Ruined Moroccan fortress fit for the most lavish of bashes for sale for £5.3 million; it may be “spectacular” but it most certainly doesn’t have Wi-Fi
Billionaires like Morocco. The late Malcolm Forbes (1919 – 1990) lavished the equivalent of £4.1 million today ($5.1 million, €4.7 million or درهم18.7 million today) holding his 70th birthday at his property, Palais Mendoub, there in 1989. Guests – many of whom arrived by Concorde even – numbered Gianni Agnelli, Mario Buatta, Betsy Bloomingdale, King Constantine of Greece, Walter Cronkite, Diane von Furstenberg, Sir James Goldsmith, Calvin Klein, Dr Henry Kissinger, John and Patricia Kluge, Robert and Dr Betty Maxwell, Lucky Roosevelt, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbara Walters and boy did the food and drink flow. Of the fat bash, the New York Social Diary gushed: “It was a party festooning in ballyhoo, in glitter and glamour and illusion, comparable to Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball twenty-three years before in New York.”
Gone are the days of lavish bashes on the scale given by Malcolm Forbes (and gone are all those pictured) – Malcolm Forbes with his ‘date’ Elizabeth Taylor and the since exposed for what he truly was ‘media monster’ (and father of the equally repugnant paedophile procurer Ghislaine Maxwell), ‘Bouncing Bob’ Robert Maxwell and his long-suffering wife Dr Betty Maxwell.The Concorde used to transport guests to Tangier has also passed on – a technological step backwards if ever there was.
Now, someone looking to throw an equivalently extravagant party once lockdown is over (and once they’ve lavished a small fortune renovating it) in Morocco, could acquire a 32,292 square foot space in what agents Kensington Properties call a “high up… striking position overlooking the River Nfis.”
Going further of the £5.3 million ($6.5 million, €6 million or درهم23.8 million) fortress, they add of Kasbah Tagountaft: “[It] is considered one of the most memorable sites of historical significance in Morocco” and was “once the home of the powerful Caid of the Goundafa tribe who vied for control of the Atlas Mountains at the end of the 19th century.”
Whilst little else is described in the marketing material for this “absolutely stunning property, full of potential,” one thing’s for sure: Anyone with a requirement for working Wi-Fi when they arrive on site, need not apply.
Empty Gothic church in Kelso, Scotland for sale for just £130,000; it was home until 2006 to the conspiracy theorist Dean Warwick – who collapsed and died on stage at a UFO conference in Blackpool mid speech
“Alternative energy pioneer” Dean Warwick (1944 – 2006) believed 9/11 was a “farce.” This controversial crackpot claimed he had been trained in the military to bring down the Twin Towers using satellite waves in the mid-1960s and that he also categorically knew exactly who JFK’s murderer was.
Whilst “going on and on and on” at Probe International’s paranormal conference in Blackpool, Lancashire on 7th October 2006 about these matters and “children having their skin eaten whilst they were still alive in the New Forest” and about how he knew who the “real” killers of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were also, Warwick supposedly announced: “Bear with me for a moment.” He then “leaned with his left elbow on a nearby table with his right arm across his body, and then fell flat on his face. Shortly afterwards he was pronounced dead.” Fellow conspiracy cranks (including David Icke) later claimed: “This was an Intelligence agency ‘hit’ using an ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) weapon,” but this was never ultimately proven true.
Warwick had, for about twenty years, lived in the heart of the national hunt racecourse town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders. Here, along with his actress wife Jean, he occupied in a Gothic church and now that building, North Trinity Church is once again for sale.
After Dean Warwick collapsed on stage in Blackpool, Lancashire on 7th October 2006, one fellow conspiracy theorist present observed: “When Dean collapsed on the floor a woman witnessed a man with dark hair slip out of the hall. She followed this man who then proceeded to walk down the stairs whistling merrily to himself, get into a car and make a phone call. He was then seen laughing down the phone to whoever he was speaking to. Who walks out of a hall whistling happily to themselves and then starts laughing down the phone after a man has just collapsed and stopped breathing on stage?”Bulgarian businessman Kirk Kirchev paid £80,000 for North Trinity Church, Kelso in November 2018 and intended to use £35,000 of his mother’s savings to restore the building.
Recorded as having changed hands in August 2014 for the sum of £45,000, the 6,877 square foot building was again sold in November 2018 for about £80,000 to a Bulgarian businessman named Kirk Kirchev. Of his purchase, in December 2019 talking to Borders TV, the camping tent manufacturer turned face mask retailer remarked:
“I saw the church online and thought this is amazing… It was very cheap, nobody wanted to touch it, the windows were boarded up… When I got in, it was dark, scary with pigeons circling in the main hall, but I could see that it had the soul, the spirit, the sort of magic, that, that bought me.”
“I’ve done 90% of the work I needed, I’ve made it usable. It’s still retaining its derelict and magical look… People think I’m crazy: It’s a given, but I think this place needs someone crazy to take it on because otherwise it will simply fall apart.”
“[When it’s finished” I hope it’ll be a great venue and the focal point of the town. It has a lot of potential as a gathering place for people. I am kind of surprised why people don’t see this because it’s right in the middle of town, it’s got car parks all around, it’s great for a venue and all it needs is a little bit. I think people like the character and all it needs is to be made safe and legal and certified and all that.”
Standing on a site extending to 0.4 acres, Mr Kirchev plainly has decided not to proceed further with his project to find another use for this former religious building. North Trinity Church is now on the market for £130,000 through agents Ballantynes and could be used for residential or commercial purposes. No doubt, however, local residents very much hope another Dean Warwick type doesn’t turn up with yet another conspiracy theory; that, indeed, would be even worse than the shameful local councillors who proposed pulling down this beautiful Category B listed building last November.
The Names & Numbers – North Trinity Church, East Bowmont Street, Kelso, Roxboroughshire, Scotland, TD5 7JH, United Kingdom
April 2020 – For sale for £130,000 ($163,000, €150,000 or درهم597,000) through agents Ballantynes.
November 2018 – Sold to Bulgarian born Kirk Kirchev for £80,000 ($100,000, €92,000 or درهم367,000).
December 2017 – Offered for sale as a “development opportunity” for £75,000 ($94,000, €86,000 or درهم344,000) by Edwin Thompson.
August 2014 – Sold for £45,000 ($56,000, €52,000 or درهم207,000).
2011 – A community organisation, The Future Kelso Group, attempted to convert the church into a community hub. These plans did not come to fruition.
2006 onwards – The building “fell into disrepair” after the death of the New Zealand-born conspiracy theorist Dean Warwick during a UFO conference in Blackpool on 7th October 2006 aged 62. The building had been home to him and his actress wife, Jean, for “over 20 years.”
1885 – 1886 – Built to the designs of architect John Starforth for use as the Kelso United Presbyterian Church on the site of a previous church that was built in 1788. Prominent features are said to “include a four-stage angle buttressed tower over the gable porch to the southern end of the building; lanceted belfry; gabled transepts: and decorative detailing to ridge tiles to main roof. The tower is flanked by two-storey circular stair towers with slated conical roofs, each with side entrances.”
Kitsch San Francisco mansion turned private museum that houses everything from Hitler memorabilia to a portrait turned down by Prince Philip for sale for £9.5 million
The collection of a former advertising executive turned San Francisco based bon viveur named Robert C. Pritikin – better known as ‘Bob’ to his friends – includes everything from Hitler’s Swastika armband and his personal world globe (supposedly acquired by American soldiers at the end of the Second World War) to a portrait of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh of which the royal once proclaimed: “I bloody well wouldn’t hang it on the walls of Buckingham Palace.”
Pritikin houses these items – and others including a replica electric chair, a mural featuring the cult leader Jim Jones, an exact replica of Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ and an original J. M. W. Turner painting – in a totally eccentric neo-classical mansion in the Glen Park area of the city. He built the property in 1987 and though it provides 9,966 square foot of accommodation it is primarily designed as an entertaining space and museum rather than a conventional family home.
Bob Pritikin with the portrait Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh so loathedThe mansion-cum-museum Pritikin built in 1987 for his collection is now for saleArtworks in the building include a mock electric chairThere also many murals inside and outside of Chenery House
Now offered for sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) by the equally flamboyant realtor Joel Goodrich, Chenery House – or plain old 47 Chenery Street – has hosted guests including Liberace and Mickey Rooney. The building is dominated by a top floor swimming pool with glass retractable roof, a vast ‘showroom’ with adjoining display rooms but also comes with 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. There is a 4-car carport, a garden cottage and a three unit building with two 2 bedroom units and one 1 bedroom unit.
Hidden from the street at its entrance and adjoining the Fairmount Elementary School on another, Chenery House stands on a 1 acre plot crammed to the brim with art pieces, murals and statues. It was offered by Pritikin to the City of San Francisco as an official mayoral residence in 2004 but after they declined he has since rented it for weddings and events.
In 2014, of living there, Pritikin remarked: “It’s a fun place to live. I would build the exact same house if I had to do it again, and in the unlikely event that I kick the bucket I intend to have my ashes buried here.” Though that will now unlikely happen, this true eccentric’s spirit will no doubt live on in spite of whoever eventually purchases what has to be one of America’s most whacky compounds.
George Freeman MP denies he wants to create a Tory version of Glastonbury; imagining Theresa May boozing with Liam Gallagher definitely would be hard
Theresa May, Dizzee Rascal and Liam Gallagher would certainly make for unlikely bedfellows but now a Conservative MP, George Freeman, wishes to replicate Jeremy Corbyn’s success in such company at Glastonbury and in September will host his own festival in Norfolk.
Former biotechnology entrepreneur Mr Freeman, chairman of Mrs May’s policy board, asked: “Why is it just the left who have all the fun in politics?” and has received support for what he calls a “friends and family event” and a “cross between Hay-on-Wye and the Latitude festival” from a number of sponsors and venues.
Expected to be called the “Conservative Ideas Festival,” the event was remarked on by one unnamed fellow MP as: “Very trendy” but needing “a lot of expensive booze” for him to attend. One might argue seeing Mrs May drunk in one of her beloved wheat fields might amuse many, but in reality this idea sounds nearly as bad as when the party put William Hague in a baseball cap at a theme park in 1997. Theresa, a word of advice: Don’t do it.
Gatecrasher ‘Dr Nastro’ admits defeat and announces he’ll be retiring from the ligging circuit; perhaps Denis Doble, David Pun and Sandra Shevey ought to follow his lead
On Wednesday, we received a message from a known member of London’s ligging community of aging oddballs using the pseudonym ‘Dr Nastro’.
In an email to our main editorial email address and sent from a Yahoo account, this gatecrasher accused Matthew Steeples of effectively being responsible for his being “banned from venues” and suggested that one of the worst of his very own number “had me thrown out of a place. ” also. He added a link to an article on a website named ‘Stop Wine Liggers’ and rather pathetically concluded: “I will not be going to events any more.”
By return, Matthew Steeples responded:
“I have nothing to do with the website you have linked to – I am busy enough with my own work – but have responded to the comments there. If they decide to publish, you will see my thoughts.”
“I do believe the behaviour of the ligging community is unacceptable. You and your friends do not add to events, they subtract and they are a nuisance to organisers. Some of your number are thieves and others are just racist bigots. Plainly, you have offended the person behind the site you mention but what I cannot understand is why you are surprised.”
“As for giving up going, it is probably the wisest decision you’ve made given the chaos you’ve caused previously. Enjoy your retirement.”
In reply, ‘Dr Nastro’ immediately answered: “I just did it for fun the rest are not [sic].”
Winslow Hall Opera’s ‘Un ballo in maschera’ by Verdi to be performed in Buckinghamshire in July
Between 7th and 16th July, a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera will be performed in the grounds of Winslow Hall in Buckinghamshire.
The opera in three acts will be conducted by Oliver Gilmour, Winslow Hall Opera’s artistic director for the last three seasons, and directed by Carmen Jakobi. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy picnics before afternoon performances and supper during an 85-minute interval in the evenings.
Grade I listed Winslow Hall itself is a fascinating house that was once described as “the Rolls-Royce of English domestic architecture”. Supposedly built to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, the building – famed for its curiously tall chimneys – has variously been a school, an office for RAF Bomber Command and an antiques showroom.
Restored as a private house by a former British ambassador to the Netherlands in the 1950s, Winslow Hall was sold to the former restaurateur Christopher Gilmour and his delightful Australian wife, Mardi, in 2010.
Details:
Tickets are priced between £75 and £95 per person (with a discount of £10 per ticket on bookings made before 15th May). For further information and to book, telephone +44 (0) 754 472 6501 or email [email protected]
Performance dates:
7th July at 6pm
9th July at 3pm
11th July at 6pm
13th July at 6pm
15th July at 5pm
16th July at 3pm
Dress:
Black tie is optional.
Address:
Winslow Hall, Winslow, Buckinghamshire, MK18 3HL. Parking is available in the field opposite. Trains from London Euston to Milton Keynes take 30 minutes.
Kushner family exposed for promoting their links to the Trump presidency to flog flats (with visas) to Chinese investors
Yesterday, The Washington Post, in revealing that the Kushner family are hawking properties complete with investor visas, illustrated yet another appalling example of what is fast becoming the shadiest presidential dynasty in history.
According to the paper, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, was in Beijing on Saturday to promote a New Jersey apartment complex named Kushner 1 to “a ballroom full of wealthy Chinese investors”. The event, which had been promoted with a brochure tagged: “Invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States”.
Of the way in which the Kushner family behaved, Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer in President George W. Bush’s administration remarked:
“It’s incredibly stupid and highly inappropriate. They clearly imply that the Kushners are going to make sure you get your visa… They’re [Chinese applicants] not going to take a chance. Of course they’re going to want to invest”.
Unsurprisingly, journalists found themselves evicted from the shindig. The Kushners’ reasoning? “The presence of foreign reporters threatened the ‘stability’ of the event. This is not the story we want”.
Pictured above (left to right): Nicole Kushner Meyer, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump Kushner and Donald Trump.
A dream job for wine lovers; get paid to drink and drive your way across America
An Oregon winery is seeking a ‘Canbassador’ to join them on a roadtrip across America to hawk their range of wines – including their ‘pinot in a can’.
The Union Wine Company, founded by Ryan Harms in 2001 with the aim to create good wines at affordable prices, are looking for an individual to join them in their 1972 Citroën mobile wine bar as it tours US music festivals, store openings and outdoor events. The position encompasses 30-40 hours per week in terms of time commitment, 4-6 months per year and as Guest of a Guest reported last week, here is a chance to “drink and drive the legal way”.
Applicants must be over 21, be able to drive large, manual transmission vehicles with trailers and have good navigation skills. Naturally, they must also have “an appreciation for wine”. A salary is not specified on the company’s website but it will be “commensurate with experience”.
Bentley 4×4 equipped with fly fishing kit by Mulliner to be exhibited at The London Fly Fishing Fair
Designed with the gentleman angler in mind, what some might call a “casting brake” is to be exhibited by Bentley at the first London Fly Fishing Fair this week.
Priced far higher than the standard £135,000 ($164,000, €155,000 or درهم 603,000) base model Bentley Bentayga at around £280,000 ($340,000, €322,000 or درهم 1.25 million), the Mulliner Fly Fishing adapted version on show comes with a master tackle station, a refreshment case and a waterproof wader stowage trunk. It has tubes for four rods and a pair of landing nets can be stored in a hard pocket in the side of the boot.
Aside from the specially adapted Bentley, Marina Gibson – pictured here departing from a slightly more modest means of transport – will add some glamour to the first London Fly Fishing Fair
Of the car, which is to be exhibited by Mayfair dealers Jack Barclay, John Kelley, co-founder of The London Fly Fishing Fair, remarked:
“This is an iconic development in the fishing industry. It allows the keen angler to travel in comfort and in style. We are proud to be having this vehicle be a part of our fair, where we hope to entice a diverse community of fly fishers to engage in our event”.
Fly fishing personalities including rising star Marina Gibson and longstanding favourite Charles Jardine will be present at the fair and amongst over 70 exhibitors will be the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the BASC and Orvis.
The London Fly Fishing Fair is to be held on the 10th and 11th March at The Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 0QH. Tickets cost £15 per person with under entry for those under 15 free.
Piers Morgan withdraws from presenting an awards ceremony after an online campaign to oust him went viral; next he needs to leave Britain for good
On Sunday, Piers Morgan, undoubtedly one of the most loathed men in Britain, took to social media to explain why he has opted to pull out of hosting the Royal Television Society Programme Awards after an online campaign to have him ousted went viral. Amongst those to have supported it were the spin doctor turned journalist Alastair Campbell, the actor Adrian Lester, OBE and the playwright and novelist Bonnie Greer, OBE.
In the statement, Morgan – a man best known for publishing fake pictures of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners in 2004 and for his feuds with everyone from Jeremy Clarkson to J. K. Rowling – remarked:
I was recently invited to host the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.
As someone who has worked in British and American television for most of this Millennium, on a variety of shows, I thought it might be fun and agreed to do it without any fee.
After my role was announced, a campaign was started to have me banned.
It suggested that I lack the ‘creative excellence’ criteria required for presenting such an event and therefore my presence would be ‘damaging’ and ‘inappropriate’.
Further, I have ‘failed to understand a social movement that values equality and diversity of voice’.
Apparently, this movement does not extend to tolerating my own diverse voice.
I have no wish to serve as an unnecessary distraction from award winners whose hard work and skill should be celebrated without any of the silly noise this campaign has generated.
So, I am now withdrawing from hosting the evening. Good luck to everyone who has been nominated.
Morgan (who was born Piers O’Meara and whose full name is Piers Pughe-Morgan), for the first time in his life, has understood the public mood and reacted appropriately. Given how much he is hated in Britain and given his love for his friend Donald Trump, we urge him to continue on the path of sensible moves and emigrate. He should permanently move to America and he should never come back.
