This Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actress came to prominence as Downton Abbey’s Lady Mary Crawley in September 2010 and is now considered “one of the most chattered-about women on television”. Born in Romford, Essex, Dockery has also appeared in television series’ including Heartbeat and Dalziel and Pascoe and films such as Anna Karenina with Jude Law and Keira Knightley. Of her future ambitions, she states: “I love singing live, actually. And I’m dying to sing in a role, whether it’s in a musical or a biographical film about a singer. It’s always been one of my aspirations”. In the meantime, the nation will continue to celebrate watching this rising talent as she morphs into Downton’s merry widow.
Tag: British
-
Michelle Dockery
-
Alex Preston
This talented Oxford educated author is a former credit derivatives trader who is now regular on BBC2’s The Review Show. This Bleeding City, his first novel, was based on his own working experiences and analyses how the financial crash could be seen as “our subconscious revenge, our way of bringing down the system that had ensnared us”. His second, The Revelations, was described by A. N. Wilson as a “strange and compulsively readable tale of City slickers seduced by a promise of spiritual awakening”. He predicts a bleak future for financiers in suggesting that we are still in the midst of “a crisis that will take more than a few bankers paying back their bonuses to solve”. -
Jack P. Shepherd: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times asks actor Jack Shepherd (“Coronation Street’s” David Platt): “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Patience and optimism.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
-
Judy Finnigan
This former daytime television presenter is now a novelist who somewhat ambitiously compares herself to Dame Daphne du Maurier. Better known collectively with her second husband as just “Richard and Judy”, Judy Finnigan has been beset by rumours about her love of alcohol for many years. She didn’t exactly help put a stop to such by setting up a wine club whilst co-presenting Channel 4’s Richard & Judy show but having retreated to Cornwall to write, she now also “doesn’t want [to hear] comments about her looks anymore”. Here is an example of someone who would do well to follow the mantra of: “If you don’t like the heat, keep off the publicity trail”. -
Derek Bell MBE
A five times winner at Le Mans, this British racing icon also won the Daytona 24 three times and the World Sportscar Championship twice. Described as “one of the most liked drivers of his generation”, Bell suffered minor burns whilst working with Steve McQueen on the 1971 film Le Mans and is now a global ambassador for Bentley. He is rightly lauded as: “The greatest Englishman ever to compete in endurance racing”. -
Petula Clark CBE
A singer, actress and composer who has been a star all her life. Brought up in Epsom, Surrey and best known for Downtown, Petula Clark surprisingly made her radio debut aged just 9 and appeared at the Royal Albert Hall when she was only 11. She now lives between Switzerland and Chelsea and can occasionally be spotted at La Brasserie in Brompton Cross. A lady of simple tastes, Clark modestly states: “The stretch limo with the blackout windows and the bodyguards are fun, but I prefer going out alone with just my bus fare in my pocket and catching a number 19 bus. The scenery’s the same whatever form of transport you’re using”. A Facebook page was created in 2012 as part of a campaign to make this legend a Dame. We back it with enthusiasm. -
Rapid brakes
The revival of the shooting brake
The 2012/2013 shooting season may well be over, but one of Italy’s finest automotive design houses, Bertone, are about to showcase a shooting brake they have created to coincide with Aston Martin’s centenary and their having worked with the English brand for 60 years at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show.
-
A 24-hour toy
A dream toy for any Le Mans fan
The 106-minute long 1971 film Le Mans starring Steve McQueen is rightly considered one of the classic motoring films.
Now, fans can play out their own version of it in their own homes by purchasing a replica fibreglass Porsche 917 that has been converted into a 1:32 scale, wooden slot car racetrack complete with 12 limited edition slot cars.
The $125,000 model track is housed in the body of a replica Porsche 917 
The exterior features race worn tyres and is decorated in the famous blue and orange Gulf Oil livery as as the #20 racing decals At 13½ foot long, 7½ foot wide and 3 foot tall, this is an indulgence that will require a fair amount of space but one that could make a great centerpiece in any the games room of any bachelor pad.
The raceway itself features realistic landscaping, period signage and working streetlights. The Esso Oil Drop Man appears near the Ford chicane and a Marchal sign appears over the famous three-level grandstand over the pit row, whilst the unmistakable Dunlop tire bridge and a Martini barn are all present.
John Sturges and Steve McQueen during filming of Le Mans Making Le Mans bankrupted Steve McQueen and cost British Formula One driver David Piper part of one of his legs. Whoever purchases this car will be far from danger but they’ll have to be firmly in the black. The price? £82,000.
For more information, contact Hammacher Schlemmer on +1 (800) 227 3528 or go to: http://www.hammacher.com/Product/Default.aspx?sku=12005&promo=Sports-Leisure-Collecting-Memorabilia&catid=1725
-
Kiss Me
Victoria Aitken launches a single for Valentine’s Day
This Valentine’s Day, the electro-house chart topping singer-songwriter Victoria Aitken, daughter of the former Conservative minister Jonathan Aitken, has released her latest single, Kiss Me.
The cover for Victoria Aitken’s “Kiss Me” single
Of what inspired her to write it, Aitken comments:
“Sometimes we are left ‘un-kissed’ and it can just be so depressing! I was inspired by my time with an Italian man, chatting and flirting over cocktails night after night. I then became annoyed, wondering when he was going to make his move. I believe many women and men feel like this: there is a certain vibe and then nothing”.
Produced by Marc JB, who has remixed seventy #1 UK dance chart hits for artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna, the single features a cover by the up-and-coming British visual artist Zoobs. In it, Aitken wears a headpiece and eye veil by Jane Taylor, a milliner who has created headwear for amongst others Paloma Faith and The Duchess of Cornwall.
The French romantic writer Victor Hugo once stated: “A compliment is like a kiss through a veil” and Victoria Aitken in Kiss Me certainly explores this further.
To listen to Kiss Me, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3P2AW6S5UI
-
Dr Alexander Moulton CBE (1920 – 2012)
This genius of British design was told by leading bicycle manufacturer Raleigh that his lightweight, small-wheeled bicycle wouldn’t sell in the early 1960s. He proved them utterly wrong and his work with Sir Alexander Issigonis on the Austin Mini created a car that will be remembered forever. This unmarried and utterly eccentric engineer was also told by the Duke of Edinburgh “that he might end up under a glass case himself” and went as far as to swap his Rolls-Royce for a chauffeur driven Mini to beat ever escalating fuel costs.