Rachel Allen

[vampyre]

I have such mixed feelings about this that I hesitated posting but I'm glad others had the balls to tell the story. Tim Allen is Rachel Allens FIL so I don't think it's entirely fair to tar her with his sins. However as part of the extended family unit, the support shown to him by his wife etc transfers to her and I find it impossible to watch her without thinking 'how can you be there telling us about your fabulous bread knowing what went on'. It's ridiculous but I can't help it. My mother (we're Irish if it matters) thinks she's great and it always telling me to watch her programmes and I've spoken to her about how I feel about it. She seems to be able to disassociate Rachel from the rest of the story and has no problem at all watching and enjoying her programmes.

Tx

In my first post I clearly stated that Rachel hasn't done anything wrong and that my feelings are hardly logical. I can't change that.
However what I can never get out of my head was at the time of the trial Tim and Darina's children were paraded for the cameras and I do mean paraded like an official photo op. They were shiny happy and beautifully dressed and even now I feel slightly sickened by the image of these privileged lucky human beings when contrasted with the circumstances with the children in the photographs. I will never make the distinction often used as a defence that looking at images is a far cry from harming an actual child. My blood boils when I hear that and I wonder are they simple or what not to "notice" the children in the pictures are damn sure harmed.
Sorry about the rant :sad:

 

[RedT]

Hi Vampyre,

I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to imply in any way that you were blaming her for anything, my post was just badly worded. I meant exactly what you said yourself, that although it's illogical in many ways, one cannot help but associate her with all the horrible horrible stuff that went on (both the crime and the aftermath) and for me that translates to her books/TV shows/range of cookware etc. I can't think about her trading off the Allen name when all that means to me now is scum.

Hope I've expressed it better this time!

Tx

 

[sillysausage]

In my first post I clearly stated that Rachel hasn't done anything wrong and that my feelings are hardly logical. I can't change that.
However what I can never get out of my head was at the time of the trial Tim and Darina's children were paraded for the cameras and I do mean paraded like an official photo op. They were shiny happy and beautifully dressed and even now I feel slightly sickened by the image of these privileged lucky human beings when contrasted with the circumstances with the children in the photographs. I will never make the distinction often used as a defence that looking at images is a far cry from harming an actual child. My blood boils when I hear that and I wonder are they simple or what not to "notice" the children in the pictures are damn sure harmed.
Sorry about the rant :sad:

You're totally right Vampyre, because that child would in fact have been harmed in the production of those images, and those images are produced because there are people willing to look at them and to pay for that...
Thanks for pointing this disquieting connection of Rachel Allen, I had no idea... Irrational or not, I too am not sure I can help it affecting the way I see her...

 

[vampyre]

Red T honey I know you are thinking along the same lines, it's just something that gets under our skin. Rachel has children of her own and human nature being what it is they will have people being snide at them which is awful.

 

[AllThatGlitters]

I'm not sure what you could do if you discovered that you husband's father was involved with child porn, AFTER you'd made a career for yourself under your married name? She could retire from public life, I suppose, but that's not exactly fair when she hadn't done anything wrong herself. She could leave her husband, but then he hasn't done anything wrong, and she has her own children to raise. What else can she do?

 

[vampyre]

I suppose I would (in fantasy land of course) have liked her to dissociate herself from the family line of gushing support. An honest "I was absolutely horrified but my husband is a wonderful person blah blah blah" would shut me up I suppose. It is very difficult to convey how sordid the whole case was, and that social status was allowed to play such a big role in it.

 

[AllThatGlitters]

I had never heard of the case (or any of the family) until today. Having googled it, it looks horribly as if the FIL got off with a hefty fine rather than the prison time a less wealthy person would have got, which seems to tarnish the integrity of the Irish justice system, if true. I've read that the MIL was supportive, but that she might have been concerned about her own career as a celebrity chef, is that right? There's also mention of children being rolled out for the cameras, but I'm not clear whose children they were? Was RA herself part of the big support PR exercise?

 

[vampyre]

I had never heard of the case (or any of the family) until today. Having googled it, it looks horribly as if the FIL got off with a hefty fine rather than the prison time a less wealthy person would have got, which seems to tarnish the integrity of the Irish justice system, if true. I've read that the MIL was supportive, but that she might have been concerned about her own career as a celebrity chef, is that right? There's also mention of children being rolled out for the cameras, but I'm not clear whose children they were? Was RA herself part of the big support PR exercise?

I did clearly state the children were Tim and Darina Allens' including Rachel's husband. I have no idea whether Rachel was actually a celebrity chef at the time as I have zero interest in watching cookery although I will happily read books and experiment with recipes.

For some reason there seems to be a pattern in the Allen family of dynamic high achieving women marrying Allen men and being very successful with the business. Myrtle was the founder of the school and started the product range, Darina started the tv series and a new generation of books and now Rachel does her thing including product endorsement on qvc.

 

[Rudolf]

Live in Kent. Had never heard of Tim Allen so have just looked story up. Sicko. Have gone right off the lot of them.

 

[Love A'kin]

I don't know how interlinked Rachel Allen's finances still are with that of her in-laws. I do know that just because somebody is no longer publicly associated with a family business it does not mean that they do not still receive a share of the profits.

So to be on the safe side I would prefer not to give Rachel Allen any of my money lest it be used to pay for child pornography or to circumvent justice.

I think QVC have badly misjudged how much anger still exists about this.

 

[sillysausage]

I don't know how interlinked Rachel Allen's finances still are with that of her in-laws. I do know that just because somebody is no longer publicly associated with a family business it does not mean that they do not still receive a share of the profits.

So to be on the safe side I would prefer not to give Rachel Allen any of my money lest it be used to pay for child pornography or to circumvent justice.

I think QVC have badly misjudged how much anger still exists about this.

But has Rachel disassociated herslef from the family business? I'm not sure, I had no idea of this story and enjoyed watching her latest programme 'Bake' which was filmed in the family's cookery school...

 

[jacaranda]

No, she hasn't. She and the school are as one.

There's a bit of 'the sins of the father' being placed upon the 'children' here. Unless we have taken up the Chinese idea that although one person in the family does wrong, the whole family is punished.

I wholeheartedly do not support what Tim Allen did, I can't blame Darina for doing the 'family bit' in order to protect herself, children (don't know how old they were at the time) and her career if they were all tied up together or solely in his name.

The fact that he no longer teaches there is something....really he was tagging onto Darina's abilities seeing as we know of her and Rachel, rather than him.

Ater all is said Rachel and her MIL are the business women, HE is the pervert.

 

[Love A'kin]

I don't blame Rachel Allen or her mother in law, or harbour any animosity against them, but if giving money to Rachel Allen or Darina Allen is giving money to a paedophile (and I'm pretty sure it is) then I won't do it.

There's no motivation to punish Rachel or Darina Allen - or indeed any non-paedophile member of the Allen family.

My actions are derived from a wish to avoid giving money to a paedophile who was convicted of spending his money on child pornography.

I never want any penny of mine to be spent in this way.

 

[Whatsinaname]

Blimey, it's amazing what you find out on this forum. I wouldn't have thought that Rachel Allen condones what her fil did but if she continues to be part of the family firm then he is benefitting financially from her career. An honourable man would make some sort of gesture or statement to save his family from the stigma but he doesn't sound like the honourable sort.

 

[yazrose]

See this is what I love about a public forum, you start a thread about how lame some-one is at being a presenter or guest and you end up learning so much more.
Brilliant.

(I have the ame problem with Max Factor items and anything associated with it)

 

[vampyre]

That whole Andrew Luster thing was awful Yaz but I'm a smashbox freak. Again the family could have acted better, but I think the fact he was the offspring gone bad rather than the patriarch does for some reason make a subtle difference although maybe it shouldn't.

At the time of the trial one of the lines trotted out in defence of Tim Allen was an implication or something stronger even that he was a neglected husband whose wife was a workaholic. This is the woman who did use the phrase "love the sinner while hating the sin", her loyalty obviously wasn't appreciated. I cannot abide this line that some men attempt to use as defence, along with the other feeble lines.

 

[yazrose]

That whole Andrew Luster thing was awful Yaz but I'm a smashbox freak. Again the family could have acted better, but I think the fact he was the offspring gone bad rather than the patriarch does for some reason make a subtle difference although maybe it shouldn't.

At the time of the trial one of the lines trotted out in defence of Tim Allen was an implication or something stronger even that he was a neglected husband whose wife was a workaholic. This is the woman who did use the phrase "love the sinner while hating the sin", her loyalty obviously wasn't appreciated. I cannot abide this line that some men attempt to use as defence, along with the other feeble lines.

re the Max Factor thing, From reports the family did alot of hiding money (amongst other things) to stop the victims getting compensation, the family claim that he is no longer part of the family and doesn't get special treatment in jail, again reports suggest otherwise.

 

[vampyre]

That's deplorable Yaz. While in one way no amount of compensation could ever make good what happened you should at least feel in general terms that some kind of amends should be made when one of your own has harmed others.

 

[sillysausage]

See this is what I love about a public forum, you start a thread about how lame some-one is at being a presenter or guest and you end up learning so much more.
Brilliant.

(I have the ame problem with Max Factor items and anything associated with it)

Oh dear, I don't even dare aking... What's the story concerning Max Factor?

 

[yazrose]

Oh dear, I don't even dare aking... What's the story concerning Max Factor?[/QUOTE/]

Type in Andrew Stuart Luster into google and you find alot on it.