The Steeple Times

Tag: gay

  • Ross Barr-Hoyland – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Ross Barr-Hoyland – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with British men’s knitwear designer Ross Barr-Hoyland

     

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

    To aim to leave the world a better place than you found it.

     

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

    To strive to achieve and be better than the best person you could be.

     

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

    The wars in the Middle East and Chechnya and what the regimes there are doing to gay men are unacceptable.

     

    Our world is full of divisiveness and prejudice and Kerry Katona evidently went through an incredibly turbulent time in her life. The press unscrupulously had no shame in reporting such and instead of judging, we should be there to offer help and support and perhaps show some empathy and understanding.

     

    Our lives are not always fairytales and “let they who are without sin cast the first stone” is a saying that springs to mind.

     

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

    I don’t think there is anything in my life as such that I miss. I am working on my business – which is a dream many would wish for. It is by no means easy, but I am lucky in many, many respects.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    I wish I had great wealth to swap, but if I had immense wealth I would give it to all the causes I support in many ways from The Prince’s Trust to Style for Soldiers, Children with Cancer UK and RUComingOut. Even if I only had pennies, I would still like to give what I could as there is always someone in need of help.

     

    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?

    I am by no means an expert but I do know everyone is finding it tough with cuts happening in every sector of business. I just keep my head down and focus on what I do in fashion and the revival of British manufacturing. What I will say is that my bank has been utterly incredible in supporting me with my business venture.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    Being told I cannot do something.

     

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

    Aside from supporting the charities previously mentioned, I am honoured to have been supported myself by The Prince’s Trust. I serve them in whatever capacity they as a Young Ambassador and with the brand.

     

    More generally, we might be an island nation but no man is. I think charity should be given where it is most needed.

     

    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?

    I am never without my phone, but I would never condone using any devices to cause harm to others.

     

    Mobile phones do have their perks and do allow us to literally have the world at our fingertips, but I do wonder what we would be seeing if we perhaps looked at the world around us and lived in the moment a little more.

     

    The Steeple Times’ What’s on your mantelpiece? interview – A 20-question interview with British men’s knitwear designer Ross Barr-Hoyland, founder of the Ross Barr brand.

     

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

    With every single family member and friend who has supported and there for me and my business. We would have a good old knees-up and some much needed time off.

     

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

    Well, I hope to never end up there, but if I did, I’d choose my mother’s Sunday roast at home surrounded by my nearest and dearest. That would be the best way to go.

     

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

    That depends on the type of day you are having.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A martini.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    I have enjoyed many so it would be rude to pick one in particular – especially as the memories of some are rather hazy.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    I have to pick seven perpetually positive people who keep me going daily and they are Natasha Babar-Evans, Melissa Hulme, Sandie Chapman, Stephanie Ackrill, Sarah Agar-Brenan and Craig Burton.

     

    I would also like to single out a person whom has inspired me immensely. Her name is Gaynor and she has just started a business called Holiday Hack. Over the last year, she’s faced some of the biggest obstacles anyone could have thrown their way but she hasn’t cried and she hasn’t crumbled. She is an incredible lady and always has a smile on her face – and she can also get you savings on a holiday too; maybe even on the Orient Express.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Having a long sleep wrapped up in my bed covers.

     

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

    A phoenix and a stag.

     

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

    Someone answered this for me at a networking event a while ago. They described me as a Range Rover.

     

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

    People think I’m a ‘social butterfly’ but I’m actually a ‘pub with a just a few people’ kind of guy.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    Pictures of my family.

     

    Ross Barr-Hoyland established his own men’s knitwear brand, Ross Barr, in September 2015 after being sponsored by the Enterprise programme of The Prince’s Trust. He focuses on reviving the British textile manufacturing industry by manufacturing in Britain.

     

    Follow Ross Bar on Twitter at @RossBarrUK and Instagram at @RossBarrUK.

     

  • Geoffrey Bayldon (1924 – 2017)

    Geoffrey Bayldon (1924 – 2017)

    Wacky Leeds born actor Geoffrey Bayldon was best known for playing Catweazle in the 1970s series of the same name as the Crowman in Worzel Gummidge. Bayldon also played ‘Q’ in Casino Royale in 1967, was gay, turned down the role of Dr Who twice thinking the series “too long” and enjoyed collecting watercolour paintings, gardening and walking.

     

    Wacky, gay actor and Catweazle star Geoffrey Bayldon (1924 – 2017) – Leeds born actor Geoffrey Bayldon was best known for playing Catweazle in the 1970s series of same name. He turned down playing Dr Who twice Wacky, gay actor and Catweazle star Geoffrey Bayldon (1924 – 2017) – Leeds born actor Geoffrey Bayldon was best known for playing Catweazle in the 1970s series of same name. He turned down playing Dr Who twice Wacky, gay actor and Catweazle star Geoffrey Bayldon (1924 – 2017) – Leeds born actor Geoffrey Bayldon was best known for playing Catweazle in the 1970s series of same name. He turned down playing Dr Who twice

  • Spirit & Speed

    Spirit & Speed

    Chelsea studio house built for “spiritual artist” Arild Rosenkrantz and later home to the extremely eccentric lesbian heiress and powerboater ‘Joe’ Carstairs for sale for £8.95 million

     

    “Spiritual seeker” and artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) was born in Denmark, studied in Rome and married his Scottish cousin, Louise Mackenzie, in 1901. His commissions included ceiling panels at Claridge’s Hotel in Mayfair and illustrating the Danish edition of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales of Mystery Adventure and now a Chelsea home built for him is for sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million).

     

    Designed by the Maidenhead based architect Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) and Grade II listed since 1997, red brick built, 4-storey 5 Mulberry Walk is described as being of a “stripped Classical Mannerist style”. It features the artist’s initials on the rectangular profile downpipe and was his home from when it was finished until 1922.

     

    Spirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell Simpson
    Baron Arild Rosenkrantz and one of his works
    Spirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell Simpson
    Marion ‘Joe Carstairs’ once remarked: “I was never a little girl. I came out of the womb queer”; of her biographer Kate Summerscale added: “She was blithe, bold, courageous, unself-conscious, imperialist, impervious to social change”

     

    Subsequently sold to the eccentric and extremely masculine heiress Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) for £3,000 in the early 1920s (the equivalent of just £167,000, $215,000, €197,000 or درهم791,000 today), 5 Mulberry Walk became the party venue for the “fastest, artiest, gayest, not to mention the most alcoholic and drug-addicted set in London at the time”. Carstairs – a lesbian described as “usually dressed as a man, having tattooed arms, and loving machines, adventure and speed” – remained there well into the 1930s and even had a name plaque for a doll she was obsessed with, ‘Lord Tod Wadley’, placed on the building’s door.

     

    Extending to 3,163 square foot in total, 5 Mulberry Walk is currently divided into two apartments. The first, a ground floor studio with a 32-foot wide garden, has 1 bedroom whilst the second covers three floors and has 4 bedrooms. Each has a large artist’s studio space and in total there are 2 kitchens, 3 bathrooms and a roof terrace as well.

     

    5 Mulberry Walk, which is most definitely ready for modernisation and reconfiguration internally, is offered by Russell Simpson.

     

    Spirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell SimpsonSpirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell SimpsonSpirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell SimpsonSpirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell SimpsonSpirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell SimpsonSpirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell Simpson Spirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell Simpson Spirit & Speed – 5 Mulberry Walk, London, SW3 6DZ, United Kingdom – Built to designs of Clifton Robert Davy (1879 – 1929) for “spiritual seeker” artist Baron Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964) and later home to eccentric and extremely masculine heiress and powerboater Marion Barbara ‘Joe’ Carstairs (1900 – 1993) – For sale for £8.95 million ($11.5 million, €10.6 million or درهم42.4 million) through Russell Simpson

  • Fun at Faringdon

    Fun at Faringdon

    £144,000 per year sought for Oxfordshire mansion that was the scene of a most curious ménage-a-trois; it is owned by the writer Sofka Zinovieff

     

    “Tall and willowy” writer Sofka Zinovieff inherited Faringdon House in Oxfordshire at the age of 25 from her eccentric, bisexual uncle, Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, partner of the owner of the house since 1918, the 14th Lord Berners, Gerald Tyrwhitt-Wilson (1883 – 1950). She has recently placed it on the rental market at a price of £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or  درهم56,700 per month) through Knight Frank.

     

    Artist, composer and writer Lord Berners and “uninhibited” Heber-Percy occupied Faringdon House as a ménage-a-trois with the latter’s wife, Jennifer Fry, for several years and during that time visitors included everyone from the poet Sir John Betjeman to the artist Salvador Dalí, the Communist politician Tom Driberg MP and the writer H. G. Wells. Heber-Percy died in 1987 and it was at this time that the Georgian property passed to its current owner.

     

    Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.
    Lord Berners famously once entertained Penelope Betjeman’s horse Moti to tea at Faringdon House
    Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.
    Dyed pigeons are still to be found at the property
    Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.
    Sofka Zinovieff

     

    Of her home, which she has variously herself occupied and also let to “cover the impossible costs”, in May 2016, Zinovieff told House & Garden:

     

    It’s funny how it has all worked out. The inheritance hasn’t changed me in the ways that my mother feared it might. I never wanted my identity to be bound up with my house and my life in Greece has saved me from that. No one there has ever even heard of Faringdon.

     

    Extending to 14,510 square foot, Grade I listed Faringdon House was built between 1770 and 1785 for the poet Sir Henry Pye (1744 – 1813). It includes 5 reception rooms, 12 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, stands in grounds that extend to 14.81 acres and comes with an outdoor swimming pool with turreted changing rooms and a lake.

     

    Lord Berners’ gravestone is situated within the grounds and on it appears an epitaph he wrote himself. It reads:

     

    Here lies Lord Berners

    One of the learners

    His great love of learning

    May earn him a burning

    But, Praise the Lord!

    He seldom was bored

     

    Curiously, another testament to the activities of the property’s eccentric former occupants lives on at Faringdon in the form of pigeons dyed in “jewelled hues”. Pictured in marketing literature for the house, a charity, the Pink Pigeons Trust, is named in their honour also.

     

    Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye. Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye. Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye. Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye. Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye. Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.Fun at Faringdon – Faringdon House, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, SN7 8AE – To rent for £12,000 per month ($15,400, €14,200 or درهم56,700) through Knight Frank – Home of writer Sofka Zinovieff, former home of eccentrics 14th Lord Berners and Robert ‘The Mad Boy’ Heber-Percy, built for poet Sir Henry Pye.

  • Adrien Gaubert – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Adrien Gaubert – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with Adrien Gaubert, award-winning co-founder of myGwork – an inclusive LGBTI recruitment hub

     

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

    Positivity and fun. I am grateful to be alive and able to do what I do. Enjoy every moment.

     

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

    Just be yourself, be honest and work towards a goal. You’ll achieve it.

     

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

    Bashar al-Assad.

     

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

    I miss living in China. I am a great fan of Chinese culture and their way of thinking.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    To give food and shelter to everyone.

     

    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?

    Our financial system protects the wealthy and has given up on the poor.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    “God wants” – I don’t believe, if there were such a thing as God, he would expect anything from humanity.

     

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

    Whenever someone asks me for a coin in the street, I give them a smile and give them what they have asked for. I believe such people are incredible brave to ask others for help and comfort. I personally support anyone in need without distinction or judgement. I never buy sandwiches for homeless people when they ask for cash even if they might use it to buy alcohol or drugs. If I were living on the street, I might also want to get high so as to forget about my situation.

     

    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?

    Your microwave could explode anytime, but you use it everyday. I believe mobile phones are a great communication tool and I would not give mine up.

     

    myGwork co-founder Adrien Gaubert – What’s on your mantelpiece?

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

    I would take my brothers, my mum and my grandma and grandpa (with whom I watched the movie adapted from the Agatha Christie novel when I was a child).

     

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

    I would eat some really spicy Sichuan food.

     

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

    12pm if it is summer and a holiday. 7pm during the week.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    If it is just one, then tea but if I get more than one, martinis.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    Mexican weddings. Those people clearly know how to celebrate.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    Probably me.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Cigarettes.

     

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

    I have no tattoos and I am not a fan of them as a form of expression. Personally, I would not get a tattoo to remember who or what I love.

     

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

    A Jaguar. They are safe and fashionable.

     

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

    I have a twin brother.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    Flowers.

     

    Adrien Gaubert is a 29-year old Frenchman who now lives in London. He co-founded myGwork, a networking and recruitment platform to promote diversity for LGBTI professionals and graduates, with his twin brother, Pierre.

     

    Follow the Gaubert twins on Instagram at @thegaubertwins

     

  • Turncoat Tory Predicts Troubles for Theresa

    Turncoat Tory Predicts Troubles for Theresa

    Scandal prone Tory activist turned Jared Kushner employed journalist Andre Walker claims Theresa May is fearful of electoral disaster due to MPs from her party likely being jailed

     

    A widely criticised one-time Tory activist turned journalist with links to the party’s dubious 2015 ‘battlebus scandal’ has claimed that “a criminal investigation is the real reason Theresa May called the General Election”.

     

    In an opinion piece, Andre Walker – currently a columnist for Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s The New York Observer and formerly part of the team that established the far-right Breitbart London news network – referenced a widely reported story about thirty senior Conservatives facing prosecution for electoral fraud but went far further than most in adding: “In all likelihood, there will be MPs standing for re-election on 8th June who are also facing jail”.

     

    Referencing the Conservative Party’s controversial 2015 election buses that toured Britain under the banner the ‘Road Trip’ campaigning group, Walker pointedly remarked:

     

    “It is illegal to make a mistake – accidental or otherwise. In any case, failure to remember that you had five buses traveling to every key area of the country stretches credibility”.

     

    Curiously, in his article, the hard Brexiteer made no reference to his own connections to that scandal and nor did he make mention of his long-term friend and founder of ‘Road Trip’, Mark Clarke – a disgraced individual who has since been expelled from the Conservative Party and banished for life.

     

    In 2010, The Telegraph revealed Walker – a larger-than-life figure with 59,000 followers on Twitter – was forced to resign as political aide after been caught plotting to smear a deputy council leader in Windsor in a clip posted on YouTube. Subsequently, in 2016, in an interview for the BBC’s Sunday Politics, Walker claimed to have been the boyfriend of Elliott Johnson, an activist who committed suicide in 2015, leaving a note suggesting he’d been “bullied by Mark Clarke and betrayed by Andre Walker”.

     

  • Jog On Jenner

    Jog On Jenner

    Caitlyn Jenner proves herself to be truly hypocritical; it is time this self-publicist were simply ignored

     

    Caitlyn Jenner is a person with nothing else on her agenda other than keeping herself in the public eye. This transgender ‘reality star’ appeared to support Donald Trump’s election campaign in 2016, spoke at the Republican National Convention last July and attended the Liberty Ball at Donald Trump’s inauguration. She did so because she thought hanging out with the 45th POTUS would generate headlines and boy did this linkup do just that.

     

    The 67-year old former Olympian, now realising the swell of public opinion about Trump has turned very much for the worse, issued a video message Thursday criticising a decision to reverse President Obama’s transgender bathroom directive and termed it “a disaster”. She concluded: “Finally I have a message for President Trump, from, well, one Republican to another… You can still fix it. You made a promise to protect the LGBT community. Call me”.

     

    Jenner – whose previous statements about politicians have included terming Hillary Clinton a “f**king liar” and stating that Trump “would be very good for women’s issues… I don’t think he’s out there to destroy women or take things away or do any of that kind of stuff” – is a hypocrite and motivated only by keeping her sorry clan’s money making machine on the road. It’d be best if she were now instead simply ignored.

     

  • A Happy House

    A Happy House

    Berkshire country house named “Gays” for sale

     

    Not connected with the LGBT community in any way, but in fact named after a man named John Gays, “Gays” at Holyport, near Maidenhead in Berkshire dates to around 1456 and is currently for sale for £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million).

     

    Gays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real Estate
    Gays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom

     

    Also referred to as “John Gays House” and offered to the market by Christie’s Real Estate, this 12,482 square foot “bijou old world residence” stands in 20.75 acres and is predominantly built of red brick elevations with attractive sash fenestration, under a tile roof. It is Grade II listed, dates to the Tudor period and also includes later Queen Anne, Georgian, Victorian and 20th century additions.

     

    Less than 30 miles from central London, Gays has been owned by a Swiss family for 20 years according to Country Life and includes 6 reception rooms, a conservatory, a master bedroom suite with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and 2 dressing rooms, 6 further bedrooms and 5 further bathrooms. In addition, the property also comes with a 2-bedroom lodge cottage, a 2-bedroom staff cottage, an indoor swimming pool, wine store and 4-car garage.

     

    Aside from a large lawned garden with an irrigation system, a lake adjoins the house and there is also an orchard with apple and pear trees. A stable block, a manège and paddocks stand beyond whilst a 1-kilometre long sand and rubber chip horse exercise track circles it. The Duke of York, it transpires, borrowed these facilities in the late 1990s for his own horses.

     

    Gays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real Estate Gays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real Estate Gays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real EstateGays or John Gays House, Langworthy Lane, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2HN, England, United Kingdom – £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million) – For sale through Christie’s Real Estate

  • Charlie David – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Charlie David – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with director and producer Charlie David

     

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

    I have an uncanny knack for honing in on beautiful Brazilian men in a crowd. I’m mysteriously led to them like a dowsing stick to water.

     

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

    Be brave enough to be honest with everyone in your life.

     

    Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2016?

    Man buns.

     

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

    Playing the piano. I know, I know! Easy enough to fix. A little easier to get back in the saddle with than becoming the head of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    One night of debauchery with Ricky Martin.

     

    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 banking crisis?

    Like travel, music, film, and other industries before it, the big banks now face the squeeze of existing in the age of the Internet. There are better places to invest than through traditional means and people are becoming savvy to that.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    In television, network execs are very fond of using the words ‘buckets’ and ‘wheelhouse’ to describe the topics or areas of interest on their shopping list. It makes me gag a little.

     

    Overheard at the markets this year: “Murder is huge. We want BIG characters and murder. Like if you have anything with a village of little people who come together as a community to sleuth out a serial killer who has been stalking them? That would definitely be in our wheelhouse”.

     

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

    Through trips to Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa I was able to see a lot of wildlife, humanitarian and environmental initiatives. I think these are important but somehow we’re still really missing the mark in terms of foreign aid.

     

    I recently read Paul Theroux’s Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town and it was a bit shocking to me in its frank and pragmatic assessment of the impact of foreign aid and voluntourism. Definitely a very good read for anyone who has spent time in Africa or other parts of the world as a volunteer. It certainly caused me to pause and reflect a lot on the type of initiatives I lend my time and dollars to.

     

    Now on the international front, I micro-lend through Kiva.org which to me seems a more pragmatic way forward than hand-outs. It supports entrepreneurs around the world who are unable to apply for a traditional bank loan. I think it fosters business skills, accountability and trust which are all great characteristics for a thriving community.

     

    At home I like to contribute to educational, environmental and arts organizations and generally prefer to donate time/money directly to ones I’ve been involved in. That way I know the people; I can gage the impact and witness the ongoing results.

     

    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?

    They should be well and truly hidden whenever humans gather to break bread.

     

     Charlie David – What’s on your mantelpiece?

     

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

    Ricky Martin. Can we have one carriage to ourselves? Please? Honestly, I just think he’s talented and a total D.I.L.F. It’s likely just a passing fancy, not fanaticism.

     

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

    I’d ask for something I could share with the other inmates like a pizza party at the gym in the courtyard. I’d want it to be a block party, not a solo steak dinner.

     

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

    If you’re in control of your use of alcohol and it’s not controlling you, then the hour of the clock is irrelevant.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A Negroni s’il vous plait.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    My nephews’ and nieces’. I love watching them go to work on a piñata.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    My mother. She is pure joy and gratitude. I strive to embody that outlook.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Pizza and Netflix.

     

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

    Ricky Martin eating a pizza and watching Netflix.

     

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

    Honda – Reliable, frugal and pragmatic.

     

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

    I had a band as a teenager and opened for Destiny’s Child when Ferra was still part of the group.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    Books, books, books. And a bobble-head doll of Ricky Martin.

     

    Charlie David is a storyteller with film, books and web. He lives in Toronto and Montréal, Canada and is the founder of Border2Border Entertainment, Inc.

     

    Follow him on Twitter at @CharlieDavid and view his channel on YouTube at @MrCharlieDavid.

     

     

    Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:[wysija_form id=”2″]

     

  • Eric Meier– What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Eric Meier– What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with jetsetter Eric Meier

     

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

    My intuition.

     

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

    ‘Forgive but don’t forget’.

     

    Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2016?

    Donald Trump and Crocs.

     

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

    My sanity.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    World peace or never ageing.

     

    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 banking crisis?

    Invest. Banks are a joke.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    ‘I need’ – Even though I use it every day and a lot.

     

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

    Anything to do with children. Their innocence and honesty inspires me.

     

    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?

    My answer here is biased since I’m addicted to my phone. I think it’s actually glued to me.

     

    Eric Meier – What’s on your mantelpiece?
    Eric Meier

     

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

    Oprah, Mariah Carey and Karl Lagerfeld.

     

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

    The cheesecake at Hôtel Costes in Paris or an In and Out burger.

     

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

    In Europe, everything goes; in America, happy hour is at 4pm.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A martini. Filthy.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    Those given by Riccardo Tisci – Beautiful people and beautiful clothes.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    Myself – I’m never a pessimist.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    My boyfriend.

     

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

    I have one of a broken heart as I’m a hopeless romantic.

     

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

    A Rolls-Royce Ghost extended version.

     

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

    I’m human.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    Candles. Great lighting is key.

     

    Eric Meier is based in Beverly Hills, California and describes himself as a well-travelled jetsetter. He adds: “Biographies are for dead people”.

     

    Join his 28,000 followers on Instagram at @meiereric.

     

    Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:[wysija_form id=”2″]