UK: is Bernard Matthews still alive?

Factual Questions
1

Please end a stupid conversation in my office: is Bernard Matthews, purveyor of turkey-based products, still alive?

Ta,
Alex.

2

A search for “Bernard Matthew obituary” turned up nothing on Google. He is mentioned, still very much alive, in a story in the Guardian dated 25/7/03 here.

Looks like he’s still terrorising turkeys everywhere. Bootiful.

3

No he’s dead. He died in a fire. I’m pretty sure of this.

Someone is still making turkey dinosaurs in his name though.

4

Honestly, the things I do for you people. I have searched the online database of all the main UK newspapers, and can confirm that as of April 27 this year, he was certainly still alive, and was featured at numer in The Sunday Times Rich List (equal 235th, with a worth of £139m, if you are interested):

Since then he has not made the news, which I assume he would have done if he had passed away.

5

Well he was alive and launching Turkey 2004 on 5 September this year:

http://www.norfolknetwork.com/a.php?cat=11106&article_id=353

(I’m pretty sure he’d make obituary columns if not TV news when he dies, but I can’t find anything indicating he’s died since then.)

6

oh well. there you go. us owls have a certain fellow feeling with turkeys - so it was probably wishful thinking.

7

(Sorry, ignore me: my previous post doesn’t actually mention the man himself.)

8

However, refusal’s link does include a phone number for the company. I’m sure they would be able to give you the definitive answer. But as I say, I have searched the UK media and no word of his death can be found. If he did die, apparently nobody noticed!

9

Thanks for all your efforts. The conversation later moved onto Bernard Manning and Charles Bronson.

10

And, to anticipate your next question: alive and dead, respectively.

11

He’s not dead, he has been mechanically reclaimed and reconstituted with 30% added water and salt.

12

And made into dinosaur shapes.

13

:confused:

Who is Bernard Matthews and why is he so important that people get into debates with co-workers about his current state?

14

Because he’s booootifull.

15

He’s a former (I suppose he still is in a way) farmer who owns the largest turkey farming corporation in the UK, which also produces lots of really, really shit turkey-based ready meals.

He did his own TV adverts, which included him saying “beautiful” in a Norfolk accent: “Booooootiful”.