This Putney born former Conservative MP was described as being “still frisky at 81” by the Daily Mail’s Jane Fryer in October 2012. (more…)
Category: WILDCARDS
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Teresa Gorman
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Julia Child (1912 – 2004)
Credited with bringing French cooking to Americans, Julia Child was a lady who once stated: “I believe in cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food”. A female equivalent of Keith Floyd and born in Pasadena, California, Child was too tall to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps in the Second World War but found work in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). She was sent to Ceylon to register, catalogue and channel “a great deal of highly classified communications” and after the war moved to France with her husband (who had also worked for the OSS). Having attended the renowned Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, cookery became Child’s love, life and vocation and a whole series of books and television series followed. Her kitchen is now on display in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. and her legacy lives on in the form of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and Culinary Arts. -
Keith Floyd (1943 – 2009)
This wine loving chef was brought up in a council house but educated at Wellington. After finding that he and the army were “mutually incompatible”, Keith Floyd took a job as a vegetable peeler. From this humble start, he progressed to owning a number of restaurants and presenting cooking shows for the BBC. Married four times and bankrupted twice, Floyd left just £7,500 in his will. -
Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO (1880 – 1963)
This British Army officer served in the Boer, First World and Second World Wars. He was shot in the face twice in WWI and lost his left eye and was shot once through the skull, hip, leg, ankle and ear. In 1915, he lost his left hand and tore off his own fingers after a doctor refused to amputate them. Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart also survived two plane crashes, escaped capture twice, was branded a “model of chivalry and honour” by Winston Churchill and won a VC in WWII. Of the 1914 – 1918 conflict, he later wrote: “Frankly, I enjoyed the war; it had given me many bad moments, lots of good ones, plenty of excitement and with everything found for us”. Aside from his military might, Evelyn Waugh modeled the character of Brigadier Ben Ritchie Hook in his Sword of Honour trilogy upon this twice married, Oxford educated aristocrat and in retirement he is said to have enjoyed indulging in “pursuing salmon and snipe”. In male company he is described as having been “a delightful character [who] must hold the world record for bad language”. -
Dan Bilzerian (AKA “Blitz”)
A true player, this Floridian professional gambler and venture capitalist suffered three heart attacks by the age of 30. Thrown out of the US navy for swearing at an officer, Dan Bilzerian is a badboy who now wants to rebrand himself as “the gentleman of poker”. He has a colossal 4 million followers on Instagram and regularly uses the site to post images of himself with female fans and of his extensive gun collection. In one, he commented: “My greatest fear is that someone will break in and I won’t be able to decide what #gun to shoot them with”. Bilzerian’s cars feature the number plates “SUCK IT” and “MR GOAT”. -
Cognac Wellerlane
America’s answer to Coronation Street’s Bet Lynch is famed as an interviewer of the rich and famous in New York and the Hamptons. This unashamed fur lover has profiled everyone from Paris Hilton to Henry Kissinger and appeared as a socialite in The Devil Wears Prada. We can’t be alone in wondering as to what the favourite tipple of Cognac Wellerlane could be. -
Thai Dang Cao (1953 – 2014)
The eccentric owner of Old Brompton Road’s Nam Long Le Shaker was famed for creating the legendary Flaming Ferrari cocktail. A favourite of the likes of Lord Archer’s son, James, this lethal concoction consists of 100% proof rum, Chartreuse, Grand Marnier and Blue Curaçao. Of them Dang Cao commented: “If you drink three of them you kiss the ground like the Pope”. He occupied a throne-like seat in his establishment yet truly did good through philanthropically funding a school and clinic in Vietnam and of this nightlife legend’s passing, one customer concluded: “He was not a man of many words, but a creator some of my worst life hangovers”. Whilst Nam Long Le Shaker – established in 1987 – has been described as being “a place like no other”; Thai Dang Cao was most certainly “a man like no other”. The longest ever lock-in in the sky has commenced with his arrival. -
Craig Brazier
This “wheelie bin cleaner” from Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire staked £2 on Scoop6 in May 2014 and won £1.3 million. Craig Brazier is a man who likes a punt but declared he wouldn’t be giving up his day job as he enjoys it. Passionate about racing, this betting addict truly was a man who found Lady Luck was on his side as he’d originally planned to spend the £2 on maggots. -
Alejandro Flores
The most popular drink maker in Chelsea’s signature phrase is “Oh yes”. This jolly Bolivian is the bar manager at La Brasserie and invented a cocktail named after the television show Made in Chelsea. He is as passionate about Chelsea F.C. as he is about cocktail creation and when he’s around, there’s always a party. -
Doris Thompson
An octogenarian career criminal who refuses to change her ways. Thompson has a 20 page rap sheet dating back and has been imprisoned at least ten times in Los Angeles and Orange County. She’s variously been arrested for disturbing the peace, forgery, grand theft and burglary and of her Paulette Paccione, the Los Angeles County deputy district attorney commented: “She likes to burglarise medical suites for some reason. That’s her niche”.