The Steeple Times

Tag: Essex

  • Alfie Best – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Alfie Best – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with self-made businessman and star of ‘My Fat Gypsy Fortune’ Alfie Best

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

    For a man to know where he is going, he must remember where he is from.

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    Life is a light, it is your job to make it shine brighter.

     

    Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2017?

    Internet trolls who are brave behind keyboards.

     

    Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

    Time.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    More time.

     

    Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the state of the financial system?

    If you treat the bank as a bank, they will treat you as a customer but if you treat the banks as a partner within your business and build your relationship with the management of the bank, they will consider you as a partner and offer much more insight and help which it is own way, is free to you as a business.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    “We have a problem”; one man’s problem is another man’s opportunity.

     

    In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

    I do believe charity begins at home but I also believe giving is not as good as teaching. If you give a man a fish, he will feed his family for a night, show the man how to fish and he will feed his family for a lifetime.

     

    We’re actually setting up own charity – Wyldecrest Parks Charity – which hopefully we’ll be able to help vulnerable people in need.

     

    The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

    Connection is unbelievable and the forward bounds it has given us a society is unprecedented but we have to remember not to become disconnected from society.

     

    If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

    I would fill the carriage with my family and friends and invite Tracy Chapman and the musical artist Rodriguez; I would look for them to enjoy the ride and party whilst it lasted.

     

    If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

    Pie, mash and liquor at the White House with the President to try and get a reprieve whilst eating my last meal.

     

    What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

    6:30am with a nice cup of lemon tea.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A cup of tea.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    I enjoy my son’s parties because the charisma he brings to the room is like a ray of sunshine on the beach.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    Me.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Chocolate.

     

    If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

    If I were to have a tattoo, it would state ‘BEST’ across my back because it would mean the best is behind me and there is even better to come.

     

    If you were a car, what marque would you be?

    A black Lamborghini.

     

    Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

    After becoming a millionaire at 20, I nearly went bust and slept in my car for 3 months.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    A backward clock – it confuses everyone!

     

    Alfie Best is a successful entrepreneur driven by tenacity. With humble origins, born and raised in a Romany Gypsy family, this self-made man started his professional path totally from scratch. Alongside Wyldecrest Parks, Alfie Best also owns other very successful businesses within the hospitality and leisure, events, trading and finance industries including Vinyl Bar, Kyoto Furniture, Axiom Uno and Wylde Event Management.

     

    Follow him on Twitter at @alfiebest33.

     

  • What a Difference a Day Makes

    What a Difference a Day Makes

    Twenty-four hours ago Arthur Collins was the toast of OK! magazine; he’s now on the run and a wanted man

     

    Twenty-four hours ago, the Mail Online gushed about Ferne McCann and Arthur Collins, a couple most of our readers will never have heard of. Now, that article is gone and instead the press are focusing on the fact that Mr Collins is on the run in the wake of a police raid on his home.

     

    What a Difference a Day Makes – Ferne McCann and Arthur Collins
    Ferne McCann and Arthur Collins in happier times
    What a Difference a Day Makes – Ferne McCann and Arthur Collins
    A mugshot of Arthur Collins issued by the Metropolitan Police and an image of him captured on CCTV at Mangle, the Dalston Club where he is alleged to have been involved in an acid attack

     

    “Bad boy Arthur”, as The Sun today refer to the 25-year old scaffolder, is alleged to have been involved in an acid attack in a London club on Sunday in which sixteen people were injured. Police have issued an arrest warrant for Collins and when they visited his home, they discovered cannabis plants, cultivation equipment and illegal firearms.

     

    OK! magazine feature an interview with the couple in their current edition. In it, Miss McCann, a “reality television star”, referenced how she and Collins were planning on moving in together and commented:

     

    “We spend every night together anyway. Moving in is definitely the next step. And I know that seems a bit rushed, but when you know, you know”.

     

    “Arthur is moving in the day after I get the keys! I get them on May 5th, he’ll move in on May 6th. So I just need 24 hours to settle in and put my stuff down”.

     

    Such an occurrence now seems highly unlikely and here, indeed, is an example that never has the adage “what a difference a day makes” been truer.

     

  • Morons of the Moment – Piccadilly Boy Racers

    Morons of the Moment – Piccadilly Boy Racers

    Insensitive showoffs wreak havoc in Parliament Square with their gaudy supercars; they claimed to be honouring the dead and injured of the Westminster attack but simply caused annoyance

     

    Though five people died and around fifty others were injured as a result of Khalid Masood smashing his rented 4×4 into them on Westminster Bridge on 22nd March, a group of insensitive showoffs decided it would be appropriate to cause gridlock with their gaudy supercars in Parliament Square on Sunday.

     

    Shabs Ahmad, a spokesman for the group, which is known as the Piccadilly Boy Racers, told the MailOnline:

     

    “Following recent attacks in Westminster which cost the lives of innocent civilians as well as PC Keith Palmer, we felt it was only right to pay our condolences and show our love by standing united to oppose the atrocious acts of violence”.

     

    “We felt that being British Muslims with a platform, we wanted to speak up against such acts and bring people of all race and religion together as a symbol of peace, love and unity”.

     

    The police felt quite differently about their presence and told these ridiculous vulgarians to swiftly to move on.

     

    Morons of the Moment – Piccadilly Boy Racers – Insensitive showoffs cause havoc in Parliament Square with their gaudy supercars. The Piccadilly Boy Racers should be ashamed of themselves.

  • Alfie Best II

    Alfie Best II

    A tenacious Romany Gypsy turned multi-millionaire businessman, Mayfair and Hertfordshire based Alfie Best overcame “many obstacles and prejudices” to make his fortune in cars, mobile phone stores and mobile home parks. The owner of Wyldecrest Parks also produces his own gin and claims his life philosophy is “90% perspiration and 10% inspiration”. His equally entrepreneurial son, Alfie Best III, appeared with him on Channel 4’s My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune.

  • Overheard – 8th April

    Overheard – 8th April

    Clangers overheard and snippets spotted by readers of ‘The Steeple Times’

     

    Candy Knockers

    At Scalini in Knightsbridge, two brash housebuilders from Essex sat devouring veal chops. One referenced his idols and observed: “The Candy brothers have a brilliant setup. They are like the Peter Stringfellows of property”. The other looked puzzled but the first continued: “They’ve got properties that sell as well as Katie Price’s knockers. What assets! Value for money? I don’t know. But, impressive? Hell yeah!” Try telling that to Mark Holyoake.

     

    You’ve Got That Sinking Feeling

    The same duo moved on to talking about their respective staff. The louder of the two offered his thoughts: “I’m so proud of Ray. He’s like the Titanic. He’s like the best ship in the world. Not because it sank but because it was the best ship in the world”. The other opined: “It still f**king sank and Ray will still f**king sink too”. All that was needed next was for My Heart Will Go On to play.

     

    Housing the Godly

    Two priests were spotted drinking Bloody Marys at the bar at PJ’s on Fulham Road. The first remarked: “I never quite manage to get given houses”. The second answered: “Shocking, isn’t it? I look through Country Life each week and I think: ‘All I get given each week is Communion wine’”.

     

    Partying with a 4×4

    A group of ladies gathered in the garden at Chiltern Firehouse after a hard day’s shopping in Selfridges. As they discussed an impending party an absent ‘friend’ was due to host, one Pucci clad creature shared her thoughts. She commented: “It’s not a party. They’re telling porkie pies. They’re just having it to show off that new Range Rover they’ve just bought. I bet they’ll block the bloody drive with it”. Miaow!

     

    An Iggy Hangover

    “My worst hangover was when I drank three bottles of champagne” remarked a passenger on the 14 bus. “Why?” asked her friend. “Because I had to take three days off work and because I thought I was Iggy Pop for two of them”.

     

    Submit comments you hear to [email protected]. We publish amusing and ridiculous chatter we receive and sometimes we change names and locations to protect the identities of the vain and the vacuous.

     

  • Over-Engineered

    Over-Engineered

    Essex “neo Georgian Palladian” residence created from an ordinary detached house marketed for £5.4 million; it is a bit of a mish-mash and described as “over-engineered”

     

    Estate agents normally wax lyrical about properties they are marketing but in the case of £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) Threshers House at Threshers Bush, near Harlow in Essex, Beresfords bizarrely go as far as to describe it as “over-engineered”.

     

    Situated on a plot of 11.5 acres and redeveloped and extended since 2010 by an “award winning builder” named Paul Pickering, the 7,409 square foot main residence offered is described as being “neo Georgian Palladian” in style. Given such an architectural period doesn’t exist as a sole entity, it is a bit of a mish-mash but given the new building is an improvement on the plain house that it has been created from, one can be forgiving of the result.

     

    Over-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through Beresfords
    The old Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Threshers Bush, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0NP
    Over-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through Beresfords
    The new Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Threshers Bush, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0NP
    Over-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through Beresfords
    The old interior of the building and the new interior
    Over-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through Beresfords
    A proposed design that was ultimately rejected by planning officials at Epping Forest District Council

     

    Aside from a somewhat ostentatious South Fork-esque portico entrance, Threshers House is presented without kitchens and bathrooms so as to allow “incoming purchasers to design to their own requirements”. It includes 5 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and a 2-bedroom first floor flat and comes with planning permission for a 1,400 square foot orangery and underground leisure facility. Within the grounds is a completed 1,988 square foot 3 bedroom cottage, a 886 square foot bungalow, a 768 square foot bungalow and a 1,386 square foot six car garage.

     

    Elsewhere and benefitting from separate access, a tiled stable and thatched barn complex provides accommodation for 14 horses and was previously run as a business named Threshers Equestrian. It comes with a horse walker, floodlit manège, lunging room and hard standing as well as a number of paddocks.

     

    Threshers House – which is situated about 40 minutes drive from Canary Wharf – is also available for £3.25 million ($4.06 million, €3.81 million or درهم14.92 million) with just 5 acres of land and minus the ancillary accommodation.

     

    Over-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through BeresfordsOver-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through BeresfordsOver-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through BeresfordsOver-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through Beresfords Over-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through BeresfordsOver-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through BeresfordsOver-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through BeresfordsOver-Engineered – Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Matching, Threshers Bush, Magdalen Laver, Harlow, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 0NP – For sale for £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) through Beresfords

  • Exciting a Royal

    Exciting a Royal

    Jaguar E-Type originally owned by Prince Michael of Kent for sale

     

    A 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-litre FHC originally owned by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent is for sale with an Essex vintage car specialist.

     

    Described as having “matching numbers, in impeccable order throughout and being close to conours”, Prince Michael first tried out the Jaguar at Goodwood with a then eight year old Lord March before taking it to Germany where he was serving in the army. The royal recalls driving the car at 150 miles per hour on autobahns and in the years since, he has been united with the vehicle on several occasions at Goodwood and Kensington Palace.

     

    Exciting a Royal – 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-litre FHC – Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars – £245,000 ($309,000 or €288,000 or درهم‎‎1.1 million) – First owned by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent
    His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent with the Earl of March and Kinrara, Charles Gordon-Lennox in the car
    Exciting a Royal – 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-litre FHC – Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars – £245,000 ($309,000 or €288,000 or درهم‎‎1.1 million) – First owned by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent
    Lady Gabriella Windsor, Prince Michael’s daughter, with the vehicle

     

    In 1984, Prince Michael wrote about the opalescent dark green with light tan hide interior and Webasto sunroof car in Road & Car Magazine. He stated:

     

    “This was a beautiful motor car, immensely quick, and probably the most enjoyable car I have ever owned. I believe that every man has a special place in his heart for one woman above all others, and also for one car. In my case I think probably my E-Type Jaguar was the most satisfying and exciting car in my life – so far”.

     

    In December 2015, the sixth owner of the E-Type, James Phillips, 67, from Newbury, Berkshire, told The Times:

     

    “I am nearing retirement and it has been our pension fund for many years. We’ve done everything in it and we don’t go out in the rain and snow any more. We just want to pass it on to someone who is going to look after it”.

     

    Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars seek £245,000 ($309,000 or €288,000 or درهم‎‎1.1 million) for the car complete with a whole raft of accompanying correspondence and photographs.

     

    Exciting a Royal – 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-litre FHC – Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars – £245,000 ($309,000 or €288,000 or درهم‎‎1.1 million) – First owned by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent Exciting a Royal – 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-litre FHC – Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars – £245,000 ($309,000 or €288,000 or درهم‎‎1.1 million) – First owned by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of KentExciting a Royal – 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-litre FHC – Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars – £245,000 ($309,000 or €288,000 or درهم‎‎1.1 million) – First owned by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of KentExciting a Royal – 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 4.2-litre FHC – Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars – £245,000 ($309,000 or €288,000 or درهم‎‎1.1 million) – First owned by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent

  • Sam Barton: What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Sam Barton: What’s on your mantelpiece?

    The Steeple Times asks “Britain’s vainest man” Sam Barton: What’s on your mantelpiece? (more…)

  • Overheard: 10th August

    Overheard: 10th August

    Clangers overheard by readers in the last week (more…)

  • A burger for a quid

    A burger for a quid

    Charlotte Street restaurant BOBO Social to offer burgers for just £1 (more…)