This Blog is 4 years old - Happy Birthday: my top twenty stories & 20 Greek stories

I see from numerous congratulations messages from folks who I do not know, sent via LinkedIn, that I am celebrating another anniversary. Having checked it out it appears that www.TomWinnifrith.com is four years old. It was a very strange birth indeed.

For it was back in June 2012 that I formally left Rivington Street. The board wished me well and made me sign a compromise agreement which I honoured but they did not. Jim Mellon and the asset strippers still owe me £15,000 and even had the audacity, after not paying the money they were obliged to pay, to send lawyers letters not only threatening me if I did not abide by my side of the deal but also if I did not agree to a full one year extension of a non-compete clause. That lawyers letter still brings a smile to my face, surely Jim Mellon must feels some shame about it now? You can tell me Jim, blame it on a minion surely that is a source of extreme shame?

Faced with fascist lawyers letters from a Sunday Times rich list fellow and worth minus £250,000 I was obviously in a pretty low place and so I turned to writing as therapy. In the beginning there was more or less no-one reading this website other than Mellon's bully boy lawyers at Kerman & Co. It could not be called a commercial enterprise. But gradually word spread and the legal eagles from Kerman & Co were joined by many thousands of other readers. It has been gratifying.

In my last few years at Rivington, when team Mellon ran the show, I was barred from writing on numerous topics. Israel, global warming, welfare reform so many things were deemed verboten in an atmosphere of tyranny, the release I enjoyed of saying exactly what I thought was a delight.

I am not sure what has given me more pleasure during the past four year. Is it competing against t1ps - the company I founded - which was asset stripped from Rivington? Because that company has fired nearly all its workers and - albeit with a new name - continues to lose hundreds of thousands of pounds a year for Mr Mellon, while my start up competitor hires talent and makes profits. That gives me some pleasure but is it more than being able to write exactly what I want?

I think it is the latter. Would I rather get that £15,000 back and not reveal how rich men send the most amazing fascist bully boy letters to try to crush those who are already down or woulde I take the money? You know what Mr Mellon, you can stick that £15,000 where the sun don't shine. Here's to the next four years of free speech for me and of me making money from the media world as you lose ever more.

Four years ago I fled to Greece on a one way ticket. Since then many things have brought me back. Retracing the last footsteps of my great Uncle David Cochrane, holidays with the Mrs, the Oxi vote and - of course - the Greek Hovel. And so:

Here are the twenty most read stories on this blog from the past four years...

1. Tom Winnifrith snowcast from Greece
2. Greece v Albania for my next Holiday: No contest. Albania wins unless...
3. Greeks, Lesbians and Vlachs – why my fascination with Greece?
4. Lunch with Kostas and Anna at the best Bakery in Greece – Farewell Zitsa
5. Looking forward to the last day of the month here at the Greek Hovel
6. Picture article: Pressing the Olive Oil from the Greek Hovel
7. Seeing my guest at the Greek Hovel Naked – what does a Gentleman do?
8. Frigana Fields of Death Picture Special from the Greek Hovel
9. Picture Report from the Greek Hovel Number 14 – Porn for my Welsh Friends
10. Photo Article: Meeting Mr Rat in my new bedroom – Report from The Greek Hovel Number 6
11. Rats, Bats & Sheep – Report 11 from the Greek Hovel
12. I was dragged to the Police station in Kardamili and bullied, Greece in context
13. Picture article - day 1 of the Olive Harvest at the Greek Hovel
14. A snake encounter at the Greek Hovel, silly me: do as the Greeks go
15. Reflections on an expensive meal in Corfu – Greece still does not get it
16. Video & Photos: Finding the grave of Great Uncle David Cochrane in Delphi – Part 2
17. Essex: Washing Powder from Greece
18. Is where I have just been called a clip joint?
19. Tom Milks a Goat Video - It is not easy
20. Farewell Zakynthos – Am I a snob? Yes

And here are the top twenty non Greek stories

1. Tom Winnifrith Postcard: Mad Bernie Sanders to beat Crooked Hillary in California - Donald Trump gets an early Christmas treat
2. Tom Winnifrith Postcard #137 - #Rhodesmustfall rewrites history and is PC bollocks
3. The Downing Street Affair – Cameron is dreaming if he tries to gag the story
4. Downing Street Affair - Have you figured it out yet? Surely you have
5. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson what a strange affair in Downing Street
6. The Number 10 Downing Street Sex Scandal...back to basics
7. Are you a Northern Git? Take the Test: I am 0% Northern
8. Cheap booze at the local Conservative Club…sign me up at once (and what my Lefty Mrs said)
9. Why UK house prices must crash
10. Kevin Maguire – vile, bigoted, thick leftie
11. The Talking Dog Joke 
12. Call Me tasteless & see if I care: Recycling the Oscar Pistorius twitter jokes
13. Funny Ed Miliband Joke
14. Findus Beef Lasagne is 100% Horse: the twitter jokes
15. The Scots cannot have Independence and a blank cheque from England – Can’t they just Fuck Off and Go it 100% alone?
16. Thought for the Day – Rev John Bell is ghastly
17. Kate & Gerry McCann – my sympathy is diminishing rapidly
18. The best of the Chris Huhne MP (pro tem) jokes from twitter
19. The best Tesco jokes from Twitter today. No foaling.
20. EU Cabbages & Why this Insanity must cease in so many words