The Steeple Times

Category: MOVERS & SHAKERS

The snakes and ladders of society.

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

  • Taxi!

    Taxi!

    Rare 1938 Austin taxi to be auctioned; it is one of just four known to survive

     

    On 29th March, the very day Theresa May taxis towards Brexit and triggers Article 50, H&H Classics will auction a 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire.

     

    Offered with an estimate of £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)., the quirky landaulette hooded vehicle features a retractable roof, roof rack and taxi meter. It has a red interior and an 1842 cc engine.

     

    The maroon and black vehicle was used in London before the Second World War and up until 1955, participated in the London to Brighton Historic Commercial Run in 1964 and then was left in a lock-up in Gravesend, Kent until the 1980s. Restored and returned to the road in 2003, the car is described as being in “presentable” condition.

     

    Taxi! – 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts to be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on 29th March 2017 – Estimate: £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100) Taxi! – 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts to be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on 29th March 2017 – Estimate: £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)Taxi! – 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts to be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on 29th March 2017 – Estimate: £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)Taxi! – 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts to be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on 29th March 2017 – Estimate: £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)Taxi! – 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts to be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on 29th March 2017 – Estimate: £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)Taxi! – 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts to be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on 29th March 2017 – Estimate: £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)

  • The Community Conundrum

    The Community Conundrum

    Chelsea locals bemoan the loss of their community gathering point

     

    Last night at The Enterprise in Walton Street, a group of bereft locals gathered to hold a wake in honour of the demise of their favoured meeting spot, La Brasserie.

     

    No one present denied the fact that there are plenty of other bars and restaurants where one can go for a drink, but what all agreed was that they had lost was the community spirit of what was literally their “spiritual home”. What they had taken from them was a place where one could walk in happy or sad and find a friendly face and someone to chat to.

     

    Bars like, for example, those at The Botanist and Colbert are perfect for tourists and business assignations, but given their crowded nature and design, they don’t have the ambience that made La Brasserie the perfect meeting spot for friendly banter. It will be missed and now the question on everyone’s lips is this: “Where will Chelsea’s answers to Cheers go next?”

     

  • Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable

    Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable

    Facebook page where Whitstable locals spend time moaning and arguing will have you in hysterics; welcome to an example of a modern day spouting place for ‘Busybody Britain’

     

    You’ll likely have come across the Facebook page ‘Overheard in Waitrose’. It has garnered over 500,000 likes since its inception in April 2014, but, for those wanting to see something a little more off-the-wall, we urge readers to attempt to join the closed group ‘Overheard and Seen in Whitstable’.

     

    If approved by the somewhat Kafkaesque page admins – a controlling trio named Helen Crook, Leo Osborn and Simon Poole – one gets not only usual community related issues such as stories of missing-presumed-stolen mobility scooters (lots of these contraptions can be found causing havoc on the pavements of Whitstable) but also angry incomers ranting about planning decisions, moaning mothers lamenting the limited opening hours of McDonald’s and shoppers saluting local stores for the quality of their mushroom displays.

     

    From the bizarre to the ridiculous, ‘Overheard and Seen in Whitstable’ will certainly leave you laughing. A selection of strange posts, pictures and requests follows:

     

    Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook groupWebsite of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook groupWebsite of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook groupWebsite of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group Website of the Week – Overheard and Seen in Whitstable Facebook group

  • Power Pays

    Power Pays

    That a convicted paedophile is able to avoid a jail sentence is an utter disgrace especially given pensioners get locked up for non-payment of TV licence fees; Old Etonian Andrew Picard shouldn’t be on the streets, he should be in the clink

     

    Andrew Picard (AKA Andrew Laurence and Andrew Boeckman) was caught with 1,185 indecent images of children as young as eight on his computer. He admitted to possessing videos of a three year old being raped, children being forced to have sex with dogs and sharing indecent images on Skype with an undercover policeman yet he was spared jail and handed a derisory non-custodial sentence late last month.

     

    Eton College, Berkshire and Williams College, Massachusetts educated former USA swimmer Picard – who changed his name from Andrew Boeckman to protect the supposed “good reputation” of his wealthy family during his trial – received a sentence of just 10 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months for ten counts of possessing child pornography in late February and thus, one must ask: “Why wasn’t he locked up?”

     

    Justifying why he spared Picard of Probyn House, Page Street, Westminster jail and why he also decided not to place this privileged pervert and predator on the sex offenders’ register, Judge Peter Ross remarked:

     

    “It has been said that you and your family have suffered deeply as a result of your arrest and public exposure. Your family didn’t deserve that… [Prison] would undo the counseling you have undergone”.

     

    Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC, defending, added:

     

    “This is a young and very able man who has hopes for the future… He was able to have this opportunity [to seek help] and this was something Andrew sought for himself, by himself”.

     

    In a country where our government actively pursues jail sentences for pensioners refusing to pay their TV licence fees, it is a disgrace that the son of a prominent American lawyer named Philip J. Boeckman manages to avoid prison in spite of the seriousness of his offences. This utterly contemptible decision is something that brings only shame on Britain.

     

  • Rent-a-Gob v. Rent-a-Gob

    Rent-a-Gob v. Rent-a-Gob

    Acid tongued food blogger Jack Monroe’s libel victory over right wing media personality Katie Hopkins represents a victory for only their lawyers

     

    Katie Hopkins undoubtedly spouts a lot of hot air but that she lost a libel action yesterday brought by the acid tongued food blogger Jack “I don’t want my boobs anymore” Monroe is a little beyond a joke. Both women like the sound of their own voices more than anything else and both profit from controversy, but that Hopkins is now left facing a total bill estimated at around £325,000 seems a little ridiculous given that all she did was write two undoubtedly inappropriate but subsequently retracted tweets.

     

    Monroe – whose claims in documents submitted to the court that she tends “to move in circles of cookery and politics rather than outrage and vitriol” will have those who’ve encountered this nasty piece of work in fits of hysterics – won £24,000 after Mr Justice Warby agreed that Hopkins’ actions had left poor, little her with “injured feelings” that “remain raw”.

     

    In the judgment, Mr Justice remarked:

     

    “Publication [of the tweets] not only caused Ms Monroe real and substantial distress, but also harm to her reputation which was serious, albeit not ‘very serious’ or ‘grave’”.

     

    “In this case, the allegations were serious but certainly not towards the top end of the scale. The extent of publication was significant but not massive in its scale. The harm to reputation, though serious, will not have been grave. The need for vindication is not a weighty factor, as there has been no attempt to prove the truth of what was alleged. This judgment will make the position clear to those who were unaware of it already. Ms Monroe is a public figure, in the sense that she chooses to engage in public life and to engage in political discourse in public forums”.

     

    In spite of the judge rejecting suggestions that any real harm was done to Monroe, she’s actually benefited hugely from this case. Not only does a woman who once claimed David Cameron “used stories about his dead son” to sell off chunks of the NHS “to his friends” walk away with a large chunk of change in damages, but this foul mouthed, ‘gender X’ harpy has also had her profile splashed across virtually every paper today. She will now profit handsomely from interviews and features and no doubt will find herself taking on new work elsewhere. In the case of Rent-a-Gob vs. Rent-a-Gob in summary though, there’s actually only one real winner: Their lawyers.

     

  • Picture of the Week – Kellyanne Slobway

    Picture of the Week – Kellyanne Slobway

    Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway provides proof that she’s nothing but a slob and a woman who deserves to be sacked

     

    Yesterday, ‘Queen of Alternative Facts’ and expert on the non-esixtent ‘Bowling Green Massacre’ Kellyanne Conway illustrated another side to her character when she climbed onto a couch in the Oval Office and dug her heels into its delicate fabric.

     

    Ms Conway, a woman of somewhat limited intelligence and someone once termed a “pundette” alongside the equally loopy far-right harpy Ann Coulter, then proceeded to disrespectfully play with her telephone whilst her boss President Trump met with his invited guests. The scene created looked like something more out of Coronation Street than what one would expect in the White House and many of the leaders of universities present simply looked on in shock.

     

    Though widely criticised on social media subsequently, this “pro-life, Generation X conservative” later made no attempt to apologise for her slobbish behaviour and thus provided indication of what she truly is: Kellyanne Conway is nothing but pure, white trash and if Donald Trump had an ounce of sense he’d ditch her.

     

    Picture of the Week – Kellyanne Slobway Conway

  • Wally of the Week – Rachel Veazey

    Wally of the Week – Rachel Veazey

    Woman whose boycott of TJ Maxx in support of the Trump family lasted all of thirty seconds is truly a pointless fool

     

    Rachel Veazey, a woman whose Facebook page is filled with biblical quotes, was interviewed by The Washington Post last week.

     

    In a feature titled A Trump voter’s message to retailers: ‘Keep your mouths shut about our president’, this Cleveland, Tennessee resident spoke of how she is “showing her support for President Trump by returning clothes to, and refusing to shop at TJ Maxx” in the wake of the chain dropping Ivanka Trump’s clothing and jewellery lines.

     

    Ms Veazey – whose previous spending pattern at the store was around £805 ($1,000, €945 or درهم3,700) per month – remarked:

     

    “When TJ Maxx tries to make a statement against the president’s family, that to me is just unnecessary”.

     

    “It’s really cramped my style but you’ve got to stand by your principles. I’ve resisted the temptation to go”.

     

    Later in the feature, Ms Veazey conveniently announced she had actually thrown her Trump-fuelled boycott to the wind and returned to TJ Maxx. She announced:

     

    “The mother ship [TJ Maxx] called and I had a moment of weakness… I broke down and went in… I mean, $24 for a nice dress? I just couldn’t resist. Gosh, I’m not a very good boycotter. But, I’m trying”.

     

    If you’re going to have “principles”, stick to them. If you’re not, keep quiet. Rachel Veazey truly is a hypocrite and for that reason we make this silly shopper our Wally of the Week.

     

  • Jog On Jenner

    Jog On Jenner

    Caitlyn Jenner proves herself to be truly hypocritical; it is time this self-publicist were simply ignored

     

    Caitlyn Jenner is a person with nothing else on her agenda other than keeping herself in the public eye. This transgender ‘reality star’ appeared to support Donald Trump’s election campaign in 2016, spoke at the Republican National Convention last July and attended the Liberty Ball at Donald Trump’s inauguration. She did so because she thought hanging out with the 45th POTUS would generate headlines and boy did this linkup do just that.

     

    The 67-year old former Olympian, now realising the swell of public opinion about Trump has turned very much for the worse, issued a video message Thursday criticising a decision to reverse President Obama’s transgender bathroom directive and termed it “a disaster”. She concluded: “Finally I have a message for President Trump, from, well, one Republican to another… You can still fix it. You made a promise to protect the LGBT community. Call me”.

     

    Jenner – whose previous statements about politicians have included terming Hillary Clinton a “f**king liar” and stating that Trump “would be very good for women’s issues… I don’t think he’s out there to destroy women or take things away or do any of that kind of stuff” – is a hypocrite and motivated only by keeping her sorry clan’s money making machine on the road. It’d be best if she were now instead simply ignored.

     

  • Soggy Sofas, Maddening Mirrors and Civic Vacuum Cleaners

    Soggy Sofas, Maddening Mirrors and Civic Vacuum Cleaners

    Examples of the worst kind of ‘Angry People in Local Newspapers’ and the most irrelevant of stories

     

    On Saturday, Glenn and Gwen Harper of Horden, County Durham shared their story with the world. The couple told the Chronicle Live about how they were forced into buying a mirror they didn’t want after ordering a “three-piece suite” from the Stockton branch of Harveys Furniture.

     

    Shared on the highly amusing ‘Angry People in Local Newspapers’ Facebook page, the couple told of how, three weeks after placing the order, they were called and informed that they had been mistakenly overcharged by £250.

     

    Offered £250 in goods, as it was supposedly not the business’ policy to give cash refunds, Mr and Mrs Harper chose a mirror and took it home with them. Their £1,080 “suite” was then delivered but “the couple refused to accept it because it was wet” and subsequently they cancelled their order.

     

    In spite of being offered a full refund, this whinging couple were offered £325 in compensation. In spite of their profit, they were not happy and declared: “They came and took [the mirror] away leaving two holes in the wall but at least we don’t have to look at ourselves and be reminded that we didn’t want it in the first place”.

     

    That this duo actually went to a newspaper to share this and that a newspaper was prepared to publish this tale of woe is surely a joke but elsewhere The Westmorland Gazette shared an equally ridiculous tale. In a feature written by a reporter named Rachel Kitchen, it was announced that a new vacuum cleaner had been bought by Carnforth Town Council for the Carnforth Civic Hall in Lancashire.

     

    Hold the front page!

     

  • Warring Ward

    Warring Ward

    Champagne swiller Dawn Ward “at war” with one-time friend and fellow WAG and cast member of ‘The Real Housewives of Cheshire’ Leanne Brown

     

    Yesterday, The Sun on Sunday reported that a favourite of all at The Steeple Times, Dawn Ward, is “at war over a £500,000 loan”.

     

    43-year old Mrs Ward, whose attempts at interior design at her naff Cheshire mansion have left it lingering on the market at the overly ambitious price of £12 million since 2015, is said to have borrowed the cash from Leanne Brown, a fellow footballer’s wife, in 2013 and hasn’t paid it back.

     

    Dawn Ward and Leanne Brown
    Dawn Ward (right) and Leanne Brown in happier times

     

    A “source” close to 40-year old Mrs Brown and her husband, Wes, 37, told The Sun on Sunday:

     

    “Dawn asked to borrow the cash. They agreed, but with interest payable after six months”.

     

    “It seems to them she took advantage of their kindness and has no intention of giving it back”.

    “They spoke to solicitors and sent a legal letter spelling out their intention of taking her to court”.

     

    “Leanne and Dawn used to be great friends, so it is a shame things have reached this point”.

     

    “But her failure to pay back the loan has really soured their friendship, and now they feel they have no choice if they want to see their money again”.

     

    “The tension between the pair during filming is palpable. Last week tempers flared [on the set of The Real Housewives of Cheshire] again and a glass was smashed”.

     

    A spokesperson for champagne obsessed, Prosecco hating Mrs Ward, whose 2016 conviction for assault also made headlines, remarked:

     

    “We have been friends for years and have completed many business deals together and everybody is aware that money is owed on both sides. We have tried to arrange a meeting to clear this up but the offer has not been accepted”.