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…)
21st century gauche replaces 20th century elegance
A hidden enclave opposite the V&A museum in South Kensington was home to two of the twentieth century’s most fascinating individuals. London club owner and arbiter of good taste Mark Birley lived at Thurloe Lodge for nearly thirty years until his death in 2007 and for a time, the British ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn resided next door at Amberwood House. (more…)
Fred Sculthorp delves into the mysterious world of Saturday night television
There’s something dark taking place on the BBC’s Saturday night entertainment slot, or so the Internet would have you believe. (more…)
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.
Thomas James explores the winter holiday destinations of the jetset
The season is upon us and I like to think the thing that is most cherished of all this time of year is creating memories with those we love. Moreover, “my tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best,” once stated Winston Churchill. Therefore, the culmination of these two elements will produce a magnificent holiday. Gstaad, St. Moritz, and St. Barths, and Aspen are à la mode destinations to spend with family and friends during the holiday season.
Gstaad is an idyllic retreat. It is the crème de la crème in a sense because most people here wish to remain discreet, which denotes simplistic elegance. There is a discerning culture of understatement in Gstaad. The village is enchanting and reminiscent of a setting found in a storybook. If that were the case, the Gstaad Palace would be the majestic castle towering over the small village. The Palace’s unrivalled reputation of refined hospitality makes one’s stay all the more sublime. However, within the hotel is Greengo Club, where one will find the youth of today partying to music played by DJ Jim Leblanc. For those who ski, Gstaad is known for skiing and is home to one of the largest ski areas in the Alps with around 136 miles of pistes.
St. Moritz is also a small village located in Switzerland where the sun shines about three hundred days annually. The energy of St. Moritz is geared more towards winter sporting events, having hosted the Winter Olympics twice. An annual event beginning in 1985 is the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow tournament, which is a highlight for many. The White Turf is another annual winter event dating back to 1907 where people gather to watch horse racing on a frozen lake listening to music, viewing art, and indulging on food. St. Moritz is very much “le scene” and there is a bit of pretense in the air. Skiing is a popular pastime, as the slopes in St. Moritz remain unsurpassed.
St. Barths is a tiny island situated in the West Indies. During high season, especially on Christmas and New Year’s St. Barths is essentially one soiree after another. If St. Barth’s were a club then it would definitely be Studio 54. The place to be on New Years Eve is in Gustavia Harbour on a yacht watching the firework display. Overall, the ambiance of St. Barths is quite relaxed and carefree. Saline is left undeveloped making it one of the most pristine beaches in St. Barths. It is very “natural” alluding to the nudity permitted at Saline. Many people are attracted to St. Barths because of its beauty and tranquil atmosphere. The cuisine is superb, the service exquisite, and everyone on the island is friendly.
Aspen is a world-class destination for skiing with over 5,000 acres of terrain. Originally, Aspen was a mining town until the Paepcke family traveled to Aspen and fell in love with the natural surroundings Aspen offered. They knew Aspen was a gem and began transforming and cultivating the town into what it is today. The natural surroundings provide a relaxing retreat from everyday life. One may choose to ski on Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Buttermilk or Aspen Highlands, depending upon one’s level of expertise. One can purchase lift tickets online at Aspen Snowmass, which makes all four mountains quite accessible. Aspen offers a variety of options for one’s après-ski experience, from dining at Matsuhisa to dancing at Escobar. Aspen is the unparalleled destination for winter and no matter what your needs may be, Aspen holds the solution.
Remember, this season is about creating memories. For having special memories to cherish is the ultimate luxury.
The rise and fall of the “wealthiest divorcee in history” has been extraordinary. A former nude model for her first husband’s Knave magazine and star of adult films such as “The Nine Acres of Nakedness,” Patricia Kluge is the daughter of an Englishman and a Scots-Iraqi. She married her second husband, the late John Kluge, chairman of Metromedia and once the richest man in America, in 1981 after belly dancing for him at a dinner party in New York. As part of her plan to dovetail herself into the top drawer of American society, the couple built a 24,000 square foot mock 18th century English-style mansion, Albermarle, in Virginia and stuffed it full of Chippendale furniture. She got this as part of her $100 million divorce settlement in 1990 and wisely invested part of the payoff in a highly successful business trading football cards but then vanity struck. The Kluge Estate Winery project that she started with her third husband, William Moses, bankrupted the pair in June 2011 and the Bank of America foreclosed on her properties. A lifeline came from “longtime friend” Donald Trump who purchased the vineyard and employed her, but even he’s now uttered the words: “You’re fired!” and sent her packing. Of her newfound predicament Kluge commented: “What did we lose? Material things, nothing too important. When something like this happens you really see who your friends are, those you can rely on, and we have many friends.” Here is a lady with fortitude that can only be described as admirable. It’s probably best, however, to keep her away from the cash register.
Charles Mitford Cust tells of the breakdancing stoats at Bears Rock
Apparently the 2012 “Braun Battle of the Year” breakdance championship is underway and the coolest movers are strutting their stuff right now down in Montpelier, France.
“B-boying” or “breakdancing” as we recognise it today is a relatively new dance style which can trace its roots to James Brown’s Get on the Good Foot dance of 1969. There is, however, another species that has been practising the art for considerably longer and that is the stoat.
The stoat is one of nature’s acrobats, with a level of agility, dexterity and stamina which places it in a class of it’s own in the animal kingdom. It is also incredibly strong. A stoat is quite capable of killing and dragging home a creature 10 times its size and weight.
Although stoats, with their immaculately groomed ermine coats and pretty little black tails look almost unbearably cute and charming, they are also one of the most ruthless killers ever created. You see the stoat doesn’t dance just to amuse itself; it literally dances for its supper. For this reason, the stoat is and has to be the best “B-boyer” in the world.
Stoats dance around potential victims in order to hypnotise them. They put on such dazzling displays of acrobatics, including the famous “headspin” that defines “breaking” that your average rabbit becomes so mesmerised that it allows the stoat to dance closer and closer. The next thing the bunny knows is that the “B-boy” stoat has sunk his teeth deep into its throat and then is on a one-way ticket to the great Watership Down in the sky. Nice.
Stoats have danced their way through 7 million years of survival, and like so many highly successful predators, such as sharks and crocodiles, having once established their evolutionary niche and perfected their modus operandi, they have remained pretty much unchanged in all that time. We can therefore safely assume that stoats even breakdanced their way through the last ice age, during which time, according to the experts, they faired very well as a species with their compact dimensions and standard issue ermine to insulate them from the sub-zero temperatures. Seems like the Ice Age animation series should have featured a stoat rather than a sloth.
About six months ago, a stoat, whom I have christened Stan, moved to Bears Rock. He is obviously a discerning type of chap because having looked all around the grounds for a suitable home, he decided to move into the basement of my wooden African style rondavel which sits on an elevated veranda overlooking my lake.
From this strategic vantage point, he, and Stella, as I have named his wife, have a lovely view of the lower garden some fifty feet below them in the mornings and can decide which of my rabbits they are going to eat for lunch.
“Just popping out for a spot of busking Stella,” says Stan as he heads out. “Alright Stan,” Stella responds: “But be as quick as you can love: I need you to gnaw a bigger back exit for us in case that Charles bloke buys a Jack Russell.”
I am sure that another reason why Stan found this des res so appealing is because the surrounding timber balustrade makes such a wonderful place to train their young, the kits, in acrobatics and the art of artistic killing.
I have often watched enthralled by the dazzling high-speed display he and Stella put on as they free run all over the structure, often appearing to defy the laws of gravity and physics. They make a welcome interlude to my day trading routine, although they have probably cost me a fortune in bad trades. I now eagerly look forward to watching the kits getting their schooling from mum and dad in the spring.
One thing is certain, it is lucky for the competitors in Montpelier that there isn’t an entry category for stoats: Stan and Stella would wipe the floor with the lot of them.
Watch a BBC One video of breakdancing stoats at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHImJVJSJ08
The 2012 Braun Battle of the Year: http://www.braunbattleoftheyear.com/
Best known for her role as Flick Scully on the soap Neighbours, this Australian born actress, singer and model struck gold when she married the British property tycoon Nick Candy. Her foray into music as Holly Valance brought success with Kiss Kiss but she subsequently fell out with her manager and had to pay him $350,000 in damages. She’s now most likely to be found on London’s social circuit or out shopping.
Raised in Morecambe, Lancashire at a seafront hotel, Worth has played Coronation Street’s Gail Platt since 1974. This former wife of the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine, Michael Angelis, lives between Cheshire and Chelsea and when not acting she’s often to be found campaigning for the Born Free Foundation.