ALL BUBBLES NO FIZZ

The courageous Whaleoil was challenged by Trevor Mallard to a cycle Race and the rest, as they say is history. Despite Whale training hard - Mallard won.

We said we would put the magnum of Bubbles we were originally given as the consolation prize in the veuve competition up for the winner - we thought that Whale would win - he didnt. Cactus was happy to put up $1000.

She will be feeling the loss much more keenly than us.

So today a perky little Lambcut delivered a very big bottle of Veuve clicquot to the Duck at Parliament.

It was delivered with a note -

"Congrats on your win - Savour the Veuve now. Doubt if you will be celebrating much come November "- From the team at Roarprawn.

NZ ECONOMICS 101

Nobody does it better than Rob Hoskings at the NBR. He does a down to earth, laced with humour, easy to read step by step guide to debt mountains and double dip inflation.

Brilliant. It is behind the paywall ( Yip we happily pay for the NBR paywall content).

Sorry about that - market forces and all

SHEIKHS AND THE GREEK

Well apparently there is a general belief that Terry Serepisos is in Europe . However we understand that he may well be lurking in Dubai or there abouts..

Why? you work it out..

BILL WILSON MILLION DOLLAR GONEBURGER

Wow! who would have thought.... Well we did- we always felt that Bill Wilson's position was untenable. This was not tidy and all credit to NBR and Phil Kitchin at the Dom and even the Herald for keeping up the pressure on this one.

here's some more stories on the saga

and there's more here

and here's some as well

All we can say is that we hope that a good woman - Sue Grey - opens a bottle of bubbles tonight.

She was the David who took a swing at the legal fraternity's Goliath.

It took a long time but in the end Justice, as they say has been seen to be done - even if it comes with a $1million price tag.

Cheers to you Sue.

SFO SCF INVESTIGATION IS HOTTING UP

And its NBR that the SFO is after. They want all the transcripts, tapes and documents into the dodgy saga over the ownership of the Hyatt Hotel.

Well done them. Media watchers will be taking a huge interest in how NBR plays this. They need to maintain the protection of their sources. However they are also facing some very heavy penalties if they don't comply with the SFO request for info.

And we reckon that the story clearly indicates that there really was something rotten at the core of SCF.

WINE WRITERS STILL FIZZING OVER VEUVE CLICQUOT SCANDAL

Yip , another writer finds the whole saga quite entertaining...

This time is Anthony Rose... read the Independent's wine writers thoughts here

HUBBARDS CUPBOARD - PART DEUX

Well we hoped this wouldnt be the case but the more we read the less we like.

We reckoned that Hubbards cupboard might be bareand there might be couple of nice boxes of chockies in there but the rest of the shelves have cheap crap well past their use by date.

We are well aware of the impact that the collapse of this empire could have but we do not want to see the government bail it out.

and now NBR is reporting that Bill English is staying in NZ to keep abreast of Hubbard developments.. Well done Bill.

BUSTED BLONDE'S THREE MINUTES OF FAME

Silly bobble head..... but we still love and miss her...

AND THE WINNER WAS

This guy.. it was a bloody good poem..

http://www.nbr.co.nz/he-won-his-weight-veuve-clicquot

But BB got a mention in the Herald here in sideswipe

BIG DAY FOR THE BIG BLONDE

Well BustedBlonde has ended up with 62 bottles of Veuve clicquot. 60 ordinary bottles and a magnum. Well will keep you posted on whats going to happen next.

YAY ! NBR BACK IN THE GOOD BOOKS

This is a great outcome. Thanks NBR. bustedblonde is still blubbing in the corner...

And thanks to Team Bubbles... Whale, Cactus, Gonzo, Keepingstock,Clint Heine, Motella,Oswald, and of course Kiwiblog.

Now to organise a kick arse party!!!!

NBR apologises for Veuve Clicquot competition confusion

Todd Scott | Thursday August 26, 2010 - 10:04am

The National Business Review unreservedly apologises for the confusion surrounding our 40th birthday competition. It was never our intention to cause confusion about the voting for the Win Your Weight in Veuve promotion but people have expressed frustration and we have listened to their concerns.

The official winner (as chosen by the judges from the top 10 voted entries) will be announced, on schedule, in NBR print tomorrow.

In addition, the publisher will personally provide Busted Blonde’s weight in Veuve Clicquot to her to demonstrate that NBR will not allow its integrity, transparency or honesty in its dealings with its readers to be compromised in any way. She received the most online votes in the competition and NBR happily salutes that success.

As a responsible host, the publisher would, however, appeal to Busted Blonde to urge her guests to wear life jackets if celebrating their win on Wellington Harbour. Let the festivities begin.

YOU CALL BB CRASS????!!!!

Well we are buggered... We have been talking to Busted Blonde who has been talking to the team at Campbell Live on TV3 .. And apparently NBR have revealled that the reason her entry did not win the NBR competition is because it was too ahhh errr CRASS.

crass (kras)

adjective

1. grossly stupid, dull, or obtuse
2. tasteless, insensitive, and coarse
3. money-grubbing; blatantly materialistic

Origin: L crassus, thick, gross, fat, akin to cratis: see crate

How odd is that? This is a competition that is designed to attract creative people who are lard arses so they can then consume their weight of bubbles - now that IS crass.

Busted Blonde is serious about her bubbles. She likes really good bubbles. And the competition looked to have an air of levity (apparently not) about it so her entry reflected what was a lightness of thought and a heaviness of derriere.

She is happy to take the piss out of herself so to speak. So here is her entry:

I weight heaaaps! So on the back of my successful 50th birthday in Wellington

where I fed 50 people on Lobster and Bluff Oysters, I would hold a " Just be

cause you can" kick arse picnic on a pontoon in Frank Kitts Lagoon. However,

everyone would have to dress up and pretend to be complete wankers - which

shouldnt be too hard!

So yip its a bit of fun, just like most of the occasions where you imbibe good bubbles. It was to be a party on a pontoon where people could have a bloody big laugh at a bunch of people taking the piss - not out of the bubbles - no - out of themsleves. People who are happy in their own skin and who are happy to make fools of themselves for charity. A bit like people dressing up in masks for a mask ball ... or dressing up as silly animals and clowns for a kids charity..Or the Stars that race around the country in funny old cars for Starship - being complete dicks.

So we were going to dress up and act like Patsy and Edwina from Ab fab - all sweety sweety dahling dahling.

And over 1000 people thought that was a bloody good idea and would be a good charity fundraiser.

And the competition was geared towards getting votes.

So the only ones who are really CRASS are NBR and their poncy little marketing and PR people who take life and " brand" reputation far too seriously

So from today on Roarprawn will adhere to a new principle for guaranteed good times the ABC prinicple - Anything But Clicquot.

And for all those who have suggested that they would pay good money to charity to have the thick end of the magnum of bubbles, (that NBR have offered BustedBlonde to keep her quiet) inserted up Barry Colemans bottom - forget it - he is too much of a tight arse...

NOTE: we understand that Bustedblonde will put in an appearance on Campbell Live on TV3 tonight...

THE NOT THE VEUVE CLICQUOT SITE

Oh dear, Veuve Clicquot wont appreciate this fan page on Facebook.

go here to find the latest on the Great Veuve Clicquot NBR scandal.

BIT SAD

Well folks its official .. Busted Blonde, despite a great idea and support from hundreds of mates from both here and around the world, has not been awarded the gong in the NBR win your weight in bubbles competition..

She was of the understanding, and judging by the comments on facebook twitter and email by her mates and supporters, that the entry with the most votes would win.

But sadly thats not how the organisers of the competition see it.

Her idea was the have a fun party on the waterfront in Wellington that would become a fundraiser...

Busted has been officially informed that she will get a magnum for the fact that she garnered the most votes - well over 1000.

But that is a far cry from the amount she would have at her disposal if she had won the competition outright.

It was obvious to her that there was something wrong when first the competition deadline was changed from 5pm on the Friday to midnight.

Then they announced that the prize would be awarded on Monday , then on Monday that the winner would be chosen from the top ten entries and then that the winner was chosen and would be announced this coming Friday.

Then she got a call from the managing editor Todd Scott who said that she had won the "social media" prize of a magnum of bubbles..

At first she reckoned that she would not take it ( rather drink hemlock she said) but we here at Roarprawn have persuaded her to reconsider.. After all, the party was to be about raising funds for a good charity - so even if she raises a few hundred dollars it is worth it...

That being said NBR has not done itself proud over this competition. And some people are pretty angry about it.

So to all the people who supported her efforts, the media people, some staff and writers of NBR, the journalists, press secretaries, , PR mavens, Chief Executives, MP's, lawyers, bloggers, family friends and just good folks, thanks heaps.

Now she is looking for ideas to turn one magnum of champagne into a big fundraiser for a very good cause.

So if you have any please email her on bustedblonde@gmail.com.

OR you could email editor@nbr.co.nz

THANKS FOR VOTING FOR BUSTEDBLONDE

She has recorded an astonishing 1072 votes to 839. She has promised that she will use the bubbles for a good charity if the judges agree with the public..

Thanks to all the great people who have supported her!

We will keep you posted if she gets the nod from NBR.

VOTE BUSTED BLONDE

CLICK ON THE LINK - VOTE BY CLICKING THE THUMBS UP.

Or send this link to your mates and ask them nicely to vote for her....

http://www.nbr.co.nz/40withveuveclicquot/127086

WITH FRIENDS LIKE CACTUS....

Cactus and Whaleoil have been great supporters of Bustedblonde and her quest to win her weight in Veuve Cliquot competition being run by the NBR.

Cactus is the States and she found one of the most calorific takeaway foods on the planet and determined to eat it to provoke the big Busted one into chowing down to pack on the pounds to win more bubbles..

Cactus's account of scoffing the KFC DoubleDown burger is gut wrenching... Its really ugly..

We are reliably informed that Busted is not indulging in any increase in calorie intake - but she is conserving her energy so she doesn't burn off any calories. A much more genteel way of putting on a few ounces. Same energy in - less energy out.....

Apparently , she is now in a EE cup...

Anyway Busted is no only piling on the kilos she is piling on the votes...

It looks like 1000 is a real possibility so with 2 and a half days to go she needs everyones help.

So go vote for her here if you haven't already

Or send this link and ask your mates to vote for her....

http://www.nbr.co.nz/40withveuveclicquot/127086

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT...

TOP 5 suggestions

666

I weight heaaaps! So on the back of my successful 50th birthday in Wellington where I fed 50 people on Lobster and Bluff Oysters, I would hold a " Just be cause you can" kick arse picnic on a pontoon in Frank Kitts Lagoon. However, everyone would have to dress up and pretend to be complete wankers - which shouldnt be too hard!

bustedblonde • Share or email

Bustedblonde has hit the devils number 666 and now has a sizeable lead in the NBR competition to win her weight in Veuve Clicquot.

Click here to vote

and send this link to your mates and tell them to press on the thumbs up for bustedBlonde
.

VOTE BUSTED BLONDE

OK guys and girls we need to pick up the pace. Busted Blonde is in the lead in the NBR competition to win her weight in Veuve Clicquot. But Joe and others are starting to catch up so she needs you to go to the link and press the thumbs up. She knows how to party and she has assured us the event will benefit a good charity. So please give the big old heifer a hand. And we must say that Busted is a bit like the old widow Cliquot to look at as well.

So Click Here to help Bustedblonde parttayy!!

and send this link to you mates as well.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/40withveuveclicquot/127086

This is a team effort from the Blogosphere. Whale Oil, Kiwi Blog and Cactus have all lent the big old bag their support. Thanks guys....

Kind regards The Brunette.

BUSTEDBLONDE SAYS THANKS

She is still leading the NBR competition to win her weight in Veuve Clicquot. She aims to turn the event into a fundraiser.

But she still needs your help... please go to this link here and click on the thumbs up beside her party idea. Party Central Wellington!!!

and send this link to all your mates...

http://www.nbr.co.nz/40withveuveclicquot/127086