A five times winner at Le Mans, this British racing icon also won the Daytona 24 three times and the World Sportscar Championship twice. Described as “one of the most liked drivers of his generation”, Bell suffered minor burns whilst working with Steve McQueen on the 1971 film Le Mans and is now a global ambassador for Bentley. He is rightly lauded as: “The greatest Englishman ever to compete in endurance racing”.
Tag: 1971
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Derek Bell MBE
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A 24-hour toy
A dream toy for any Le Mans fan
The 106-minute long 1971 film Le Mans starring Steve McQueen is rightly considered one of the classic motoring films.
Now, fans can play out their own version of it in their own homes by purchasing a replica fibreglass Porsche 917 that has been converted into a 1:32 scale, wooden slot car racetrack complete with 12 limited edition slot cars.
The $125,000 model track is housed in the body of a replica Porsche 917 
The exterior features race worn tyres and is decorated in the famous blue and orange Gulf Oil livery as as the #20 racing decals At 13½ foot long, 7½ foot wide and 3 foot tall, this is an indulgence that will require a fair amount of space but one that could make a great centerpiece in any the games room of any bachelor pad.
The raceway itself features realistic landscaping, period signage and working streetlights. The Esso Oil Drop Man appears near the Ford chicane and a Marchal sign appears over the famous three-level grandstand over the pit row, whilst the unmistakable Dunlop tire bridge and a Martini barn are all present.
John Sturges and Steve McQueen during filming of Le Mans Making Le Mans bankrupted Steve McQueen and cost British Formula One driver David Piper part of one of his legs. Whoever purchases this car will be far from danger but they’ll have to be firmly in the black. The price? £82,000.
For more information, contact Hammacher Schlemmer on +1 (800) 227 3528 or go to: http://www.hammacher.com/Product/Default.aspx?sku=12005&promo=Sports-Leisure-Collecting-Memorabilia&catid=1725
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The Woman Who’ll Make Politicians Jealous
Jilly Cooper’s state of the nation style summary strikes chords with Matthew Steeples
Best-selling bonkbuster author Jilly Cooper might be best known for novels such as Riders and Jump! but in the 1980s and 90s she was equally lauded as “one of the Conservative Party’s most ardent supporters.”
Jilly Cooper Cooper, born in 1937, showed she still has a grip on the nation’s pulse yesterday when she declared that the Conservative Party is “full of terrible people now” to The Spectator’s “Steerpike.”
Separately, in a comment to The Telegraph’s “Mandrake,” Mrs Cooper shared her thoughts on Pippa Middleton’s first book, Celebrate:
“[It] wasn’t a good idea. I don’t blame her – I think that she was ill-advised… All I can say is that I hope the British don’t demonise her because of it. She seems a lovely girl and her sister is wonderful.”
Ever the diplomat, Jilly Cooper, in these comments, shows herself as a truly brilliant wordsmith. She has tact and decency but at the same time doesn’t hold back when it comes to honesty.
Nigel Farage should put in a call. Mrs Cooper could be just the asset UKIP needs to transform them from a “bunch of loons” to electability.
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Bravo the Beeb
Matthew Steeples reacts to the BBC quietly dropping the “Sir”
This morning when I turned on Radio 4’s Today programme, as has become customary in the last weeks, the first item on the news was about a man who will forever be associated with abuse and paedophilia, Jimmy Savile.
In recent days, as more and more allegations have surfaced against the Jim’ll Fix It presenter, politicians like David Cameron have looked to make hay by calling for Savile to posthumously lose his knighthood. They talk twaddle as such a title cannot be taken from you once you are dead as that very title actually dies with you. To actually “remove” the title would involve a costly change in the law and frankly, as disgusting as this pervert now appears to have plainly been, is it really worth the expense and parliamentary time during these times of austerity?
Plain old Jimmy Savile When Jeffrey Archer was jailed, calls were made to strip him of his seat in the Lords. In, my humble opinion, rightly, nothing was done. Since leaving prison, Lord Archer has righted his wrongs by doing much good. Archer’s situation and crimes, I admit, were different to those of Savile but his and that of Lord Lucan should be a guide.
If Jimmy Savile were to lose his title now, should the hereditary title of Lord Lucan also be removed? Should his son lose a title because, even though never convicted, his presumed deceased father stands accused of the murder of his children’s nanny? This area of law could indeed become very complex and frankly the exploration of it is pointless.
The Today programme, however, have found a far simpler and cheaper solution. This morning, they did what we should all do. They now simply refer to this revolting individual as plain old “Jimmy Savile.” Let’s all follow this lead, drop the “Sir” and leave it at that.
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Now who’d want to live in a house like this?
Matthew Steeples discovers a penthouse that even the most ambitious estate agent may struggle to flog
Estate agents are a tough breed and there are very few properties that they might admit could verge on being impossible to sell. We believe, however, that we might have found one that could be in the same league as, perhaps, the homes of Myra Hindley, Harold Shipman or John Christie. In fact, this Leeds penthouse could be even more difficult to sell given how many photographs the last owner had taken there during his lifetime.
The exterior of Lake View Court, Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS8 2TX gives little a way other than the resemblance to a Soviet apartment block 
The penthouse enjoys superb views across Roundhay Park and the Waterloo Lake 
The split-level 33ft reception offers a vast entertaining space and comes complete with a shagpile carpet that Austin Powers would be proud of 
In view of their tiling advertisement, perhaps the owner did a deal with Callerton Kitchens (http://www.callerton.co.uk) 
A bedroom gives further indication that this place hasn’t had much done to it since the 1970s On first inspection, this 3-bedroomed £325,000 top floor flat in Lake View Court at Roundhay in Leeds sounds like it could be a bargain. It includes a 33ft by 13ft split-level living room, a large balcony, a fitted kitchen (that bizarrely features tiling prominently displaying the name of the kitchen’s manufacturer, Callerton Kitchens), 2 bathrooms, a single garage and a double parking space in an underground garage.
Though the agents, Alan Cooke, give a hint that it needs a complete makeover when they state that the apartment is “now ripe for improvement,” it has a “security entry phone system, an automatic lift giving private access, gas central heating system and double glazing.” They also add that it features a “magnificent outlook” across Roundhay Park and the Waterloo Lake and is on a lease of 125 years from 1971. The ground rent is just £60 per annum and a maintenance charge of £2,000 per annum doesn’t seem to be too bad either.
“And here, for our home and studio audience, here’s who house it was…” Jimmy Savile 
This image of Savile in a state of undress might indeed have put off a few buyers 
Savile pictured in the reception room of the penthouse Now what could be wrong with this pad and why has it languished on the market since the summer? Well, it turns out that this is the former main home of the late Jimmy Savile. Though his possessions were removed and auctioned some months ago, the disgraced television presenter’s tawdry style of décor remains as a legacy of his occupation of the flat. One simply would not want to think of what the Jim’ll Fix It presenter got upto in this place and frankly, who’d want to move into this poisoned chalice?
Equally, we don’t think Loyd Grossman will be calling round at any point in the near future to ask: “Now, who’d want to live in a house like this?”
For more information on The Penthouse, Lake View Court, Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS8 2TX, contact agents Alan Cooke Moortown, Moortown, Leeds, LS17 6PY on +44 (0) 113 288 8666.
See full details of the property at: http://www.alancooke.co.uk/property_details.php?id=116111