The Steeple Times

Tag: host

  • Bombastic Basham Bashes Back

    Bombastic Basham Bashes Back

    Brian Basham, PR peddler for mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, suggests ‘Hunting Ghislaine’ podcast host John Sweeney is a drunk and someone he “despises”

    In spite of “socialist and vocal republican” public relations peddler Brian Basham’s most determined efforts on behalf of one-time ‘Friend of Geordie’ (Greig) Ghislaine Maxwell, the unsealed reasoning as to why the mucky madam deservedly didn’t get bail showed his client to be nothing other than a liar and a deviant.

     

    Now, in the wake of US District Judge Alison Nathan referencing Miss Maxwell as having shown a “pattern of providing incomplete or erroneous information to the court or to pretrial services,” bombastic Basham, himself, has plainly had a meltdown.

     

    Yesterday, on Twitter, the “unceremoniously dumped by British Airways” Basham turned on the journalist and host of the widely acclaimed podcast Hunting Ghislaine, John Sweeney. In a tweet, the “longtime family friend” of the Maxwells remarked:

     

    “It’s a very sad thing John. You’ve done good work in the past. Has drink got to you at last? If it has, do try AA. They’ve worked wonders for friend [sic] of mine. This work was terrific and I’m sorry to see you in the gutter.”

     

    Going further of Sweeney referencing him on a “current list of people who don’t like me” that also included the Kremlin, Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Evgeny Lebedev, Peter Mandelson, the Barclay twins, Richard Desmond, the Church of Scientology, the BBC’s management under Tony Hall and Tommy Robinson, Basham angrily added:

     

    “Wrong word John. It’s ‘despise’ in my case. I despise you for coating your investigation [of Ghislaine Maxwell’s alleged crimes against child trafficked victims] with the slime of click bait untrue sensationalism.”

     

    Miaow!

     

    Pictured top: PR peddler for a mucky madam Brian Basham (left) and crusading investigative journalist John Sweeney (right).

     

    Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

    Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

    Twitter: @SteepleTimes

     

    Bombastic Basham Bashes Back – Brian Basham attacks John Sweeney – Brian Basham, PR peddler for mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, suggests ‘Hunting Ghislaine’ podcast host John Sweeney is a drunk and someone he “despises.”
    After John Sweeney shared a “current list of people who don’t like me,” Brian Basham attempted to belittle him by suggesting him to be an alcoholic before adding he “despised” rather than “disliked” him.
    Bombastic Basham Bashes Back – Brian Basham attacks John Sweeney – Brian Basham, PR peddler for mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, suggests ‘Hunting Ghislaine’ podcast host John Sweeney is a drunk and someone he “despises.”
    Sweeney responded and thanked the PR peddler for his “kind compliment.” He added: “I like a drink but much more important to me is telling stories power and money don’t want told. Such as #HuntingGhislaine, our podcast on Ghislaine Maxwell. In which @brianbasham features.
    Bombastic Basham Bashes Back – Brian Basham attacks John Sweeney – Brian Basham, PR peddler for mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, suggests ‘Hunting Ghislaine’ podcast host John Sweeney is a drunk and someone he “despises.”
    Responses from other Twitter users included: “Well I would buy him a beer… A crate full.”
    Bombastic Basham Bashes Back – Brian Basham attacks John Sweeney – Brian Basham, PR peddler for mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, suggests ‘Hunting Ghislaine’ podcast host John Sweeney is a drunk and someone he “despises.”
    Another user added: “I’d rather be a piss-soaked, syphilitic tramp than work for the rotten to the core Maxwell family, like some pathetic sycophant.”
  • An Agusta Ape

    An Agusta Ape

    1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino in 2001 – to be auctioned

    On 8th January 2001, “shop assistant turned model turned multi-millionairess many times over turned fugitive” (via a stretch in what American’s so pleasantly term ‘pokey’) Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta “disappeared” from the terrace of her Ligurian seaside home. The series of events that preceded and followed could have featured in an Agatha Christie novel or a Sherlock Holmes story.

     

    Situated dominant above the “requisite stop for billionaires” that is Portofino – a colourfully painted former fishing village now peppered with Salvatore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton stores – Villa Altachiara became the residence of the “embodiment of La Dolce Vita” Francesca Graffagni after she met the “helicopter entrepreneur” Count Corradino Agusta in the 1960s.

     

    Graffagni saw off the business tycoon’s first wife, Pupetta Maresca, after a torrid affair and following their marriage in 1974, amongst other things, became chatelaine of a 40-room property complete with a helipad. It had been built in 1870 by George Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon – whose death was attributed by amongst others Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the “curse of King Tut” – as his holiday home and during the 1970s and 1980s guests to “jet-set parties” given at the house by the socialite Countess were ferried back and forth from their dock in Portofino harbour in a custom built 1978 Piaggio Ape coachbuilt ‘limousine.’ This vehicle, described as a “perfect yacht tender” with its opulently patterned interior and passenger-driver intercom, is now for sale.

     

    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    Countess Francesca Agusta (née Francesca Vacca Graffagni, 29th October 1942 – 8th January 2001). It is most surprising that the late Dominick Dunne did not make a television programme about her life and demise.
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    Villa Altachiara (alternatively known as ‘Villa Alta Chiara’ or ‘Villa Carnarvon’) was one of Countess Agusta’s homes from the 1960s until her death in 2001; it was originally built as a holiday home for Lord Carnarvon (26th June 1866 – 5th April 1923) – the financier of Howard Carter’s explorations of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings that led to the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The Carnarvon family hosted many guests during their ownership, amongst them Brooke Astor and Evelyn Waugh.

    Count Agusta died in 1989 without divorcing his second wife in spite of separating from her in 1985. At that time, in addition to Villa Altachiara, he had given her four apartments in Milan, an estate in Cuernavaca, Mexico, family jewellery and an undisclosed cash sum. With his demise, she came into yet further fortune.

     

    This by-then “very wealthy woman” hit the headlines again in 1994 when she and her new lover, a “former Portofino playboy politician [named] Maurizio Raggio,” were discovered to have been part of a corruption scandal involving Bettino Craxi, the Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. Before police could apprehend them to charge them with amongst other things money laundering, the pair fled to Mexico and lived on her estate until 1997 as fugitives. During this period, the Countess reportedly attempted suicide at least once.

     

    Upon her return to Italy, the Countess plea-bargained and spent just three months in Milan’s Opera prison for her crimes in spite of receiving a two-year jail sentence. After “some further time under house arrest” in the Villa Altachiara, the “retired” gadabout then took up with a Mexican, Tirso ‘Tito’ Chazaro (also known as ‘Tirso Di Ricardo’ and ‘Rafael Tirso Roncado Gonzales’), and lived in the style of Miss Havisham. She was rarely seen in public and having become dependent on drink and drugs, was known for her erratic behaviour and temper.

     

    “Considerably the worse for wear and muttering she would not be coming back” on the night of 8th January 2001, the Countess supposedly told her lover and two others present that she was going for a swim, but either slipped on wet leaves or was pushed off a veranda into the sea. A search followed, but after the only traces found were the Countess’s dressing gown on the seabed close to the Villa Altachiara and her slippers on nearby rocks, press reports suggested she had either committed suicide or, given her past form, staged an “elaborate disappearing act.”

     

    Countess Agusta’s badly decomposed body washed up three weeks later on a beach at Toulon on the French Riviera. Her feet had been gnawed off by fish, her skull was smashed and her face was disfigured. She could only be identified by two rings she was wearing and her exact cause of death could thus not be determined.

     

    As an autopsy found no trace of water in her lungs, she plainly did not die by drowning, but in in 2004 the Countess’s brother, Domenico Vacca Graffagni, was quoted in the Independent as stating: “The [original] inquiry was closed in a hasty fashion because of absence of proof, relying too readily on ‘reasonable doubt’ … It was manslaughter. He [Chazaro] was always beating her. He didn’t mean to kill her. But that evening things didn’t go the way the Carabinieri said, my sister was not drunk and she did not slip on wet leaves on the veranda.”

     

    Adding further to speculation, much earlier, the Countess’s step-son, racing driver and team owner Rocky Agusta (1950 – 2018), told Corriere della Sera in 2001: “Francesca was a beautiful woman, simpatica, very rich… People have written that she inherited 500bn lire, but if it had been only 50 or 25, who commits suicide with 25bn lire set aside? … The people who were around her certainly did not help her…  It’s not up to me to formulate accusations, but Francesca was not alone that night. She was very upset. She should have been put to bed. Instead, they let her go out into a dark, wet, cold night, not even dressed.”

     

    In due course, the last of many wills left by Countess Agusta revealed Tirso Chazaro to be her sole beneficiary, but after this was challenged in court by her former lover, Maurizio Raggio, the pair split the legacy – reported to be worth as much as £165 million ($201 million, €186 million or درهم738 million) according to the Guardian in 2001 – sixty-forty between them.

     

    In 2009, the Villa Altachiara was offered for sale initially for £44 million ($54 million, €50 million or درهم198 million) and then for £30 million ($37 million, €34 million or درهم135 million) in 2014. It supposedly eventually sold for less than half that sum to a Russian billionaire a number of years later in spite of an estate agent remarking: “Some say the spirit of Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta still walks the estate looking for her husband and you can hear her shouting for him on the wind.”

     

    An estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000) for the Countess’s Piaggio Ape. Described as “sweet” and “[anything but] an Italian tuk-tuk” by RideApart, the one-off private taxi will be auctioned as part of the forthcoming RM Sotheby’s ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 online sale. One can only hope it finds a happier home than it encountered at that of its former mistress.

     

    Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

    Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

    Twitter: @SteepleTimes

     

    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGavF50j98
  • The Ever So Dry Land of No Milk & No Honey

    The Ever So Dry Land of No Milk & No Honey

    Jonathan Downey, owner of London’s Milk & Honey bar, takes to social media to share news he won’t be reopening without a rent holiday; it is likely he is set to head a wave of similar announcements

    Just as happened to venues like Keith McNally’s Lucky Strike in New York, a wave – perhaps, excuse the pun, even a flood – of closures of bars and restaurants is likely coming in London and across the rest of the UK. As a result of coronavirus most recently and due also to landlord’s charging extortionate rents and council’s levying excessive business rates in the years prior, we could soon sadly end up with far ‘drier’ high streets.

     

    On Wednesday night on Facebook, in an impassioned plea, the owner of the Soho institution that is Milk & Honey – a “prohibition-style speakeasy cocktail bar” where ‘house rules’ include: “Gentlemen will remove their hats. Hooks are provided. Gentlemen will not introduce themselves to ladies. Ladies, feel free to start a conversation or ask the bartender to introduce you. If a man you don’t know speaks to you, please lift your chin slightly and ignore him” – Jonathan Downey shared news that post the coronavirus lockdown ending, his venue might “never reopen.”

     

    In his post, multiple venue owner-operator Mr Downey stated:

     

    This is Milk & Honey in Soho. A very special place that was 18yrs old last week. It’s been the ‘World’s Best Bar’ (a few times) and the making of so many great bartenders, but we may never re-open. Our annual rent is £210,000 but, despite the current closure and no hope of re-opening for months, our landlord won’t allow any deferral or rent free. He expects payments to be made upfront. He’s got no chance.

     

    One of three things will happen (in most likely first order):

     

    – We give the keys back.

    – We get a 9 month #NationalRentFree and re-open paying rent for another 18yrs.

    – The landlord backs down/sees sense.

     

    I’ve written back to our landlord. I don’t expect we’ll get anywhere and without a #NationalTimeOut, we won’t be able to re-open Milk & Honey. Including VAT, we’ve paid more than £3.9m rent in 18yrs.

     

    Going further, Downey shared the letter he’d written to his landlord. It read:

     

    We won’t be paying any rent on this site again this year. I’m sorry but you’re kidding yourselves if you think otherwise. We have no income.

     

    We have been paying rent there for 18 years, totaling in excess of £3m. We have no idea when we may be allowed to re-open. Even when we are allowed to re-open, we won’t because fear of the virus and physical distancing will mean we will be loss-making. The best (and possibly only) time we can expect to re-open is once a vaccine becomes widely available. Until then, zero income = zero rent.

     

    I have been campaigning for a #NationalTimeOut for tenants and landlords, which includes a 9 month #NationalRentFree. If we get this, then there may be a way through for all of us. Otherwise, we’ll be giving back the keys and surrendering the very valuable 03:00 licence.

     

    I am happy to discuss if you want but that’s our position and we don’t have any other.

     

    The Dry Land of No Milk & No Honey – Milk & Honey Soho likely to close – Jonathan Downey, owner of London’s Milk & Honey bar, takes to social media to announce he won’t be reopening without a rent holiday.
    Jonathan Downey (right) shared his sentiments on the future of the bar he set up in 2002, Milk & Honey, 61 Poland Street, Soho, London, W1F 7NU in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
    The Dry Land of No Milk & No Honey – Milk & Honey Soho likely to close – Jonathan Downey, owner of London’s Milk & Honey bar, takes to social media to announce he won’t be reopening without a rent holiday.
    Mr Downey also published the text of a letter he had sent to his plainly thus far unsympathetic landlord.

    Previously, in an interview with The Caterer earlier this month, Downey commented:

     

    The best thing for most people in our industry is a National Time Out – nine months rent-free, with a matching debt repayment holiday for our landlords. Understandably the pubcos don’t like it, but it is being supported by UKHospitality.

     

    We can’t each negotiate 150,000 separate agreements with landlords. We need a national arrangement that everybody falls in line with, that the government decides and legislates on.

     

    We should get the rest of this year rent-free – for most businesses it’s the biggest single cost apart from staff – and extend loan terms for landlords, because if they can’t get their rent for nine months, they can’t repay the debt for the premises. If they have borrowed, they should get a nine-month repayment break. It should be pushed back onto the banks – they can handle nine months of not having loans repaid.

     

    Of the longer-term, he added:

     

    I don’t see anybody doing well. Nobody will do well out of the crisis. I think there will be even more empty high street sites. My next business will probably have to be something outside the hospitality industry. Certainly, the business I’m in – large-capacity venues – I don’t see coming back until there’s a vaccine, which is a year or maybe 18 months away. Maybe I’ll take a year off and come back in the way that music festivals will have to. We needed a shake-up as an industry, but we didn’t need one so brutal.

     

    That, to a large extent, the business model of a lot of hospitality businesses is hopelessly flawed. It’s ridiculously fragile, the margins are far too slim and it’s just not sustainable. We were fucked after 10 days to two weeks of no and low income.

     

    I think there’s going to be a lot of reflection and soul-searching and realising that, despite these brilliant things we do as individuals and businesses, if the business model doesn’t stack up, you’ve got to find another way or find something else to do.

     

    We can’t pay people what we need to pay them, we can’t pay the rent, we can’t deal with business rates at this level and with VAT at 20%. It’s just insane. Everybody wants something for nothing. In hospitality we always try to deliver, but this has made us realise we can’t deliver the impossible or the unsustainable.

     

    Since its inception, The Steeple Times has advocated the premise of ‘use it or lose it’ for bars and restaurants and today we join Jonathan Downey in calling for #NationalRentFree and #NationalTimeOut. Now, we must all unite in coming together to support our favourite establishments as otherwise, just like many of us found with the closure of the very much missed La Brasserie in South Kensington in March 2017, we’ll again be left crying into our caipirinhas with nowhere to go.

     

    Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

    Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

    Twitter: @SteepleTimes

     

  • Bruce The Brilliant

    Bruce The Brilliant

    Fiona Bruce shows herself to be a most worthy replacement for David Dimbleby on the BBC’s ‘Question Time’; we need more like her

     

    Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould made for a brilliant double act on the BBC’s Fake or Fortune and now, going it alone, she’s proved her worth yet again in taking over Auntie’s Question Time programme.

     

    Debuting on the show last night, Bruce took no prisoners and at one point rightly told Theresa May’s mouthpiece James Cleverly MP: “Sometimes you have to stop talking and listen.” She then curtly added: “I asked you what your plan [for Brexit] was and you said you were going to tell me. Have I missed it?”

     

    Praised universally on social media, Fiona Bruce last night achieved brilliance whilst other interviewers and hosts fail: This Singaporean born Scot ran this political discussion with a rod of iron and we salute her.

     

    Reactions on Twitter:

     

    @profanityswan – “Fiona Bruce has had 15 years talking to greedy vase-owners and she’s off the fucking leash here. #newbbcqt”

     

    @OJBorg – “3 Minutes in to THE REIGN OF BRUCE on Question Time & if I were a politician I’d be shitting in my pants. She taking zero shit. Love it. #BBCQT”

     

    @AaronLMatthews – “#FionaBruce has done her homework, and in doing so immediately put up a barrier to #bbcqt being simply a forum for unchallenged bullshit. This is so much more palatable.”

     

    @DonkeyDavethe – “Fiona Bruce – straight in there with “answer the fuckin question dimwit”! #bbcqt”

     

    @Russ_Bear – Fiona Bruce isn’t taking any shit. She’s not sitting back and letting them say what they like. She’s Dimblebying the fuck out of it. Good work Mrs! #questiontime”

     

    @ThatTimWalker – I had no great hopes for Fiona Bruce on @bbcquestiontime, but my God she’s GREAT. An honest journalist. And on the BBC. This is wonderful.

     

    Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

    Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

    Twitter: @SteepleTimes

     

  • Jack Turner – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Jack Turner – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with English born, Los Angeles based actor and musician Jack Turner

     

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

    Treat people well. Try and learn your blind spots.

     

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

    Be nice, but don’t get shat on.

     

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

    Everything seems to be acceptable. People are being absolutely despicable because of messaging they see from those in power. Perhaps the only unacceptable thing is calm and clear discourse.

     

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

    My family and Weymouth Beach.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    Everyone having some.

     

    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?

    That, and the political system (similar principles), make me most unhappy to be an atheist.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    “Reach out”. The word I maybe most love is “tosspot”.

     

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

    I think there’s a threshold of financial and social safety below which there is no hope to ascend, and that people below that threshold need help. What we have in the UK and US would be considered a ludicrous luxury in many places. I personally just donated a pretty solid sum to Syria and Somalia.

     

    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 wish my phone would blow me up. These devices are ruining people’s presence, empathy, and ability to talk. I just read a great summary of the evidence linking socialization and our neurobiology. When you consider socialisation is being replaced by phones, I fear sociopathy will rise massively. Put the fucking phone away, or on silent if you just can’t be without it, you tosspot.

     

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

    People without phones, who can like each other even if they disagree. I pick my girlfriend and my mate Monte. Anyone else is welcome. That should ignite some fun.

     

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

    Curry from Mirch Masala in Tooting, and bitter. Followed by red velvet cake and some Law Estates Cab.

     

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

    Not so much a case of “Is this acceptable?” as: “Will my body reject this now?”

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    I don’t know what a Negroni is. Martinis are frightening. So I’ll go for some tea, please.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    Those I curate carefully to avoid tosspots. Because I loathe tosspots.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    My girlfriend. I’m lucky enough that this is a pretty competitive decision, but she takes the cake.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Aforementioned red velvet cake. And guitars.

     

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

    I don’t like tattoos, which I think sums me up.

     

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

    Public transport or a bicycle. I now realise both sound dirty.

     

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

    To my shame I didn’t know what an incredible singer she was. I thought she was just a host. That surprised me. I’m a terrible singer. Which maybe makes it surprising that I was in a great band and continue to make music. Check out our old stuff if you’re interested – Cable Car on Spotify, iTunes, etc.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    Our place isn’t fancy enough to have a mantlepiece. However, we do have a cupboard, upon which we put meaningful things. My mum potted me an Oscar statue, which we call ‘Oscar’. Probably unoriginal, but, I think it’s very sweet, and I’ll take what I can get.

     

    Jack Turner grew up in Weymouth, Dorset, where he was a dubiously-skilled mackerel fishing tour guide. He studied psychology at Oxford before working for Google in London and San Francisco. He’s now an actor in Hollywood and has starred in Netflix’s ‘The 10 Year Plan’ and Hallmark’s ‘My Summer Prince’.

     

    Follow him on Twitter at @jackoturner and Instagram at @jaxonturner.

     

  • Emir Bahadir – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Emir Bahadir – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with 25-year old New York based BHDR real estate brokerage and development firm founder Emir Bahadir

     

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

    My driving force is being able to bridge the gap between international investors and local markets. Being a member of the fifth generation of my family, my guiding force is maintaining the business standards set forth by my ancestors.

     

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

    ‘More is more, work smart not hard’ and ‘Well done is better than well said’.

     

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

    This is relative depending on the realm of the industry you are in. Two of the things that I find unacceptable are dishonesty and lack of communication.

     

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

    I miss my high school days when I had no responsibility and was surrounded by intellectual people. Maybe this has a lot to do with my young age and my active business life, even then. I feel I never got to be reckless after graduating from high school in Switzerland and became very responsible and focused instead.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    I would swap my wealth for helping end hunger and poverty throughout the world. Most people don’t have awareness of what the world’s real needs are.

     

    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?

    Based on that comment, that statement is truthful. Based on that statement, today the banking system is changing for the better. I believe in the short-term we will see a lot of improvements.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    I used to think: “The worst thing in life is to end up alone”. It’s not: “The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone”. The reason why I hate this phrase is because it is so true.

     

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

    Charity does start at home. Growing up, my parents emphasised the importance of charity and then it became a way of life, a routine. I have volunteered in Zambia to help build schools and teach kids. Whilst there, we also took 500 mattresses to the schools in different tribes. Today, my family’s foundation helps hundreds of children with scholarships to study and become successful members of their communities.

     

    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?

    There is always a risk using any kind of technology regardless if it is security based or not. However, I think there is a strong need for technology, especially with the fast pace of the business world these days.

     

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

    Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, Mozart and Picasso.

     

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

    I hope that won’t be my reality ever. However, to answer your question, I would like to eat the judge who sentenced me to death.

     

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

    Lunchtime usually is the time to start. However, at weekends, noon bellinis are acceptable.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A martini; a very, very dirty martini.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    I do enjoy my own parties because I pay so much attention to the details prior. It means that, during the event itself, I can put all my energy and efforts into entertaining my guests.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    My grandmother is one of the most positive people I know and my COO, Tanya, always calms me down when I get a little wound up.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Eating chocolate late at night.

     

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

    Even though I have a tattoo of the OHM sign, it does not really sum me up. I wish it did. My other one, Dum Spiro Spero (When I Breath I Hope), would be the one to describe me. I tend to hope and dream and work hard to make my dreams come true.

     

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

    A Bentley – Fast and furious, yet classy and comfortable.

     

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

    That I am humble and relatable to is a surprise to most people. Considering my background and my current motivation to succeed on another level, people don’t expect it.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    I have a small sculpture by Jeff Koons.

     

    Emir Bahadir is a 25-year old entrepreneur based in New York. He was educated at the American School in Switzerland and New York University. Bahadir is the founder and CEO of the BHDR real estate brokerage and development firm, invests in tech startup firms and is also an art collector.

     

    Follow him on Instagram at @emirbahadir and use his own hashtag, #bahadiring

     

    Emir Bahadir – What’s on your mantelpiece? The Steeple Times conducts a 20 question interview with 25-year old New York based BHDR real estate brokerage and development firm founder Emir Bahadir – He is also a star of the website Rich Kids of InstagramEmir Bahadir – What’s on your mantelpiece? The Steeple Times conducts a 20 question interview with 25-year old New York based BHDR real estate brokerage and development firm founder Emir Bahadir – He is also a star of the website Rich Kids of Instagram Emir Bahadir – What’s on your mantelpiece? The Steeple Times conducts a 20 question interview with 25-year old New York based BHDR real estate brokerage and development firm founder Emir Bahadir – He is also a star of the website Rich Kids of InstagramEmir Bahadir – What’s on your mantelpiece? The Steeple Times conducts a 20 question interview with 25-year old New York based BHDR real estate brokerage and development firm founder Emir Bahadir – He is also a star of the website Rich Kids of Instagram

  • 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″]

     

  • Jon Levy: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    Jon Levy: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    ‘The Steeple Times’ asks behaviour expert, consultant, writer and speaker Jon Levy: “What’s on your mantelpiece?” (more…)

  • Kyle Hotchkiss Carone

    Kyle Hotchkiss Carone

    Kyle Hotchkiss CaroneA Princeton graduate and “hospitality expert”, uber-connected Kyle Hotchkiss Carone grew up in Connecticut and Long Island. (more…)

  • Matt Forde

    Matt Forde

    Matt Forde“Who the f*ck is Matt Forde?” – allegedly the words of Noel Gallagher – are the first thing one encounters on accessing the website of this comedian and one time political advisor to the Labour Party. Nottingham born and the son of a former nun, Forde’s Twitter handles reads: “A talentless liar, a shameless sycophantic sell-out with a jelly spine and a mush mind”. As well as presenting a show named The Political Party with Matt Forde, this TalkSport late-night host welcomes abuse but “just give it [to him] on Twitter and make it brief”. Undoubtedly one of Tony Blair’s biggest apologists, Matt Forde described his favourite former Prime Minister as: “The best Labour leader and the best Prime Minister in history” in 2014. Churchill and Thatcher plainly passed this “hypocritical new Labour Adolf Blair-loving hippy scumbag” by.