The Steeple Times

Tag: education

  • Sorry Hopkins

    Sorry Hopkins

    After Katie Hopkins was forced to say “sorry” to Finsbury Park Mosque, she should now be sent to where she belongs – social media’s equivalent of Siberia

    Katie Hopkins’ sphere of influence has extended too far for too long and that she was forced to apologise for a false tweet about the Finsbury Park Mosque yesterday was quite correct.

     

    Though Hopkins got off without having to pay damages as she has been insolvent since 2018 due to her previous libel loss against the equally noxious Jack Monroe, that she was forced to write the words “I am genuinely sorry” were a most deserved punishment.

     

    That she was also made to write: “I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions made by the Mosque to society” is even more important and now, yet again, all that this childish woman has done is to again prove that the ‘C*NT’ award she was given in February was well and truly deserved.

     

    It is now time that “sorry” Miss Hopkins finally did the decent thing and that is to permanently shut her filth filled trap.

     

    Sorry Hopkins – Katie Hopkins forced to apologise to Mosque – After Katie Hopkins was forced to say “sorry” to Finsbury Park Mosque, she should now be sent to where she belongs – social media’s equivalent of Siberia.
    Hopkins was forced to issue her apology via Instagram as she was banned from Twitter in June for breaching the medium’s “hateful conduct” policy.
    Sorry Hopkins – Katie Hopkins forced to apologise to Mosque – After Katie Hopkins was forced to say “sorry” to Finsbury Park Mosque, she should now be sent to where she belongs – social media’s equivalent of Siberia.
    Amongst the many lowpoints of moralising-without-morals-herself Katie Hopkins’ life was the moment she got caught having sex with a married man in a field. Of this, she shamelessly remarked: “Mark was a married man and yes I stole him. I stole my first husband as well – get over it.”
    Was she really repentant? Unsurprisingly, after issuing her so-called “apology” Katie Hopkins returned to social media and uploaded a video suggesting people “clear the noise” and thus provided indication that she probably isn’t really sorry at all. She stated: “I have been through a few things in my life and they all did pass.”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgd3LhvlXqI
    Hopkins then also uploaded an interview in which she ranted against the Black Lives Matter movement and suggested she’d had “more men cry on her than at any time in her life.” She also bizarrely claimed she’d “be able to look after America” if “people came home.”

    Some of “not so sorry” Katie Hopkins’ most outrageous moments:

     

    On people with dementia:

    “Dementia sufferers should not be blocking beds. What is the point of life when you no longer know you are living it?”

     

    On Ramadan:

    “Ramadan typically brings a spike in violence in Middle East. I get grumpy when I don’t eat – but I don’t blow things up. Religion of peace?”

     

    On ginger haired children:

    “Ginger babies. Like a baby. Just so much harder to love.”

     

    On ‘Highgella’ Nigella Lawson:

    “A self-confessed drug-taker, spendthrift, and a self-obsessed flirt determined to show other women they were imperfect.”

     

    On tourists stranded in Egypt after the bombing of a Russian airplane:

    “I think if you are going to take your children out from school, which is ridiculous in itself, stick them in a destination that is dangerous, don’t be complaining on my television that you’ve been delayed at the airport, don’t be complaining that you don’t have any information, and don’t be coming back acting like you are a refugee from a war-torn country.”

     

    On Jewish politician Ed Milliband’s wife:

    “Pollsters say Justine [Milliband] is the least popular of the party wives. He might stick her head in the oven and turn on the gas.”

     

    On refugees:

    “Make no mistake, these migrants are like cockroaches. They might look a bit ‘Bob Geldof’s Ethiopia circa 1984,’ but they are built to survive a nuclear bomb. They are survivors.”

     

    On obesity:

    “I don’t really like fat people… Would I employ you if you were obese? No, I would not… If you are obese, you look lazy.”

     

    On suicidal prisoners:

    “They should just kill themselves.”

     

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  • Remembering Jeffrey Epstein Albuquerque Style

    Remembering Jeffrey Epstein Albuquerque Style

    Statue of late billionaire sex beast Jeffrey Epstein mysteriously appears outside City Hall in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and is promptly removed by officials)

    A ‘statue’ of the dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein somewhat bizarrely briefly put in an appearance in Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday. God only knows why.

     

    Positioned downtown in front of the city’s municipal hall, what turned out to be a gold paint covered mannequin was accompanied by a plaque. It read:

     

    “Jeffrey Epstein (January 20, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American Financier who started as a teacher and worked his way up from a low level assistant to be one of the top financial advisers in the USA. He had a home in New Meixco, Zorro Ranch. He was also a rapist who died in prison.”

     

    Speaking (with an “altered voice”) to Rebecca Atkins of KRQE News 13 on Wednesday, an “anonymous member of Antlion Entertainment ‘Art’ Collective remarked:

     

    “We think we need an Epstein statue in every school ‘cos how are students going to learn he even existed? You know, those that don’t remember history tend to repeat it and so, if we don’t have statues of Epstein, how can we prevent the predatory behaviour?”

     

    “A statue is just a statue,” the spokesperson added, whilst the local mayor, Tim Keller, responded with bemusement and commented: “I personally didn’t see it… I was like: ‘That doesn’t make any actual sense.’ So, that’s where I’m at right now.”

     

    Whatever next? An erection of non-sweating, Pizza Express loving Prince Andrew embracing In-N-Out burger munching procurer Ghislaine Maxwell? Meanwhile, though the fate of the now removed statue is unknown, one witty sort quipped: “That statue will not hang itself!”

     

    Pictured top: Left – The briefly installed Jeffrey Epstein statue; Top Right – Jeffrey Epstein with Donald and Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell; Bottom Right – The paedophile with fellow sex offender Harvey Weinstein and Miss Maxwell at a party in Prince Andrew’s garden.

     

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    Remembering Jeffrey Epstein Albuquerque Style – Statue of late billionaire sex beast Jeffrey Epstein mysteriously appears outside City Hall in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and is promptly removed by officials).
    The ‘statue’ was briefly positioned outside Albuquerque’s City Hall; a member of the Antlion Entertainment ‘Art’ Collective that ‘installed’ the mannequin posed for a photograph with it. ‘Newsweek’ later reported that their online searches “found no websites or accounts connected to the aforementioned art collective.”
    Remembering Jeffrey Epstein Albuquerque Style – Statue of late billionaire sex beast Jeffrey Epstein mysteriously appears outside City Hall in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and is promptly removed by officials).
    In November 2019, the First Church of God Marseilles in Illinois were condemned for their “joke” sign that suggested Jeffrey Epstein “didn’t kill himself.” Though the church’s pastor explained: “It gave us a chance to expose people to Jesus and who he is, getting people to ask questions,” most simply condemned the move as being “in pretty poor taste.”
  • Nasty NestSeekers

    Nasty NestSeekers

    Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers

    Jonathan Davis is the founder of the Hamptons Brewing Company and the son of a self-declared “power broker” realtor named Tim Davis. Aside from also being a property agent and claiming to have been “born and raised” in the summer colony that the wealthy of New York flock to, on Friday, he was exposed as something else – Mr Davis has now been outed as a pesky squatter who allegedly doesn’t pay his rent and goes around wrecking other peoples’ homes.

     

    In March, Davis, a graduate of Lynn University “with a passion for business,” featured in an interview with Fox Business in which he bragged about how much business he was doing because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the typically brash style expected of a privileged preppy prat and speaking on behalf of his bosses at the NestSeekers brokerage, he declared:

     

    “Rental season is starting earlier now. Instead of Memorial Day, it’s 1st April… It’s a very proactive time… There is just more room to breathe out here and families feel safer… It’s not a bad environment to be quarantined.”

     

    According to Inside Edition, completely modest to his core “like father, like son, greatness never dies” Davis – whom according to his broker profile has sold properties priced as high as £9.3 million ($11.5 million, €10.3 million or درهم42.2 million) and pompously lauds himself as a “well-regarded agent” selling “a lifestyle, not just a dream home” according to posts on his Twitter handle – has himself taken advantage of the pandemic at the expense of someone who rented him a house.

     

    The “prominent real estate agent” and “alleged squatter,” the syndicated news-magazine reports, rented a 3-bedroom property in Sag Harbor from Paula Rosado and now “refuses to move out.” Davis is alleged to owe £12,100 ($15,000, €13,500 or درهم55,100) and has supposedly allowed his two German Shepherd dogs to “tear apart” the building and urinate all over her rugs and “couches” [sic]. Windows are reported broken also and of the situation, Rosado moaned: “It’s horrific. It really is just horrific… This has been a complete nightmare for us, for our family emotionally and financially.”

     

    When confronted by Inside Edition’s cameras, Davis refused to comment. His lawyer, meanwhile, angrily stated: “I’ve got no comments except: GET ORF THE GROUNDS!”

     

    The Steeple Times contacted Jonathan Davis and his bosses at NestSeekers – CEO and founder Eddie Shapiro, Bridgehampton salesperson Dylan Eckardt and associate broker Peggy Zabakolas – for comment on Saturday. They all failed to respond by 11am GMT Monday and thus provided illustration of the “ethics, integrity, loyalty, education, ingenuity and courage” by which Shapiro’s firm operates by. Allow NestSeekers into your home at your peril.

     

    Pictured top: Jonathan Davis looking annoyed alongside his ritzy Land Rover Discovery and a police officer.

     

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    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    The home rented to Jonathan Davis by Paula Rosado.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    The gardens of the Sag Harbor property now resemble something inhabited by Stig of the Dump. They were supposedly immaculate prior to Jonathan Davis moving in.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Property owner Paula Rosado spoke to ‘Inside Edition’ to share her frustrations.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    On the Instagram page for his brewing company, Jonathan Davis declares: “A good time starts here.” As can be seen from this image, a good time is not being had by his caged dogs.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Jonathan Davis’ unnamed legal representative made quite a scene, when asked for a comment.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Mr Davis, however, surprisingly for a mouthy realtor, had little to nothing to say.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Davis does like to brag about his supposed successes on his NestSeekers broker profile though. One Hamptons local we approached commented: “I wouldn’t trust him with a garden hoe.”
  • Borwick is Back

    Borwick is Back

    Former Kensington MP Lady Borwick returns to the fray and is branded a #FearlessPillarOfTheCommunity in spite of her bizarre comments linking the Grenfell Tower tragedy and gangs

     

    “Triple dipper” – branded as such because at one time she was paid nearly £100,000 of public money per year as a councillor, Member of Parliament and member of the London Assembly concurrently – Lady Borwick has now bizarrely branded #FearlessPillarOfTheCommunity on Instagram.

     

    No doubt part of an attempt to resurrect her deservedly dented public profile, this former MP for Kensington – once one of the safest Tory seats in the land and a place where previously even a pig in a blue rosette would have easily won – Lady Borwick most recently was criticised for describing survivors of the Grenfell Tower as “rather like gangs.”

     

    In addition, ‘Call Me Victoria’ – whose son The Hon. Thomas Borwick sold an app to the now disgraced election manipulators Cambridge Analytica and was also Vote Leave’s chief technology officer also – it must be remembered went further. She pompously claimed that a “lack of education” among the residents “compounded confusion over circumstances surrounding the fire” and was even condemned as “completely wrong” by her fellow Conservative and council leader, Elizabeth Campbell.

     

    Lady Borwick is, given the evidence, out of touch with the modern electoral landscape and if the Conservative Party are to have any chance of electoral success in Kensington again, they should jolly well send her off back to a safe space where she can happily “tinkle on [her beloved] ivories” in peace.

     

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    Borwick is Back – Former MP Victoria Borwick returns to the fray –Former Kensington MP Victoria Borwick returns to the fray and is branded a #FearlessPillarOfTheCommunity in spite of her bizarre comments linking the Grenfell Tower tragedy and gangs Borwick is Back – Former MP Victoria Borwick returns to the fray –Former Kensington MP Victoria Borwick returns to the fray and is branded a #FearlessPillarOfTheCommunity in spite of her bizarre comments linking the Grenfell Tower tragedy and gangs Borwick is Back – Former MP Victoria Borwick returns to the fray –Former Kensington MP Victoria Borwick returns to the fray and is branded a #FearlessPillarOfTheCommunity in spite of her bizarre comments linking the Grenfell Tower tragedy and gangs

  • Hero of the Hour – David Cornwell

    Hero of the Hour – David Cornwell

    Novelist David Cornwell (AKA John le Carré) speaks sense on the elite, Brexit and Donald Trump

     

    David Cornwell – better known as the novelist John le Carré – gave a rare interview in yesterday’s The Sunday Times. In it, he spoke candidly and revealed his beliefs that Brexit is something he “despises” and that Donald Trump “is such a horse’s arse.”

     

    In the interview Cornwell told the paper’s Bryan Appleyard:

     

    “Surely the definition of a decent society is: one, how it chooses its elite; and, two, how it looks after its losers. Now we choose our elite horribly badly and, as long as private education commands the scene, don’t talk to me about levelling the playing field — the social contract is bust in this country.”

     

    “We’re getting people who start their political careers at university and go in as special assistants to MPs, like those ridiculous people who were advising May [Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill]. We are run by the wrong elite.”

     

    “I understand why people who are socially deprived, with the safety net taken away from them and treated as second-class citizens, have every right to vote for some other dream. I understand that, and I understand it needs a desperate remedy, and fast, but Brexit isn’t the answer.”

     

    Of Trump, he added:

     

    “The Russian-Ukrainian money trail is the one that, combined with collusion in Russian electoral tampering, will, with luck, nail him.”

     

    Cornwell is spot on all scores and we salute him.

     

    ‘A Legacy of Spies’ by John le Carré is out on Thursday (Viking, £20). Pre-order from Amazon for £9.50 by clicking here.

     

  • A Land of Contrasts

    A Land of Contrasts

    Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far

     

    The mere mention of the area of Kensington and Chelsea brings all sorts of connotations: One thinks of the Albert Hall and Hyde Park, Harrods and Harvey Nicks and one imagines affluence and culture. Here is an area that one associates with a certain kind of genteel elegance and one where both dowager duchesses and an educated, international community has long lived in harmony. Sadly, however, the apple cart has tipped and the area has descended to become a place where homeless people shiver on the streets whilst multi-million pound mansions lay rotting. This is an area that has had its soul ripped from its very being and this is an area that has fast become nothing but a money park with a hidden edge.

     

    The cause of this undoubtedly unwelcome change chiefly can be laid at the door of foreign ‘High Net Worth’ (HNW) investors – individuals and corporations who’ve brought ‘Home-aggedon’ to the Royal Borough by snapping up buildings that were once filled with families for crazy sums – and greedy landlords focused on kicking out local businesses in favour of high-paying, trophy tenants. Where once prosperous operations, such as La Brasserie on Brompton Cross, traded for nearly fifty years, are now empty units and outside them sit homeless people begging for scraps.

     

    Yes, there are ‘fake homeless’, but the problem is real and beneath the surface one also finds what can be termed the ‘hidden homeless’. These ‘have-nots’ and ‘have-nothing-at-alls’ sit in Pret stores and mind their own business. They cause no trouble but have been let down by the system. You’d be surprised how many such people there are in the Royal Borough and you should realise one thing: Us mere non-HNW mortals are just one pay cheque away from joining them.

     

    Pictured top: A homeless man in Pelham Street; he ‘lives’ just across the road from the £105 million home of billionaire Professor ‘Muck’ Flick.

     

    A Land of Contrasts – Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far.
    A Land of Contrasts – Meanwhile, in Knightsbridge, ‘homes’ (not that anyone lives in them) in One Hyde Park sell for up to £140 million

    A Land of Contrasts – Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far.
    A Land of Contrasts – Now, in Fulham Road, even “trendy” cafes such as L’Eto are unable to afford their rents and are so desperate to get out of their tenancies that they display ‘to let’ signs whilst still trading

    A Land of Contrasts – Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far.
    A Land of Contrasts – The area’s new wealth, meanwhile, flaunts its money in the most ostentatious fashion possible and has not a care for the community

  • A Milder May

    A Milder May

    As Theresa May’s lead in the poll halves and Jamie Oliver criticizes her policy on universal free school lunches for infants, we call on voters to act with their feet and remind the Tory leader that moderates still deserve to be heard

     

    There’s no point denying Theresa May will win on the 8th June and there’s no doubt she’ll win big. The ‘alternative’ – not that Jeremy Corbyn’s pathetic excuse for a party can even be called that – is beyond bad but, with news that the Conservative Party’s lead has halved to 9 points in a week, comes good news for those that do not subscribe to a desire for a one party state.

     

    With the prospect that Mrs May – whose attempt to make her ‘Strong and Stable’ campaign about ‘Theresa’s Team’ rather than using the name of her own party is starting to backfire – will not have as big a majority as she expected, there is a chance there will be at least some form of opposition to the vicar’s daughter’s hectoring ways.

     

    In constituencies like Kensington, for example, ‘Remain’ supporters should vote against a shown-to-be lazy MP, Lady Borwick, and back Annabel Mullin of the Liberal Democrats – a lady who issued several video messages yesterday pledging to ‘#HoldToriesToAccount’. A protest vote in this Tory stronghold would send the most powerful signal of all to Mrs May that her “red, white and blue hard Brexit” needs to be tempered and it would act as a reminder that the 48% must still be heard.

     

    A Milder May – Theresa May needs to pay attention to moderates – As Theresa May’s lead in the poll halves and Jamie Oliver criticizes her policy on universal free school lunches for infants, we call on voters to act with their feet and remind the Tory leader that moderates still deserve to be heard – Annabel Mullin Liberal Democrat vs. Lady Borwick, Victoria Borwick, Vote Leave Hard Brexit Conservative Party

     

    Elsewhere, food campaigner and restaurateur Jamie Oliver spoke for the majority when he put his head in his hands and told Channel 4: “Oh, it’s awful. It’s awful. She will regret that” of the Conservatives’ plan to scrap universal free school lunches for infants in their first three years at primary school. He continued:

     

    “Well, first of all, I’m apolitical. So don’t go thinking I’m ranting about one thing or the other… As far as I see it, and I believe I’m someone that’s had my hands dirty for twelve years now and I know what I’m talking about, right? It’s completely short-sighted. It’s completely short-sighted”.

     

    “And I want her [Theresa May] to be a brilliant Prime Minister. I want a brilliant female Prime Minister. Fundamentally, what she’s doing is taking from teachers and taking from the kids”.

     

    “If you speak to Mark Carney and the people at the highest level of economics, if you speak to Oxford Cambridge University on the modelling, the economic modelling of public health and the cost of ill health and the investment. Like, it’s the best bang for your buck you’re going to get. Don’t take from the kids. Don’t take from the teachers”.

     

  • Tall Poppy Syndrome

    Tall Poppy Syndrome

    Asking price for America’s tallest single-family residence – a 124-foot tall tower in Phoenix, Arizona – slashed by 74%; it is somewhat dated but costs nearly nothing to heat and nearly nothing in property taxes either

     

    They say “the bigger, the better” but in the case of Falcon Nest at Prescott in Arizona, it seems as if the tallest single-family residence in America has little appeal given its asking price has been slashed by nearly two thirds during the two years it has been on the market.

     

    Reduced in price from £2.2 million ($2.8 million, €2.6 million or درهم10.3 million) in 2015 to £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million or درهم5.5 million) this year, 124-foot tall Falcon Nest is to be auctioned by Concierge Auctions for a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May. For that, a buyer will not only get a truly unique structure but also views that range over 120 miles as far as the San Francisco Peaks.

     

    Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994
    Sukumar Pal, AIA faced some opposition when he decided to construct Falcon Nest but the resulting building he designed is certainly striking

    Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994
    Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303 is situated at the head of a cul-de-sac and the base of Thumb Butte

    Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994
    It is priced at just $242 per square foot (at $1.5 million) and enjoys long-reaching views

    Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994
    An aerial view of the extraordinary structure

     

    Built to the designs of Calcutta born Sukumar Pal, AIA for his own occupation, Falcon Nest took four years to build and was completed in 1994. This was in part due to high winds making it difficult to use cranes on a site that was already at 5,920-foot at its base on the slopes of 6,514-foot tall Thumb Butte – a prominent geographical feature of the Sierra Prieta mountain range – but also because Pal was so stringent about creating a residence that was not only striking architecturally but also one that was energy efficient.

     

    Featuring a tubular tower portion that causes heat to rise and ventilate the residence in the summer but capture it in the winter, Mr Pal, in a video interview, claimed that “heating and cooling [the building] is automatic and without any cost”.

     

    Accommodation in the 24-foot by 24-foot square base, ten-floor residence – linked by a staircase with 144 steps and a hydraulic elevator that provides access to six levels – includes three bedrooms and four bathrooms. Living space is primarily located on a central floor known as ‘the solarium’ that is mostly built of glass so as to catch as much sun as possible and centres around a vast entertaining area described as a ‘great room’.

     

    Falcon Nest stands on a 1.08-acre plot that offers potential for further development and of the existing “multi-functional structure” itself, selling agents Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty suggest there is potential to turn it into a bed and breakfast, ham radio tower, event space or even a ranger station and museum connected to the Prescott National Park.

     

    Of this “architectural and engineering treasure”, which is defined as a ‘palsolaral house’, Mr Pal commented:

     

    “I chose the height, for several reasons: I wanted to enjoy the views but I didn’t want to cover vast areas on the ground as open ground separates the tower from the neighbouring buildings”.

     

    “[But the most] important [reason] is the tax. The tax is proportional to the ground cover of the building. If this building was flat like tortilla, it would have a tremendous tax burden. This building does not have that. It is 6,200 square foot but I’ve been paying much less [tax] because the ground print is so small”.

     

    In a feature on Falcon Nest in March, Lauren Ro of property blog Curbed rather curtly remarked: “Time has not been kind to this property, which feels like it was left behind in the ugly part of the ’90s”. She has a point but anyone wanting to live like the ultimate super-villain could indeed do a lot worse.

     

     Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994 Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994 Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994 Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994 Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994Tall Poppy Syndrome – North America’s tallest single-family residence – Falcon Nest, 2365 Skyline Drive, Prescott, Arizona, AZ 86303, United States of America – £1.2 million ($1.5 million, €1.4 million million or درهم5.5 million) through Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty and to be auctioned with a minimum price of £581,000 ($750,000, €688,000 or درهم2.8 million) on 25th May by Concierge Auctions – Designed by Sukumar Pal, AIA in 1994

  • An MP’s Manor

    An MP’s Manor

    Norfolk manor house owned by anti-Brexit Conservative politician Lord Prior of Brampton for sale for £3 million

     

    David Prior – now The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of Brampton – undoubtedly was a decent and able Member of Parliament. Educated at Charterhouse and Cambridge, he became first an investment banker with Lehman Brothers and Lazard and then subsequently represented the Norfolk North constituency between 1997 and 2001.

     

    A Conservative but one with a belief that “the role of the market is hugely limited in health and social care” and that Brexit will be “a terrible mistake”, 62-year old Mr Prior – whose father was the “Tory wet” Jim, later The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior PC (1927 – 2016) – acquired Swannington Manor, ten miles north of Norwich in 1990 with his wife and has recently put it up for sale for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million).

     

    Standing in 96.5 acres, Swannington Manor is a Grade II listed red brick built house that dates to around 1700. It retains many period features, extends to 7,519 square foot and includes 5 reception rooms, 8 bedrooms and a self-contained annexe. A 3 bedroom lodge – let on a protected tenancy – stands beside the property’s entrance gates and aside from various outbuildings, barns and stores, there are formal and informal gardens, a kitchen garden, a heated outdoor swimming pool and a hard tennis court.

     

    Primarily to the south and west of the house are grazing meadows, water meadows, a trout stream, a series of ponds and areas of woodland. These have been maintained with conservation and duck flighting in mind and form what the selling agents Savills describe as “a small sporting estate”.

     

    Surprisingly, given his comments about Britain leaving the EU, Lord Prior of Brampton was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 21st December 2016.

     

    An MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of Brampton An MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of BramptonAn MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of Brampton An MP’s Manor – Swannington Manor, Manor Drive, Swannington, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 5NR – For sale with Savills for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million) – Home to The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of Brampton

  • Too To Trump

    Too To Trump

    In spite of having legions of supposedly educated staff, Donald Trump’s official inauguration portrait poster featured a glaringly obvious typo

     

    Donald Trump isn’t known as a man of words. His somewhat nutty Twitter posts are dominated by exclamation marks and repetition – “Beautiful! Beautiful!” – but what surprised many at the weekend was that, in spite of having a staff of around 400 in the White House, his newly published official inauguration poster featured a typographical error.

     

    Sold on the Library of Congress’s website, the portrait of the 45th President of the United States of America read:

     

    “No dream is too big, no challenge is to great. Nothing we want for the future is beyond our reach”.

     

    None of Trump’s staff noticed that “to” should have been “too” – in spite of the word being correctly used in the first instance – and though every rational person on the planet believes Trump has already gone “too far”, this boo-boo was definitely “too, too much”.

     

    The page selling the print has now been removed.

     

    Too To Trump – Donald Trump inauguration poster with typographical error