Quirky 1995 Rolls-Royce estate car for sale for just shy of £100,000; it’s perfect for picnics and conveying posh pooches
A 1995 special edition Rolls-Royce Flying Spur converted to an estate car in recent years from a Silver Spur III with just 25,000 miles on the clock is currently for sale for £99,000 ($138,000, €112,000 or درهم508,000).
Redesigned by West Coast Customs for an American music company executive circa 2011 for use in California, the vehicle offered features a “raked roof-line” and is finished in British Racing Green with light green over. It has just 25,000 miles on the clock, a tan leather interior and a boot with acres of space for dogs, picnics and goodness knows what else.
The 6.8-litre, turbocharged V8 engine, automatic, right-hand drive car – one of just 134 Silver Spur III’s – is offered by Desmond J. Smail of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
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Brothers and victims of parental abuse Erik and Lyle Menendez to be rightly reunited in prison after 22 years apart
Last autumn’s Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders brought renewed interest in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, two brothers jailed for life without parole in 1996 for the murder of their parents despite compelling evidence of their having been subject to appalling abuse by the very people meant to protect them.
Yesterday, after 22 years of incarceration without sight of one another, it was announced that the brothers would finally be placed in the same jail “shortly.”
“Erik and Lyle were never a danger to anyone besides the parents who terrorised them all their lives. Sending them to separate prisons without even the privilege of speaking to one another for 22 years was just plain cruelty. There are lots of brothers in prison together. I am delighted that they will be reunited. For anyone who’s counting, they’ve now been incarcerated for 28 years. But miracles do happen!”
Elsewhere on Facebook on Wednesday, Lyle Menendez himself commented:
“I would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentines’ Day. I adore my wife today more than I ever have after so many years together. She has been with me throughout this long journey and will be as we embark on a new one.”
“As most of you know, my brother and I have been separated for almost 22 years – captured so tragically on Law & Order. We have been working for the past 6 years to get the Corrections Department to place us together. I have requested to be transferred to San Diego to be with Erik. It has been a long torturous ordeal but never did I feel hopeless.”
“I am very grateful to announce that on Monday the request was finally granted. Erik and I will be reunited in the very near future. We will keep you posted!”
“I would like to thank the huge number of people across the country who felt strongly that my brother and I should be together and took the time to pray for that result and wish us well.”
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Kushner-Trump mouthpiece Andre Walker’s attack on Meghan Markle was an utter disgrace; it is time that this warped weirdo was called out for what he truly is
Unsurprisingly yesterday, the self-declared “fat Northern bruiser” turned Jared Kushner’s London based mouthpiece Andre Walker appeared on Sky News to defend Donald Trump’s “right” to retweet far right fake news shared by Britain First’s deputy leader Jayda Fransen.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, slug-like Walker – an extremely sad excuse of a man who’ll forever be linked to his associations with the scandal linked to the ‘Tatler Tory’ Mark Clarke, the suicide of a Conservative activist named Elliott Johnson and his previous position at Steve Bannon’s bigoted Breitbart – decided to brand Prince Harry’s fiancée “a black woman in Buckingham Palace… [who] will have to bite her lip rather than supporting her old acting friends in the causes they love” in an article for the Kushner owned New York Observer.
Going further and referencing those describing Meghan Markle as “just another Hollywood liberal who will speak out on a few issues she cares about while ignoring the needs of the country,” Walker argued “she will face the merciless wrath of the British public” over having once tweeted “lamenting the resignation of David Cameron as Prime Minister” and declaring her “opposition to Brexit.”
Bizarrely referencing how “no one wants another Royal [sic] divorce” and stating: “After all, she did not make her first marriage work,” truly negative Walker plainly illustrated his belief that this is a union that will not last. He bizarrely also concluded: “In their first television interview [Prince Harry and Miss Markle]… It felt like the two of them had been sent to remind the world that the British Royals [sic] like all black people, especially the ones they rule!” He is wrong and the world should celebrate the fact that Prince Harry is to marry Meghan Markle, a lady of conviction and stature.
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Meghan Markle shared an image of a poster that read: “If EU leave me now, you take away the biggest part of me” after the Brexit referendum in Britain in July 2016
As ‘The Guardian’ explores the power of the Illuminati, Matthew Steeples argues that the few claiming links to such are nothing but mad, old cranks
This morning, The Guardian’sMartha Gill asked: “What is the Illuminati?” in an article that jokingly suggested Googling such would put one at “great personal risk.”
Referencing the organisation’s “top bananas – such as for example the Queen – [as] ancient lizards dating from an era before man existed” without even bringing the crackpot David Icke into it, politics, culture and neuroscience expert Gill made connections instead to Beyoncé, Madonna and Katy Perry. She called the Illuminati a “very clever cover-up” and a “myth” and a group that formed because a German philosopher named Adam Weishaupt “couldn’t afford the Freemason admission fee.” Overall, she concluded: “It is a powerful and savagely guarded organisation that secretly controls the entire modern world, probably while wearing cloaks. It has done this mainly through infiltrating the media and brainwashing everybody. It could be doing it right now.”
Whilst such claims are both countered and at the same time mocked in such works as Roman Polanski’s 2010 film The Ghost Writer –where a fictional former British Prime Minister turns out to have been controlled by a very shady operation named the Hatherton Corporation – what Gill misses is that the groups that continue to claim links to the Illuminati – such as the Ordo Templi Orientis – are, in fact, actually nothing but a bunch of mad, old cranks.
New York hotel offers a Thanksgiving dinner complete with gold-flaked turkeys and bottomless champagne for £15,100
Late last week Guest of a Guest reported that a New York hotel is to offer a Thanksgiving dinner with a difference.
Priced at £15,100 ($20,000, €17,000 or درهم73,500), HGU New York at 34 East 32nd Street’s “luxurious holiday dinner experience” includes the services of a personal event planner, butler service, a 5-piece jazz band, and two king hotel suites. Two gold-flaked turkeys, liquid gold hot chocolate and bottomless champagne form part of a “curated meal” by executive chef Keith Geter also.
Those with pockets deep enough to book should email [email protected]
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Futuristic 1952 Chrysler styling prototype to be auctioned in New York; its “wild technology” includes a hydraulically operated spare wheel
Concept cars don’t generally go far and most end up sidelined to the world of dreams, but a 1952 Chrysler D’Elegance by Ghia headed to auction in December is something quite to the contrary.
Described as an ‘Idea Car’ and the product of a collaboration between Chrysler’s Virgil Exner Sr. (1909 – 1973) and Ghia’s Felice Mario Boano (1903 – 1989) – the designer of the Ferrari 250 GT Boano – the D’Elegance was built on a shortened 292 centimetre chassis and comes with two comfortable armchairs, power steering and electric windows.
What makes this car standout, however, are its gunsight taillights, distinctive egg-crate grille and “wild technology” such as a rear deck lid with a hydraulically operated full-size spare wheel that raises and lowers at the touch of a switch.
Described by Virgil Exner Jr. as “one of my father’s favourite cars” in 2011, the D’Elegance now comes with a 1956 vintage 354 Hemi V8 engine and a pedigree that includes ownership in the Blackhawk Collection, winning a special class of Chrysler Concepts at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and having been driven through the Alps from Monaco to Venice as part of the Louis Vuitton Classic Serenissima Run.
RM Sotheby’s will sell the fully restored car with an estimate of £682,000 to £834,000 ($900,000 to $1.1 million, €771,000 to €943,000 or درهم3.3 million to درهم4 million) at their ‘Icons’ sale in New York on the 6th December.
Previously publicity shy Menéndez brothers both speak publicly about killing their parents in the wake of the success of NBC’s ‘Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders’
Erik and Lyle Menéndez, the brothers convicted of murdering their allegedly abusive multi-millionaire parents José and Mary ‘Kitty’ Menéndez at their home in Beverly Hills, California in 1989, have generally been pretty quiet in the years since their conviction at their second trial in 1994.
Now, however, in the wake of the immense success of NBC’s eight-part series, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, about the case Erik Menéndez has given his first interview since 2005 to A&E. Set to be screened in America on 30th November, The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All will also include previously unseen photographs and new interviews with family and friends.
In two trailers for the show, Erik, now 46, speaks through the phone from the Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California and states:
“I’m Erik Menéndez… I’m serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. I’ve heard many different versions of my life told in the media, and those stories are fictional. I think it’s time people hear the truth in my own words without the restrictions of a courtroom.”
“From the moment after, I wanted to go back in time. It was so wrong. I didn’t want my parents dead – I just wanted the abuse to stop. Years and years of pain exploded that night in an unimaginable violence. It is my own personal hell.”
“My only hope in speaking out is that people have a more complete understanding of the events that led up to my actions on the night of 20th August and really a fuller picture of what happened in my life.”
“All I can hope for is that people will come to realise that the truth is not a simple one-line explanation that many people have tried to make it out to be. That really, that my life was unfolding of a complicated life that I lived that had all of these things that came into being and that led up to what is an ongoing and enduring family tragedy.”
“The tragedy didn’t end on that night, as devastating as that night was. It didn’t end there for my family, and it continues on to this day, and that sadness is something that I am trying to make up for them and with my parents for the rest of my life. It will never end.”
A photograph of José Menéndez with his sons Erik and Lyle on his knee; references have been made to the situation of José Menéndez’s right hand to be evidence of his highly inappropriate relationship with his children
Elsewhere, on the @MenendezBrothers Facebook page this weekend, through an intermediary seemingly in his presence at the Mule Creek State Prison where he is housed in Ione, California, Lyle Menéndez participated in what appeared to be a live Facebook chat.
Aside from sounding quite upbeat and referencing how his second wife (he has married twice since being imprisoned) had visited him earlier in the day, Lyle answered a question about which Spice Girl he liked most with the answer “Posh, of course!” and stated that “no one is good enough to play [me] for it be enjoyable” of “paddle tennis” in the prison. He shared news that he is “currently re-reading Shogun” as it is “a book centered [sic] around great patience and spirit under terrible circumstances” and in response to a question about what music he likes most added: “I like the stories that country music tells so for me it is most uplifting to listen to country music. It puts me in touch with my emotions. But I do like all sorts of music.”
More tellingly, especially given he is likely never to leave prison during his lifetime, Lyle, in referencing a question about the unauthorised @FreetheMenendezBrothers Facebook page stated:
“People have filled me in. We are not affiliated with it in any way. We have told people that writing letters to the governor right now is not helpful to our release and could actually be a detriment. We know that it is frustrating to people but these are serious legal matters that have very specific avenues that require serious legal planning. I know it is frustrating and that we cannot stop people, but what I am saying now are my wishes.”
Plainly this statement shows that Lyle still has hope that he could actually be released and given that the allegations of appalling abuse and sexual assault by their parents seem to be finally attracting worthy examination also, it does indeed seem time that the severity of the duo’s sentences again be looked at.
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Off-the-wall 24-carat gold 1958 Austin Healey that would appeal to Liberace to be sold at auction in New York with an estimate of £420,000
A truly bonkers one-off 1958 Austin-Healey 100-Six that was given the monikers ‘Goldie’ and ‘The Golden Child’ is to be sold at auction in December.
For sale for 165% less than it was offered for in 2013 but 781% more than it was valued at in 1958, ‘Goldie’ is capable of speeds of upto 120 miles per hour but what makes her unique is that all brightwork – including the trimming washers and screws, wire wheels, disc brakes, bumpers and instruments – are plated in 24-carat gold.
The car’s interior is trimmed in champagne Connolly kid leather and champagne diadem mink by London furrier Lorna Doon Snow adorn the inserts and back squabs of the bucket seats and the key ring comes complete with a solid-gold scale replica of the car itself.
The brainchild of Donald Healey’s then PR manager, Ken Gregory, in association with the Daily Express’s then motoring correspondent, Basil Cardew, ‘Goldie’ was the show-stopping car exhibited at the entrance to the 1958 London Motor Show at Earl’s Court. She reportedly wowed audiences and no doubt would have been dubbed a ‘dream machine’ by the motoring world’s most extravagant doyenne, Lady Docker.
Sold immediately to the paper the Daily Express dedicated a page to the promotion of a reader competition to win ‘Goldie’ on 22nd October 1958. Of her, they remarked:
“[This is] the world’s most flirtatious car… The Daily Express has bought it… You can win it. She’s elegant… she wears mink… and she adores champagne. No, not the girl… the car!”
“The real stuff… The most sumptuous… A vintage squirt… The biggest sensation of the [Motor Show at Earl’s Court]… Yes, you could call it the car that was born with a golden spoon in its mouth!”
“In the whole of the land there isn’t anything to match it.”
Surprisingly, the winner of the competition decided to sell the vehicle immediately. She was first road-registered in February 1959 and then passed through various owners until being completely restored by Bruce and Inan Phillips of Healey Surgeons of Washington, D.C. between 1983 and 1986.
Speaking of what the current marketing catalogue entry describes as “the most spectacular Austin Healey ever produced,” Inan Phillips is said to have remarked: “[‘Goldie’ was] one fantastic running and driving car… The smoothest driving Austin Healey we’ve ever owned.”
In time sold to a wealthy businessman and Jeep restorer named Dennis Collins from Wylie, Texas, ‘Goldie’ was offered for sale first on eBay and then at auction in Houston, Texas for £758,000 in 2013 and 2014. It appears no sale went through and now an estimate of £265,000 to £417,000 has been set for this striking creation.
RM Sotheby’s will sell ‘Goldie’ at their annual New York ‘Icons’ sale on 6th December. They list the vehicle as being “without reserve.” If only Liberace were still around to put in a bid.
‘Goldie’ – The Numbers
December 2017 – Offered for sale at auction with no reserve and an estimate of £265,000 to £417,000 ($350,000 to $550,000, €300,000 to €471,000 or درهم1.3 million to درهم2 million) in New York.
January 2014 – Offered for sale with a ‘buy-it-now’ price of £758,000 ($1 million, €857,000 or درهم3.7 million) on eBay.
March 2013 – Offered for sale for £758,000 ($1 million, €857,000 or درهم3.7 million) in Houston, Texas by Collins Brothers Jeep owner Dennis Collins.
October 1958 – Valued at £4,000 (the equivalent of £86,000, $113,000, €97,000 or درهم417,000 today) prior to being sold to the Daily Express and offered in a reader competition in London.
Billionaire and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg condemns Brexit as “the single stupidest thing any country has ever done” apart from America electing Donald Trump
In a speech to the HUBweek conference in Boston, Bloomberg condemned the election of Donald Trump but also suggested: “It is really hard to understand why a country [Britain] that was doing so well wanted to ruin it” by voting for Brexit.
Separately, on a previous occasion, this wise man also pointed out: “[Britain] didn’t have an immigration problem and they didn’t need control of their borders. They have the English Channel – that gave them control of their borders.” We join those saluting him.
Mr Bloomberg’s comments in Boston follow:
We are opening a brand new European headquarters in London – two big, expensive buildings. Would I have done it if I knew they were going to drop out? I’ve had some thoughts that maybe I wouldn’t have, but we are there, we are going to be very happy.
My former wife was a Brit, my daughters have British passports, so we love England – it’s the father of our country, I suppose. But what they are doing is not good and there is no easy way to get out of it because if they don’t pay a penalty, everyone else would drop out. So they can’t get as good of a deal as they had before.
I did say that I thought [Brexit] was the single stupidest thing any country has ever done but then we Trumped it.
One of the things that is hurting us both in the United States and in the UK is that we have employees, not a lot but some, who are starting to say: ‘I don’t want to work here – can we transfer to some place else? This country doesn’t like immigrants.’
All this talk in Washington – words have consequences. Whether we change the immigration laws or not, there is general feeling around the world that America is no longer an open, welcoming place and a lot of people don’t want to go there, and the same thing is happening in the UK because of Brexit.
It is really hard to understand why a country that was doing so well wanted to ruin it. It was not a smart thing to do and getting out of it is going to be very difficult and is going to be very painful. It will hurt industries. People are already taking space in other cities over there [Europe], us included.
Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson Sir Nicholas Soames takes to Twitter and brands Donald Trump “graceless, boorish and mainly wrong”
Sir Nicholas Soames MP is a gentleman of stature. This Conservative politician stood opposed to Brexit and now, entering the modern age, he has begun to use his Twitter account to share the most sensible of opinions.
Tweeting to his 29,000 followers on Saturday, Sir Nicholas used a hashtag to remark:
Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson is entirely right. President Donald Trump is a disaster and a disgrace and if America had any sense, they’d do just one thing: #GetHimGone
