Lord’s – home to Marylebone Cricket Club – has another political rumpus on its hands.
The London club’s go-ahead art committee has installed an exhibition of Syrian paintings in its historic pavilion, purportedly to show ‘solidarity’ with the Middle Eastern country.
Not all members are happy, though, with one of them pinning a letter to the club’s noticeboard to complain about politicisation of the club.
The exhibition was on display last week as the cricket season got under way. One MCC member who went to look at the paintings said they were ‘not terribly good’ and suspected that the exhibition was merely designed to ‘project a progressive image of the club’.
This view was echoed by a signed note that was stuck on the noticeboard in the pavilion by author and long-term MCC member Michael Henderson.
‘Members may have noted the daubs upstairs and the club’s endorsement of ‘creativity’ and ‘solidarity’,’ wrote Henderson. ‘Solidarity’ with whom? The human race, perhaps. We can all agree on that. But this ‘exhibition’ is nudging us towards another view; a partial one. This is meant to be a cricket club.’
Lord’s has certainly had its share of wokery squabbles in recent years, with modernisers in the MCC seemingly trying to pick fights with more conservative elements
Another MCC member suggests that the exhibition is the brainchild of Left-wing journalist Emma John, who chairs the MCC’s heritage and collections committee. When she became a member in 2018, she wrote an article in The Guardian declaring her intention to ‘fight to influence the MCC’s culture from inside’ on diversity and inclusivity issues.
Lord’s has certainly had its share of wokery squabbles in recent years, with modernisers in the MCC seemingly trying to pick fights with more conservative elements in the rank-and-file membership.
There was a campaign to rename its Warner Stand owing to alleged links to the slave trade, while former MCC president Sir Stephen Fry accused some of his fellow members of being ‘fleshy white Englishmen’ and ‘stinking’ of privilege.
The club’s right-on committee also tried to drop the annual Eton versus Harrow game and the Varsity match from the fixture list on ‘elitism’ grounds, but members forced them to back down on that.
Who knew that a mere game of bat and ball could be so political?
Comedian left baffled by Kanye ‘betrayal’ claim
Little-known stand-up comic Jarlath Regan is bemused to find himself among those accused of ‘betrayal’ by troubled rapper Kanye West, who was banned yesterday from entering Britain by the Home Office.
West, 48, who now performs as Ye, wrote online: ‘I am in pain that no one person can fix the betrayal,’ before listing names including that of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump, basketball star LeBron James, ‘Adolf’, and at the bottom, one Jarlath Regan. ‘I was as surprised as you,’ Regan says. ‘Not entirely sure what I did to make the list.’
Hugh’s hard time at Beeb
Hugh Bonneville, who reprises his role as hapless Head of Values Ian Fletcher from BBC mockumentary W1A, says of the new 2026 series, set at the football World Cup: ‘It’s all shot in a chaotic order, nothing makes sense each day so, for that reason, every single tea break was spent running lines, or in my case apologising to my colleagues for not knowing mine.’
Sounds much like life in Broadcasting House during the latest BBC scandal…
Kirsty’s Easter show with a difference
Kirsty Bertarelli, 54, donned an oversized grey hat and mini lace corset dress over Easter, before putting on a supersized rabbit mask
Kirsty Bertarelli, 54, who became Britain’s richest divorcee when her husband Ernesto agreed to a £350 million settlement, certainly put in the effort with her Easter costume.
The former Miss UK has revealed she went full Mad Hatter, donning an oversized grey hat and mini lace corset dress.
She later put on a supersized rabbit mask.
‘I’m bunny bonkers,’ she wrote online. ‘Easters have always been a favourite for me.’
- Having put off her wedding to socialite Mark Armstrong three times, Anthea Turner has a fourth reason to delay: home improvements. ‘We need to sort it out, and we absolutely will, but we’ve got a lounge renovation that’s just about starting,’ says the former Blue Peter presenter, 65. ‘The problem is that we already feel like we’re married. Although it would be nice to get married some day, it’s not our priority. But it will happen some day.’
King’s friend and famed designer Alec Cobbe dies
King Charles is mourning his friend Alec Cobbe, who has died aged 81.
The Anglo-Irish decorator, collector of instruments and picture hanger was described as the ‘master of country-house style’. Charles was such an admirer that he asked Cobbe to design the invitations for Prince William’s ‘Out of Africa’ themed 21st birthday party.
Cobbe was custodian of Hatchlands Park, a National Trust property that has what is ‘believed by half the world to be the only lifetime portrait of Shakespeare’.
- Is Ed Sheeran ready to give up touring? I can disclose the pop superstar has closed down the firm he used to channel his earnings from live concerts. Newly filed documents confirm that Sheeran, 35, has applied to put Hayagotatourboi Touring into voluntarily liquidation. He registered more than £400million in earnings from live shows in the company since it was established in 2012. Accounts show he had a £40million turnover from shows performed between 2023 and 2024. Sheeran has said he’s considering building a venue in Ipswich to play a long-running residency closer to his Suffolk home.
Myleene and her bikini are at it again
Myleene Klass celebrated her 48th birthday by posing on a mountain in a black bikini, with nothing more than a pair of ear muffs for warmth
Is there anything Myleene Klass won’t do to attract attention?
Two decades after she was memorably filmed taking a shower in a white bikini on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, she’s stripped off again. But instead of being in the jungle, this time she’s on the freezing ski slopes.
‘A happy birthday with my family in the sun and snow,’ says the former Hear’Say singer, who celebrated her 48th birthday by posing on a mountain in a black bikini, with nothing more than a pair of ear muffs for warmth.
At least she was dressed more appropriately last year when she received an MBE from King Charles at Windsor Castle.
