cooking was one of the few things I could do. (I am told 'making some money' would also have been popular.) And it is not hard. Put a chicken in the oven for 45 minutes*? Brownie points. Huge batch of pasta sauce? Brownie points. Bake some brownies? You guessed it – a pat on the back. An irony for Entwistle is that if he had bothered to get his head around a couple of one-pan dishes – and even washed them up afterwards – he might have come off better in the original ruling. Traditional divorce awards were a reflection of sacrifice as well as need. Women gave up their own careers to devote themselves to their husbands and children; it was right they shared the pot. Martyred apron guy is a more persuasive vibe than entitled whinger. Instead, the judge was having none of it, and awarded Entwistle just £325,000. It must have stung all the more given Helliwell had previously offered £800,000. Mr Justice Francis commented: '[Entwistle] said to me, 'I can't even cook an omelette.' Well, my answer to that is, 'Learn.' It is not difficult. You do not have to be a master chef to learn how to eat reasonably well.' And then there was this zinger: 'Being married to a rich person for three years does not suddenly catapult you into a right to live like that after the relationship has ended.' As Entwistle had spent £450,000 in legal fees, his pleading culinary ignorance left him down £125,000 net. I wonder how he likes them eggs.
The Independent
24-03-2025
- The Independent
Daughter of Taliban-imprisoned British couple fears for health amid court delay
The daughter of an elderly British couple imprisoned in Afghanistan has spoken of her serious concerns about their deteriorating health. Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, in central Afghanistan, in February. Sarah Entwistle said the continued detention of her father 'poses a serious risk to his life'. Mr Reynolds is 'experiencing tremors in his head and left arm', Ms Entwistle told The Times, adding Mrs Reynolds was 'collapsing due to malnutrition'. Mr Reynolds has had a chest infection, a double eye infection and serious digestive problems since he was moved to a maximum security prison, she said. 'We remain extremely concerned for Dad in particular. Without access to the medication he needs, his continued detention poses a serious risk to his life,' she has said previously. Court proceedings for the couple were scheduled for Saturday but they were returned to their separate prisons after the hearing was delayed. Ms Entwistle said she was 'devastated' by the delay but added guards had 'indicated that a different judge would be handling the case'. 'We continue to hope they will receive a fair hearing,' she added. Mr and Mrs Reynolds have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, where they run school training programmes. They were arrested alongside Faye Hall, an American friend who had rented a plane to travel with them, and a translator from the couple's Rebuild training business. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said on Monday: 'We are supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan.' However, the UK Government has said its ability to provide assistance was 'extremely limited' due to the closure of its embassy after the Taliban's takeover in 2021.
