Category: MOVERS & SHAKERS

The snakes and ladders of society.

A chronicle of drama, scandal and success in London, Paris, New York and elsewhere

  • Happy Buckethead

    Happy Buckethead

    Lord Buckethead moves on from taking on Theresa May in Maidenhead and records a Christmas song; it’s brilliant

     

    The fabulous Lord Buckethead has done it again. First, this wacky enigma took on the woman rightly described as “Britain’s worst ever Prime Minister” in Maidenhead in June and got 249 votes and now he’s made a YouTube video.

     

    Referencing everyone and everything  from Chris Rea to John Lewis, this mysterious space lord sings about happiness and the weather but simply concludes: “There’s hardly anyone left who’s still sober.” He adds: “I know your politics are in dire straits, from Downing Street to the United States, but change will come no matter how long it takes and things won’t be so scary.”

     

    As Lord Buckethead sings: May we wish you all a “bucket full of happiness.” Happy Christmas and by God, we need some cheer.

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

     

  • Moron of the Moment – Ferne McCann

    Moron of the Moment – Ferne McCann

    Ferne McCann shamelessly attempts to flog £12.95 lip plumping primer on Instagram just as the father of her child is jailed for an acid attack in London

     

    Just as her former boyfriend and father of her child, Arthur Collins, was deservedly jailed for 20 years with an extended licence of 5 years for throwing acid over 22 victims in a nightclub, Ferne McCann inappropriately took to Instagram yesterday to promote a £12.95 lip plumping primer for a company named Project Lip.

     

    McCann – a dimwit whose “glittering career” has included stints on The Only Way Is Essex and This Morning – despite being immediately criticised for her insensitivity then also shared a picture in which she posed with the equally pointless famous-for-nothing James Argent. In doing so, she piled yet more misery on those injured and scarred for life by Collins but no doubt she thought: “Hey ho, I may as well make a little dosh out of all this media attention.”

     

    “Despicable liar” Collins – a sorry excuse for a man identified as being of “low IQ” at his sentencing – will now rightly rot for at least ten years. His actions were sick beyond belief and though Miss McCann cannot be blamed for what this scumbag thug did on 17th April 2017 at the Mangle E8 club in Dalston, London, she should realise that distastefully promoting cheap beauty products just as Collins’ was sentenced is nothing but tremendously tasteless and utterly wrong.

     

    #BoycottProjectLip #ShameOnFerneMcCann

     

    Pictured above – Ferne McCann with “her love” Arthur Collins in Dubai in an identical ‘Killer Candy’ T-shirt to the one he wore whilst throwing acid over the 22 people whose life he forever altered.

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

     

    Moron of the Moment – ‘TV personality’ Ferne McCann shamelessly attempts to flog lip plumping primer on Instagram just as Arthur Collins, the father of her child, is jailed for an acid attack at the Mangle E8 club in Dalston, London on 17th April 2017.
    Ferne McCann shared this post on Instagram on the very day the father of her child Arthur Collins was sentenced for an acid attack; we are sure his 22 victims would love to buy a £12.95 lip plumping primer
    Moron of the Moment – ‘TV personality’ Ferne McCann shamelessly attempts to flog lip plumping primer on Instagram just as Arthur Collins, the father of her child, is jailed for an acid attack at the Mangle E8 club in Dalston, London on 17th April 2017.
    She also posed for an image with ‘The Only Way Is Essex’s’ James Argent
    Moron of the Moment – ‘TV personality’ Ferne McCann shamelessly attempts to flog lip plumping primer on Instagram just as Arthur Collins, the father of her child, is jailed for an acid attack at the Mangle E8 club in Dalston, London on 17th April 2017.
    Ferne McCann with the now jailed Arthur Collins in happier times
    Moron of the Moment – ‘TV personality’ Ferne McCann shamelessly attempts to flog lip plumping primer on Instagram just as Arthur Collins, the father of her child, is jailed for an acid attack at the Mangle E8 club in Dalston, London on 17th April 2017.
    Ferne McCann posted a picture of her child with Arthur Collins just five days ago; that child is named ‘Sunday’ and chillingly, as some have observed, the night of the week that Collins arrived at the Mangle E8 club to conduct his attack was a Sunday (the actual incident occurred at 1am on Bank Holiday Monday)
  • Warped Walker vs. Magnificent Markle

    Warped Walker vs. Magnificent Markle

    Kushner-Trump mouthpiece Andre Walker’s attack on Meghan Markle was an utter disgrace; it is time that this warped weirdo was called out for what he truly is

     

    Unsurprisingly yesterday, the self-declared “fat Northern bruiser” turned Jared Kushner’s London based mouthpiece Andre Walker appeared on Sky News to defend Donald Trump’s “right” to retweet far right fake news shared by Britain First’s deputy leader Jayda Fransen.

     

    Elsewhere on Tuesday, slug-like Walker – an extremely sad excuse of a man who’ll forever be linked to his associations with the scandal linked to the ‘Tatler Tory’ Mark Clarke, the suicide of a Conservative activist named Elliott Johnson and his previous position at Steve Bannon’s bigoted Breitbart – decided to brand Prince Harry’s fiancée “a black woman in Buckingham Palace… [who] will have to bite her lip rather than supporting her old acting friends in the causes they love” in an article for the Kushner owned New York Observer.

     

    Going further and referencing those describing Meghan Markle as “just another Hollywood liberal who will speak out on a few issues she cares about while ignoring the needs of the country,” Walker argued “she will face the merciless wrath of the British public” over having once tweeted “lamenting the resignation of David Cameron as Prime Minister” and declaring her “opposition to Brexit.”

     

    Bizarrely referencing how “no one wants another Royal [sic] divorce” and stating: “After all, she did not make her first marriage work,” truly negative Walker plainly illustrated his belief that this is a union that will not last. He bizarrely also concluded: “In their first television interview [Prince Harry and Miss Markle]… It felt like the two of them had been sent to remind the world that the British Royals [sic] like all black people, especially the ones they rule!” He is wrong and the world should celebrate the fact that Prince Harry is to marry Meghan Markle, a lady of conviction and stature.

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

     

    Warped Walker vs. Magnificent Markle – Andre Walker and Meghan Markle – Kushner-Trump mouthpiece Andre Walker’s attack on Meghan Markle was an utter disgrace; it is time that this warped weirdo was called out for what he truly is
    Meghan Markle shared an image of a poster that read: “If EU leave me now, you take away the biggest part of me” after the Brexit referendum in Britain in July 2016
  • Anything but Meek

    Anything but Meek

    What first attracted ‘Hot Felon’ Jeremy Meeks to the daughter of the billionaire ‘Sir Shifty’ Philip Green?

     

    One could argue the criminal Jeremy Meeks hit the jackpot when his mugshot went viral and a modeling career as the ‘Hot Felon’ ensued. Not only did he achieve such, but one could argue he had a double whammy next when he struck gold and acquired the daughter of the much loathed billionaire ‘Sir Shifty’ Philip Green as his ‘girlfriend.’

     

    Meeks, however, if what he allegedly said to the Mail on Sunday’s Charlotte Griffiths is true, plainly thinks to the contrary given he supposedly commented:

     

    The third time we met, designer Philipp Plein threw a dinner for me and Chloe [Green] was there. I didn’t put her on the guest list and I still don’t know who invited her but I am happy she was there, and after that we fell in love.”

     

    Accompanying the article on the Mail Online’s site yesterday was a video of Meeks arriving at an awards ceremony in Monaco with Miss Green and her mother, the pugnacious Lady ‘Don’t Call Me Tina’ Green. In it, whilst Meeks looks at ease in front of the cameras, both Greens career before the flashbulbs and seem nothing but sozzled and out of their depth.

     

    Of this ‘arrangement,’ one can only echo the words of Mrs Merton and ask: “Jeremy, what first attracted you to the daughter of the billionaire Philip Green?”

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

     

     

  • Modern Day Foxes and Hedgehogs

    Modern Day Foxes and Hedgehogs

    The Steeple Times examines Archilochus’ concept of ‘foxes’ and ‘hedgehogs and applies such to modern day personalities

     

    According to the Greek poet Archilochus: “The fox knows many things, but a hedgehog one important thing.” Isaiah Berlin explored this premise in greater detail in his 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox and identified ‘hedgehogs’ as those that “view the world through the lens of a single defining idea” and ‘foxes’ as those that “draw on a wide variety of experiences and for whom the world cannot be boiled down to a single idea.”

     

    Berlin’s examples of ‘hedgehogs’ numbered Friedrich Nietzsche, Henrik Ibsen and Marcel Proust whilst for ‘foxes’ he chose such individuals as James Joyce, Aleksandr Pushkin and William Shakespeare.

     

    Here, below, we apply the same analysis and chose fifteen modern day figures that are representative of each characteristic and curiously reveal a ‘third way’ that for once isn’t connected to Tony Blair: ‘The Neither Nors’ that sadly dominate our society.

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

     

     Modern Day Foxes and Hedgehogs – Archilochus and Isaiah Berlin – The Steeple Times examines Archilochus’ concept of ‘foxes’ and ‘hedgehogs and applies such to modern day personalities – Michael Bloomberg, Madonna, Martin Sorrell, Justin Timberlake, Rupert Murdoch, Taylor Swift, Stephen Fry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Gates, Vladimir Putin, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, HM The Queen, Victoria Beckham, JK Rowling, Jeremy Corbyn, Bono, Richard Branson, George Clooney, Bernie Ecclestone, Theresa May, Jeremy Clarkson, Vince Cable, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Cameron, Alexa Chung, Barrack Obama, Prince Charles, Duchess of York, Anthea Turner, Donald Trump, David Blaine, Charles Saatchi, Mark Zuckerberg, Robert Mugabe, Russell Brand, Piers Morgan, Paul Dacre, Warren Buffett, Boris Johnson, Katie Hopkins, Hillary Clinton, Nigel Farage, David Beckham, Katie Price

  • The Trouble with Tamara

    The Trouble with Tamara

    Matthew Steeples (attempts) to review ITVBe’s new series about the life of wealthy heiress Tamara Ecclestone (but doesn’t get very far)

     

    I was going to write a scathing review of Tamara Ecclestone’s attempt to outdo Kim Kardashian with the new ITVBe series about her privileged life, Tamara’s World. Then, after wasting 60 minutes watching what can only be described as a self-centred brat spouting drivel about how wealthy-but-normal she is, I realised I could offer readers interested in fucked-up rich people some better advice: Turn off your TV set and read The Great Gatsby instead.

     

    The Trouble with Tamara Ecclestone – ITVBe series Tamara’s World Matthew Steeples (attempts) to review ITVBe’s new series about the life of wealthy heiress Tamara Ecclestone (but doesn’t get very far)
    Tamara Ecclestone breastfeeding her child whilst husband Jay Rutland looks on

     

    Some pearls from Tamara Ecclestone

     

    “I would say we are very down to earth as a family”

     

    “Everyone thinks our wedding was a monstrosity but it was quite normal”

     

    “I’m like an old lady with a cup of tea”

     

    “I have more fun with my three year old than with most thirty-three year olds I know”

     

    “We are completely bonkers but normal at the same time”

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes and Matthew Steeples at @M_Steeples

     

  • Opening up Menéndez

    Opening up Menéndez

    Previously publicity shy Menéndez brothers both speak publicly about killing their parents in the wake of the success of NBC’s ‘Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders’

     

    Erik and Lyle Menéndez, the brothers convicted of murdering their allegedly abusive multi-millionaire parents José and Mary ‘Kitty’ Menéndez at their home in Beverly Hills, California in 1989, have generally been pretty quiet in the years since their conviction at their second trial in 1994.

     

    Now, however, in the wake of the immense success of NBC’s eight-part series, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, about the case Erik Menéndez has given his first interview since 2005 to A&E. Set to be screened in America on 30th November, The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All will also include previously unseen photographs and new interviews with family and friends.

     

    In two trailers for the show, Erik, now 46, speaks through the phone from the Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California and states:

     

    “I’m Erik Menéndez… I’m serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. I’ve heard many different versions of my life told in the media, and those stories are fictional. I think it’s time people hear the truth in my own words without the restrictions of a courtroom.”

     

    “From the moment after, I wanted to go back in time. It was so wrong. I didn’t want my parents dead – I just wanted the abuse to stop. Years and years of pain exploded that night in an unimaginable violence. It is my own personal hell.”

     

    “My only hope in speaking out is that people have a more complete understanding of the events that led up to my actions on the night of 20th August and really a fuller picture of what happened in my life.”

     

    “All I can hope for is that people will come to realise that the truth is not a simple one-line explanation that many people have tried to make it out to be. That really, that my life was unfolding of a complicated life that I lived that had all of these things that came into being and that led up to what is an ongoing and enduring family tragedy.”

     

    “The tragedy didn’t end on that night, as devastating as that night was. It didn’t end there for my family, and it continues on to this day, and that sadness is something that I am trying to make up for them and with my parents for the rest of my life. It will never end.”

     

    Opening up Menéndez – Erik and Lyle Menéndez go public – Previously quiet Menéndez brothers speak publicly about killing their parents in wake of success of NBC’s drama series about them.
    A photograph of José Menéndez with his sons Erik and Lyle on his knee; references have been made to the situation of José Menéndez’s right hand to be evidence of his highly inappropriate relationship with his children

     

    Elsewhere, on the @MenendezBrothers Facebook page this weekend, through an intermediary seemingly in his presence at the Mule Creek State Prison where he is housed in Ione, California, Lyle Menéndez participated in what appeared to be a live Facebook chat.

     

    Aside from sounding quite upbeat and referencing how his second wife (he has married twice since being imprisoned) had visited him earlier in the day, Lyle answered a question about which Spice Girl he liked most with the answer “Posh, of course!” and stated that “no one is good enough to play [me] for it be enjoyable” of “paddle tennis” in the prison. He shared news that he is “currently re-reading Shogun” as it is “a book centered [sic] around great patience and spirit under terrible circumstances” and in response to a question about what music he likes most added: “I like the stories that country music tells so for me it is most uplifting to listen to country music. It puts me in touch with my emotions. But I do like all sorts of music.”

     

    More tellingly, especially given he is likely never to leave prison during his lifetime, Lyle, in referencing a question about the unauthorised @FreetheMenendezBrothers Facebook page stated:

     

    “People have filled me in. We are not affiliated with it in any way. We have told people that writing letters to the governor right now is not helpful to our release and could actually be a detriment. We know that it is frustrating to people but these are serious legal matters that have very specific avenues that require serious legal planning. I know it is frustrating and that we cannot stop people, but what I am saying now are my wishes.”

     

    Plainly this statement shows that Lyle still has hope that he could actually be released and given that the allegations of appalling abuse and sexual assault by their parents seem to be finally attracting worthy examination also, it does indeed seem time that the severity of the duo’s sentences again be looked at.

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

     

     

  • A Bigoted Bash

    A Bigoted Bash

    Marie-Claire, Baroness von Alvensleben starts (yet another) racist tirade at a party in London and launches a website where she brands herself ‘Incredible Marie-Claire’

     

    Last night, at a party in London, a bigoted baroness launched into a racist tirade about immigration and the European Union.

     

    At the event in St James’s, Marie-Claire von Alvensleben – a woman previously sentenced to a six week suspended jail sentence for amongst other things stating “brown people are ruining London” in 2014 – waved her fingers wildly whilst ranting about Gina Miller and told guests that she thought Brexit to be “a wonderful thing.”

     

    Elsewhere, this unhinged madwoman has now created her own website. On it she shares information about her “glamour and sophistication” and claims to have “learnt English” in Cambridge. She bizarrely expresses (given her sheer lack of such qualities) that she wished to have become a diplomat and adds: “I was very spoilt indeed.”

     

    Immodest to her core, von Alvensleben also reports on her attempts to launch a Swiss version of Vogue – “despite her resilient efforts… [it] did not bear any fruit and folded” – and concludes:

     

    “Marie-Claire has her own ‘Coat of Arms’. Her ex-husband, Baron Bodo von Alvensleben used to call her IMC ‘Incredible Marie-Claire’. Maybe because she believes nothing is impossible … She can arrange “almost” everything… It can all be arranged.”

     

    Bigoted Bash – Racist bigot Marie Claire, Baroness von Alvensleben launches into a racist tirade and launches a website where she brands herself ‘Incredible Marie-Claire’
    Marie-Claire, Baroness von Alvensleben rolling around on the floor at another party with the equally awful former entertainer Michael Barrymore.
  • Moron of the Moment – Stephanie Mack

    Moron of the Moment – Stephanie Mack

    Daughter-in-law of fraudster Bernard Madoff illustrates how utterly out of touch she truly is with normality and the lives of ordinary, decent people

     

    “The biggest mistake is putting on something you don’t feel comfortable in” casually commented Stephanie Mack (formerly Madoff) to The New York Times’ ‘Style’ in an interview this week.

     

    As if without a care in the world, the daughter-in-law of the world’s worst Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff – a man whose actions led to financial ruin for many and the suicides of several of his victims – talked to the paper’s Hilary Sargent and shared news that she’s now gone into the business of advising women on how to “choose simple pieces like the best jeans and the kicky accessories to go with them.”

     

    Tastelessly titled: “A Madoff gets a makeover, by giving them,” this cringeworthy feature was plainly designed to give this out of touch with normality woman (whom “loves a good beanie”) room to try and show her human side. It failed and simply illustrated yet another example of the very self-serving entitlement that brought down her father-in-law and those around him.

     

    Remarks such as “I have nothing to hide” are all very well from Ms Mack, but in sharing that she now urges clients coming out of “their recent breakup or divorce” to “drop… $1,200 on a jacket by Iro” she illustrates that money is still her mantra. In adding that her mother-in-law Ruth Madoff is “so much fun to be around” she forgets that this very same woman was shown to be a greedy cross between Imelda Marcos and Barbara Amiel but in commenting: “I’ve urged her to have a comeback. Everyone loves a comeback,” Mack most definitely fails to understand that the public have no desire to see such.

     

    Whilst Guest of a Guest, in toadily referencing the article, decided to term this pointless clothes peddler “the best friend you didn’t know you needed,” we would suggest otherwise: Stephanie Mack – a woman whose new name includes ‘M’ for ‘Madoff’ and vulgarly ‘ACK’ after the airport code for Nantucket (a ritzy location where she once had a holiday home) – is someone one most definitely doesn’t need.

     

  • More on Menéndez

    More on Menéndez

    As Lyle Menéndez creates a Facebook page about the case against him and his brother Erik, a juror contacts ‘The Steeple Times’ and brands their conviction for killing their wealthy parents “imperfect self-defence”

     

    Renewed interest in the 1989 murders of the multi-millionaires José and Mary ‘Kitty’ Menéndez by their sons, Erik and Lyle, has accompanied NBC’s screening of their fascinating new eight-part Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.

     

    Consequently discussion has intensified and aside from Lyle Menéndez creating a Facebook page this month where interested parties can read about the slayings and the alleged abuse he and his brother were subjected to, a juror in the first trial contacted The Steeple Times to share her thoughts on the eventual outcome.

     

    In an email to editor-in-chief Matthew Steeples, a juror in the first case brought against Erik Menéndez and author of Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror Hazel Thornton remarked:

     

    We were given the choice of:

    – First degree murder (what the men wanted)

    – Second degree murder

    – Voluntary manslaughter (what the women wanted)

    – Involuntary manslaughter

     

    It was widely reported that the women were 1) in love with the M brothers, 2) enamored with defense attorney Leslie Abramson (that part is true; I consider her to be a hero and am thrilled that LOTC [Law & Order True Crime] Menendez is focused on her character), 3) voting emotionally, not logically, and 4) too stupid to understand the jury instructions.

     

    Also, that we wanted to let them go free. No one voted to acquit. Acquittal was not on the table. We didn’t even vote for Involuntary manslaughter.

     

    But we did think the defense was strong enough that it may have happened exactly as they said –that they were in fear of their lives, rightly or wrongly, at the very moment of the killings. It’s called ‘imperfect self-defense’.

     

    Elsewhere in today’s The Steeple Times, we interview Zach Tinker – the actor who plays Erik Menéndez’s classmate, Craig Cignarelli.

     

    More on Menéndez – As Lyle Menéndez creates a Facebook page about the case against him and his brother Erik, a juror contacts ‘The Steeple Times’ to comment on their conviction for killing their wealthy parents
    Lyle Menéndez (left) and Erik Menéndez (right) in prison photographs in more recent years
    More on Menéndez – As Lyle Menéndez creates a Facebook page about the case against him and his brother Erik, a juror contacts ‘The Steeple Times’ to comment on their conviction for killing their wealthy parents
    The brothers continue to allege they were abused by the wealthy parents they slayed, Kitty and José Menéndez
    More on Menéndez – As Lyle Menéndez creates a Facebook page about the case against him and his brother Erik, a juror contacts ‘The Steeple Times’ to comment on their conviction for killing their wealthy parents
    722 North Elm Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 – The home where the Menéndez brothers committed their crimes on 20th August 1989; the house had previously been the residence of both Elton John and Prince in years prior
    More on Menéndez – As Lyle Menéndez creates a Facebook page about the case against him and his brother Erik, a juror contacts ‘The Steeple Times’ to comment on their conviction for killing their wealthy parents
    A tweet by juror in first trial Hazel Thornton containing a Facebook post by Lyle Menéndez about his views on her book

     

    Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders is available to watch in the UK on Sky Living and below an unedited Facebook post from Lyle Menéndez follows:

     

    I thank my family for helping me with this page. I don’t have internet access so this site depends on them. I have been told that setting up this page will open me up to ridicule and criticism. That’s probably true, but it’s something I’m already used to. It is very hard to accept that sexual assault can be the punchline of jokes or the subject of ridicule, but it has occurred–to me–and to many others. If I am mocked for this page, the shame of that belongs on the mocker and not on me or anyone who shares their story here. There is, quite simply, nothing funny about child rape or other abuse.

     

    The purpose of this page is not to debate the clearly wrong actions that I took. The purpose is to provide a safe place for people to talk about their similar experiences and find comfort in others who have suffered in silence in the same way. Those of us who have suffered abuse understand the healing power of sharing our experiences.

     

    I have received thousands of letters from people all over the world who have heard about my experiences and connected with them or simply had empathy for me and my brother. When I first started to receive the letters, I answered every one. But, eventually, I became overwhelmed. Still – whether I answered them or not – I read all the letters and my heart ached for each person brave enough to share, and I was inspired by the strength it took every person to take pen to paper and pour out their hearts.

     

    In fact, I testified every day at my trial in 1993 with a letter of an abuse survivor in my pants pocket to give me courage. The letters I receive to this day continue to give me courage and strength.

     

    With the resurgence of interest in our case and the prevalence of social media, I’m now in a better position to be able to create a place for those of you who want to reach out to me. Even more, this format gives us all the opportunity to create a community of compassion, empathy, inspiration and strength. I hope you will share your stories here and that we can build something positive from something so negative. I hope that we can all be survivors, lift each other up when we need it, and show everyone that by supporting each other, we can not just survive but thrive.

     

    If you write to me here, I will be read your posts, through my family, and I will respond sometimes. We can help each other. But this page is less about me and more about all of us helping each other. There is a community here. But please keep in mind that neither I nor anyone in my family is a professional counselor, therapist, or any type of professional equipped to deal with the psychological and/or emotional issues that child abuse causes. I will be offering my support and advice as a fellow sufferer and survivor and not as any type of expert.

     

    Like I said, I do not have the internet. This site depends on my family. If you see an “-a” after a comment that means that the administrator is the one commenting. And many conversations will be started by the administrator.

     

    One final note: I have heard that social media can be the opposite of what I just described. Please know that hateful posts will not be approved and hurtful/hateful comments will be deleted by an administrator. Let’s make this a safe space.

     

    For more information Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror about by Hazel Thornton, click here.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVcw6H2MA8E