‘The Steeple Times’ wishes readers a very merry Christmas and hopes for better times in 2019
Without doubt, 2018 has been what Her Majesty The Queen would have called an “annus horribilis.” Aside from the shitshow that has been Theresa May’s disastrous Brexit negotiations, greats like Jim Bowen, Aretha Franklin and Baroness Trumpington died and our beloved and once Great Britain seems to have sunk into an angry abyss.
Today, as families across the land come together to celebrate Christmas, all at The Steeple Times wish our readers happiness galore. We wish we could be more positive about our hopes for the future but sadly, in these times uncertain, nobody really knows what will come next.
Please, dear readers, have a wonderful day today and please be sure to pray for better times in the coming months.
1985 MG Metro 6R4 to be auctioned; it has an extraordinary estimate of £180,000 to £200,000 and just 175 miles on the clock
With over 1.5 million built during its production run, the Austin (and later Rover) Metro is in the top ten of car models sold by number in the UK ever. Lady Diana Spencer – later the Princess of Wales – drove a W-reg example prior to her marriage and the actor Peter Bowles was also said to have been a fan.
Promoted in jingoistic style by its manufacturer as “A British Car To Beat The World,” the Metro also found fame on the rally circuit. Created for the short-lived ‘Group B’ rally category, the MG Metro 6R4 bore a cosmetic resemblance to its city car parent, but in fact was something completely different and something that packed a bit of a punch.
Developed by Williams Grand Prix Engineering, this turbocharged 3-litre V6 engined car came in the form of a ‘Clubman’ model, a road-going version developing about 250 bhp, and a more powerful 410 bhp International ‘Group B’ specification rally car. Around 200 of the former were built and sold to the public whilst 20 of the latter were made.
In January, a 1985 ‘Group B’ example that has covered just 175 miles from new and was part of Williams Grand Prix Engineering’s collection from 1988 to 2005 will be sold at auction. It is presented in “sparkling condition” and was fully recommissioned and overhauled by BGM Sport in 2016/2017.
Silverstone Auctions will sell the car at their Autosport International Sale 2019 on 12th January at the NEC, Birmingham with an estimate of £180,000 to £200,000 ($227,000 to $253,000, €200,000 to €222,000 or درهم835,000 to درهم928,000).
Matthew Steeples suggests Labour’s partial U-turn on Brexit is a positive start; they must now go further and oppose it entirely
Whilst Keir Starmer’s decision to announce Labour will support Britain remaining in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during a “time-limited transitional period between our exit from the EU and the new lasting relationship we build with our European partners” in The Observer yesterday is to be saluted, he does not go far enough.
Brexit has left Britain on a knife-edge. Sterling is considerably weakened, jobs in agriculture and banking are already disappearing and businesses, such as occurred with Southern Salads in Kent, are beginning to go into administration. Theresa May’s “Brexit means Brexit” and her ridiculous “red, white and blue Brexit” now seem the ultimate follies and this morning’s comment by Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail is indicative that the lunatics are still in charge of the asylum.
In a moaning rant that he titles a “spectacular betrayal of Labour voters” and aside from spouting the usual rhetoric, Oborne does rightly suggest that Jeremy Corbyn is not a natural supporter of the EU. The Labour leader, after all, voted against British membership in 1975, opposed the single market subsequently and also did little in the 2016 referendum campaign to positively support ‘remain’. Consequently, one is left wondering if he actually truly supports what Keir Starmer yesterday proposed.
The Leader of the Opposition’s aim, of course, is power and alongside his recent transformation from a badly dressed joker to someone who actually made headway – thanks in the main to Theresa May’s incompetence and decision to call an utterly unnecessary election – Corbyn has realised that the 48% are a constituency worthy of pursuing. He must now, himself, come out and be honest with us and we urge him to do what is best for Britain: It is time for Labour campaign to stop Brexit.
Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.
EXCLUSIVE – “Nationally important” Grade II* listed Berkshire mansion in 130 acres for sale for £26 million; its interior is yet to be renovated
A Grade II* listed building capable of being reinstated as one of Britain’s finest country houses has just been placed on the market for £26 million.
Benham Park – formerly known as Benham Vallence – at Marsh Benham, near Newbury comes with around 130 acres of Grade II listed Capability Brown (1716 – 1783) designed parkland and currently extends to 27,620 square foot. It has planning permission in place to either revert to a truly epic single family mansion or to convert into a 100 bedroom ‘wellness centre’ to rival Champneys in Hertfordshire and Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland. The schemes proposed would provide between 50,000 and 140,000 square foot of accommodation and, already, businessmen Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson, owners since 2011, have restored the exterior of the building along with its gardens and park.
Built at the behest of the nobleman William Craven (1738 – 1791) to designs of the Fulham born architect Henry Holland (1745 – 1806) in 1774 – 1775, this fine neoclassical house was constructed from Bath stone and later altered by the extremely wealthy Sutton baronets during their tenure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The estate was sold for £1 million to the innovative computer manufacturers Norsk Data in 1983 and remained in the firm’s ownership until it was dissolved in 1992. It then became the offices of other technology companies until again being placed for sale for £6 million in 2010.
Benham Park in the era when it was used as offices; the modern buildings have now been demolished and the car park landscapedThe main mansion prior to renovation of its exteriorA view from another angle (after external renovation) From the lakeAnd from its imposing entranceOne of several entrances to the estateAnother set of impressive gates
Should a buyer use the existing designs for a residential scheme, they would find themselves owning a house that would not only come with 12 reception rooms and 29 bedroom suites, but also one with a sports complex, a sculpture gallery, a 40-seat cinema and garaging for 50 cars. Aside from an existing 5-bedroom mill house on the estate’s 10 acre lake and a gate lodge, the proposals would add a further 8 additional ancillary houses also.
Of Benham Park, Crispin Holborow of selling agent Savills commented:
“[This] is a nationally important stately home so its sale presents a very exciting proposition for a future owner to oversee its transformation. The prospect of restoring a property of such magnificent proportions with excellent access to London has not arisen for many years, and we expect interest from potential buyers for either its reinstatement as a significant country residence or its repurpose into a world leading wellness centre”.
Those looking to extend the compound further have the option to purchase two separately owned properties that were formerly part of the estate. A house known as ‘Greenhouses’, for sale with Savills, is offered for £1.3 million and comes with 1.47 acres of land whilst Mill Bank House, which stands in 2 acres, is on the market through Strutt & Parker.
The Numbers – Benham Park
1771 – 1774
William Craven, 6th Baron Craven paid Capability Brown £7,150 for works to the house and grounds. This sum is the equivalent of £989,000 today ($1.3 million, €1.1 million or درهم4.7 million).
1982
Sold to Norsk Data for £1 million (the equivalent of £3.2 million, $4.1 million, €3.7 million or درهم15.1 million today) by Sir Richard Sutton (born 1937).
2010
Placed on the market for £6 million ($7.7 million, €6.9 million or درهم28.3 million).
2011
Sold to Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson for £5 million ($6.4 million, €5.7 million or درهم23.6 million).
2017
Benham Park placed on the market for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million).
Separately owned estate houses
Mill Bank House – On the market for £1.4 million ($1.8 million, €1.6 million or درهم6.6 million).
Greenhouses – On the market for £1.3 million ($1.7 million, €1.5 million or درهم6.1 million).
Born in Banchory, Aberdeenshire in 1985, Pete Cashmore founded Mashable, a “one-stop-shop” digital media news and blogging site, in his bedroom in 2005 with the aim of “changing the world”. The firm now has over 120 employees, is based in New York and has 9 million followers on Twitter and achieves over 45 million unique views per month. He was once described as “one of the most influential voices of his generation – on and offline” and was also called “more than just a superb head of hair” by Hearst’s Town & Country magazine in 2016.
Father of Martine Vik Magnussen again calls for his daughter’s wealthy Arabic suspected killer to face justice nine years after her death
Nine years have passed since Martine Vik Magnussen, after being caught on camera leaving Mayfair’s Maddox Club, was raped and murdered in Great Portland Street, London. Her suspected killer, a wealthy brat named Farouk Abdulhak has never been caught and, to this day, lives in luxury with his family in Yemen.
On Wednesday, Miss Magnussen’s Norwegian father, Petter, issued yet another appeal for justice through The Mirror. In his statement, he remarked:
“We never imagined nine years ago that we would be in this position today”.
“We had hoped that Farouk Abdulhak would by now have had the courage to return to the UK and allow for the legal processes to proceed”.
“Sadly that is not the case, he remains at large, hiding from justice and putting myself and my family through intolerable pain”.
“Martine was a beautiful daughter and our search for justice will never cease”.
Suspected killer and rapist Farouk Abdulhak continues to live a playboy lifestyle thanks to the wealth and connections of his family
The son of a wealthy businessman named Shaher Abdulhak, Farouk Abdulhak remains at large and due to Britain having no extradition agreement with Yemen continues to do as he pleases. It is shameful and wrong and despite repeated calls for him to return to the UK to face justice, he will likely never give himself up.
Those with information should contact the police on +44 (0) 20 8358 0300 or Crimestoppers on +44 (0) 800 555 111.
Unlucky mansion in Yorkshire with 13 bedrooms for sale for a lower sum than it was marketed for in 2007 – despite having been renovated internally in the time since
Offered for sale for less than it was last marketed in a “dilapidated condition” in 2007, Whinburn Hall in the gritty West Yorkshire mill town of Keighley has now been largely restored internally but is still surrounded by neglected yet Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 protected grounds.
Described as a “fine country house… contrasting with the cramped rows of terraces in the streets behind them” according to Wikipeda, this Grade II listed Victorian Arts and Crafts mansion was built in 1897 for Prince Smith III (1869 – 1940), an exotically named gentleman who later renamed himself Prince Prince-Smith before becoming Sir Prince Prince-Smith on the death of his father in 1922.
Constructed from wealth generated by the Prince-Smith family’s textile machinery manufacturing business, Prince Smith & Son, the house was redesigned and extended in 1912 – 1913 and became a training centre for the National Institute of Houseworkers in 1940. Sold again in 1950 to the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, the “modern manor house” was run as a residential school and special referral unit until 2008 and then, after a period of dilapidation and the rejection of plans to turn Whinburn Hall into flats, was bought by a 35-year old businessman named James Sheldon in 2008.
An unlucky mansion – Whinburn Hall, Hollins Lane, Utley, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD20 6LU – On the market for £1.45 million in 2016; marketed in 2007 for £1.5 million (or the equivalent of £1.88 million today)An unlucky mansion – James Sheldon purchased Whinburn Hall at the age of 35 and died there aged just 42
Sheldon, who worked as a lifeboat coxswain in Southport for 18 years, restored Whinburn Hall to use as a family home and also based his business Nav-comm, a specialist in the design of LED lighting systems for emergency vehicles, there.
In the years that followed, Mr Sheldon developed what he claimed to be a new form of “anti-terror security equipment” to detect explosives and drugs from 50 metres and took a stand at a trade show in London in 2013 to showcase this. It was later described as being like “an experiment a first year university student would have tried, but which failed” and in due course West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit placed Sheldon and his father, Anthony, under investigation.
Both were arrested on allegations of fraud and on 23rd June 2015, after two police officers visited Whinburn Hall to inform the duo that they were to be rebailed for three months, 42-year old James Sheldon tragically jumped to his death from the fourth floor tower of the hall. It later transpired he had been served with an eviction order due his non-payment of the mortgage on the house and faced debts of some £1.25 million ($1.62 million or €1.45 million).
The main property, which is now for sale through agents Dacre Son & Hartley for just £1.45 million ($1.87 million or €1.68 million), currently – rather unluckily, some might also argue – features 13 bedrooms and 7 reception rooms. It comes with a detached bungalow and a dilapidated gatehouse and stands in 7 acres of protected gardens that includes a folly designed by the renowned Lancastrian garden designer and landscape architect Thomas Mawson. Hopefully the next owner, aside from tackling this “overgrown jungle”, will also bring with them better luck.
This ‘baronial hall’ is used as a dining room and is dominated a truly tasteless purple ceilingThe purple theme continues in this galleryAnd there’s more of it in this corridorA drawing room complete with ‘classy’ DFS style furniture and a huge television set could be somewhat improvedA striking fireplace in another room is surrounded by some pretty hideously coloured leather sofasA staircase with a resemblance to something from a fun fairAnother staircase is a little more traditionalOne of thirteen bedroomsThe house is surrounded by 7 acres of overgrown groundsA somewhat amateur attempt at creating a helipad is located close to the houseThe entrance gatesThe roof of the adjoining gatehouse is literally caving in
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A 20-question interview with bon viveur, chairman of L’Escargot and chief executive of Devonshire Club Brian Clivaz
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
The Sermon on the Mount – Ask, Seek, Knock. (Matthew 7:7).
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“Rise above it”.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2016?
Sam Allardyce as England Manager. He’s a nice guy, but I mean, really?
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
My father. He died two years ago.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
A verdant tropical island.
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?
Crisis, what crisis? The bankers seem to be doing all right to me.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Toilet”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
Give it all away: You can’t take it with you. I support the Royal Academy Schools, the RSPB, the RSPCA and the Terrence Higgins Trust.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
‘Irritating gadgets’ are essential tools for modern life; but please keep your voice down and learn how to put it on silent.
Brian Clivaz
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
The French rugby team.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Terrine of foie gras, lobster thermidor, roast grouse, raspberries and cream and stilton and digestives. I would eat it in my cell.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
Bollinger at breakfast is a good mantra.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A Negroni but please don’t muck around with it and add all those mad “hone-made” vermouths and botanicals. Give me equal measures of Campari, sweet martini and Plymouth or Beefeater gin. Serve in a big glass with plenty of ice. I’m ambivalent about the orange slice.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
David Morgan-Hewitt’s annual birthday party in the penthouse at The Dorchester is the best as there is free flowing Krug to start and Château D’Yquem to finish.
Who is the most positive person you know?
Tony Buzan, the creator of “mind-mapping”, is a seriously positive person and always recharges my synapses.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Roquefort and McVities.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A bulldog, although I’m more of a hippo, I’d go for a bulldog as I have a lovely bitch called Doris.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A Jaguar MKII 3.4-litre with overdrive.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I live in Brixton and travel around London on a Vespa.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
A “waterfall” clock given to me by my late grandmother, a pair of vases and a couple of Roja Dove aoud candles.
Brian Clivaz was born in Brighton and started his career at The Dorchester. He then worked throughout the world until launching the Home House private members’ club in 1998. Clivaz then revived and relaunched Mayfair’s Arts Club and as well as being chairman of L’Escargot in Soho has just opened a new private club in the City of London named Devonshire Club.
Jailed paedophile Rolf Harris set to profit from sale of first original work since he was jailed
Since he was jailed, no painting by the filthy paedophile Rolf Harris has been sold at auction. That’s now about to change given a work by the disgraced 85-year old is being offered in an online auction that ends on 6th September.
Listed by auctioneers Robson Kay – who describe themselves as “corporate recovery agents” – the 182cm by 121cm mixed media painting dates to 1980 and features Harris’ signature in large lettering. It is named ‘Outback Scene’ and was purchased for £14,000 in 2004 by its current owner. He then declined an offer of £44,000 for it in 2008 prior to pervert Harris’ 2014 conviction.
Of the work, which is now being marketed with a much reduced pre-sale estimate of just £5,000 to £10,000, Jonathan Kay of Robson Kay told the Mail Online:
“I suspect there are people who might want it but would be worried what others think and I suspect there are those who like the controversy of having such a work and using it as a conversation piece at a dinner party”.
“Personally, I wouldn’t have it in my home. I discussed it internally and decided it was unlikely our other clients will think poorly of us if we sold it”.
“We are an online auction and so far we can tell that 17 people are watching this item. It might they are curious as to how it fares or they could be serious buyers”.
If the work does sell, Harris will himself profit. Under the Artist’s Resale Rights (ARR) scheme, the child abusing monster will receive 4% of the sale price.
Sex fiend Rolf Harris faces a new trial for further abuse allegations in 2017The painting by the perverted monster offered for sale is titled ‘Outback Scene’
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That the police have ended forensic work into the search for “missing” Madeleine McCann speaks volumes about Theresa May’s sheer lack of judgement
Yesterday, The Sunday Mirror reported that all forensic work into the search for “missing” Madeleine McCann is to stop. In doing so, British police have only confirmed all that we all already knew: This was an investigation that should have ended years ago and it is a disgrace that our new Prime Minister #DarthVader Theresa May continued to fund it so extravagantly and for so long.
Organised by Scotland Yard at the ridiculous cost of £12 million thus far (whilst searches for other missing children get next to nothing), Operation Grange is something that our former Home Secretary Theresa May surprisingly took beyond excessive interest in. She hosted a party in Downing Street attended by Madeleine McCann’s parents in Downing Street in 2012 with the “Chanel-clad” Lady Meyer and in the time since she has continued to be involved via charities called PACT and Action Against Abduction. Separately, Mrs May most recently approved an additional payment of £95,000 to fund the continued investigation into the “disappearance” of the missing child – whose parents paid for child care in the daytime but not at night back in 2007 – in April this year. The activities it funded achieved nothing.
It is simply a disgrace that such a large sum has been squandered on a hunt for one child and though Mrs May wasn’t involved from the very beginning of this somewhat curious story, it is something that has primarily been dealt with in her domain in office. Shame on her: Like with her appointment of three inappropriate individuals in succession to chair the investigation into historic abuse, this represents yet another fine example of her pathetic ability to judge the difference between the right and wrong course of action.
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Mill Bank House – On the market for £1.4 million ($1.8 million, €1.6 million or درهم6.6 million).
Greenhouses – On the market for £1.3 million ($1.7 million, €1.5 million or درهم6.1 million).
