News about Tom Sharpe

According to naval sources, the future of Britain's second aircraft carrier is in jeopardy due to funding difficulties. After it was announced that the Budget next week would not include any significant increase in defense spending, senior figures have spoken out. They are concerned that HMS Prince of Wales, which cost £3.5 billion to build, could be masked or sold for a pitiful price to a friendly world in retaliation for the fleet's flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth.

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Some enterprising publisher should saddle Rhod Gilbert into a chair, shove a notebook in front of him, and encourage him to write a comic book. As he marched between avalanches of swearing on the world's Most Dangerous Roads (Dave), he has a turn of phrase that makes him the natural successor to literary wits such as Tom Sharpe. With the help of a Land Rover with his buddy, comedian Angela Barnes, Rhod, we discovered the steep track - rocks on one side, sheer drop on the other - was'more hairpins than an episode of Corrie'. Hilda Ogden and her curlers must have been thinking of him. They squeezed through the Saracen tunnel, half a mile long and unlit, he described it as 'tighter than a hippo's pop socks.' And as they finally arrived home, to Angela's amazement and disbelief, they said they were 'buzzing like a wasp in a trombone.'

When Hollywood called, it is the city's crown jewel and doubled as Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame Cathedral. However, an unholy fight has broken out over repairs to the cobbles outside the 900-year-old Lincoln Cathedral, which has made a'real eyesore for visitors and visitors.' Temporary repairs to Minster Yard, the building's West entrance's west entrance, was left with blobs of dark Tarmac. After seeing at least half-a-dozen uninvitably Tarmac repairs among the cobbles, Rosanne Kirk, who was elected Mayor of Lincoln in 2022 before stepping down from the city council last year, blasted the county council's "terrible decisions."

Last night, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, both costing a total £7.6 billion, were in Portsmouth harbour as the Red Sea crisis progressed. Purchased the carriers filled a massive hole in the Royal Navy's finances, but the government has so far refused to bring any ship into hostile waters. Minister Grant Shapps insisted that British forces were able to respond against the Houthi rebels, who are attacking container ships. To protect key shipping lanes, Britain has also signed up to a US-led international alliance. However, there is no suggestion that either carrier will be included in the UK's alliance. Naval figures chastised the government for failing to deliver one of Britain's most valuable military equipment to the conflict zone last night. Iran stepped up the game by sending one of its warships into the Red Sea, a move that could threaten Western peacekeeping operations.

His scathing tales of mishaps with marital aids and run-ins with inflatable dolls may have left some wondering where he got his ideas. In a briefcase well into old age, Tom Sharpe's biography has revealed that he carried rubber-fetish pornographic journals and Viagra with him. Porterhouse Blue and Wilt's author admitted that his vicar father was a violent Nazi prior to his death in 2013, and that as a youth he embraced his enthusiasm by wearing an SS belt to school during the Blitz. Sharpe's sexual revelations will not be surprising. After all, he tickled millions of people with his ribald tales of lust behind high doors, complete with explosions and blow-up dolls. However, his youthful flirtation with Nazism may have come as he was jailed in South Africa for writing a play on apartheid.

One nightmare after another one that saw the 920ft ocean giant spend more time in port than at sea, the £3.2 billion warship, the country's biggest ever built, has been plagued by a single tragedy. In her first year of service, she was flooded twice, resulting in millions of pounds of damage. And when she crashed out of her home city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, she was left crippled. Since then, she has been languishing in Rosyth, Scotland, where she was built, undergoing repairs that have increased in cost from £20 million to an eye-watering £25 million. The beleaguered 65,000-tonne ship would reach her latest dismal milestone on Monday, notching up a year of her life at port in comparison to only 267 days at sea.

Before she started on her historic journey last year, several senior officers were aware of the HMS Prince of Wales' ineffective propeller but kept quiet. The warship sank just after she left Portsmouth Harbour. The Ministry of Defence, rather than the manufacturers, will be responsible for the estimated £20 million reconstruction and repair expenses. A Ministry of Defense inquiry into the massively embarrassing fiasco is now being investigated. Investigators want to know who knew what happened and when, and who didn't do a good job.

When US patrols step up to shield the hazard of Russian submarines, Britain is on the front line of an underwater Cold War. A double number of Nato submarines were seen on the surface of the Clyde this week, heading to and from Glasgow's main Faslane naval base 40 miles away. So far this year, sightings have averaged 85 per cent relative to 43 for the entirety of 2021, and include a number of America's most sophisticated Virginia-class fast-attack submarines. Following the severing of major underwater internet cables off the coast of Shetland, the Faroes, and France's South, a fortnight after two Norwegian Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic were sabotaged, the increase follows the severing of major underwater internet cables in the Baltic.

According to navy reports, the Russian ships are thought to have been supporting the Ukrainian war. The Times reported that it is unknown where the ships will go next week, but that sources have said that the ships are'making a point' to Britain that they are close by. The warships will reach HMNB Clyde (Faslane),' according to former Navy chief Ryan Ramsey, if they proceed on their current route, which might lead to mischief.' The Royal Navy assembles warships and submarines in Faslane, which is where the Royal Navy prepares warships and submarines. Mr Ramsey characterized it as a "cause for fear." (L-R) : A map showing the Faslane naval base, where the ships may be heading, as well as a handout photograph of Vice Admiral Kulakov's ship, the Moskva ship, after it was struck by Ukrainian missiles and the Admiral Ustinov on August 24.

Taylor Reilly (centre, left) - the 21-year-old Brisbane-based manager of six TikTok celebrities who have 28 million followers between them - has six tips on how to be a social media influencer in this crowded market for content. Reilly, a Melbourne-based influencer who has attracted 8.4 million TikTok followers by making videos in which he approaches random people on the street, and he's also got a huge following. Reilly is also the boss of Harrison Pawluk, a TikTok celebrity with 3.2 million followers who made national news after an older Melbourne woman gave flowers to report the video, with the video now having 67.6 million views.

JANET STREET PORTER: For one reason, I believe Marriage, the series, would be a flop: no one wants to be reminded how boring their marriages are, and there's a good reason. It's easy to get around the bend when you live with the same person year in and out. No wonder so many women are keeping their options open, marrying later or not at all. The Archers on Radio 4 provide the indelible dialogue I need week in and out.