The Steeple Times

Tag: 2007

  • Bankrupt in Barton Street

    Bankrupt in Barton Street

    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 quickly latch on to stories about benefit scroungers living in luxury homes. They’re less quick, however, with the exception of the case of Grant Bovey (“Mr Anthea Turner”), to make reference to stories of bankrupt individuals remaining in multi-million pound mansions.

     

    Brian O'Donnell with his wife Dr Mary "Pat" Patricia O'Donnell
    Brian O’Donnell with his wife Dr Mary “Pat” Patricia O’Donnell

    A most newsworthy example, though, has to be that of Irish property investor Brian O’Donnell and his psychiatrist wife Dr Mary Patricia “Pat” O’Donnell. Mr O’Donnell, who bought the Sanctuary Buildings in London for £170 million and paid $172.5 million for a 199,000 square foot property on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington in 2008, started his career as a solicitor and eventually founded his own firm, Brian O’Donnell & Partners, in 1999. In time, he and his wife diversified into property investment and at the height of his success, Mr O’Donnell was described as “the Celtic Tiger poster child”. With the recession, however, came problems and by 2011, they owed Morgan Stanley €457 million, Aareal €235 million, and the Bank of Ireland circa €75 million.

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  • Tanya Gold

    Tanya Gold

    Tanya Gold 550This acid tongued journalist doesn’t care about causing offence. (more…)

  • Jessica Fellowes: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    Jessica Fellowes: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    The Steeple Times asks journalist and author Jessica Fellowes: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

    To learn from history – in all senses of the word – but listen to the needs of the present.

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    “No man lives by bread alone – he needs his bit of crumpet”.

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  • “Where are they now?” – James Hewitt

    “Where are they now?” – James Hewitt

    What has become of the “love rat” James Hewitt?

     

    In the first of a new series, we seek to find out what has become of well-known individuals who have faded into obscurity or moved on into others arenas.

     

    Our first subject, James Hewitt, will forever be remembered for two things: One will be his affair with Princess Diana. The second will be his “caddish” attempts to sell stories and information relating to this.

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  • The truth about Mother’s Day

    The truth about Mother’s Day

    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 people here are all very friendly” when I write that, because although it’s mostly true, it’s not always true.

     Happy Mother's Day

    As someone who has written about travelling with children for nearly fifteen years, really since I was pregnant with my son, and written about the politics of the playground, which is nothing to do with the kids at all, just the issues of the parents, I’m not sure if I actually like children.

     

    Don’t get me wrong, I love my own, he is the centre of my universe, but over the years I’ve met children who I felt were going to make the most appalling adults. Those adages, “mine will be different”, and “they will grow out of it”, don’t happen. Yours turn out to be the same, and they get worse.

     

    And, they always blame the mothers. That’s after they blame the media, the council worker, the government, the lack of nutrients in food, the teachers, the lack of discipline in the home, too much TV, too many computer games, violence, alcohol and celebrity culture. In fact, a whole melting pot of things are generally blamed for the awfulness of any child. This is unfair.

     

    I recently produced a YouTube video of the top ten types of mums and I’ve done one for dads, but I had to tone it down because ‘they’ felt it might be too negative. It wasn’t. It was spot on. In fact, it was tamed down.

     

    But dads are rarely, if ever, laid to blame for their own failures let alone that of their children. No one is to blame for their own failures and that’s the problem. No one takes responsibility. Actually no. Women usually tend to believe everything is their fault, and men tend to believe everything is everyone else’s fault, so I’m sure that’s why men and women get on as well and as long as they do. Men think their failures are everyone else’s fault – but mainly their mothers.

     

    I’m sure Freud said as much somewhere but I’m not sure. These ones also tend to marry their mothers or ‘motherly’ types’, divorce when they’re not being mothered anymore – because their wives have given birth and have genuine children to look after and proceed to look for women who a) can’t have kids b) have grown up kids and c) are able and willing to dote on them the way their mothers never did… or did too much.

     

    So, I say, Happy Mother’s Day, to all of those who have children and those who have children as partners.

     

    Sarah Tucker is an award winning travel journalist, novelist, producer and broadcaster. She has edited, produced and presented her own radio and TV series as well as presenting reports for BBC Holiday Programme and anchored I Want That House on ITV. She is the author of best selling novels The Playground Mafia (short listed for the Good Housekeeping book of the year 2007) The Battle for Big School, The Last Year of Being Single, and The Control Freak Chronicles.

     

    For more information about Sarah Tucker, go to: http://www.sarahtucker.info

     

    Buy The Playground Mafia on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Playground-Mafia-Sarah-Tucker/dp/0099498456/ref=sr_1_7/202-9265101-5575054?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193856472&sr=1-7

     

    Follow Sarah Tucker on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/madasatucker

  • Neil Hamilton: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    Neil Hamilton: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    The Steeple Times asks writer, broadcaster and entertainer Neil Hamilton: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

    Christine.

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    If you say so dear.

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  • Toby Flood

    Toby Flood

    Toby FloodThis level-headed “reluctant star” of English rugby grew up in Northumberland and describes himself as a “horse whisperer, ventriloquist, ladies swimwear model and soft play enthusiast” to his 50,000 followers on Twitter. He enjoys gardening, fishing and walking his black Labrador and eventually intends to become a lawyer. Whilst both of his grandfathers were actors, he has become an ambassador and model for the Eden Park fashion brand, official suppliers of formalwear to the RFU. His view on fame is simple: “I don’t want to be a celebrity or be on the front pages of the papers. I don’t want to be recognised. I just want to play rugby to the best of my ability and lead my own life away from the job”. His fans are rightly united in calling him a “great bloke”.

  • Justin Timberlake

    Justin Timberlake

    Justin Timberlake 250This child star has morphed via a stint on the Disney Channel and in boy band ‘N Sync into an internationally known singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, dancer and businessman. (more…)

  • Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan (1971 – 2007 and 1966 – 2007)

    Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan (1971 – 2007 and 1966 – 2007)

    Blake and DuncanTheir story is a modern day equivalent of that of Romeo and Juliet and Vanity Fair chronicled their deaths as The Golden Suicides. “Handsome” Blake, a digital artist and painter who worked with Malcolm McLaren and Fox Searchlight, and “sexy” Duncan, a writer, game designer and filmmaker best known for the “girl-centric” game Chop Suey, were the toast of New York but became obsessed with those they felt threatened them and their works. Personally wounded by a rejection from the post-modern rocker Beck to work with her on making a film out of one of her scripts, Duncan blamed his church, the Church of Scientology, and stated: “They are furious because he valued our way of life far more than Celebrity Center sex trash”. As more rejections came, this talented pair who “supported one another totally” became more and more irrational and in July 2007, a week apart, both committed suicide.

  • Josh Henderson

    Josh Henderson

    Josh Henderson 350This Texan actor and singer is a rising star who first found fame in Desperate Housewives before taking a lead role in the TNT revival of Dallas. Henderson is heterochromatic and has one green eye and one blue eye. He lists his style icons as James Franco and Ryan Gosling and of them states: “I take a lot of my fashion tips from those two. In my opinion, they’re the ones getting it right”.