GOLD, HAMMERS AND LINGERIE

Extraordinarily yesterday's Blog on Glen Hoddle notched up ONE reader according to my "posts" record. Well, I normally get 2 hits just by publishing the blog, so what's going on out there? I don't care much about this lack of support, because the half hour or so of research that I spend on a blog keeps me lively on cold afternoons in October. And you are missing some real treats.

Today we are all about ladies' underwear. Jacqueline Gold was on "Desert Island Discs" recently, so my wife told me. Here it is.......
https://player.fm/series/desert-island-discs/jacqueline-gold

I was fully expecting her to launch into a tirade about men "overpowering" women by buying saucy lingerie from Ann Summers and Knickerbox Ltd, to liven up Friday nights but she just suggested that this might be good blog subject to show how empowering women can be and particularly Ms Gold, who has strong footballing links. Jacqueline did work experience at Ann Summers, her father's company, at 19 and two years later took on the "all male boardrooom, made the company female oriented and changed the atmosphere completely. There are now over 100 high street shops with that label that dabble in ladies underwear and sex toys (but watch out for Sainsbury's invasion of this market!!).

Jacqueline was born in Bromley in 1960 and like all blogs there is usually a good link and so I need to warn you about "The Bromley Boys" which is a film about a lad falling in love with a Non-league club, Bromley FC. Inspired by David Roberts' book, TJ Herbert, himself a Bromley boy and actor/producer, created a film about a 15 year old lad and 1969/70 season, the darkest in Bromley's history. Already a cinema "hit" it is released on DVD. About the same time the club found out they were drawn with Peterborough United in the First Round of the FA Cup.

Meanwhile Ms Gold is a seriously successful business woman who is now CEO of Ann Summers and Knickerbox in Old Oxted (that's in Surrey for my northern readers).

Ann Summers was bought by her father, David, in 1972 and stimulated by the success of Tupperware parties, Jacqueline encouraged ladies to do the same but with her goods. This proved a great success, with no men allowed, women could comfortably chat about such things but not plastic boxes of course. As the managing director of the company, she was joined by her sister, Vanessa and became the 16th richest women in Britain.

Where's the football you might ask? Their father David, a West Ham boy who played for the Hammers' Youth team, was born within spitting distance of Upton Park, as it was then. He proved to be very successful in business, but not by following in the footsteps of his father, a well known East End criminal, honest Guv'.
David bought GGI, the parent company of Ann Summers and Knickerbox and also owned an adult magazine company, Gold Star productions, that released saucy mags such as Rustler and Raider on to the British High Street.

David Gold bought the "second" FA Cup for nearly £490,000 to save it "from leaving the country". He was chairman of Birmingham City FC around 2009 and Joint Chairman of West Ham United in 2010. In 2013 he was listed as being worth £350m.
Jacqueline was awarded the CBE in 2016, is a parent and loves football of course.