The Steeple Times

Tag: 1974

  • An Agusta Ape

    An Agusta Ape

    1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino in 2001 – to be auctioned

    On 8th January 2001, “shop assistant turned model turned multi-millionairess many times over turned fugitive” (via a stretch in what American’s so pleasantly term ‘pokey’) Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta “disappeared” from the terrace of her Ligurian seaside home. The series of events that preceded and followed could have featured in an Agatha Christie novel or a Sherlock Holmes story.

     

    Situated dominant above the “requisite stop for billionaires” that is Portofino – a colourfully painted former fishing village now peppered with Salvatore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton stores – Villa Altachiara became the residence of the “embodiment of La Dolce Vita” Francesca Graffagni after she met the “helicopter entrepreneur” Count Corradino Agusta in the 1960s.

     

    Graffagni saw off the business tycoon’s first wife, Pupetta Maresca, after a torrid affair and following their marriage in 1974, amongst other things, became chatelaine of a 40-room property complete with a helipad. It had been built in 1870 by George Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon – whose death was attributed by amongst others Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the “curse of King Tut” – as his holiday home and during the 1970s and 1980s guests to “jet-set parties” given at the house by the socialite Countess were ferried back and forth from their dock in Portofino harbour in a custom built 1978 Piaggio Ape coachbuilt ‘limousine.’ This vehicle, described as a “perfect yacht tender” with its opulently patterned interior and passenger-driver intercom, is now for sale.

     

    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    Countess Francesca Agusta (née Francesca Vacca Graffagni, 29th October 1942 – 8th January 2001). It is most surprising that the late Dominick Dunne did not make a television programme about her life and demise.
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    Villa Altachiara (alternatively known as ‘Villa Alta Chiara’ or ‘Villa Carnarvon’) was one of Countess Agusta’s homes from the 1960s until her death in 2001; it was originally built as a holiday home for Lord Carnarvon (26th June 1866 – 5th April 1923) – the financier of Howard Carter’s explorations of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings that led to the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The Carnarvon family hosted many guests during their ownership, amongst them Brooke Astor and Evelyn Waugh.

    Count Agusta died in 1989 without divorcing his second wife in spite of separating from her in 1985. At that time, in addition to Villa Altachiara, he had given her four apartments in Milan, an estate in Cuernavaca, Mexico, family jewellery and an undisclosed cash sum. With his demise, she came into yet further fortune.

     

    This by-then “very wealthy woman” hit the headlines again in 1994 when she and her new lover, a “former Portofino playboy politician [named] Maurizio Raggio,” were discovered to have been part of a corruption scandal involving Bettino Craxi, the Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. Before police could apprehend them to charge them with amongst other things money laundering, the pair fled to Mexico and lived on her estate until 1997 as fugitives. During this period, the Countess reportedly attempted suicide at least once.

     

    Upon her return to Italy, the Countess plea-bargained and spent just three months in Milan’s Opera prison for her crimes in spite of receiving a two-year jail sentence. After “some further time under house arrest” in the Villa Altachiara, the “retired” gadabout then took up with a Mexican, Tirso ‘Tito’ Chazaro (also known as ‘Tirso Di Ricardo’ and ‘Rafael Tirso Roncado Gonzales’), and lived in the style of Miss Havisham. She was rarely seen in public and having become dependent on drink and drugs, was known for her erratic behaviour and temper.

     

    “Considerably the worse for wear and muttering she would not be coming back” on the night of 8th January 2001, the Countess supposedly told her lover and two others present that she was going for a swim, but either slipped on wet leaves or was pushed off a veranda into the sea. A search followed, but after the only traces found were the Countess’s dressing gown on the seabed close to the Villa Altachiara and her slippers on nearby rocks, press reports suggested she had either committed suicide or, given her past form, staged an “elaborate disappearing act.”

     

    Countess Agusta’s badly decomposed body washed up three weeks later on a beach at Toulon on the French Riviera. Her feet had been gnawed off by fish, her skull was smashed and her face was disfigured. She could only be identified by two rings she was wearing and her exact cause of death could thus not be determined.

     

    As an autopsy found no trace of water in her lungs, she plainly did not die by drowning, but in in 2004 the Countess’s brother, Domenico Vacca Graffagni, was quoted in the Independent as stating: “The [original] inquiry was closed in a hasty fashion because of absence of proof, relying too readily on ‘reasonable doubt’ … It was manslaughter. He [Chazaro] was always beating her. He didn’t mean to kill her. But that evening things didn’t go the way the Carabinieri said, my sister was not drunk and she did not slip on wet leaves on the veranda.”

     

    Adding further to speculation, much earlier, the Countess’s step-son, racing driver and team owner Rocky Agusta (1950 – 2018), told Corriere della Sera in 2001: “Francesca was a beautiful woman, simpatica, very rich… People have written that she inherited 500bn lire, but if it had been only 50 or 25, who commits suicide with 25bn lire set aside? … The people who were around her certainly did not help her…  It’s not up to me to formulate accusations, but Francesca was not alone that night. She was very upset. She should have been put to bed. Instead, they let her go out into a dark, wet, cold night, not even dressed.”

     

    In due course, the last of many wills left by Countess Agusta revealed Tirso Chazaro to be her sole beneficiary, but after this was challenged in court by her former lover, Maurizio Raggio, the pair split the legacy – reported to be worth as much as £165 million ($201 million, €186 million or درهم738 million) according to the Guardian in 2001 – sixty-forty between them.

     

    In 2009, the Villa Altachiara was offered for sale initially for £44 million ($54 million, €50 million or درهم198 million) and then for £30 million ($37 million, €34 million or درهم135 million) in 2014. It supposedly eventually sold for less than half that sum to a Russian billionaire a number of years later in spite of an estate agent remarking: “Some say the spirit of Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta still walks the estate looking for her husband and you can hear her shouting for him on the wind.”

     

    An estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000) for the Countess’s Piaggio Ape. Described as “sweet” and “[anything but] an Italian tuk-tuk” by RideApart, the one-off private taxi will be auctioned as part of the forthcoming RM Sotheby’s ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 online sale. One can only hope it finds a happier home than it encountered at that of its former mistress.

     

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    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGavF50j98
  • Bonded to a Short Lease

    Bonded to a Short Lease

    Eaton Square apartment in a Grade II* listed building that has been home to both Bond star Sir Roger Moore and aristocrat-who-went-missing Lord Lucan for sale for staggering sum given it is on a lease of just 15 years

    Best known for playing the British secret agent James Bond in seven feature films from 1973 to 1985, Sir Roger Moore KBE (1927 – 2017) once remarked: “I enjoy being a highly paid actor.” He added: “It’s easy to sit in relative luxury and peace and pontificate on the subject of the Third World debts,” though in his various homes in such places as London, Monaco and Switzerland, he certainly illustrated that he took the bit about opulence seriously indeed.

     

    Now, someone with aspirations to live like “the definitive Bond” has the opportunity to purchase an apartment in an Eaton Square building where not only he resided, but one that was also a childhood home of the most famous aristocrat to go missing ever, the 7th Earl of Lucan (born 1934, last seen alive in 1974, declared dead in 2016).

     

    John Bingham, better known as ‘Lucky’ or Lord Lucan, is said to have returned to London from wartime exile in New York in February 1945 with his siblings to find: “As they walked past their home at Cheyne Walk, they realised the whole building had been bombed. Their other family home at 22 Eaton Square had no windows due to the blow of a bomb and rationing was in full swing.”

     

    The apartment available now has windows complete with actual glass in-situ and is situated in what was once a single-family residence. It extends to 927 square foot and consists of a reception room with open plan kitchen, two bedrooms, one bathroom and one shower room. There are wooden floors throughout and the space has air conditioning also.

     

    The fourth floor flat at 22 Eaton Square is offered by estate agents Ayrton Wylie at a price of £795,000 ($1 million, €914,000 or درهم3.7 million) or the equivalent of £53,000 per year ($66,700, €60,900 or درهم244,800 per year). Its lease expires on the 23rd February 2035 and an annual service charge of £6,779 per year ($8,526, €7,791 or درهم31,313 per year) is payable also.

     

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    Bonded to a Short Lease – £795,000 for Fourth Floor at 22 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9DE, United Kingdom flat on 15-year lease – Eaton Square apartment in a Grade II* listed building that has been home to both Bond star Sir Roger Moore and notorious aristocrat Lord Lucan for sale for staggering sum given it is on a lease of just 15 years. Available through estate agents Ayrton Wylie.
    Bonded to a Short Lease – £795,000 for Fourth Floor at 22 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9DE, United Kingdom flat on 15-year lease – Eaton Square apartment in a Grade II* listed building that has been home to both Bond star Sir Roger Moore and notorious aristocrat Lord Lucan for sale for staggering sum given it is on a lease of just 15 years. Available through estate agents Ayrton Wylie.
    Bonded to a Short Lease – £795,000 for Fourth Floor at 22 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9DE, United Kingdom flat on 15-year lease – Eaton Square apartment in a Grade II* listed building that has been home to both Bond star Sir Roger Moore and notorious aristocrat Lord Lucan for sale for staggering sum given it is on a lease of just 15 years. Available through estate agents Ayrton Wylie.
    Bonded to a Short Lease – £795,000 for Fourth Floor at 22 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9DE, United Kingdom flat on 15-year lease – Eaton Square apartment in a Grade II* listed building that has been home to both Bond star Sir Roger Moore and notorious aristocrat Lord Lucan for sale for staggering sum given it is on a lease of just 15 years. Available through estate agents Ayrton Wylie.
    Bonded to a Short Lease – £795,000 for Fourth Floor at 22 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9DE, United Kingdom flat on 15-year lease – Eaton Square apartment in a Grade II* listed building that has been home to both Bond star Sir Roger Moore and notorious aristocrat Lord Lucan for sale for staggering sum given it is on a lease of just 15 years. Available through estate agents Ayrton Wylie.
  • A Bowled Down Price

    A Bowled Down Price

    Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum

    In March 2015, The Steeple Times featured a Texan mansion described by some as “more iconic than Southfork.” Back then this “replica of George Washington’s Virginia estate” had been for sale for four years already and now, in March 2020, it’s still on the market.

     

    Offered at prices as high as £26.1 million and as low as £12 million, Mount Vernon overlooks White Rock Lake in Dallas and was built between 1928 and 1930. It was sold in 1938 to one of the world’s largest oil baron’s, H. L. Hunt (1889 – 1974) – a man “reputed to have the highest net worth of any individual in the world” at the time of his death.

     

    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    John Amend with Laura Bush at the bowling alley at Mount Vernon and with his wife Teresa.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    One of the entrances to Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America.

    Passing on to a commercial real estate tycoon and fellow supporter of the Bush political dynasty named John Amend in 1999, the 10,511 square foot house was subsequently renovated and aside from creating spaces including a prayer room, a 10,000 bottle wine cellar, a 1950s style diner and a car museum, what is considered to be the finest private bowling centre in America was added. It comes complete with a digital jukebox that has over 500,000 songs on its concert hall quality sound system

     

    Whilst Mr Amend and his wife Teresa hosted guests including Glenn Close and President George W. Bush at Mount Vernon, in 2011 they decided to “simplify their lives” and placed it for sale. In the time since, its yoyo-ed on and off the market but speaking about the property to the Dallas News in February this year, realtor Allie Beth Allman claimed the Amends have now “made it a goal to sell the property this year.” She went further and stated:

     

    “Many interested buyers have made offers, but the family has been reluctant to sell… The kids are just now at the age that they really enjoy it, and they spend a lot of time over there. It’s hard to give that up when your grandkids are saying, ‘Oh, don’t sell.’”

     

    Allie Beth Allman & Associates now seek £14.9 million for Mount Vernon and the 10 acres that surround it.

     

    The Names & Numbers – Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America

     

    March 2020 – Relisted at £14.9 million ($18.5 million, €16.6 million or درهم67.9 million) and still for sale through Allie Beth Allman & Associates.

     

    May 2019 – Relisted at a price of £12 million ($14.9 million, €13.4 million or درهم54.7 million).

     

    May 2016 – Relisted at a price of £14.1 million ($17.5 million, €15.7 million or درهم64.3 million).

     

    March 2015 – Featured in The Steeple Times whilst listed with Allie Beth Allman & Associates and Christie’s Real Estate at a price of £15.3 million ($19 million, €17 million or درهم68 million).

     

    September 2013 – Reduced in price to £15.3 million ($19 million, €17 million or درهم68 million).

     

    November 2012 – Reduced in price to £23.7 million ($29.5 million, €26.5 million or درهم108.3 million).

     

    2011 – Placed for sale for £26.1 million ($32.5 million, €29.2 million or درهم119.4 million).

     

    2004 – Hosted its first event as “the nation’s finest professionally equipped bowling centre.” The alley reportedly cost £1.16 million ($1.45 million, €1.3 million or درهم5.33 million) to construct.

     

    2002 – Renovated and expanded.

     

    1999 – Sold to the self-declared real estate “pioneer and innovator” John T. Amend and his wife Teresa for an undisclosed sum.

     

    1938 – Sold by Thomas Y. Pickett to Harold Lafayette Hunt, Jr. for $69,000 or the equivalent of £740,000 today ($922,000, €826,000 or درهم3.4 million today).

     

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    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
  • A Landy or a Thing?

    A Landy or a Thing?

    Nine seat, thirty year old Land Rover for sale for staggering sum; a cheaper alternative at RM Sotheby’s auction (forced online because of coronavirus) is a Volkswagen ‘Thing’

    With coronavirus grinding everything from the Olympics to consuming a sandwich in Pret to a halt, everyone is having to change the way they do things and the automobilia sector is no exception.

     

    Now, with so many concours and sales cancelled, the likes of RM Sotheby’s have been forced to take their auctions online and consequently they are now providing not only more photographs of each and every vehicle they try and sell, but they’re also bombarding their clients with ever more emails. Here is a new way of marketing, but whether it’ll work is yet to be seen.

     

    An annual  auction planned to be held in Palm Beach by the firm is a case in point. It has now been moved to an online affair that is being held between the 20th and 28th March and amongst the highlights (aside from the usual multi-million dollar offerings) is a thirty year old Land Rover Defender 110. The 3.5-litre vehicle, 4×4 is finished in what is described as a “striking shade of blue” and comes with upgraded coil springs, fold down steps and an external roll cage. It has nine seats and though not in the best of condition is listed with an ambitious estimate of £77,000 to £94,000 ($90,000 to $110,000, €84,000 to €102,000 or درهم331,000 to درهم404,000)

     

    For those looking for a cheaper yet equally noticeable option in the same auction, RM Sotheby’s offer a 1974 Volkswagen 181 (commonly known as a ‘Thing’ in America) with a guide of £21,000 to £26,000 ($25,000 to $30,000, €23,000 to €28,000 or درهم92,000 to درهم110,000). The pumpkin orange with black interior vehicle – which is located in Vero Beach, Florida currently – has been “freshly restored” and was one of around 90,000 built between 1968 and 1983. Described as being “reliable” and “cheap to maintain,” this fun 4-speed military cabriolet would most definitely suit Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Borat’ but would equally be at home cruising London’s Kings Road.

     

    As of 9.30pm on 24th March, the bid on the Land Rover Defender stands at £41,000 ($48,000, €45,000 or درهم176,000) and closes on 26th March, whilst the current bid on the Volkswagen ‘Thing’ is £11,000 ($13,000, €12,000 or درهم48,000) and closes on 28th March.

     

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    A Landy or a Thing? RM Sotheby’s Palm Beach auction goes online – Nine seat, thirty year old 1990 Land Rover 110 Defender for sale for staggering sum; a cheaper alternative at RM Sotheby’s auction (forced online because of coronavirus) is a 1974 Volkswagen 181 ‘Thing’ – 20th to 28th March 2020 in Florida.
    The pumpkin orange Volkswagen on offer.
    A Landy or a Thing? RM Sotheby’s Palm Beach auction goes online – Nine seat, thirty year old 1990 Land Rover 110 Defender for sale for staggering sum; a cheaper alternative at RM Sotheby’s auction (forced online because of coronavirus) is a 1974 Volkswagen 181 ‘Thing’ – 20th to 28th March 2020 in Florida.
    The front of the Land Rover seats three.
    A Landy or a Thing? RM Sotheby’s Palm Beach auction goes online – Nine seat, thirty year old 1990 Land Rover 110 Defender for sale for staggering sum; a cheaper alternative at RM Sotheby’s auction (forced online because of coronavirus) is a 1974 Volkswagen 181 ‘Thing’ – 20th to 28th March 2020 in Florida.
    The rear takes six.
    A Landy or a Thing? RM Sotheby’s Palm Beach auction goes online – Nine seat, thirty year old 1990 Land Rover 110 Defender for sale for staggering sum; a cheaper alternative at RM Sotheby’s auction (forced online because of coronavirus) is a 1974 Volkswagen 181 ‘Thing’ – 20th to 28th March 2020 in Florida.
    The view of the vehicle from the rear.
  • Katherine Knight

    Katherine Knight

    This “sweet, matronly looking woman” killed her partner John Price, skinned him, boiled his head in a pot and served up his body parts to his children with baked potatoes and gravy in February 2000. Katherine Knight – a woman who proudly kept knives above her bed so that they “would always be handy if [she] needed them” – was the first Australian to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in October 2001.

    A mother of four and an enthusiastic “cutter up of offal” at her local abattoir, Knight was described as having a “screw loose somewhere” by her own mother and even tried to strangle her husband on their wedding night. She unsuccessfully attempted to appeal her sentence in 2006, continues to show no signs of remorse and will rot in jail for the rest of her life.

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

  • Marples Must Go

    Marples Must Go

    1964 Mini Cooper S hatchback designed to carry the golf clubs of the much-loathed Postmaster General, Minister of Transport and alleged tax fraudster Ernest Marples for sale

     

    Twice married and born in Levenshulme, Manchester, Ernest Marples – later Lord Marples – makes the very worst of modern politicians look like relative babes in arms. He can, however, be credited with commissioning a rare thing – the first ever Mini hatchback. Two were made in total and one, which was eventually transferred to the ownership of the politician in 1968, is to be auctioned in July.

     

    Marples Must Go – 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S 1071 originally owned by much-loathed Postmaster General, Minister of Transport and alleged tax fraudster The Rt. Hon. The Lord Marples, PC – Alfred Ernest Marples (1907 – 1978) to be auctioned by H&H Classics on 26th July 2017 – Estimate of £70,000 to £80,000 ($89,500 to $102,300, €79,100 to €90,400 or درهم328,800 to درهم375,900)
    Pictured left: (Alfred) Ernest Marples (1907 – 1978) with his secretary turned second wife, Ruth Dobson. They married in 1956 and he became The Rt. Hon. The Lord Marples, PC in 1974. Pictured right: Lord Marples in his ‘Marples Mini’ (date unknown).

     

    Marples, whose upbringing was within the Labour Party and whose love of eccentric orange-brown shoes and blue suits was well known, worked as a miner, postman, chef and accountant before a stint in the Royal Artillery between 1941 and 1944. He then joined the Conservative Party, was elected Member of Parliament for Wallasey in 1945 and took his first ministerial post in 1951. Promoted by Churchill, Macmillan and Douglas-Home, he rose to become Postmaster General and Minister of Transport and introduced the STD telephone code, the Premium Bond scheme, the first postcodes, the MOT test, roadside single yellow and double yellow lines and possibly, in his most unpopular move of all, traffic wardens.

     

    Aside from his public appointments, controversially, Marples became a director of various companies in the 1940s. Without considering any potential conflicts of interest, he involved himself in firms that built the first motorways and several power stations also and attracted much attention after protestors spray painted a motorway bridge near Luton that his firm, Marples Ridgway and Partners, constructed with the caption: “Marples Must Go!”

     

    Subsequently, Marples brought the government into disrepute through his part in a prostitution scandal and after this was covered up in 1963, he later “cut and run” to Monaco in 1975 to avoid “a substantial tax bill” after being discovered having parked most of his assets in Monaco and Liechtenstein. He spent his final years on his 45-acre vineyard estate in Fleurie, France and died in a Monte Carlo hospital in 1978.

     

    The ex-Ernest Marples 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S 1071 will be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on the 26th July. It has an estimate of £70,000 to £80,000 ($89,500 to $102,300, €79,100 to €90,400 or درهم328,800 to درهم375,900) – a sum that would no doubt, if he were still alive, have money obsessed Marples smiling with glee.

     

    Of the almond green car, which supposedly the hatchback boot was fitted to on the orders of Marples on the basis he wanted to be easily able to fill it with cases of wine and golf clubs, Damian Jones of H&H Classics commented:

     

    “This is not just another Mini. It is history on four wheels. Its former owner, Transport Minister Ernest Marples changed the face of Britain with housing, bridges, motorways. He was a very ‘colourful character’ to say the least. It is fascinating that he chose to buy and use this relatively modest car when going golfing or going to France on holiday. If this car could speak what tales might it tell? It is truly one of a kind.”

     

    Marples Must Go – 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S 1071 originally owned by much-loathed Postmaster General, Minister of Transport and alleged tax fraudster The Rt. Hon. The Lord Marples, PC – Alfred Ernest Marples (1907 – 1978) to be auctioned by H&H Classics on 26th July 2017 – Estimate of £70,000 to £80,000 ($89,500 to $102,300, €79,100 to €90,400 or درهم328,800 to درهم375,900)Marples Must Go – 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S 1071 originally owned by much-loathed Postmaster General, Minister of Transport and alleged tax fraudster The Rt. Hon. The Lord Marples, PC – Alfred Ernest Marples (1907 – 1978) to be auctioned by H&H Classics on 26th July 2017 – Estimate of £70,000 to £80,000 ($89,500 to $102,300, €79,100 to €90,400 or درهم328,800 to درهم375,900) Marples Must Go – 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S 1071 originally owned by much-loathed Postmaster General, Minister of Transport and alleged tax fraudster The Rt. Hon. The Lord Marples, PC – Alfred Ernest Marples (1907 – 1978) to be auctioned by H&H Classics on 26th July 2017 – Estimate of £70,000 to £80,000 ($89,500 to $102,300, €79,100 to €90,400 or درهم328,800 to درهم375,900)Marples Must Go – 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S 1071 originally owned by much-loathed Postmaster General, Minister of Transport and alleged tax fraudster The Rt. Hon. The Lord Marples, PC – Alfred Ernest Marples (1907 – 1978) to be auctioned by H&H Classics on 26th July 2017 – Estimate of £70,000 to £80,000 ($89,500 to $102,300, €79,100 to €90,400 or درهم328,800 to درهم375,900)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWymCebAl6g

  • A Pint-Sized Peel

    A Pint-Sized Peel

    Tiny 1965 Peel Trident to be auctioned; it is the smallest two seater car ever made, is offered without reserve but is expected to achieve upwards of £80,000

     

    One of just sixty made and an example of the only production car the Isle of Man has ever produced, a fully restored 73-inch long, 39-inch wide Peel Trident is to be sold at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey, California sale on 18th to 19th August.

     

    Capable of achieving an astonishing 100 miles per gallon and a top speed of 38 miles per hour, Peel Tridents were made of fibreglass with a plastic dome, weigh just 330 pounds and have no reverse gear. The diminutive vehicle was designed to seat two passengers but was really “only a single seater in practical use” and has a small sliding side hatch as its only form of ventilation. It cost £190 new (the equivalent of £3,376, $4,354, €3,868 or درهم15,993 today) and was marketed as a “shopping car”.

     

    Of what they call “an adorable little bubble on wheels”, Jake Auberach of RM Sotheby’s told The Sun:

     

    “For the man who has everything microcars represent something new and interesting to buy, no matter how many millions of dollars worth of cars are already parked in your garage”.

     

    “It is small enough to be stored just about anywhere, unique enough to complement just about any collection, and is guaranteed to be a conversation starter. It’s not unusual for many of the world’s largest collectors to have a few microcars kicking around for this reason.

     

    “Peels have a definite cult following, helped in no small part by the well-known episode of Top Gear in which former host Jeremy Clarkson drives one through the offices of the BBC”.

     

    Previously, of the Peel brand – which became defunct when Peel Engineering was dissolved in 1974 but was later revived by a pair of entrepreneurs after a 2010 appearance on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den – generally, Jeremy Clarkson, concluded:

     

    “It’s the original terrestrial flying saucer – Almost cheaper than walking… It’s pretty practical… I’ve never seen the Top Gear team so enthusiastic about any car, ever… It’s the ultimate in personal mobility”.

     

    Chassis number E185, the car offered, according to The Sun, is expected to achieve £80,000 ($103,000, €92,000 or درهم379,000) but is listed as having no reverse so could go for a lot less. Another example reportedly sold at a Coys of Kensington sale in 2012 for $55,000 (the equivalent of £45,000, $58,000, €52,000 or درهم213,000 today).

     

    A Pint-Sized Peel – “World’s smallest two seater” to be auctioned – 1965 Peel Trident – To be sold by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey, California sale with no reserve but expected to achieve upwards of £80,000 ($103,000, €92,000 or درهم379,000) – 18th to 19th August 2017A Pint-Sized Peel – “World’s smallest two seater” to be auctioned – 1965 Peel Trident – To be sold by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey, California sale with no reserve but expected to achieve upwards of £80,000 ($103,000, €92,000 or درهم379,000) – 18th to 19th August 2017A Pint-Sized Peel – “World’s smallest two seater” to be auctioned – 1965 Peel Trident – To be sold by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey, California sale with no reserve but expected to achieve upwards of £80,000 ($103,000, €92,000 or درهم379,000) – 18th to 19th August 2017A Pint-Sized Peel – “World’s smallest two seater” to be auctioned – 1965 Peel Trident – To be sold by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey, California sale with no reserve but expected to achieve upwards of £80,000 ($103,000, €92,000 or درهم379,000) – 18th to 19th August 2017

  • Marked by Mice

    Marked by Mice

    Scott’s in Mayfair to reopen after closing due to a mice infestation; Montpeliano remains open in spite of receiving a Food Standards Agency rating of zero out of five

     

    Today, Scott’s restaurant in Mount Street, Mayfair reopens after having been closed for six days for what they called “a spring clean and revamp”.

     

    The restaurant, which is owned by bouffant haired Richard Caring, in fact, actually received a food hygiene rating of 1/5 – which indicates a “major improvement [is] necessary” – on 13th February and was especially criticized for standards of cleanliness and management of food safety. In particular, according to the Mail Online’s Shari Miller, the report highlighted: “During the inspection it was noted that there was a significant issue with mice activity throughout the premises”.

     

    Of this development at a restaurant loved by many, a spokesman for Scott’s told the Mail Online:

     

    “We are shocked that the council found a reason to reduce our rating despite 10 years with a spotless record”.

     

    “The issues identified were dealt with immediately and we pushed for Westminster Council to return and regrade us before we closed for a long-term planned refurbishment of the restaurant”.

     

    “We are more than happy for them to come back when we open as we are totally confident of retaining our five-star rating”.

     

    “[This was a] wake-up call… And a reminder that for us to maintain our exacting standards, we must put in our own intense checks on top of outside agencies”.

     

    Elsewhere, Knightsbridge’s Montpeliano retains a rating of zero on the Food Standards Agency website. Awarded the truly dreadful score on the 21st September 2016, this “garden style restaurant” opened in 1974 and describes itself as “the place to go for dressy, classic Italian cooking”.

     

    Marked by Mice – Scott’s restaurant at 20 Mount Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 2HE to reopen after mice infestation – Montpeliano at 13 Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HQ still open after receiving a Food Standards Agency rating of 0/5.Marked by Mice – Scott’s restaurant at 20 Mount Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 2HE to reopen after mice infestation – Montpeliano at 13 Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HQ still open after receiving a Food Standards Agency rating of 0/5.

  • The Loss of La Bras

    The Loss of La Bras

    The closure of La Brasserie in Chelsea should send a signal to greedy landlords; their avarice is killing London

     

    There are restaurants that come and go and there are ones that become institutions. La Brasserie fell into the second category but sadly, yesterday, after 45 years in business, this popular dining spot closed its doors for the very last time.

     

    A great loss to the neighbourhood and a firm favourite of everyone from Mary Quant to Mickey Rourke, this Brompton Road restaurant and bar was considered a home-from-home by its loyal staff and rambunctious regulars. Never did one pass through its doors without encountering a plethora of familiar faces and never did one leave without having been part of something akin to an episode of Cheers.

     

    Opened originally in 1972 and run by its charming and able proprietor Peter Godwin since 1972, the sad demise of ‘La Bras’ (as it was endearingly known) came about after a six figure rent increase resulted in continued trading being utterly unsustainable. Joining many other restaurants in the area to have departed – including Elistano on Elystan Street, Itsu on Draycott Avenue, Poissonnerie on Sloane Avenue and Toto’s on Walton Street – soaring business rates did not help either but one can certainly attribute far more blame to the not-so-charitable landlords grasping to achieve an extra buck.

     

    In a statement, issued via Facebook on Wednesday morning, a representative for La Brasserie remarked:

     

    Peter Godwin the proprietor of La Brasserie, announces with deep regret the closure of the restaurant after 45 years, due to insurmountable increases in overheads and operating costs.

     

    Peter would like to thank all the wonderful hard working staff, many of whom have worked here for over 20 years and have become a real family. He would especially like to thank his right hand man for 42 years Majid Barka, he says he could not have done it without him. He would also like to thank the fabulous management team, Suzie Cooke, Ross Armitage, Cesar Salinas, Carlos Marques, Elodie Bourges, Juan Lousada and Anna Milescu . Also the fantastic team Jose Dantes, Angelo Saavedra, Teodosio Candeias, Manuel Nascimento, Juan Carlos Moreno, Maria Hernandez, Anca Stroia, Edyta Grzesik, Ferran Rodriques, Alessandro Mazziotto, Alhaji Kanu, Anastasios Andreadis, Carlos Teotonio, Hasmik Gevorgyan, Iveta Sudova, Karla Pestana de Barros, Manon Fouquet, Marion Vialle and Monica Cassiano. Last but definitely not least our amazing kitchen team, Head Chef Jamie Smith, Christian Cheregi, Antonio Filipe, Jose Marquez (Pepe), Alexandro Fratini, Desmond Cowan, Jason Whiskey, Jonathan Lincango, Kwacu Owusu, Leopaldo Alvarado, Nanis Dimitrakis, Salar Samyani, Silviu Manole and Stephan Mendes.

     

    It’s a huge disappointment that we had to close, but we have exhausted all possible options to remain in operation. Thank you for all your support, we have enjoyed 45 years of trading and serving you, our customers. As you well know, you have become our friends and extended family. We hope you and your family have enjoyed it as much as we have and we wish you all the best for your future.

     

    Please forgive us and remember the good times!

     

    Peter and all the team at La Brasserie.

     

    Of this sad development, Matthew Steeples, editor of The Steeple Times, commented:

     

    “Chelsea’s character is being torn from its soul by greedy commercial property owners wanting to replace long established businesses with chain stores and luxury goods brands as they believe they’ll pay higher rents”.

     

    “Given the number of empty shops and restaurants peppering the locality, however, the strategy of landlords is plainly not working. These charlatans are killing the area and all that will soon be left is a near empty money park”.

     

  • Bonded to a Rolls

    Bonded to a Rolls

    1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I drophead coupé owned by Bond set designer Sir Ken Adam to be auctioned at RM Sotheby’s Battersea sale tonight (more…)