Hurley fails to make donation

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

London (ANI): Actress Liz Hurley has been accused of “penny pinching" after failing to make a donation to the country parish which hosted her star-studded wedding to Arun Nayar seven months ago. Reports claim that the Austin Powers star broke her promise to donate 1,000 pounds to her vicar's parish, and substituted the much-needed funds for 12 kneeler cushions.

And to make matters worse, the cushions have been allocated to a chapel inside a private estate owned by Hurley's aristocratic friend. Reverend John Partington of Gloucestershire blessed Hurley and Nayar after they were officially married in a civil ceremony in March in the parish's St Marys chapel. Church treasurer Sue Williams insisted the model-actress had been told it was normal practice to make a donation and admitted that everyone at the chapel was "disgusted" that Hurley had not paid after seven months.

"We were expecting a cash payment which we could have used for some urgent work to be done in our main church. Even the not well-off make a donation. It's normally a few hundred pounds," the Daily Mail quoted Sue, as saying. "We hoped that her goodwill would be forthcoming with cash. But it hasn't been. It strikes me as rather mean especially as I understand most of the wedding was paid for by a magazine," she added.

A spokesman for Hurley said that she would be sending 12 luxury hand-stitched kneelers for the chapel, but a parish source said they were not needed. "It has left a bad taste in our mouths. St Mary's Church at Sudeley Castle rarely gets used and already has sufficient kneelers. Cash would have been better," the source said. However, Reverend Partington took a more diplomatic line and estimated that the cost of commissioning the 12 kneelers would be in the region of 1,000 pounds.

"We are very grateful for the kneelers, and I'm sure they will look lovely when they arrive. The chapel is only used three or four times a year, but I'm sure there are people who will want to kneel there," he said