The BNP’s candidate for South Shields shines and trends
Dorothy Brooke, who calls herself “Lady Dorothy MacBeth Brooke”, had to be our picture of the week. This platinum blonde has what is quite possibly the...
The conviction of Stuart Hall and the case of Rolf Harris illustrate the damage that Leveson has done to the free press
The British press, until the onset of the phone hacking scandal, was generally...
Stuart Hall admits 14 counts of indecent assault
The former It's A Knockout and BBC Five Live presenter (James) Stuart Hall OBE admitted to being a rapist and paedophile this morning.
This morning at a pre-trial...
William Roache, better known as “Coronation Street’s” Ken Barlow is arrested over allegation of the rape of an under-age girl
Recently, we reported on remarks given by Coronation Street actor William Roache MBE to a...
Ken Livingstone should honour his promise
When Ken Livingstone lost for a second time to Boris Johnson May 2012, he announced “this will be my last election” and signaled that he might quietly disappear from...
The costs of the McCann investigation soar to £4.5 million
£6,228-a-day, £4,500,000 since May 2011. That’s a lot of money. It is also the figure of the costs of Operation Grange, Scotland Yard’s review of...
The most unlikely of bedfellows, crack cocaine and judges
Our picture of the week was kindly supplied by barrister James Dove. It features two advertisements spotted in London.
The first is for a “crack group” and...
Max Clifford charged with 11 counts of indecent assault
We recently criticised Operation Yewtree for failing to take proper action against anyone since it began. Now, with Max Clifford having been charged with 11 counts...
ASmallWorld announces plans to charge members $100 per year
On the same day that Patrick Liotard-Vogt, the chairman of the social network ASmallWorld, is hosting a cocktail party for his members at The Gin Room...
The reasoning for Lord McAlpine’s libel action against Sally Bercow just does not stack up
Sally Bercow, the speaker’s wife, is a loudmouth. We don’t dispute that. There’s little she won’t say or do to...
North Korea takes ceremonial decoration to another level
Those who deserve them get the odd decoration or two. Sometimes those that don’t get them too. Fred got shredded of his ‘K’ yet a certain person...
Author Sarah Tucker shares her thoughts on the reaction to the death of Margaret Thatcher
I can't really remember much about when Maggie Thatcher was in power. I know my parents were full of praise...
Cambridge County Council create Britain’s shortest set of double yellow lines
A Liberal Democrat councilor named Damien Tunnacliffe has to be the most idiotic person we’ve come across this week and an image of him...
“Archers addicts” are up in arms
BBC Radio 4’s The Archers is an institution and its devoted following object to those who mess with it at their peril.
First, in February, Nigel Smith, the interactive editor...
Our reaction to the BBC Lab UK’s Great British class calculator
Yesterday, Twitter and Facebook were abuzz with talk of a new class calculator created by the BBC Lab UK and a pair of academics...
Matthew Steeples argues against the idea of bookshops charging customers to browse in an article first published in “The Good Web Guide”
What is going on in the world of bookselling?
First, in January 2012, the...
The latest arrest in Operation Yewtree illustrates the muddle that this investigation has become
British newspapers have decided not to name the 82-year old “celebrity” arrested in Berkshire on suspicion of sexual offences as part...
The latest in a series of bizarre comments from actor William Roache
William Roache MBE, who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street, is no stranger to controversy.
The grandson of a Freemason who was interested in...
Russians in London up their security
Following in the wake of the death of Boris Berezovsky, a number of his friends and acquaintances have stated that they believe he did not commit suicide.
Berezovsky, like many...
Matthew Steeples bemoans the overuse of the word “luxury”
You can’t get away from it: “Luxury” is everywhere. Be it a luxury goods brand, a luxury hotel or a luxury loo roll, everyone’s at it.
Luxury...
Boris Berezovsky found dead in his bathtub
It has just been confirmed that 67-year old oligarch Boris Berezovsky was found dead in a bath at his Surrey home at around 11am this morning. His son-in-law,...
Mid Devon District Council ban the use of apostrophes in street signage
First, Waterstone’s announced that they’d be ditching the apostrophe in their name to become Waterstones and now Mid Devon District Council are embarking...
The story of “fallen tycoon” Brian O’Donnell, the differences between bankruptcy in the UK and Ireland and an £11 million mansion
In these straightened times, the media in general and the Daily Mail in particular...
Travel writer Sarah Tucker shares her views on Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful women who have given birth to little gems. I feel a bit like a travel writer stating: “The...
The perils of the tanning bed
We thank the extraordinarily colourful character and well-known florist Orlando Hamilton for this week’s picture of the week.
Goodness knows where he found it, but readers you might need your...
An Australian tycoon announces a bizarre plan to launch a replica of the doomed passenger liner RMS Titanic
This week, a “brash” 58-year old Australian mining tycoon named Clive Palmer announced that he will launch...
Gina Miller investigates the links between Saint Valentine and transparency in investing
According to the wise font of all knowledge, which can be extremely accurate or extremely inaccurate, Wikipedia, Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is...
A former supporter of Julian Assange denounces his behavior
Jemima Khan has shown great courage in turning on Julian Assange. In a feature in the New Statesman, she described him as being “more like an...
The hypocrisy of the former Energy Secretary Chris Huhne is exposed
In 2008, Chris Huhne made the following speech to the Liberal Democrat conference:
“For every 100 crimes committed in Britain today, just 1 criminal will...
A four bedroom house for just £10,000
Normally, here at The Steeple Times we focus on the luxury end of the property market but today when we saw a 4-bedroom house for sale for just...
Matthew Steeples exposes the hypocrisy of Kensington & Chelsea Council
The Royal Borough’s announcement that they plan to remove rubbish bins in the area because they view them to “attract the wrong kind of rubbish”...
Phraseology: The Tout asks if phrases provide words of wisdom or are just plain speak disguised in metaphors
The Tout is fascinated by some of the quotes and phrases that we hear and use in...
