Britain’s Prime Minister needs to get a grip
Parliament is back in session and we’re now in September. The ‘Silly Season’ should be well and truly over but in fact we’re sinking into a quagmire that can only be described as ‘stupid’ and ‘irresponsible’. (more…)
The world’s third richest model, Christie Brinkley was born in Monroe, Michigan and has been married four times. A mother of three and a supporter of the Democratic Party, Brinkley is a vegetarian and owns vasts swathes of real estate in the Hamptons. Of her marriage to property developer Richard Taubman, she commented: “I have this helicopter crash, and I fall in love with this man who was in the crash with me. I must have been suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, because everyone seemed to realize what a mistake I was making except me. My girlfriends and my mother knew, but I wouldn’t listen to them. I must’ve got whacked on the head, but he presented a totally false person for me to fall in love with”.
An opportunity to buy an American equivalent of Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey returns to our screens this autumn and one has to ask whether its writer Julian Fellowes was at all influenced by the story of the story of Peter Widener of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania whose son and grandson both died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. (more…)
Confused.com founder puts castle on market for £1.5 million less than she spent on it
“Wild haired” Kate Armstrong, the Australian founder of Confused.com, bought the medieval Scottish castle Cassillis House in Ayrshire from the Kennedy clan in 2009 for £3 million. She spent four years and £3.5 million updating and improving it but is now selling it at a loss for just £5 million. (more…)
Former residence of Leona Helmsley comes to the market
Leona Helmsley didn’t do “little”. She lived by the belief that “only the little people pay taxes” and housed herself in a vast mansion on a 40-acre plot in Connecticut. Helmsley died at the house in 2007 and it is now once again for sale (more…)
Businessman Peter Burrell solves the problem of keeping gravel level
Gravel drives are a joy and a nightmare at the same time. A crunchy drive, according to The Independent’s Jeff Howell is something that most would have on their bucket list at a “dream home” but with one, you get the problem of weeds and moss and the need to rake constantly. Now, there’s a solution – The Gillhams Gravel Rake. (more…)
Norah Docker’s yacht, Shemara, has found a saviour in Charles Dunstone
When spendaholics Sir Bernard and Lady Docker took ownership of a 65-metre yacht, the Shemara, in the 1950s, little did they know that it would ultimately become part of their nemesis. The very same boat – after languishing for many years – has now been fully restored and is now in the ownership of the telecommunications titan Sir Charles Dunstone. (more…)
Crowdcube raise £1.2 million in 16 minutes as Glentham Capital proceeds with their second fund raise via Seedrs
This week the UK’s largest crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube, opened and closed their bid to raise £1.2 million to expand their company in just 16 minutes. This followed their having raised £3.8 million of investment from Balderton Capital last week. (more…)
Two works from American galleries on display at Masterpiece
Business on the opening day at Masterpiece 2014 was brisk with one dealership, Symbolic & Chase, selling a 1912 Cartier corsage for in excess of $20 million (£11.75 million). Our friends at Apter-Fredericks, equally, were delighted to sell an important mirror in the first hour and the pair of pagoda top cabinets we featured for a seven figure sum later in the day. (more…)
This maverick publishing legend and poet founded Dennis Publishing in 1974 and was the first person to say the word “cunt” on live British television in 1970 on David Frost’s The Frost Programme. Born in Kingston-upon-Thames, Felix Dennis was jailed but subsequently acquitted in a trial relating to a sexually explicit Rupert the Bear cartoon strip during his time working at the OZ underground magazine and went on to create great titles such as Maxim and The Week. He planted over 1,000,000 native saplings in his attempt to establish a large native forest in Warwickshire and owned one of the largest collections of original bronze sculptures. Dennis – who was said to be worth in excess of £750 million – famously once spelt Che Guevara’s name wrong and once stated: “Making money is certainly the one addiction I cannot shake”. He is to be “buried in a linen wrap in a cardboard coffin in [his] forest with an oak tree planted on [his] head”.