For once, the normally “condescending cow” Karren Brady got it right in supporting the tremendous jockey Hollie Doyle to become BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020
“Appalling role model” Lady Brady of Knightsbridge CBE (AKA ‘Lazy Brady’ and ‘The Overpainted Aunt Sally’) can normally be relied upon on a Sunday to pen a toxic column for The Sun in which she savagely slams people she has utterly no knowledge of. Today, she actually, unpredictably, did something decent for a change and saluted the shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020 nominee, jockey Hollie Doyle.
In an unusually pleasant opinion piece, Karren Brady remarked of 24-year-old Doyle, “[she] gives hope for women’s sport” and added of the ‘Female Frankie’:
“Hollie Doyle reminds us that something positive is happening with women’s sport. The playing field is levelling… [She] is an emblem of hope for all sportswomen… A symbol of positive change – of women succeeding and being taken seriously in sport. As positive omens for the year ahead go, I’ll take it.”
Hollie Doyle’s remarkable achievements in her “whirlwind” 2020 number:
Women’s British record holder for wins in a calendar year.
First Royal Ascot winner with Scarlet Dragon in the Duke of Edinburgh.
Winner of over £1.7 million in prize money in 2020.
Record-breaking first woman to win five races on a card at Windsor.
Broke her British record in October after 117th winner and is closing in on 150 wins this year in total.
First woman to win at the QIOCO British Champions Day at Ascot.
Speaking to Sportsmail, Doyle, herself, modestly remarked of her nomination alongside Lewis Hamilton and Tyson Fury and commented:
“I was quite amused by it – I just didn’t believe it – it’s crazy.”
“When you’re younger and you’re growing up you have these ambitions in your brain but this year when we were delayed with the whole season because of Covid I just wrote it off but I just can’t believe it really.”
“I just take it as it comes but I rode over 100 winners last year for the first time and I really wanted to back that up so it wasn’t a one off. “
“With the delay I thought whatever I do this year, however many winners I have is a bonus under the circumstances. It’s been pretty crazy, I never thought it would have been this good.”
“I don’t even see this for me personally. I hope to just represent the industry as a whole and I hope it can open doors and showcase the sport to a broader audience.”
“I just want to better myself every year and I realise how hard it’s going to be after this year. But I don’t want this to be the best year of my life. I want to do better.”
Elsewhere, trainer William Haggas summed up the mood of the nation most accurately with a simple sentence: “There is none who deserves this success more than Hollie.”
Well-known bully Priti Patel inspires a bingo game after her latest “egregious” telly box blunder over Christmas Covid-19 rules
This morning, finger wagging firebrand Priti Patel did what she does best during an appearance on the telly box: The Home Secretary made a total prat of herself by contradicting her never-sorry self.
Appearing variously on BBC Breakfast, Sky News and ITV1’s Good Morning Britain, Patel – a woman well known for irritatingly saying “movin’” rather than “moving” – showed her incompetence by moving the goalposts of what is and what is not allowed this Christmas.
Mocked resultingly on Twitter and summed up a “bit of [a] bully” in a mocked up Bullseye poster, Patel again proved herself a shameless snitch in remarking: “If I saw somebody flouting coronavirus regulations and the laws, of course I would look to inform the police about that.” 2020’s ultimate “neighbour from hell” then contradicted herself by adding: “[The police’s] role is only to enforce egregious breaches… We’re not here to criminalise people.”
Could someone in government now do us all a favour? Please put poisonous Priti Patel back in the dart box for Christmas.
A Bit of A Bully –The Twitter user to most accurately sum up the Home Secretary’s latest telly box appearance was one Mark Steel. He remarked: “At last something good has come of Covid. Priti Patel says she won’t be visiting her parents for Christmas. They must be fucking delighted.”A Bit of A Bully – Twitter user Matthew Payne rightly surmised the shameful contradictory nature of Priti Patel on coronavirus: She’d report her neighbours, but she was happy to let off Dominic Cummings.A Bit of A Bully – Amusingly, a gentleman named Mike Sweet tweeted: “Priti Patel has a weirdly irritating way of speaking which is difficult to categorise. She is incapable of pronouncing the end sound to lots of words, and yet simultaneously sounds as if she is aping a ‘posh’ accent. It’s all very Mrs Bucket.” A Bit of A Bully – Another Twitter user shared a new game called ‘Priti Patel Bingo’ complete with an accurate analysis of her misuse of words like “moving,” going,” “working” and “doing.”
Carrie Symonds is morphing into the Lynda Snell of Downing Street; this busybody bird’s cronyism and nepotism stinks to high heaven
Boris Johnson’s latest baby mama, Carrie Symonds (AKA ‘Carrie Not On Regardless’), is sadly nothing like the seen-but-rarely-heard prime ministerial spouses of old.
Whilst Denis Thatcher happily took a back seat and parked himself in a corner with a stiff G&T and Norma Major steered clear of anything to do with curried eggs, Symonds is increasingly showing herself as the Lynda Snell of Downing Street.
Like her counterpart Snell in The Archers, Symonds wants to be Queen of the Westminster village pantomime and she especially wants to control her prime puppet, ‘Bosie The Clown.’ Here is a woman who doesn’t take no for an answer and here is someone with the power to manipulate her cast as she so desires.
If Boris Johnson had an arsehole rather than actually just being one, he’d put this pantomime dame back in the toy box. Sadly, though the cronyism of the diva ‘Carrie Not On Regardless’ will continue, it should be noted for what it is and today we join those calling it out for the disgrace that it truly is.
Pictured top: Carole Boyd (Lynda Snell in ‘The Archers’) is known for cajoling Ambridge villagers into whatever project has currently got her goat; Carrie Symonds is a remarkably similar, though far less tolerable, younger version.
Carrie On Cronyism – Carrie Symonds is truly the cushy cat that got the cream. For now… How long will it be until Boris gets bored and his eyes get wandering? Carrie On Cronyism – Blundering buffoon Boris Johnson used to be Dominic Cummings’ puppet. He’s now controlled, instead, by Carrie Symonds.
EXCLUSIVE – On the first anniversary of ‘Randy Andy’ Prince Andrew’s juggernaut wreck BBC interview about Jeffrey Epstein, authors Nigel Cawthorne and Kirby Sommers share their thoughts with ‘The Steeple Times’ reports Matthew Steeples
Exactly one year ago this evening, Prince Andrew no doubt sat down in an armchair with his batshit bonkers live-in ex-wife ‘Fergie’ onside ready to heap congratulations upon his chubby ego. The telly box centre stage in Royal Lodge, the toe sucking lover was no doubt whacking back a vat or ten of bubbles and munching on a sledge of sausages. Boringly, the non-sweater was likely just dribbling into a Diet Coke.
Speaking to The Steeple Times exclusively to mark the first anniversary of the Duke of York’s juggernaut wreck of an interview with Emily Maitlis for the BBC, Kirby Sommers, an activist, feminist, author and sex slave survivor, remarked:
“What has been fascinating one year after the disastrous interview Prince Andrew gave to the BBC is that Ghislaine Maxwell did not make a public statement of any sort in his defence. My take on this is not just an on-going acceptance that he lied and in fact did have sex with Virginia Giuffre, a trafficked victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, but that in addition to this: Maxwell would face a second slander lawsuit from Giuffre should she claim ‘Virginia is lying about Prince Andrew and nothing happened.’ Maxwell settled the first defamation lawsuit with Giuffre in 2017.”
“Prince Andrew’s ill-advised interview showed the world he depended on Jeffrey Epstein for financial advice and introductions on Wall Street. It appears he received additional perks from his friendship with Epstein. Furthermore, it is painfully clear to all who follow this case that Ghislaine Maxwell was not the ‘plus one’ the prince claimed her to be. His friendship with Epstein appears to have been more important than any previous relationship he may have had with Maxwell.”
“It is also apparent there are forces at work to continue to keep Prince Andrew from admitting guilt. His name was redacted in the documents that were just released from the Giuffre v Maxwell lawsuit. It is, however, in keeping with the methodology: his name, if you recall, was asked not to be mentioned by a judge in lawsuits against Jeffrey Epstein.”
“His popularity has disappeared. His name is scorned. The palace has even removed his Twitter handle from their website and souvenirs bearing his likeness from their gift shop.”
“What has to happen at this point is Prince Andrew must take responsibility for his actions. He cannot continue to be a pampered child as he approaches his 61st birthday. If not for himself, if not for his children, if not for Virginia Giuffre, then he must do so for the monarchy.”
Adding his thoughts and sharing his extensive knowledge on this first anniversary, Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, told The Steeple Times late Sunday:
“What do you do if you shoot yourself in the foot in front of millions of people and you are a soldier at heart? This was Prince Andrew’s night-time puzzle a year ago. You march on and hope that you won’t ambush yourself again, he must have thought.”
“Unfortunately, the prince was not blessed with good luck. He scored another own body blow when his words angered the US Attorney investigating Epstein’s sex ring so much that the full force of US legal power abroad was deployed to try and get the prince’s testimony.”
“Since the prince is his own worst enemy, there really is no telling what will happen next. Although November 2020 is only the anniversary of the interview, the palace’s ‘Epstein Affair’ has been gathering momentum for almost a decade. It has been so spectacularly mishandled that it could go any which way at this point, which makes it a far absorbing drama than Meghan and Harry’s even if the backdrop couldn’t be more tawdry.”
“Is he the typical – and now much maligned – middle-aged white male relying on privilege as Epstein’s victims say, or a victim of the victims as he has solidly maintained throughout? Andrew has consistently categorically denied all allegations against him. Though soon a grandfather, the prince is unlikely voluntarily to hang up his crown any time soon.”
Likely to lose all his titles by the end of the year, Prince Andrew’s ‘annus horribilis’ is complete. The Queen is supposedly not talking to him and now the cryptically coded message we published in January from The Times (which again follows below and which could indeed have been from Ghislaine Maxwell perhaps) now likely will prove true. No more “good wishes” need follow after this anniversary.
In Memoriam – Private
TO ANDREW THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
Did you ever love someone deeply, and out they didn’t love you?
Did you ever feel they weren’t kind to you, and wonder what you should do?
Did you ever blindly trust in love, but your love didn’t want to stay?
Love only causes problems, it happens every day
You wonder how they can sleep at night
You wonder how they can feel delight
You wonder how love could ever feel light
When you are left weighed down by fright
Love hurts so much, the price you pay is high
Choosing between love and death, I’d much prefer to die
Take my advice, don’t fall in love, you’ll get hurt before it’s through
You see, I ought to know, I fell in love with you.
Pictured top: Prior to his disastrous interview, ‘Air Miles Andy’ used to jet around the world smirking with foreign dignitaries and dodgy dictators. He must truly miss those jollies and especially all that jetting. Now, on the anniversary of this juggernaut wreck, this smug sop finds himself nothing other than a social pariah.
Randy’s Anniversary – That photo (Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell): This image undoubtedly remains likely to be the ultimate source of Prince Andrew’s undoing. He continues to deny it as a fake, but he’s failed to prove it to be such and on the anniversary of the BBC interview, his future looks even more bleak.Randy’s Anniversary – Sausage muncher Sarah Ferguson was variously said to be the person who encouraged and the person whom discouraged Prince Andrew to give the interview. Given her childlike style, we’d suggest the former. Randy’s Anniversary – In the year since ‘Andrewgate,’ Ghislaine Maxwell – pictured here with Kira Faiman and fellow jailbird Martha Stewart – has hit the clink. Remarkably, the Duke of York last met with the breathtakingly arrogant mucky madam in June 2019 when she was in London for the Cash & Rocket London-Monte Carlo ‘charity’ rally.Randy’s Anniversary – A captioned image of the Queen with Boris Johnson that went viral shortly after the interview has proven partially true. ‘Bosie The Clown’ has certainly delivered on the “really stupid” front, but equally ‘Randy Andy’ and ‘Fergie’ have kept on shoving their gumboots in the proverbial.Randy’s Anniversary – The ultimate impact of the interview was perfectly summed up by the ‘New York Post’ and on the anniversary of it, this arrogant prat finds himself seeking ever deeper into the sewage tank.
Range Rover developed by Land Rover in conjunction with ‘Mr Blobby’ sidekick Noel Edmonds as a ‘mobile office’ at the incredulous price of £450,000 to be auctioned for a knockdown price of just £15,000
A once most expensive ‘mobile office’ on the road is to be sold for next to nothing today when Silverstone Auctions will offer a totally though unsurprisingly unique Range Rover for a sum 96% lower than it cost to produce at their NEC Classic online auction.
The 1997 Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (LR-SVO) “bespoke project” was originally developed as a “mobile office” concept in conjunction with the television presenter and spiritually wacky Noel Edmonds’ Unique Group.
Noel Edmonds is best known for his partnership with the character Mr Blobby from November 1992 onwards. Subsequently, more recently, his decision to share strange, David Icke-esque views and disputes with financiers have been what gain him more column inches.
Used initially as a pilot test and PR showcase by Cellnet, Land Rover and Sony, the car came with every imaginable piece of technology of the time. Here was a 4×4 not intended for taking its owner to his butt on the grouse moor, but more a bizarre kind of business space which even Warren Buffett might have found over the top.
Amongst technology crammed into the consequently weighty motor are a phone system with three telephone handsets, a fax machine, a HP printer, various laptops, a Sony VHS system, voice recognition software, web cams, a black box video recorder and Sony infrared headphones. As a result, according to an interview with the then owner in 2018, the Range Rover manages a very unimpressive 8 miles per gallon.
Noel Edmond’s chubby mate, Mr Blobby, is unlikely to have ever ridden in this ‘mobile office’ given there’d barely be space for his posterior, but one thing’s for certain: This must number amongst the fastest depreciating cars in history and it is certainly not surprising that its production run never expanded beyond one-of-one.
The Names & Numbers – 1997 Land Rover Range Rover HSE Autobiography, LP or P38A by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (LR-SVO) and the Unique Group, registration P880 KAC
14th November 2020 – To be auctioned by Silverstone Auctions with an estimate of £15,000 to £18,000 ($19,800 to $23,800, €16,700 to €20,100 or درهم72,700 to درهم87,200).
2020 – Offered for sale on website AutoVolo for £24,995 ($33,000, €28,000 or درهم121,000) with 86,000 miles on the clock.
2018 – Sold via eBay to Jaguar Land Rover employee Nav Singh Rai for “just under” £8,000 ($10,600, €8,900 or درهم38,800) with 81,000 miles on the clock. It featured in Drivers Insight magazine in October that year and in Land Rover Monthly in August 2019.
January 2012 – Offered for sale by Coys with an estimate of £25,000 to £35,000 ($33,000 to $46,000, €28,000 to €39,000 or درهم121,000 to درهم170,000)
2001 – Sold by Noel Edmonds.
1997 – Cost of development estimated at £450,000 ($594,000, €502,000 or درهم2.2 million) and technology was supplied by Noel Edmonds’ Unique Group. The ‘mobile office’ Range Rover was used subsequently sold to Noel Edmonds after being used for PR purposes by Cellnet, Land Rover and Sony – supposedly to avoid it being scrapped.
Pictured top: Noel Edmonds with the car (date unknown).
A recent image of the car. It is described as “coming to auction needing a little love and attention.”The rear passenger space is primarily dominated by office equipment.A bulky computer certainly absorbs a lot of space.The car offers plenty of options to watch Noel Edmonds on its screens.The driver gets plenty to play with also.There’s a load more (out-of-date) technology in the front.And the boot most certainly must contain a fair amount of wiring also.Mr Edmonds plainly wanted to advertise his love of the word “unique” on a car he eventually bought to save from the scrapyard.The engine of the ‘mobile office,’ however, is still pretty standard.The car has featured in various magazine articles; in this one its owner was deservedly described as “special.”
1987 Volkswagen Golf cabriolet – nicknamed ‘Rodney’ – previously owned by ‘Only Fools and Horses’ actor Sir David Jason to be auctioned; sadly, of it, even Del Boy couldn’t claim: “Just one lady owner from new”
Del Boy’s Golf cabriolet – An alpine white 1987 Volkswagen Golf GTI Karmann convertible purchased for Sir David Jason’s late partner, Myfanwy Talog, is to be auctioned later this month, It was subsequently owned by his manager, Sidney Law, and then by his children’s godfather, John Williams.
Unlike the vehicle most associated with the character most famously played by Sir David, the custard yellow Reliant Regal van driven by Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, the Golf cabriolet that will be hammered down is described as “in sparkling condition, patently cherished and almost certainly a best of breed.”
Sir David Jason and his late partner Myfanwy Talog (1944 – 1995).Del Boy was himself best known for driving a Reliant Regal three wheeler van in the series. There are many replicas, but the original vehicle used by the BBC was sold for £42,000 ($55,000, €47,000 or درهم203,000) in November 2017.Prior to becoming famous Sir David Jason used to joke: “One day, one day I’m going to have a Rolls-Royce.” In Only Fools and Horses, he eventually got one complete with the plate ‘1 DEL.’Boycie, played by John Challis in the series, bought a Jaguar E-Type in the second ever episode of Only Fools and Horses in 1981. Of this birthday gift for his “bit on the side,” he stated: “It’s only E-Type Jaguars and Adam Peaty that makes me proud to be British these days.” In May 2013, interviewed in ‘The Steeple Times,’ Challis stated his personal preference for Aston Martin DB4s.When sold in December 2017, the Golf cabriolet offered this month came with various documentation including a file that stated its nickname as ‘Rodney’ alongside a quote that read: “This car has a longstanding association with David Jason and his family – naturally we call him ‘Rodney.’”
Sold for £17,820 ($23,439, €19,739 or درهم86,080) in December 2017 by Classic Car Auctions Everyman Classics and by Cotswold Classic Car Restorations on another occasion, the car – which was one of just 138 examples produced as part of Volkswagen’s limited edition all-white series – has just under 22,000 miles on the clock.
Silverstone Auctions will offer the car with an estimate of £18,000 to £22,000 ($23,700 to $28,900, €19,900 to €24,400 or درهم86,900 to درهم106,300) at their NEC Classic Live online auction on Saturday 14th November 2020.
In ‘Only Fools and Horses,’ Del Boy was prepared to trade anything – dodgy cars included. “Only one previous owner, a vicar” and “only left his bible in the glove compartment” were amongst the lines in this classic clip.
Axminster gym owner Aneesa California is wrong to announce she and upto 200 others will defy the lockdown rules; the nation should instead get its walking shoes on during Lockdown 2
We all need exercise and we’re all going to need to ensure we keep fit during the impending lockup-lockdown, but as the late great legend that was Dr. Thomas Stuttaford rightly pointed out in The Times regularly, we should remember that “walking every day is the route to fitness.”
Gyms, on the other hand and contrary to a myth created to bamboozle the masses into parting with membership fees, are not ‘essential’ and news that upto 200 owners of such premises are going to defy the rules from tomorrow is actually not to be encouraged.
Going further of his theory in 2004, the ‘Good Doctor’ quite sensibly remarked: “The emphasis on gyms, sports stadiums and workouts is well intentioned but perhaps not the way to ensure a healthier Briton. The way to living longer and to be healthier and athletically fitter into old age is to take regular steady exercise every day. Twenty minutes to half an hour’s brisk walk a day — preferably all in one go — is enough.”
The Wonders of Walking – The late Dr. Thomas Stuttaford (1931 – 2018) was a well-known proponent of walking being the best form of exercise.The Wonder of Walking – Aneesa California (pictured with her husband Jesse) would do well to heed the comments of Professor Jonathan Ball rather than defy the rules. She could, instead, for now, encourage her clients to take up walking and could perhaps get them on the path to pavement pounding.
Whilst nobody rational is celebrating ‘Bosie The Clown’s’ decision to close anywhere that generates employment and again today we most vehemently raise our objections to the shuttering of socially distanced restaurant spaces, for example, gym owner Aneesa California should not be congratulated for her announcement that she will likely refuse to close her doors.
“Absolutely [we will stay open]… I’m in contact with around two hundred gym owners across the UK and we’re all having a discussion on [staying open] as we speak.”
“Obviously Parliament has to vote on this between now and Thursday, but we’re all pushing and applying pressure on our MPs to back us in classing us as essential.”
“‘I wouldn’t say it’s breaking the law, it’s guidance, everything they have said is guidance… We are going to take a financial impact, but this is not about money.”
“I’m in touch with legal aid and other people regarding fines, which I’m willing to pay, but, right now, we’re not breaking any law.”
Elsewhere yesterday, the BBC Radio 1 analysed the facts about “gyms and coronavirus.” In a report by Christian Hewgill and Eleanor Roper for Newsbeat, virologist Professor Jonathan Ball of the University of Nottingham was quoted. He quite sensibly stated:
“You do tend to exercise quite vigorously [in gyms], that means that you can breathe rapidly and quite deeply. Therefore, we’d expect that you could potentially produce droplets or aerosols that could go on to infect other people.”
“There’s always a risk that you might interact with someone who’s infected [without either of you knowing] and that allows the virus to transmit.”
Now readers, here’s a call to action for the coming month: Get your walking shoes on and pound those pavements.
Will ‘Randy Andy’ the Duke of York erupt in anger with the outing of the depositions of Ghislaine Maxwell this morning? Could this be the non-sweater’s last stand?
The Duke of York will no doubt be glued to his computer screen at 9am Eastern Daylight Time (2pm Greenwich Mean Time) today as this is the hour that the bombshell depositions mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell tried to keep secret will be released to the public.
Like Gordon Brown, ‘Randy Andy’ might erupt in fury and chuck a coffee cup at his device when the transcripts appear and according to author Nigel Cawthorne, this could be the latest “severe blow” that will forever stop this notoriously temperamental golf loving sort’s attempts to return to conducting royal duties.
In comments yesterday to the Express, Cawthorne remarked:
“The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Second Circuit to deny Prince Andrew’s close friend Ghislaine Maxwell’s request to keep the remaining unpublished depositions under seal has dealt a severe blow to the prince’s return to the frontline of the royal family.”
“The detailed questions to Maxwell regarding any involvement in Epstein’s sex ring and her answers will once again cast the spotlight on the promise the prince made almost a year ago on BBC Newsnight to assist the FBI with its investigations into Epstein’s associates.”
With this outing, could this be Randy Andy’s last stand? In spite of Richard Kay declaring his “fall” to be “complete” in July, we think not (quite yet), but it most certainly will be another body blow for this non-sweating Pizza Express fan.
Pictured top: Prince Andrew turning to look back at Ghislaine Maxwell at the wedding of Aurelia Cecil and Rupert Stephenson in 2000. The pair may well have to look at one another one day in a court room… Stranger things have indeed happened.
Outing Randy Andy – Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein during a shooting weekend hosted by Prince Andrew at Sandringham. Today’s document release could be yet another body blow for the royal.Outing Randy Andy – Prince Andrew’s live-in ex-wife Sarah Ferguson with Ghislaine Maxwell. It is still not known whether ‘Fergie’ ever repaid the money ‘loaned’ to her by the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Welsh ‘mock castle’ once occupied by notorious spendaholic Lady Docker for sale for £2.85m; the Dockers were turfed out in 1956 after it was discovered they’d lavished the equivalent of £1.3m today of company money on the place without permission
Alleged inspiration for ‘The Pink Panther’ film, Norah Docker (AKA ‘Naughty Norah’ and ‘Lady Muck’) described herself as “an artificial blonde, among thousands of artificial blondes searching for stardom.”
Of her second husband, Sir William Collins, chairman of Fortnum & Mason, she announced: “He was 69, I married him for his money.”
Lady Docker used her third husband Sir Bernard Docker’s company money to create Daimler cars upholstered in zebra hide – “because mink is too hot to sit on.”
The couple also plundered the company to buy Glandyfi Castle in Wales and spent an equivalent of £1.3 million of today’s money on it.
The Grade II listed, early 19th century ‘mock castle’ became a small hotel and is currently for sale for £2.85 million.
The best known ‘occupants’ of Glandyfi Castle, an early 19th century ‘mock castle’ eleven miles from Aberystwyth in Mid Wales, were Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) managing director and Daimler chairman Sir Bernard Docker and his notoriously decadent wife, ‘Naughty Norah.’
The Dockers, a “spendaholic” pair said to be the inspiration for the 1963 film The Pink Panther, lavished the equivalent of £1.3 million of today’s money buying and altering the castle in 1949 – the very same year they were robbed of £1.9 million of diamonds in today’s money at their Mayfair home also.
Sir Bernard and Lady Docker lived at Glandyfi until 1956 when it was discovered that they’d plundered the company through the presentation of vast expenses. Aside from the castle, Lady Docker had lavishly created five show ‘Docker Daimler’ show cars covered in gold and upholstered with amongst other things zebra hide. When asked why she had done such, she coyly responded: “Because mink is too hot to sit on,” but subsequently after these and the castle had to be returned, the couple bought a Bentley Continental as revenge.
Now, today, Grade II listed Glandyfi (pronounced ‘Glandovey’) is for sale for what seems like a comparatively reasonable sum of £2.85 million, but it now comes minus the “glitzy” additions made by the Dockers. The Regency Gothic style stone and slate main building extends to 8,280 square feet over four floors and provides 5 reception rooms, 10 double bedrooms and 10 bathrooms and in addition comes with a courtyard with guest accommodation, a 1 bedroom lodge and a range of disused barns.
Externally, aside from a mature landscaped garden, the 31.43 acre plot includes a walled former kitchen garden, grazing land and woodland, but what is most impressive is the setting of what James Delingpole termed “not so much an austere, toff’s castle as a theme-park recreation of one” with “undoubtedly the most magnificent view from any house I know in Britain.”
Speaking to Anne Ashworth of The Times last time the allegedly haunted castle was placed for sale in July 2019, current selling agent Belinda Hutchinson-Smith of Strutt & Parker – whom also was involved in marketing the property to the current owners, the Holmes family, back in 2007 when she worked at Savills – stated:
“It was surreal [in 2007]. We were in a time warp. Almost nothing had changed since the Dockers moved out in the 1950s. There were 1950s newspapers strewn across the dining tables and in the bedrooms, books were left open on bedside tables. But, at the same time, the house had a magical feeling.”
In comments to the BBC in September 2014, when the former Docker one-of-one 1954 Daimler ‘Stardust’ was sold at auction for £110,000, Glandyfi’s current owner Maureen Holmes remarked:
“[Sir Bernard and Lady Docker] were clearly living the dream. From the red and white marble fireplaces to a path through the woods made entirely of upturned gin bottles, the castle oozed excess.”
“The older people around here who remember them say they were unbelievable, almost mythical figures. At a time when everyone else was still on rationing, the Dockers were thundering through the lanes in limousines made out of gold and silver.”
“The irony is, that whilst the locals felt the Dockers’ perceived wealth meant that they were utterly removed from the community, in actual fact they probably had no more money than anyone else in the area.”
Lady Docker pictured in one of the opulent ‘Docker Daimler’ show cars she commissioned her husband’s company to create; the most famous of the examples was known as the ‘Golden Zebra’ – this 1955 Daimler two-door coupé based on the DK400 chassis featured metal trim pieces plated in gold instead of chrome, an ivory dashboard and zebra-skin upholstery.Thrice married Lady Docker (1906 – 1983), born Norah Turner and also variously Norah Callingham and Lady Collins, was born in Derby and began her career as a hostess at the Café de Paris in London. In Lancashire, her name is still used as a derogatory substitute for ‘Lady Muck’ and in spite of her once extravagant lifestyle, she died in poverty at the not so chi-chi Great Western Royal Hotel in Praed Street, Paddington, London. In one of her last interviews, Lady Docker remarked: “I have always had the persistence to march on. I will continue to do that, until the day I die.” In spite of her reduced circumstances, she is said to have “retained a remarkable joie-de-vivre, downing glasses of pink champagne to the last.”English poet Thomas Love Peacock got married at Glandyfi Castle in 1820; Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan stayed at the property whilst filming ‘Springwatch’ in 2012.
The Names & Numbers – Glandyfi Castle, Glandyfi, near Machynlleth, Ceredigion, Powys, Mid Wales, SY20 8SS, United Kingdom
October 2020 – Relaunched for sale for £2.85 million ($3.69 million, €3.15 million or درهم15.54 million) through Strutt & Parker.
June 2019 – Listed for sale for £2.85 million ($3.69 million, €3.15 million or درهم15.54 million) through Strutt & Parker with 31.43 acres of land.
2012 – Whilst filming the BBC’s Springwatch, presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan stayed at the castle. Strachan wrote in the guest book: “I couldn’t imagine a nicer, more comfortable place to stay… I felt like a princess in my amazing room.” Packham added: “Staying at the castle has been a total treat. Hospitality, fine food, wonderful environment, views to die for and history.”
May 2007 – Offered for sale for £1.25 million ($1.62 million, €1.38 million or درهم5.94 million) through Savills with 43 acres of land on behalf of the late owner, one Mrs Betty Piper (1914 – 2006).
January 1964 – The building is given a Grade II listing, reference 9874, and is described as “the only example [of a] Georgian country house in picturesque castellated style in the county.”
1956 – Following discovery of the Dockers’ “profligacy” and their removal from BSA, the castle is sold.
1949 – Purchased by Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited for the use of Sir Bernard and Lady Docker for the sum of £12,000 or the equivalent of £427,000 ($552,000, €471,000 or درهم2 million) today. The company then lavished £25,000 or the equivalent of £890,000 ($1.2 million, €983,000 or درهم4.2 million) today on “opulent renovations of the home.”
1906 – Following the death of Charles Jeffreys, the castle and its lands pass out of the hands of that family after 114 years.
1820 – English poet Thomas Love Peacock (1785 – 1866) married Jane Griffith (also known as Jane Gryffydh) at the castle. His fellow poet and friend Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822) referenced Peacock’s wife “the milk-white Snowdonian Antelope.”
Early 19th century – Built to the designs of an unknown architect for George Jeffreys, High Sheriff of Cardiganshire in 1819 on an estate acquired by his great uncle, Edward, in 1792.
Some of Lady Docker’s Notable Remarks
Of herself, as she moved to London to seek fame and fortune:
“An artificial blonde, among thousands of artificial blondes searching for stardom.”
Of her vision in life:
“[To] bring some happiness back to a world left hollow by the horror of two world wars… We bring glamour and happiness into drab lives. The working class loves everything I do.”
Of her father:
“A self-made man.”
Of her male “targets” and those she viewed to be husband material:
“Through my life, I set both my sights and my price high.”
Of her chairman of Fortnum & Mason second husband, Sir William Collins:
“He was 69, I married him for his money.”
Of her third husband, Sir Bernard Docker:
“I deliberately trapped him.”
When asked to justify why she covered the seats of a 1955 Daimler in zebra skin:
“Zebra, because mink is too hot to sit on.”
On the loss of the ‘Docker Daimlers’ when they were taken away from her and her husband:
“It’s not the loss of the gold cars that makes me feel like this… And weren’t they fun? They were like my children… No, it’s that lovely party I was planning for 25,000 of the company’s workers for my 50th birthday. A tiptop affair – and now it’s all off. How could they do this to [Sir Bernard] after 17 years? Why, he’s such a hard worker that he even had a direct line to the firm from our yacht.”
Of Prince Rainier of Monaco after her son was banned from his son’s christening and she decided to burn the Monacan flag:
“I’m at war with Rainier.”
To the captain of the liner the Queen Elizabeth:
“This ship is being run by a bloody Communist! Don’t you dare touch me, you bloody Communist!”
Of some miners she invited on her yacht:
“The dear boys, I just loved them! It proved conclusively to me that the social barrier only exists in the mind.”
Of a Monaco casino employee she had allegedly assaulted:
“It was a good sock I gave that man, and he deserved it.”
Of the people of Jersey:
“They are the most frightfully boring, dreadful people that have ever been born.”
PICTURED TOP: Glandyfi Castle and the estuary beyond; Sir Bernard and Lady Docker at the castle.
As Britain likely moves into further lockdowns, drug dealers are changing the way they operate and communicate; they now bizarrely demand customers ask: “Is now a good time?”
IS NOW A GOOD TIME? – In June, Misha Glenny – the author of McMafia and a fellow at the Berggruen Institute – penned a fascinating article for the Guardian about how organised crime has had to adapt due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Glenny highlighted how it was “too risky for [drug] dealers to move around” in cities like London and how prices had risen as a result. He rather over generously suggested “criminals are humans too” and were “abiding by the rules [of lockdown],” but also pointed out that the growth in online crime had been accelerated by COVID-19.
In a series of WhatsApp messages seen recently by The Steeple Times between a reader who works in the financial services sector and a London based drug peddler, the way in which such people have changed the way they communicate with their “customers” was fascinatingly illustrated.
We share said criminal’s messages below and highlight how he now uses that devoid of utterly anything phrase “reaching out” to communicate with his customers via all means other than Sim phone calls and SMS messages. He begins:
I hope this message finds you well. Just reaching out to inform you that I have changed my number from (old number: +44XXXXXXXXX) to (new number: +44XXXXXXXXXXX). Please save new number as old one will soon be inactive. Please make contact on WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal only (no Sim phone calls or SMS messages please). And as always, when referring my services to friends/colleagues/family, please call/message me in advance to inform me that you have done or intend to do so. Please also kindly forward me their contact details. Apologies if you have already received this message from my previous broadcast. Thanks.
In a further message, said individual laid his “is now a good time?” message on thick and continued:
Thank you for using my service and thank you for your valued custom. Moving forward I want to lay out my terms and conditions. In order for you to receive the best service and customer care it is advisable that you abide by them. They are as follows:
I will be your main point of contact for any disputes/feedback.
When contacting me please remember to use WhatsApp only (unless I advise otherwise).
Please message only and don’t call unless I ask you to you to (very important).
The first message you send should always be “is now a good time?”
Don’t engage in further contact until you have had a response to the first message. This is for your safety.
If I am unavailable you will receive a message with clear instructions to follow. Please follow them.
I won’t allways [sic] be available to meet you in person, and in this event you will be allocated an alternative driver. However I cannot guarantee you will be allocated the same driver every occasion I am unavailable.
You will be able to request a particular driver if they are available.
Contact the driver through WhatsApp only, with the first message being “is now a good time?”
All drivers carry the same stock.
All of my products have a distinctive packaging/branding.
If product presentation/quality is not up to standard it means that it has probably been tampered with and in which case you should report back to me immediately.
Allways [sic] make your order clear to the driver and have cash ready before they depart.
When referring my services to friends/colleagues/family, please message me in advance to inform me that you have done or intend to do so. Please also kindly forward me their contact details. And remember to tell them to use WhatsApp only using the phrase “is now a good time?”
And last but not least, always treat the driver with the same respect you would expect to have reciprocated.
Once again thank you for your business and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Our typically middle class reader – someone astonishingly typical of the majority using cocaine in Britain and a member of a social group where abuse of this substance is more common than alcoholism – sensibly wrote back: “Now is NOT a good time” and ended the dialogue. Sadly, many others will act to the contrary and that’s what will keep this vile piece of toerag in business now and “allways” [sic].
Misha Glenny’s 2008 non-fiction book ‘McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld’ inspired the brilliant eight-chapter, 2018 BBC One series of the same name. A second eight-chapter series is due to be aired in due course.
