One-of-one left-hand drive 1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage convertible in ‘Fury Yellow’ to be sold; it is a prime example of 1980s excess and a car you will either love or loathe
A 1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante Zagato that was the only left-hand drive example produced is to be sold by auction in May. It is a car that you’ll either love or loathe and given it is presented in ‘Fury Yellow’, it certainly reflects the era when “greed was good” in terms of its brashness and noticeability.
Capable of speeds of upto 183 miles per hour, the car offered was upgraded from a standard V585 V8 fuel-injected engine to a V580X Vantage engine by its original owner and also features a five-speed ZF manual gearbox. It has a specially styled black leather interior and a black mohair hood and is described as being “the essence of 1980s machismo”.
A total of thirty-six right hand drive examples of this especially angular convertible were built. Two sold in 2013 and 2014 at Bonhams at their Aston Martin Works Sales at Newport Pagnell in England. Though each achieved just £135,900 ($176,000, €161,000 or درهم646,000), RM Sotheby’s estimate the ‘Fury Yellow’ version they are to sell at a much more ambitious £379,000 to £464,000 ($491,000 to $600,000, €450,000 to €550,000 or درهم1.8 million to درهم2.2 million). They will sell it at their Villa Erba sale on the shores of Lake Como in Italy on Saturday 27th May.
Seriously expensive waterfront building plot goes on sale outside San Francisco; it comes with plans for the perfect home for a tech titan
14.5 acres of forested land with 2,000 feet of frontage to San Francisco Bay shoreline has gone on sale for what could be one of the highest prices ever for a single residence building plot in Northern California.
2800 Paradise Drive in Tiburon, Marin County comes with planning permission for a 16,000 square foot main residence, a 2,200 square foot guest house and a 700 square foot caretaker’s cottage and is also described as ‘The Bluff Point Estate’. It is situated six miles east of the US 101 Tiburon Boulevard interchange and is described as being “within minutes of downtown Tiburon and the Golden Gate Bridge”.
A rendering of the proposed house at 2800 Paradise Drive, Tiburon Peninsula, Marin County, California, CA 94920, United States of AmericaAn aerial view of the entire plotReal estate investor Maxwell Drever pictured at the adjoining Drever Estate, Paradise Drive, Tiburon in 2012
The last remaining piece of land of this size to remain undeveloped in this area is adjoined by the palatial Drever Estate – which, according to SF Luxe’s Damion Matthews, was marketed for $37 million in 2010 (the equivalent of $41 million, £31.7 million, €37.6 million or درهم150.6 million today) by Concierge Asset Management chairman Maxwell Drever and his wife, Janice. It is described as providing an opportunity to create “a world class super low density single owner residential estate”.
Offered by Bill Bullock and Lydia Sarkissian of Global Estates Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty, 2800 Paradise Drive is vacant, entirely fenced and has a dirt fire access road. It includes native oak, bay, eucalyptus and pine woodland, sandy beaches and proposed designs by Booth Hansen architects of Chicago illustrate a 6 reception room, 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom residence that will come with “an art gallery entrance, a swimming pool, a terrace garden and a photovoltaic renewable energy (solar) collection area”.
2800 Paradise Drive will likely be sold to a Bay Area tech titan seeking the ultimate in “privacy and security”. They’ll need to have £36.3 million ($47 million, €43.1 million or درهم172.7 million) spare (before building costs).
Matthew Steeples celebrates getting blocked by Paul Nuttall on Twitter
When someone blocks you on Twitter, you know you’ve won. In the past, I’ve been cut off by an array of ‘delights’ ranging from the sofa loving sad sack Sir Christopher Meyer to the foaming-at-the-mouth firebrand George Galloway. Others joining that list include the blubbing blogger Jack Monroe and the pugnacious poet Pam Ayres, but the ultimate honour was bestowed yesterday when UKIP’s leader Paul Nuttall stopped me seeing his tweets.
In spite of offering much criticism of Nuttall’s predecessor during his tenure in the same position, Nigel Farage never blocked me and in carrying out such action Britain’s ‘King of Fake News’ – a man whose own website carried an invented stories about his involvement in the Hillsborough disaster – only confirms that he and his Kippers can’t take criticism and they can’t deal with debate. No wonder they’re about to face the chop.
Comedian Jan Ravens’ impersonation of Theresa May is utterly brilliant
With the election campaign under way, a little humour is definitely required and a comical video shared on YouTube provides just such.
Featuring the actress Jan Ravens’ take on Theresa May, the 2:45 minute clip has over attracted over 70,000 hits – and even Tory supporters have celebrated its sheer brilliance.
In it, Ravens mocks Mrs May’s enthusiasm for grammar schools and remarks on her having put an alternative to the Chuckle brothers in charge of Brexit. She speaks of us “now [being] the cautionary tale other countries tell their electorates to stop them doing anything so bloody stupid in the future” and adds: “We are now the global ghost of Christmas future: Asymmetric neckline, bad blow dry, tense mouth”.
854 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York, NY 10065, United States of America
Offering 20,000 square foot of accommodation over nine floors, 854 Fifth Avenue stands opposite Central Park and between 66th and 67th Streets. It was built in 1905 for a stockbroker named Robert Livingston Beeckman and constructed by architects Warren & Wetmore at a cost of $60,000 (the equivalent of $1.6 million, £1.2 million, €1.5 million or درهم5.9 million today). The residence was landmarked by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as a “superb example of the French classic style of Louis XV” in 1966 and to this day, the 32-room property retains original features including hand-carved balustrades of white marble, ceiling frescoes of angels and clouds, an original working stove and two of the city’s first private elevators.
Robert Livingston Beeckman (1866 – 1935), Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White (1852 – 1946) and Henry White (1850 – 1927)
Sold next to George Grant in 1912 after Beeckman – later 52nd Governor of Rhode Island – abandoned New York to spend more time at his Newport estate, Lands End, for a then record sum of $725,000 (the equivalent of $18.3 million, £14.1 million, €16.8 million or درهم67.2 million today), 854 Fifth Avenue was then offloaded to Henry White and his heiress wife Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White for the much lower sum of $450,000 in 1925 (the equivalent of $6.3 million, £4.9 million, €5.8 million or درهم23.1 million today).
Twice married financier of New York’s Sloane Hospital for Women Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White and her ambassador husband are said to have “added their own touches” to the mansion and after she died, 854 Fifth Avenue was sold to the then nation of Yugoslavia. It has served as a government building since and was most recently used as the Permanent Mission of Serbia and Mission of Serbia to the UN.
Bombed on 11th July 1968 but thankfully subject to little damage in that attack, the mansion still to this day features a ‘Faraday Cage’ – a secret metal-padded room where officials could meet without the fear of being wiretapped – as well as bulletproof windows to its Central Park elevation.
Last week, of the property, Tristan Harper of Douglas Elliman told The Real Deal:
“Everything is virtually intact. Whoever buys it will own a piece of New York history. [The six individuals who have already expressed interest in purchasing 854 Fifth Avenue are] all extremely high-net-worth individuals of different backgrounds”.
Once bordered by houses of a similar scale, 854 Fifth Avenue is now adjoined by two behemoth-like apartment complexes. It stands sturdy and represents a little reminder of the glorious era of Carnegies, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Whitneys.
Matthew Steeples reports that Jeremy Corbyn’s attempt to enthuse a child in Harlow didn’t go down well; children and politicians should never mix
Yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn headed to Harlow, Essex. He gave a speech to an assembled audience – including a woman with an upside down Labour poster – and then picked up a child and tried to charm it.
After I noted on Twitter that “the poor kid’ll be scarred for life #Awkward”, the child’s mother, Chloe Pullara, responded: “That’ll be my baby. It was an honour to meet @jeremycorbyn”.
In a video also shared by Ms Pullara, Corbyn is seen asking the child: “Are ya’ alright then?” It hid behind its coat and did not look in the slightest amused.
Chloe Pullara, a lady whose Twitter handle features the caption “proud to be the 48%”, plainly ignores the fact that Jeremy Corbyn’s party is backing Brexit as, in another tweet, she then added:
“So I just got to meet our future PM @jeremycorbyn. The most wonderful man who made time for each and every one of us”.
Attractive Grade II listed riverside residence at Marlow goes on sale
A charming Grade II listed 19th century riverside townhouse at Marlow in Buckinghamshire has been put on the market just before the 162nd annual Marlow Regatta.
The Lodge on St Peter Street boasts what selling agents Hamptons refer to as “one of the most significant river frontages” and is opposite the weir and The Compleat Angler. Aside from mooring rights and a 65’ southerly terrace backing onto the River Thames, this 3,475 square foot two storey detached house includes 3 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.
Agents Hamptons seek £3.75 million ($4.84 million, €4.44 million or درهم17.77 million).
Cadogan Square flat for sale for a sum that, if achieved, could make it the most expensive subterranean home in London; it is offered at a price that equates to £2,130 per square foot
Created from the merger of two flats, one of which was marketed for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم14.1 million) in 2013, a basement apartment in Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge has gone on sale for the staggering sum of £6.25 million ($8.01 million, €7.35 million or درهم29.42 million).
Possibly one of the most expensive subterranean homes in London, if not the world, the 2,933 square foot remodeled apartment comes with a Moroccan themed courtyard garden and includes not only 2 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, but also a coffee bar, a television room and a steam room. It is described as providing a “flexible living” space.
Actor Michael Caine claims to be “a socialist” in spite of having been involved in a tax avoidance scheme and previously leaving Britain to avoid the top rate of tax in the 1970s
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is a man who flip-flops like no other and whose political views are best described as “chaotic”. Though a man known for fleeing Britain for America to avoid high taxes in the 1970s and a man named as an investor in a tax avoidance scheme named Liberty in 2014, the pro-Brexit actor has this week called himself a “socialist” and went as far to say: “I wouldn’t live in a country that didn’t pay income tax”.
“I’m a socialist, basically. I want as much money as possible for poor people, to help whoever’s in trouble. I wouldn’t live in a country that didn’t pay income tax”.
“What you have to do is keep emotion out of it. You can’t say: ‘We hate these rich people, we’re going to tax them to smithereens’. You’ve got to have them stay in your country and pay the tax”.
A public supporter of Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron and even Tony Blair, Sir Michael was forced to pay a significant sum to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs after being exposed as part of the Liberty scheme and also made a fool of himself in another regard. The actor also told The Universe:
“In order to do something good, I don’t just do work which is no good. I don’t do commercials’.
In 2013, he was paid a six-figure sum to film a commercial for Sky television. How conveniently the man forgets.
‘The Steeple Times’ urges readers in Kensington to vote tactically to unseat Victoria Borwick
Victoria Borwick, in spite of representing a constituency that was home to a greater proportion of EU nationals than any other London borough in 2016, was a firm advocate of Brexit. In the months since the disastrous vote, she has continued to ignore the fact that 69% of residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea voted ‘Remain’ and on that basis we urge readers based in the locality to vote against her in the forthcoming general election.
Though Theresa May supporting Lady Borwick has a majority of 7,361 (21.1%), the best way to unseat her would be a high turnout and for voters to unite behind one candidate. Whilst Labour have previously come second, most will be unable to engage with the thought of backing Jeremy Corbyn and on that basis, the only option is the Liberal Democrat candidate Annabel Mullin.
Annabel Mullin is the only candidate who can realistically unseat the Tories in KensingtonVictoria Borwick does not represent the views of her constituents on membership of the European Union
