This 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…)
Tag: 2014
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Justin Timberlake
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Incurring no wrath
Images of Rolls-Royce’s latest model, the Wraith, are leaked ahead of its Geneva debut
When someone “incurs your wrath”, they make you angry but with the addition of an ‘I’ the word comes to be a Scottish dialectal word for “ghost” or “spirit”.
Today, 5th March 2013, Rolls-Royce launch their latest model, an elegant fastback based on the Rolls-Royce Ghost. Named the Wraith, the car was to be unveiled this morning at the Geneva International Motor Show but pictures were leaked onto the Internet late last night and we reveal them for you here.
The 2013 Rolls-Royce Wraith 
The front of the Wraith 
The interior of the Wraith 
The car’s roof lining features Starlight Headliner technology to give the feel of a starlit night The stylish Wraith is the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever with a delivery that is said to be “effortless, but dramatic”, thanks to a 6.7 litre V12 engine and 8-speed automatic ZF transmission. A phenomenal 624 bhp / 465kW is available to the driver while the 0-60 mph can be achieved in just 4.4 seconds, compared with the Ghost’s 4.7 seconds.
With a stiffened suspension, the Wraith is said to be “distinctly on the sport[s] side” and a “Rolls-Royce to drive, not be driven in”. Of it, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, suggested:
“[The Wraith coupé] has a hint of menace in the design that is new to the brand, but with the driving experience and performance to live up to that promise”.
As is to be expected from this iconic brand, styling, finish and attention to detail have also been given utmost consideration during the Wraith’s development. The interior of this four seat vehicle, for example, features Starlight Headliner technology which consists of 1,340 fibre optic lamps hand-woven into the roof lining to give the impression of a glittering, starry night sky.
In his statement about the Wraith, Müller-Ötvös concluded:
“Today we launch the ultimate gentlemen’s gran turismo, a car that embodies the spirit of Charles Stewart Rolls… The most powerful Rolls-Royce in history, Wraith promises the sense of adventure and speed that drove our founding forefather. But of course, Wraith’s starting point is luxury, refinement and quality, traits that remain as important to Rolls-Royce customers today as they were more than a century ago”.
First deliveries of the Wraith will be made in the final quarter of 2013 and prices are expected to start at around £225,000.
Rolls-Royce may feel a little peeved that images of the Wraith have bolted from the stable a little early but, instead, we would suggest, they should be extremely proud of what they have let loose. Wraith not wrath is what is required.
For more details about the Rolls-Royce Wraith, go to: http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
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Josh Henderson
This 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”. -
Michelle Dockery
This Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actress came to prominence as Downton Abbey’s Lady Mary Crawley in September 2010 and is now considered “one of the most chattered-about women on television”. Born in Romford, Essex, Dockery has also appeared in television series’ including Heartbeat and Dalziel and Pascoe and films such as Anna Karenina with Jude Law and Keira Knightley. Of her future ambitions, she states: “I love singing live, actually. And I’m dying to sing in a role, whether it’s in a musical or a biographical film about a singer. It’s always been one of my aspirations”. In the meantime, the nation will continue to celebrate watching this rising talent as she morphs into Downton’s merry widow. -
Alex Preston
This talented Oxford educated author is a former credit derivatives trader who is now regular on BBC2’s The Review Show. This Bleeding City, his first novel, was based on his own working experiences and analyses how the financial crash could be seen as “our subconscious revenge, our way of bringing down the system that had ensnared us”. His second, The Revelations, was described by A. N. Wilson as a “strange and compulsively readable tale of City slickers seduced by a promise of spiritual awakening”. He predicts a bleak future for financiers in suggesting that we are still in the midst of “a crisis that will take more than a few bankers paying back their bonuses to solve”. -
Dame Judi Dench CH, DBE, FRSA
Undoubtedly best known as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, Yorkshire born Dench briefly played Pru Forrest in the BBC’s The Archers. She’s an advocate for “more progressive drug policies” and only took the role of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride & Prejudice after director Joe Wright wrote to her and said: “I love it when you play a bitch. Please come and be a bitch for me.” There’s barely a role she hasn’t conquered. -
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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Gaspard Ulliel
Best known for a brilliant performance in the 2007 prequel Hannibal Rising, this talented Frenchman is to play a young Yves Saint Laurent in an unauthorised forthcoming biopic of the designer’s early career. Having attempted to ride a doberman like at horse at the age of six, he was attacked and claims the resulting scar improves his emotional acting abilities. It hasn’t harmed his modeling career either as he has contracts with both Chanel and Longchamp. -
Nicholas Gruber: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times asks model and personality Nicholas Gruber: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?
I try to learn something from everyone I meet.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Life is short so enjoy a part of every day, even the shitty ones.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2012?
Picking on anyone less fortunate than you. That’s why the Republicans lost the election in the US.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
My grandmother, Judy Bolduc. She was the first lesbian in California to adopt a child, my dad.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
Honey, pick up a paper: I did that already for some freedom.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank.” What’s your view on the banking crisis?
Greed is never good in any way, shape or form.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Thank you so much.” It seems insincere whereas just “thank you” seems genuine.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
Toys for Tots because I know first hand what it feels like to be a kid with nothing under the tree.
The judge in “Law Abiding Citizen” states: “I can pretty do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
It is only appropriate to blow up terrorists.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
My new boyfriend, John Luciano, and my former one, Calvin Klein. Now, that would be one hell of a ride.
Nicholas Gruber If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Pasta from Bar Pitti. Two helpings. Plus a slice of German chocolate cake.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
I’m sober so for me that would be noon. Joking. I don’t drink but I also don’t judge.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
None of the above. I will take a coconut water please.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
Calvin Klein. He might be three times my age but he can party like a rock star.
Who is the most positive person you know?
A tie between Calvin and John. They both believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Having a mob related boyfriend who allows me to have girlfriends.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A glass that was half full because that’s how I roll.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A smiley face.
Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I’m straight but bang guys.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
Nothing. It’s all about no clutter.
Follow Nicholas Gruber on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/NicholasGruber
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Picture of the Week: White fleece
Amy Childs: A brash young lady with questionable taste
Our last picture of the week featuring a Range Rover Sport was of one that had been driven by a couple described in the comments section of a Mail Online article as a “pair of pillocks in a puddle.” We subsequently received a Tweet from one of them whining about our article in which he stated that our editor was a “prat.” Those that saw this, excuse the pun, laughed like drains about such a missive coming from a person who drove their car into a flooded ford and then wondered why that vehicle sank.
Amy Childs in a well managed pose with signage for a tyre company, a new car, a new numberplate and another of her vehicles Mr and Mr Drewitt-Barlow, primarily known for having had five children by a surrogate, had been at an event named Essex Fashion Week on the evening in question and today’s picture features another of their number, the former The Only Way is Essex “star,” Amy Childs along with two white Range Rover Sport vehicles.
Miss Childs, a “beautician” aged 22, is someone who has been moulded into a “brand” by Claire Powell of Can Associates, a lady who variously has been the representative of Katie Price, Peter Andre and Kerry Katona. Though the appearance fees Childs received on TOWIE were “minimal,” she’s amazingly made a lot of money since “[shooting] to fame in 2010.” Childs, the Mail revealed, has just spent £80,000 of her new found wealth on a personalised plate based on her favourite phrase, WE11 JEL.
Whilst the Mail Online suggest Childs posing in the lot of Imperial Cars in Romford with her new Range Rover and its expensive plate came about because she “outbid a premiership footballer and a TOWIE producer to win” it in a DVLA auction, we’re not entirely convinced.
The Mail are especially keen to share with their readers that Amy Childs paid for the car itself on her American Express platinum card but publishing an image of her in a far from glamorous yard under a sign for “part worn tyres” and next to a wheelie bin just looks silly. This story seems just as staged and ludicrous as that of the puddle dwellers and for that reason we make this Essex girl and her pointless “purchases” our picture of the week.
Read the Mail Online’s report about WE11 JEL at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2238775/Former-TOWIE-star-Amy-Childs-shows-customised-licence-plates–cost-80-000-privilege.html