‘Brand new’ 1994 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible with just 153 miles on the clock to be sold for the same price as when it was actually ‘brand new’ 32-years ago
In 1994, nineteen years after the first Jaguar XJ-S – later changed to ‘XJS’ – went on sale, “the XJS remained a handsome and contemporary car, especially in convertible form.” Of a car lauded as a “comfortable grand tourer,” Jaguar Heritage continued: “Customers obviously thought so… An incredible 4,633 4.0-litre convertibles were sold.” A total of 115,413 units of the vehicle were made between 1975 and 1996 of which 30,946 topless XJS were produced between 1988 and 1996.
Priced new at a base of around £46,000 ($58,000, €53,000 or درهم213,000) then – or the equivalent of around £91,000 ($115,000, €106,000 or درهم421,000) now, according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator – when ‘brand new’ in 1994, an example most unusual is to be sold at auction next month.
The odometer read 152 miles when photographed, but the catalogue listing states 153 miles. On this basis, the car has averaged an astonishing 4.8 miles per year in its life to date; at a speed of 60 miles per hour, one could travel 4.8 miles in just under 5 minutes.In June 2018, ‘ThisIsMoney.co.uk’ reported that a 1990 Jaguar XJS V12 HE coupé with just 840 miles on the clock was being offered at auction with an estimate of £35,000 to £40,000. Rob Hull for the paper shared: “So, you might assume it is worth a fair whack by today’s standards? And you’d be right, the sale price is tipped to hit £40,000. But once you adjust for inflation it’s only valued at half the price the first owner would have paid for it. It highlights that if you do the sums and adjust for inflation, stashing a car away is not always a sure fire investment… Even allowing for it selling at the top end of the £40,000 estimate, with the impact of inflation taken into account this untouched gem has halved in value.” The car, registration G179 XAE, was eventually hammered down by Silverstone Auctions – now known as Iconic Auctioneers – for £42,188.
The aforementioned – chassis number SAJJNADW3EN179778 and engine 314000000395 – was originally commissioned by the Scottish Business Achievement Award Trust, but according to auctioneers Bonhams, “apparently the deal fell through and the car was never delivered or registered.” It has since belonged to “two major collections where it has been on museum display.”
Astoundingly, the Regency red coloured with barley hide, Bordeaux carpets and black hood vehicle – which has been with the current owner since 2014 – has covered delivery mileage only and its odometer reads just 153 miles. It has only been driven when moved between secure storage facilities and is “as new” other than “some minor paintwork retouching to the front panels.”
Bonhams will sell what is considered “a thoroughly appreciated classic” by Classics World at their Goodwood Members’ Meeting sale on 14th April. They offer it with a staggering estimate of £80,000 to £100,000 ($101,000 to $126,000, €93,000 to €117,000 or درهم370,000 to درهم463,000) and as Jaguar Heritage conclude of the model: “Drive to a party in an XJS convertible and you’d arrive in more ways than one. That is still the case;” though in the case of this particular XJS you’d be the first to drive it anywhere glamorous.
Editor’s note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples and watch his current nightly show on YouTube at 8.30pm daily.
The interior is reflective of the model being what has been described as “a personification of 1980s excess” and it being “a favourite of the ‘gin and Jag’ set.” These after all were cars that appeared in ritzy series such as ‘Howards’ Way’ and ‘Lovejoy’ and which were driven primarily by glitzy ladies such as Jan Howard and Lady Jane Felsham.The engine of the vehicle is clearly “as new” and described as “running and driving” but “will require recommissioning before extended use.” The XJS has a current MOT, but no registration document.An image of an immaculate wheel illustrates how the convertible offered is well and truly in a condition just as when it left the factory.The car’s tool kit has clearly never been used.A view of the example offered from the rear. Of it, Bonhams remark: “The ultimate and most expensive Jaguar of its era, the V12-engined XJS Convertible nevertheless represented exceptional value for money and, given its proud pedigree, peerless road manners and exceptional specification, is no less of a bargain today.”The front of the vehicle. It is described by Bonhams as “in effectively ‘as new’ condition throughout apart from some minor paintwork retouching to the front panels.”
Burgh Island in South Devon, where Agatha Christie wrote several novels and The Beatles stayed also, goes on sale for the staggering sum of £15 million
Described as “the best hotel west of The Ritz” by its current owner Giles Fuchs, a favourite South Devon bolthole of Agatha Christie has just come up for sale for £15 million. It was here that the ‘Queen of Crime’ had her own writer’s retreat and where also that she was inspired to pen both And Then There Were None and Evil Under The Sun.
Burgh Island is situated just 820-feet from the mainland and is approachable by foot at low tide and accessible by a sea tractor at high tide; it also has a helipad for those wishing to make a grand entrance. Though 3 hours from London Paddington by train, those that have visited in the past – amongst them the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Sir Winston Churchill and J. M. W. Turner even – supposedly returned again and again captivated, like Christie, by its seclusion and beauty.
The 21-acre island – which has gone through several name changes itself and was once known as St Michael’s Island – was the inspiration for Christie’s fictional ‘Soldier Island’ in a novel titled Ten Little Niggers when it was first published in 1939. The 272-page book was subsequently retitled Ten Little Indians and then And Then There Were None because of concerns about offending – even prior to the arrival of ‘wokery’ and ‘cancel culture’ – the American market.
The strategy worked as to this day, the novel became both the best-selling crime and the best-selling mystery novel of all-time. Critics enthuse of what is a brilliantly warped yet rationally believable psychological thriller that follows the story of eight people invited to an isolated private island to meet their ultimate demise alongside their two caretaker hosts at a house party from hell. Unsurprisingly, since Christie produced a version for the stage in 1943, there have been more adaptations for that medium as well as for film, radio and television adaptations than of any of her other works.
A clear work of genius in both plot and the financial returns it generated for its author, And Then There Were None was actually structured around an 1869 minstrel song titled Ten Little Niggers by the British songwriter Frank Green. The rhyme – as published for these politically correct times where even future editions of Roald Dahl’s book will no longer feature the adjective ‘fat’ – reads:
Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Soldier Boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Soldier Boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.
Whilst today’s visitors to the “comprehensively refurbished,” Grade II listed, 25-bedroom Burgh Island Hotel certainly are unlikely to face the unhappy endings of Christie’s ten unfortunates, they are able to enjoy “fine dining” at its two restaurants, and cocktails in its Palm Court bar. One can quite easily imagine Hercule Poirot sleuthing in or at the island’s 14th century pub, The Pilchard Inn. In addition, there is what is called the ‘Mermaid Pool’ – a naturally enclosed body of seawater where guests can swim or if, in the unlikely event they’d take a break from Dubai, perhaps ‘Wagatha Christie’ Coleen Rooney could witness Rebekah Vardy ‘Davy Jones-ing’ her mobile telephone for a second time even.
Of this “iconic landmark” – which a company ultimately controlled by Mr Fuchs paid around £5 million for in 2018 – selling agents Knight Frank enthused in their marketing material:
“The private island setting is virtually unique in the UK and the hotel, which has been fully restored, is one of the finest examples of working Art Deco architecture in Europe.”
“Burgh Island is a natural micro-environment, with wildlife to observe and cliff walks around the circumference. The sandy tidal beach on the eastern (mainland-facing) side is washed by the tide twice daily and so is always clean.”
Whilst the realty firm lauds total sales of in excess of £6 million for the year ending 2022, Agatha Christie actually best surmises why Mr Fuchs is seek to sell: “The best of an island is once you get there – you can’t go any farther… You’ve come to the end of things.” This week PlymouthLive revealed his company, Office Space in Town Limited (OSiT), “has debts of £130 million and is paying nearly £7 million in interests on its loans each year… [It] has borrowed huge sums and is relying on London property prices to remain stable in order to avoid breaching covenant terms which would mean loans having to be immediately repaid and potentially leading to the business going bust.”
Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.
Pictured Top – The island, hotel and The Pilchard Inn (top left); David Suchet as Poirot filmed ‘Evil Under The Sun’ there in 2001 (bottom left) and the island’s most famous visitor, Dame Agatha Christie DBE (right).
The island is being marketed by Knight Frank at a staggering price of £15 million after being sold last in 2018 for £5 million and prior for £2 million in 2001. The hotel includes 25 en-suite guest bedrooms and suites as well as the Ballroom Restaurant (64 covers), the Nettlefold Restaurant (72 covers), the Palm Court bar and lounge (42 covers) and The Pilchard Inn (35 internal and 114 external covers). There is also a billiards room, sauna and treatment room, a staff house with 9 bedrooms, a car park on the mainland with 18 spaces and a helipad. The property is offered on a freehold basis.Dame Agatha Christie DBE (1890 – 1976) remains to this day the world’s best-selling crime author. She penned 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play, ‘The Mousetrap.’ Over a billion copies of her works in the English language and a billion in translation have been sold; most notable are ‘Murder on the Orient Express,’ ‘Death on the Nile,’ ‘The Murder at the Vicarage’ and ‘The A. B. C. Murders.’‘And Then There Were None’ began life as ‘Ten Little Niggers’ and via being ‘Ten Little Indians’ gained its present title to suit the American market. Christie claimed it was the most difficult of her books to write, but it is also one of her most popular – over 100 million copies have been sold and the work stands as the sixth best-selling title (any language, including reference works) of all-time.‘Evil Under The Sun’ (1931) – which features an investigation into the murder of a flirtatious but not liked woman who is murdered whilst on holiday in Devon –remains one of Christie’s most popular works. It has been adapted multiple times and became a feature film in 1982 with Peter Ustinov as Poirot. In 2001, David Suchet played the detective in a version with alterations including the addition of the characters of Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon – none of whom appear in the original novel. A PC game version of the story has even been made and in 1999, John Moffat played Poirot for a BBC Radio 4 adaptation. Here, the cast are seen getting into Burgh Island’s famous sea-tractor during filming.Roguish antiques dealer Lovejoy (Ian McShane) and his eccentric sidekick Tinker (Dudley Sutton) brought a new era of drama to Burgh Island when they filmed an episode there titled ‘Somewhere – Over the Rainbow?’ It was first shown in October 1994 and featured them going there to save Tinker’s financially strapped sister and her wheelchair-bound husband (presented as owners of the hotel) from losing it to a greedy property developer. The key to the story is finding a treasure trove hidden there by a notorious smuggler centuries earlier.Self-made multi-millionaire Giles Fuchs is the current owner of Burgh Island. He began his career as an estate agent, claims to have invested more than £1 million renovating the hotel to turn into something that looks “pretty spectacular.” He doubled the number of staff on site, brought in Mark Mosimann, son of King Charles III’s favourite chef, Anton Mosimann, and also bought accommodation on the mainland for some of the hotel’s workers to live in. In July 2020, he described the hotel as “like a house party” and the island as “beautiful” in comments to ‘Great British Life’ magazine.
The ‘Famous Face’ Guest List – Burgh Island, Bigbury-on-Sea, South Devon, TQ7 4BG, United Kingdom (Formerly Known As St Michael’s Island, Borough Island And Bur Island)
Dancer and singer Josephine Baker.
Musicians The Beatles – The band stayed there before playing a concert in nearby Plymouth.
World speed record holder Malcolm Campbell.
Agatha Christie – The prolific author is described as having made the island “her second home” and wrote And Then There Were None (1939) and Evil Under The Sun (1941) there. A beach hut was built for her to use as a “writer’s retreat.”
Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill – The politician supposedly met with President Dwight Eisenhower there prior to D-Day.
Flamboyant actor, playwright and singer Noël Coward – He supposedly booked in for three days, but stayed for three weeks and clearly very much enjoyed A Room With A View.
Shipping heiress, socialite and muse Nancy Cunard.
Odeon cinema chain founder Oscar Deutsche – The businessman travelled to the island with his wife and companion, World War One fighter ace Sol Joseph, in the latter’s Ford V8 Pilot just before the outbreak of the Second World War.
Actor and singer-songwriter George Formby – He is said to have been viewed as “the cheeky northern chappie who proudly picknicked on Bigbury Beach” during his visit who “guests didn’t know what to make of.”
Aviator Amy Johnson.
Actress Gertrude Lawrence.
Designer of the Spitfire R. J. Mitchell.
Last Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten of Burma.
Artist J. M. W. Turner – The painter was “cast ashore during rough weather and ‘with a pencil, clambered nearly to the summit of the island’ to sketch its wilderness.”
Renegade royals The Duke and Duchess of Windsor – Said to have travelled to the islands on “frequent occasions” with their aide-de-camp Major Edward ‘Fruity’ Metcalfe.
In 1926, Christie disappeared from her home in Berkshire for 11 days. Mayhem and a manhunt worthy of her murder mystery books followed. Surprisingly, she didn’t choose to head to Burgh Island, but maybe that would have made her too easy to find given her love of the place. The reason for her decision to ‘vanish’ remains hotly contested today and this indeed will likely forever remain in the realms of the debate over who Jack the Ripper was – a case forever unsolved.
The Dates, Developments & Numbers – Burgh Island’s History
May 2023 – Placed for sale for £15 million ($18.8 million, €17.2 million or درهم69 million) through agents Matthew Smith and Henry Jackson of Knight Frank.
Commenting of the sale, Giles Fuchs told Plymouth Live: “Ownership of the Burgh Island Hotel has provided me with a wonderful journey and given me the true privilege of restoring and enhancing one of the most treasured tourist assets in the UK over the past few years. What we have achieved is an immense source of pride for all of us who have been involved and, in our work, we have always tried to ensure that the hotel’s 1920s spirit remains just as vibrant in the 2020s.”
Speaking to The Caterer, Matthew Smith of Knight Frank added: “It is rare for a hotel of such character and heritage to come to the open market.
“In recent years the buildings have received considerable investment and operates as a thriving business which generated in excess of £6 million ($7.5 million, €6.9 million or درهم27.6 million) turnover in its most recent financial year.”
“This is a unique opportunity to acquire a truly iconic hotel that benefits from a number of value-add opportunities to further develop the trading performance, and will no doubt appeal to a global investor audience.”
February 2023 – Plymouth Live reported on rumours about the hotel being for sale for £9 million ($11.3 million, €10.3 million or درهم41.4 million) after an advertisement appeared on Knight Frank’s website for a “mystery property” matching the description of it. Responding at the time, Henry Jackson of Knight Frank stated: “Burgh Island is not on the market. I don’t know where these rumours come from. At the time, the PR firm representing the hotel, Sapience Communications, added: “We have nothing additional to add.”
December 2022 – Planning permission granted for 12 additional guest bedrooms and suites and 13 staff bedrooms by South Hams District Council. Approval was also granted for extension of two of the restaurants and a spa facility.
This redevelopment, BBC News recently reported, will cost £7 million to £10 million ($8.8 million to $12.5 million, €8 million to €11.5 million or درهم32.2 million to درهم45.9 million) and of it, Mr Fuchs observed:
“I’m not the man for that job because once you start that, you need to do the whole thing. It’s also a substantial amount of cash and I don’t want to find [it], thanks very much.”
“We’ve got a big business in London and I could divert funds but the hotel was always about a love story; it was saving something that had been around for years that our family fell in love with.
“To divert more funds doesn’t make any sense to us. We want to buy more buildings in London.”
“She’s a demanding mistress and I ended up getting more and more involved at the expense of my life and other businesses, [but] I’m really pleased we’ve turned it around.”
Autumn 2021 – Burgh Island Limited accounts valued the business at £9.5 million ($11.9 million, €10.9 million or درهم43.7 million). At the time, profits of £296,000 ($370,000, €339,000 or درهم1.4 million) were listed down from £336,000 ($420,000, €385,000 or درهم1.5 million) in 2020.
The company was reported as employing 63 people with a wage bill of £1.6 million ($2 million, €1.8 million or درهم7.4 million). It paid dividends of £2 million ($2.5 million, €2.3 million or درهم9.2 million).
Mid 2018 – Sold by then owners Deborah Clark and Tony Orchard to Office Space in Town Ltd (OSiT), a company ultimately controlled by a London based businessman named Giles Fuchs and his sister Nichola, for a sum of £5 million ($6.3 million, €X million or درهم23 million).
January 2018 – Valued by estate agents Savills at £8.64 million ($10.81 million, €9.90 million or درهم39.69 million).
2012 – Singer-songwriter Ben Howard named his EP after the island.
2003 – The then owners closed the public footpaths on the island; this move was reversed in 2006 other than the routes closest to the hotel.
2002 – Used as a location for the television adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under The Sun.
2001 – Sold for £2 million ($2.5 million, €2.3 million or درهم9.2 million).
2001 – Used as the location of a television adaptation of Evil Under The Sun starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.
2001 and 2008 – Used as the location for ITV’s GMTV show Inch-loss Island.
1994 – Used as the location for an episode of the BBC series Lovejoy titled ‘Somewhere – Over the Rainbow?’
1987 – Used as a location in the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: Nemesis.
1986 – Sold to a couple named Tony and Beatrice Porter, who “faithfully restored it to its former Art Deco glory.”
1965 – Used as a location for the film Catch Me If You Can.
1950s – Renovated, but instead of being used as a hotel became self-catering accommodation.
1939 – 1945 – Used by the RAF as a recovery centre for wounded RAF personnel. During this period, the top two floors of the main building suffered damaged after a direct hit by a bomb.
1927 – Sold to the filmmaker Archibald Nettlefold. He constructed a more substantial 25-room hotel in the Art Deco style in 1929 and after it became popular in the 1930s, added improvements and extensions in 1932 including ‘The Captain’s Cabin’ – it had been taken from HMS Ganges, a warship built in 1821.
1890s – Purchased by the music hall star George H. Chirgwin. He built a prefabricated wooden house to use for weekend parties.
14th century – The Pilchard Inn, the ‘local’ hostelry, is constructed circa 1336. It is believed to have begun life as guest lodgings for a monastery that possibly stood on the site of the current hotel.
Iron Age to Sub-Roman period – First settlers, tin traders, believed to have arrived.
More Images Of Burgh Island…
The approach to Burgh Island at low tide.Many people approach on foot; there are also a number of footpaths for visitors to enjoy once they get to the island.For guests of the hotel, there is a sea tractor they can travel on. Those that have experienced this wonderful contraption have commented on how much they have enjoyed the journey back and forth to and from the mainland.The gates to the hotel are suitably reflective of the Art Deco style of the property.The building is striking and one can certainly see what attracted the likes of Agatha Christie to it and the island.The Palm Court features a restored circular skylight. It is stunning and this is certainly a place where one can imagine such people as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Nancy Cunard sipping martinis there of an evening whilst looking out to sea.One of two restaurants in the main hotel. The Nettlefold offers menus that are said to reflect the “uniquely wild island location.”The second, The Grand Ballroom, is a fine dining restaurant that is lauded as serving “award-winning food” in a setting that is styled around the “grandeur of a bygone era.”The guest rooms, such as ‘The Christie Room,’ have primarily been named after the famous faces who’ve stayed at the hotel in times past.The current owner has fully refurbished the property and furnished it with in-fitting Art Deco items.One of 25 bedrooms and suites at The Burgh Island Hotel; the majority enjoy superb views out to sea and to the South Devon countryside also.Another bedroom, this one with a private balcony.The Artist’s Studio is situated above The Pilchard Inn. It is a dog friendly room and just a few yards walk from the main Burgh Island Hotel building.Agatha’s Beach House has been described as “one of the sexiest hotel rooms in the UK” and is undoubtedly the ultimate place to stay on Burgh Island. It was built specifically for Agatha Christie in the 1930s and was where she penned both of her Burgh Island novels. It has a sitting room, outdoor hot tub, sun decks right onto the sea and includes a king sized bed, a double sofa bed and two single beds.The building from another angle.The sitting room of Agatha’s Beach House has the benefit of the most wonderful of aspects.It also has a woodburning stove.The Pilchard Inn was supposedly built in the 14th century as a lodging house for visitors to the monastery that is believed to have been on the island at that time. It is one of the oldest pubs in Devon.The bar.A traditional space perfect for drinks by the fire.Many of the rooms and suites at the Burgh Island Hotel, such as the Noël Coward suite, allow guests to experience the drama of the sea beyond.The ‘Mermaid Pool’ is a natural seawater pool in a “rugged” setting.Another view of this extremely unusual place to swim. Burgh Island is partly powered by solar panels.South Hams Council approved plans for additional rooms and additional staff accommodation at the Burgh Island Hotel in December 2022.The 21-acre island is just across the water from Bigbury-on-Sea.From a distance, one can genuinely see what attracted the great and the good to Burgh Island.
After Matthew Steeples called out ‘leaky #lockdownfiles sieve’ Isabel Oakeshott, her ‘chlorinated chicken chap’ Reform UK leader and TalkTV host Richard Tice bizarrely enquired of him: “What kind of monster are you?”
“Let’s Make Britain Great” is the predictably and very clearly ‘borrowed’ strapline used by Reform UK, a ‘political party’ – which actually is just an entity registered in England and Wales as company number 11694875. The Donald Trump-esque mantra is used as part of an attempt to attract swivel-eyed right wingers to an ‘operation’ that didn’t win a single seat in the 2021 London Assembly elections; at that poll, Reform UK laughably finished in tenth position – behind the Women’s Equality, Rejoin EU, UKIP and Animal Welfare parties even.
Tweeting Matthew Steeples, in several rambling rants likely written after a boozy lunch in Belgravia yesterday, ‘considerably richer than yow’ businessman and TalkTV tittle-tattler Tice very generously shared our article (“thanks, Dicky”) and remarked:
“So @M_Steeples is clearly just jealous of Isabel’s success because he is a 2 bit journo of a 2 bit rag that no-one has heard of. Keep going Matthew!”
Turning to COVID-19 itself, the father of three and regular yellow stickered shopper at ‘Celebrity Waitrose’ Belgavia raged:
“So you do not care about the damage to children, the inhumane CareHome restrictions, the awful funeral constraints, the suicides? What sort of monster are you?”
The response to his tweets has been overwhelming, but likely not quite what Tice was anticipating. Aside from being told: “Save your faux outrage, you hypocrite!” one social media observed: “Right back at ya. Stop spreading misleading information” of his ‘monster’ related question. Now Dicky dear, please do go and pour yourself a British beer and please ease your and grubby gym gear-clad Issie’s “jealousy” with that.
Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.
Pictured Top – Richard Tice decided to give Matthew Steeples a “Sunday sermon” about monsters yesterday; he did so late afternoon and likely after a few (British beer only) shandies and perhaps a boozy lunch (with non-European wines only) in Belgravia.
This morning on Twitter, Matthew Steeples asked: “Yesterday, Richard Tice of the Reform Party asked: ‘What sort of monster are you?’ of me after I called out his leaky squeeze Isabel Oakeshott. Who is actual monster in story of #lockdownfiles leaking of MattHancock’s WhatsApp missives?” He gave the options of a) Isabel Oakeshott (32.6%), b) Richard Tice, (8.7%) c) himself (6.5%) and d) Matt Hancock (52.5%). As of 11.30am on Monday 6th March the results were as listed.58-year-old Richard Tice ‘bigs himself up’ as some kind of man of the people in spite of having a clearly very privileged past and present. Often spotted in the tony taverns of Belgravia, this former Conservative donor has been involved in amongst other things property development and investment. He was privately educated at Uppingham and is the son the late horse trainer Joan Tice DL OBE. That he claims Matthew Steeples “jealous” of his gossipy girlfriend – a woman who falsely acted as a muckspreader when she falsely shared fake news that David Cameron had performed a sexual act on a dead pig – is proof permanent that he’s the one who is actually off his merry rocker. “Keep going Dicky!”Called out by Steeples after he suggested him a “2 bit journo of a 2 bit rag,” Tice responded: “What sort of monster are you?” He didn’t find a very positive response to his idiotic question from the majority of social media users.
Social media responds to Richard Tice’s rambling rants and questions about monsters…
Responding on Twitter and Facebook to the missives to Matthew Steeples, social media users observed of Tice and Oakeshott:
“Two-bit? Do you mean The Steeple Times? I read it all the time as do all in the know; distinguished and principled journalism – especially compared to the dross trotted out by your squeeze.”
“You’re a professional troll and so is Oakeshott. Who is paying you?”
“[Oakeshott] had these messages two years ago. Why is she only concerned about those issues now? What sort of monster is she?”
“The problem you have is that you are even more wrong than the government were!”
“Don’t try to kid us you care. You’ve tried to exploit the release of that information with your partner in an attempt to inflict political damage & now you pretend you care? You’re a 2 bit crappy grifter like Farage. I wouldn’t trust you with a lettuce, let alone our rights.”
“Save your faux outrage, you hypocrite! What about the damage to children currently suffering from Long Covid? I don’t hear you utter a bloody word about them!”
“If Isabel had been a decent person, i.e. concerned about what is in the public interest, she would have released ALL the information to ALL media without payment. We see you two for what you really are!”
“You are using those examples of wrongdoing and other peoples’ real human suffering to promote your own ends. What’s worse is that you are gaslighting people by cynically pretending that you are doing it ‘because you care,’ when self-interest is always your real motive. Shyster!”
“What we know is that Oakeshott released these messages at a time that was politically convenient but chose to hide the fact that Banks lied until she was exposed.”
“Disgusting you are trying to manipulate peoples’ suicides for your own benefit and agenda.”
“Serialised in the telegraph to maximise the news cycle/exposure. How is this about any more than @IsabelOakeshott and her personal & political agenda? It’s a massive scoop, dripping with tabloid subterfuge, but why dress it up as a crusade?
“She felt it was in public interest, was disgusted… But not before the book was out. And no doubt her leakage has been handsomely rewarded, possibly even legal protection should MH sue her. She’s the reason journalists will be less trusted with confidential matters.”
“They’re insulting your credibility, I thought you’d recognise that given how often it must occur.”
“You are a charlatan… Trying to make political gain out of peoples’ suffering. What sort of monster are you?”
“[You] didn’t care until you and [Oakeshott] could make political hay and a boatload of cash.”
“None of [the things Tice supposedly ‘cares’ about] are remotely true or relevant. File them under ‘things which ill-informed fight-wingers bleat about but never actually happened. No wonder the ‘UK’ is a global pariah and laughing stock.”
“It’s genuinely painful when dead-eyed sociopaths obsessed with political power no matter the cost lecture others about ‘caring.’ Your entire platform exists and feeds only on negative emotion, reactionary populism with power for its own sake as the final and only goal.”
“You would happily send [sic] asylum seekers drown. F**k off with the faux humanitarianism.”
“You do not care about so-called ordinary people. Stop pretending. I suspect you want an authoritarian far right tax haven complete with subservient work force.”
“You can care about all of this and still think your significant other is a wrong’un. Hope this helps, Dicky.”
“Like your partner, you care when it suits your agenda [Richard].”
“It’s you that’s the monster… A Tory monster. The worst kind.”
“Stop using peoples’ deaths for your own financial gain, you ghoul.”
“[‘What sort of monster are you?’]… That last line, have you ever considered looking in the mirror and pausing to think, [Richard]?”
“Right back at ya. Stop spreading misleading information.”
“Nice one… Brilliant… Keep up the good work, Matthew.”
“Oooh, you’ve got your knickers in a twist… Grow up Tice… You should be the leader of the Whataboutery Party.”
In August 2019, ‘The Steeple Times’ shared an image of Brexiteer Richard Tice buying yellow stickered salmon at Waitrose in Belgravia. We asked: “What next? Chlorinated American chicken?” and suggested he find another yellow sticker… That yellow sticker? ‘Bollocks to Brexit.’In September 2019, ‘The Steeple Times’ condemned Isabel Oakeshott as a “fake news creator” and shared a reader submitted photograph of her next to the “lapdance loving MP” John Whittingdale. For once, she wasn’t wearing her grubby gym gear.Reform UK bases its message most clearly on 45th POTUS Donald Trump’s message: “Let’s Make America Great Again.” It’s a message that has yet to resonate at the ballot box with the great British public. Perhaps Richard Tice should focus on that problem before worrying about ‘monsters’ that simply don’t exist.On Twitter, amongst much mockery, this image of a ‘Grifter’ bicycle simply shone out and had to be shared. As Norman Tebbit once argued, it might be time ‘Dicky Boy’ got on it.
Matthew Steeples examines whether the recent suicide by gunshot of “the envy of Wall Street” billionaire Thomas H. Lee was in any way linked to a clear association with Bill Clinton and a possible one with Jeffrey Epstein
Thomas H. Lee did not appear in the 95-page infamous ‘Little Black Book’ associated with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell. Now, however, after his apparent ‘suicide’ this billionaire financier has not only described as “considerate, generous and unpretentious” and a “constant presence” in her life by Hillary Clinton, but also as having “links” to Jeffrey Epstein.
Sparking rumours of yet another example of the ‘Clinton Body Count’ – the much disputed conspiracy theory that as many as fifty people with close links to the Clintons have died in nefarious circumstances – Stephen M. Lepore for the DailyMail.com shared a photograph of Lee at a New York shindig with another billionaire named Robert Kraft and a couple named Glenn and Eva Dubin. Swedish Ms Andersson-Dubin dated Jeffrey Epstein prior to his 2008 conviction and continued to “socialise with [him] after his time in jail,” Bloomberg reported in 2019.
The 78-year-old Harvard graduate and founder of Lee Equity Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners was best known himself for having bought the soft drinks brand Snapple Beverages in 1992 for £112 million ($135 million, €127 million or درهم496 million) and sold it for a 334% profit to Quaker Oats for £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion, €1.6 billion or درهم6.2 billion) in 1994.
Known also for being an “avid art collector,” father of five Lee also served as a trustee of Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Brandeis University, Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Harvard University, the Intrepid Museum Foundation, NYU Medical Center, and Rockefeller University.
In a statement currently opening the homepage of their website, Lee Equity Partners shared:
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our Founder and Chairman, Thomas H. Lee. He was a great partner and wonderful friend whose vision will continue to influence us for many years to come.”
“Tom’s determination, commitment and strategic vision will continue to inspire all of us at Lee Equity Partners. He was a leader, a friend, a partner, and our mentor. We know he will be proud as the firm continues on, with strength. We will work every day to meet the high standards he has set for us and the entire industry. On behalf of our employees, management teams and investment partners, we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to his family.”
Clearly illustrating that something might be amiss in the financial community, a member of the Wall Street Oasis forum last week remarked of Lee’s death:
“Self-inflicted gunshot wound. Wonder if he knows something about the future…”
Another added: “Perhaps another private equity guy with Epstein connections about to get exposed.”
Going further on Monday, Fortune shared an article with the headline: “Thomas H. Lee’s sudden death shocks partners at his $3 billion private investment firm – with a $1 billion fundraise in the balance.”
For the publication, Dawn Lim and Amanda Gordon added:
“Since then, Lee Equity’s executives have been forced to confront a difficult moment. In at least one conversation, they discussed the importance of reassuring clients that there’s no connection between his death and Lee Equity’s financial health or fund performance.”
“Lee’s death has ushered in a new level of public attention for a shop that manages £2.5 billion ($3 billion, €2.8 billion or درهم11 billion) and doesn’t have a formal media-relations team. It also comes at a critical juncture for the 40-person firm, which is raising a £833 million ($X billion, €942 million or درهم3/7 billion) fund just as investors have become increasingly reluctant to part with their cash amid volatile markets. The firm has raised the vast majority of that fund, other people said.”
“The suicide also presents a test for key partners Mark Gormley, Benjamin Hochberg, Yoo Jin Kim and Joseph Rotberg. They’re among eight executives who climbed the ranks to take bigger leadership roles and steered the firm into financial services and health care.”
“Some investors have taken comfort in the fact that succession is largely complete, people said. They pushed for the firm to spread its wealth more evenly among partners and had sway in the years after the financial crisis, when buyout firms struggled to raise new money. Lee’s cut of the profits was less than 10% for the firm’s last fund.”
“In recent days, several institutions extended condolences and provided expressions of support to the firm. Investors such as Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. committed money to the new fund. The firm’s backers have said they hope Lee’s death doesn’t rattle new investors.”
Returning to the story of the mystery surrounding the supposed ‘suicide’ also by gun shot of Bill Clinton aide turned Jeffrey Epstein associate and wannabe “international deal-maker” Mark Middleton, speaking exclusively to The Steeple Times this morning, Shaun Attwood provided comment to follow up by our two articles this week by Kirby Sommers and Matthew Steeples. The author of Who Killed Epstein? Prince Andrew or Bill Clinton? shared:
“Yet another ‘suicide’ in a long line of suicides #ClintonBodyCount. No surprises here when it comes to the Machiavellian behaviour of the Clinton crime family who’ve left a trail of corpses behind them from Arkansas when Bill was governor to the White House. It is a trail that continues to this day with Jeffrey Epstein and Jean-Luc Brunel.”
Separately, in developing news about the possible move of the “simple shooting party” bestie of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell that is Prince Andrew to Frogmore Cottage and possibly taking over Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle’s home, Matthew Steeples and Shaun Attwood will be live at 7pm GMT on YouTube tonight to discuss this in the fourth episode of Meghan Markle Expose. Follow the link below to tune in.
Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.
Pictured Top – Former U.S. President Bill Clinton enjoying a jolly on the golf course with Thomas H. Lee and enjoying a bit of a bash at the White House with the sex trafficking fiends Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
This morning on Twitter, Matthew Steeples asked: “Was the suicide of billionaire friend of Bill Clinton and financier Thomas H. Lee in any way connected to matters about financiers linked to Jeffrey Epstein?” He accompanied the feature with the hashtags #ThomasHLee #ThomasLee #BillClinton #HillaryClinton #ClintonBodyCount #JeffreyEpstein #GhislaineMaxwell #EvaAnderson. As of 11:30am on Friday 3rd March, 50% of respondents favoured the option: “YES; Eva Andersson etc.”
To watch ‘Meghan Markle Expose – Part 4’ click this YouTube link. The 1 hour 15 minute episode first airs at 7pm GMT on Friday 3rd March 2023. Issues covered primarily focus on the ‘FORGXIT’ saga of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Frogmore Cottage, but there is also discussion of Prince Andrew and his grifting wife, Sarah, Duchess of York – a woman who has still never confirmed if she repaid the loans she so disgracefully took from the since croaked paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Mr Lee’s body was found in a bathroom at his office at 767 Fifth Avenue, New York at around 11am on 23rd February. The 78-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after. A “family friend and spokesperson” named Michael Sitrick later shared: “While the world knew him as one of the pioneers in the private equity business and a successful businessman, we knew him as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, sibling, friend and philanthropist who always put others’ needs before his own.” Just prior to the time of his passing, ‘Forbes’ estimated his worth at £1.7 billion ($2 billion, €1.9 billion or درهم7.3 billion).The now deceased billionaire (second left) partying with the billionaire businessman CEO of the Kraft Group Bob Kraft, the billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin and his “allegedly racy” wife Dr Eva Andersson-Dubin. Back in April 2022, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured the story of neighbours of the “decidedly dubious Dubins” slashing the price of their Upper East Side apartment from £25.1 million to £21.2 million. Of this news, a New York realtor told us: “1040 Fifth Avenue certainly has a perky past, but whilst Jackie Kennedy and Generoso Pope Jr. were unlikely bedfellows when they both lived there at the same time, the stench of the Epstein-Maxwell connections of Glenn, Eva and Celina Dubin is actually very off-putting to buyers. Who on earth would want to live next to them? It’s no wonder no one is biting-at-the-bit to snap up the apartment currently on offer and I can only suggest the sellers perhaps put off marketing until these two social misfits move off elsewhere.”In February 2021, ‘The Steeple Times’ shared an exclusive story courtesy of information supplied by the crusading author of ‘Ghislaine Maxwell: An Unauthorized Biography’ Kirby Sommers concerning Glenn and Eva Dubin. In it, we featured pictures of the vile paedophile Jeffrey Epstein with one of the couple’s daughters on his lap on his notorious sex trafficking private jet. We titled the article: ‘PLANE PERVERTED.’The house Mr Lee – who went by the self-assigned nickname ‘Tomcat’ as he believed he had “nine different lives” – shared with his second wife Ann Tenenbaum in East Hampton, New York. Of it, the ‘New York Post’ observed: “‘He was regarded as having one of the most admired houses in the Hamptons – Bill and Hillary Clinton were frequent guests, they would regularly stay there,’ the source told ‘The Post.’ The Clintons famously holed up at Lee’s East Hampton pad after the bruising 2008 Democratic primary. ‘He was a regular at Maidstone golf club,’ also, the source noted.”Both Hillary Clinton and her husband attended the New York funeral service for Brooklyn born Thomas Haskell Lee (27th March 1944 – 23rd February 2023) on Monday 1st March 2023 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Remarking, Hillary Clinton commented: “Tom was a constant presence. “We’ve shared births and weddings and anniversaries, state dinners at the White House, lively parties from New York City to Martha’s Vineyard to the Hamptons during good times and tough ones. We’re here expressing our gratitude for years as friends, as colleagues and certainly as family members for his long, successful life.” Mr Lee leaves five children – Jesse, Zach, Nathan, Robbie and Rosalie as well as Ann Tenenbaum, the second wife he married in 1996.Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein and President Bill Clinton at the White House on 29th September 1993. Allegations that Clinton and Maxwell had sexual liaisons that became a full-blown affair have abounded, but remain unconfirmed by either party Equally, Epstein and Clinton travelled together on multiple occasions and clearly shared a mutual liking for young girls also. The former POTUS was most certainly advised about the derelict and deviant actions of the nefarious former taxi driver turned financier, yet conveniently chose to ignore such and to instead accept the dirty devil’s dollar.
As it looks like Sarah, Duchess of York won’t be able to help Carrie Johnson with wallpaper, her teabag operation plunges £262,000 into debt and leaves her in further hot water
After having been exposed for having taken £232,000 ($314,100, €274,300 or درهم1.2 million) in “loans” from “Chinese investors” in January 2020 and repeatedly failing to declare whether she ever repaid the £15,000 ($20,300, €17,700 or درهم74,600) “loan” and “further assistance” she took from the since croaked paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Sarah, Duchess of York yet again finds herself in boiling hot water regarding her teabag flogging company.
Highlighted in The Mail on Sunday this morning, Ginger & Moss, a company that the chaotic car crash that is the live-in ex-wife of Prince Andrew is one of five active directors of has recently filed accounts showing it to be £262,063 ($354,782, €309,868 or درهم1.3 million) in debt.
Sarah, Duchess of York controlled “75% or more” of the shares in the company between April 2016 and April 2018, but since April 2018, the only active party listed as having “significant control” is a firm named Solamoon Limited – a firm that has just one director, Sarah, Duchess of York.
The Mail on Sunday’s showbusiness editor Katie Hind reported that Ginger & Moss has “cut its range to four products, including a box of 80 teabags for a staggering £20 ($27, €24 or درهم99)” and stopped selling other items including “earrings, bed linen and high-end toiletries.”
Whilst clearly 62-year-old ‘Fergie’ – a cringeworthy creature forced also to “pause” the Fergie & Friends YouTube channel where she bizarrely read about farting and monsters – thinks the nation still needs her extremely expensive tea, she’s also given up on selling “luxury textiles, homeware and wallpaper.” Lulu Lytle is one person who will be relieved; Carrie Johnson will still have to stick with her for the £840 a roll stuff.
Pictured top – Sarah, Duchess of York poses in an odd costume prior to reading from a book about farting (left) and right on the London Underground with a bag featuring the faces of her daughters.
Sarah, Duchess of York has been listed as a director of Ginger & Moss since 13th March 2015. The other active directors of the company are Amanda Jane Lockley and Ian Wallace Tyson listed at 17 Old Park Lane, London, W1, Nicholas John Redwood Robinson of Frogmary Green Farm, South Petherton, Somerset and Mary Kate Waddington of Beacon Farmhouse, Oxenwood, Wiltshire. An additional director, Geoffrey Stanton Morrow, also listed at the 17 Old Park Lane address, tellingly resigned in December 2021. Over the years, the somewhat intellectually challenged ex-wife of the Queen’s second son has repeatedly tried to sell tea and tea related ephemera without thus far any notable success.When not off her skull or on a bender (left and right), ‘Fergie’ has been known to attempt domesticity and in April 2020 posed mopping floors (centre) at Royal Lodge, Windsor in photos shared on her assistant Antonia Marshall’s Instagram account. ‘The Sun’ labelled said images – which were captioned: “It’s chore time” – “bizarre.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNYktvml-d8
In January 1999, Sarah, Duchess of York and Oprah Winfrey teamed up to drink tea and make scones on the ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ She guffawed as Winfrey mixed up the ingredients for the scones and poured tea in what was termed “Duchess-like” fashion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFThVZ4HzUM
In 2019, Sarah, Duchess of York planned to launch a range of hampers containing scents and teas. Unsurprisingly given pathetic past performance being a guide to her feckless future, the right royal embarrassment’s intentions resulted in yet another disaster. Whatever became of the items produced remains unknown, but most likely lonely and isolated Prince Andrew has enjoyed keeping himself entertained with the leftovers.
Fire damaged Wimbledon house with half its roof missing goes on sale for the staggering sum of £5 million; is this Britain’s most expensive roofless wreck?
Britain’s now likely most expensive wreck without a roof comes in the form of a 5,000 square foot detached house – which, surprisingly is “locally listed” and thus cannot just be flattened – on a plot of one acre backing onto the Royal Wimbledon golf course.
The “period” property lost half its first floor and half its roof on 10th January 2018 when it caught fire. It took six fire engines and thirty-five firefighters just over two hours to bring the blaze under control, according to the Wimbledon Guardian.
James Morrison of selling agents Savills is anything but despondent about the future prospects for this currently not-so-regal residence. In typically bullish realtor fashion, he seizes an exclamation mark and begins: “[This is] a simply exceptional opportunity!”
Continuing Morrison gushes: “The house requires extensive refurbishment throughout. However, there is plenty of scope to extend and renovate this wonderful period property.”
Aside from “well balanced living and entertaining space across three floors with a central galleried stairwell” – and presumably a lot of charring and ingressed water damage, there is also an overgrown garden, weed infested swimming pool and a currently derelict tennis court.
Buyers will no doubt be flocking round the block to move in time for the Wimbledon Championships 2021, which starts on 28th June.
OTHER WRECKS WITHOUT A ROOF PREVIOUSLY FEATURED IN ‘THE STEEPLE TIMES’
The Lilymere Estate, Killington, Cumbria, England
Featured when offered as repossession from a disgraced and struck-off solicitor in June 2015, this lacking shelter from the elements, potentially 8-bedroom, house came with a price tag of £3 million ($4.1 million, €3.5 million or درهم15.2 million) and 1,530 acres of land.
Of the estate, at the time, another overly optimistic estate agent, Andrew Black, also of Savills, mused: “An awful lot has been invested in it and what has been done has been done to a high standard. You can see what the vision was but they never got to complete it.”
“It needs someone with the vision and the resources to finish it. Within reason, they’ve essentially got a blank canvas to put their own decorative style on. It is a one-off and a special place but it will be a challenge and require further investment.”
Muness Castle, Island of Unst, Scotland
Offered for auction in April 2021 for just £130,000 ($179,000, €151,000 or درهم659,000), this Grade A-listed castle came with with cottages, barony title, gold and copper reserves and 240 acres of land. It was bizarrely subsequently put up for auction again with just 160 acres of land a few days later after apparently selling for £184,000 ($254,000, €214,000 or درهم933,000).
Knockhall Castle, Newburgh, Aberdeen, Scotland
Also priced at £130,000 ($179,000, €151,000 or درهم659,000) when placed on the market in August 2017, this shell dates to 1565 and stands near the Trump International Golf Links course. The B-listed structure was accidentally burnt to the ground by Jamie Fleming, “a servant fool” of the then owners, the Udny of that Ilk family, in 1734.
MORE IMAGES OF THE £5,000,000 DRAX AVENUE, WIMBLEDON, LONDON, SW20 0EH WRECK CURRENTLY ON SALE
Seen from the rear, the damage to the roof is more extensive than it appears from the front of the building.From this angle, the front doesn’t look quite so bad.An aerial view of the setting shows neighbouring houses undergoing alterations also.The one acre plot has become somewhat neglected since the January 2018 fire and a former tennis court is now nothing but a ruin.The current condition of the swimming pool makes the one at Katie Price’s ‘mucky mansion’ look decidedly desirable.A lawnmower is definitely required.An aerial view of the wrecked house on Drax Avenue in otherwise ritzy West Wimbledon and its environs illustrates the degree of work required to fix up this property to liveable conditions. Beyond the somewhat punchy £5 million price tag, any purchaser will have to shell out a fortune for a lot more beyond just roof tiles.
Nikolay Kalinin analyses Laurence Fox’s decision to pull out of the Batley and Spen by-election and suggests this batty man’s days in politics are nearly numbered
As if Labour hasn’t had enough losses this year despite numerous revelations regarding the Conservative government’s utter incompetence, their retention of control over the Batley and Spen constituency is under serious jeopardy.
Fox also mentioned in his statement that a major reason for his decision to withdraw is the events at the Batley Grammar School, where a teacher was suspended and received death threats after showing a cartoon of Muhammed from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which Fox called “a blight on our free, tolerant, fair and democratic society.”
Nevertheless, Fox also mentioned in his statement that he would be inviting both Conservative and Labour candidates to a meeting with the citizens of the constituency “very soon to discuss tolerance in the UK.”
It’s very hard to understand how Reclaim could have split the vote had it stood in the election, but most likely they would have successfully capitalised on the grammar school incident. They would have probably have painted it as an oppression of freedom of speech, thereby convincing more right-wing people to vote and preventing the Conservatives from winning the seat.
One thing we can conclude from this episode however is that Fox is not intending to go anywhere anytime soon. Even though this loony was humiliated by YouTuber Niko Omilana at the recent London mayoral elections, he is showing great determination to make his party successful.
Still, we have to keep in mind that much of the reason why Reclaim is known by many people is because of Fox’s utter insanity and because the very, very wealthy financier Jeremy Hosking is strangely not yet tired of funding his operation. The people will eventually move on to better politicians, and Hosking will realise that his large investments into Fox’s party of clowns has not proved beneficial. All in all, the days of Laurence Fox’s political career are quite deservedly numbered.
Yesterday, seeking yet more attention, 43-year-old Laurence Fox took to Twitter to condemn the England squad as “millionaire woke babies” for taking the knee. He continued by suggesting he hopes England will lose in the first round of the Euros and added: “I’m embarrassed to be British.”
In spite of wasting a huge amount of Jeremy Hosking’s money – said to be upto £5 million – Laurence Fox’s 2021 London mayoral election campaign was an utter disaster. He won 47,634 votes, achieved just 1.9% of the vote and thus effectively spent £104.97 for every vote the Reclaim Party received. As a result, Fox lost his £10,000 deposit paid to London Elects, the Greater London Authority team responsible for organising the election of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly as he failed to achieve the 5% of votes or higher required to retain the deposit. The public, however, may now find themselves in a worse situation – Laurence Fox might return to making awful music condemned as “more Chelsea Travelodge than Chelsea Hotel.” Of it, in January 2020, the ‘Guardian’s’ Michael Hann observed: “Laurence Fox’s music doesn’t sound as if it had to exist. It sounds as if it exists because he had the wherewithal to make it, and because his name meant there would always be people willing to give it a plug. The very definition of privilege, really.”Aside from being the co-founder of Marathon Asset Management, University of Cambridge educated Jeremy Hosking is a shareholder in Crystal Palace F. C. as well as the owner of the Gravetye Manor hotel in Sussex. He previously funded the Conservative Party, Vote Leave and the Brexit Party prior to becoming financially involved with Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party.In September 2020, ‘The Steeple Times’ suggested Laurence Fox had “morphed from a much loved tellybox treasure into a tedious twerp.” In the time since, he’s got even worse.
Vast Scots Baronial mansion Carbisdale Castle – nicknamed ‘The Castle of Spite’ – goes on sale for sum 97% lower than it cost to build in the 1900s and 25% less than the sum spent on its 2010 renovation
A mega-mansion termed “the last grand castle built in Scotland” that cost £62 million to build between 1905 and 1917 has gone on sale for just £1.5 million in spite of developers having spent a small fortune on its renovation to date.
Extending to 41,433 square foot, category B-listed Carbisdale Castle in Sutherland is gargantuan in size compared to an average 818 square foot British home. Its construction began after the resolution of the then Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, Mary Caroline’s dispute with her late husband’s children from his first marriage, but ultimately the palatial pad was not completed until five years after her own demise.
Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – Mary Caroline, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848 – 1912) and George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, His Grace The 3rd Duke of Sutherland (1828 – 1892). According to one source, the “deviant duchess” enjoyed an astonishing income of £100,000 per year until her death and married her third husband, a politician and businessman, Sir Albert Rollit (1842 – 1922) in 1896.Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – The castle was used as a youth hostel for 66 years from 1945 until 2011.Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – Its vast size made it ideal for institutional usage.
Featured on these pages in August 2014 and April 2016 after it was placed for sale after being used for 70 years as a youth hostel, the allegedly haunted building was sold to a London based investment firm now known as Faro Capital after being reduced in price from £1.2 million to £900,000. At this stage, £2 million had already been spent on renovations due to extensive water damage in 2010.
In the years since, Faro Capital have cleared Carbisdale Castle of its institutional contents and put in place plans to return the structure to use as what they term a “world class single family residence.” Now, of its current condition, a surveyor recently remarked: “The building offers a superb blank canvas,” according to current selling agents Strutt & Parker.
Speaking to The Scotsman late last week, Robert McCulloch for Strutt & Parker remarked of the sale of Carbisdale Castle:
“Already there has been interest. The property is in a state of partial renovation so it lends itself to being either a private residence or a commercial venture.”
“There has been interest in it as a hotel and also those who are interested in its charitable use. With its proximity to the North Coast 500 driving route and the rise in domestic tourism, I am sure people will see a lot of opportunity in this property.”
Carbisdale Castle, however, is still not without problems. Aside from its vast size and the associated costs of maintaining such a white elephant, it comes with a mere 20 acres of land and that is split into various spread-apart parcels. Thus, for a likely oligarch or business titan buyer – who will have to be someone with very, very deep pockets – privacy and security will remain an obvious issue.
The Names & Numbers – Carbisdale Castle, Culrain, Ardgay, Sutherland, IV24 3DP, Scotland, United Kingdom
May 2021 – Placed for sale with Strutt & Parker for £1.5 million ($2.1 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.6 million) or the equivalent of just £36.20 per square foot.
2017 onwards – Of progress since purchase by Faro Capital, Strutt & Parker remarked in 2021: “The current position is that, since 2017, significant works have been carried out to the castle pursuant with the approved consent but the works required to complete the project have been put on hold.”
“This provides the flexibility to purchasers to either complete the development of the castle as a private home, or seek to vary the Listed Building Consent to include the development of the building for commercial use or the subdivision of the building as residential apartments.”
“The intention of the project was to combine all of the decorative features and grandeur of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland’s original creation with services, systems, fixtures, fittings and layout of the highest contemporary quality together with reorganisation of the existing accommodation to suit 21st Century living and the development of a spa and swimming pool as complementary features.”
Works to Carbisdale Castle have included the stripping down of the building, the removal of redundant items, the excavation of a proposed swimming pool and the replacement of heating systems and lighting circuits.
September 2016 – Sold to Sloane Street, London based Faro Capital Limited (formerly known as the FCFM Group), who planned to turn the building into a “world class residence.”
April 2016 – Reduced in price to just £900,000 ($1.2 million, €1 million or درهم4.6 million) or the equivalent of just £21.70 per square foot.
August 2014 – Offered for sale by Savills for £1.2 million ($1.7 million, €1.4 million or درهم6.1 million).
2010 onwards – After extensive water damage caused by frost, £2 million ($2.8 million, €2.3 million or درهم10.1 million) is spent on renovations.
1945 – 2011 – Used as a youth hostel.
1944 – Gifted to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) by Colonel Salvesen’s son, Captain Harold Salvesen.
22nd June 1941 – Used as the location to host the Carbisdale Conference at which it was “agreed that that the Russian forces, should they enter Norwegian territory, would not stay there after the war.”
1933 – Sold to Norwegian shipping and whaling tycoon Colonel Theodore Salvesen and used during the Second World War as a “safe refuge” for King Haakon VII of Norway and Crown Prince Olav, later King Olav V, during the Nazi occupation of Norway.
The Dowager Duchess (better known as ‘Duchess Blair’) had been jailed for 6 weeks after being found guilty of stealing documents during her divorce and when that was eventually finalised, it was agreed that a castle would be built for her just outside the Sutherland lands.
She intentionally chose – supposedly to spite them – a prominent hillside site visible from the very railway line the Sutherlands used to travel south and insisted that the clock tower of the house only had three clock faces. On the side facing Sutherland, the face is blank as “the Duchess did not wish to give the time of day to her former relatives.” As a result, Carbisdale Castle gained the nickname ‘The Castle of Spite.’
Theodora Ong lusts after a £1.55 million 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport that currently sports the registration plate ‘BIG 3’ – but could become ‘BUG 8’
The Steeples Times’ classic cars columnist Theodora Ong is back on the road after the pandemic lockdowns and is all set for essential-journey test drives – or, in this case, is still dreaming of them.
So, you didn’t get out much during 2020 and you’ve saved a fair bit. Staycation country jaunts sound like the safest plan for no-hassle cruising, so, today, I share with you something a little more modern than my normal automobile offerings.
Ready for you to drive away is this rare Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. One of only 58 produced, it’s a UK-registered supermobile, but you are unlikely to have spotted it running around as it’s clocked up just 2,220 miles (3,574 kms).
Right now, this gleaming pearly white Grand Sport is in a secret location in the custody of classic & supercars specialists Graeme Hunt Ltd. They say it’s definitely for driving now rather than to be swaddled up in storage. Well, who wouldn’t want to get some sunshine bouncing off its curvy armour-like shell, designed to profile its muscle structure and ferocious 7993cc – with pano roof down right now?
When the Bugatti Veyron was launched, it redefined sports motoring on the road, in the way that only every decade or so, a new contender explodes on the scene. This is a hypercar of extreme concept fully realised. Its 0 to 60 in just over 2 seconds is too simplistic a way to describe its abilities. It’s a car you can feel; the dealer describes the noise you hear when firing it up as “utterly charming, the oils and fluids pulsing around the engine warming up the 16 cylinders make you just sizzle with excitement,” though I am still waiting to share the flutter of elation from an ever-hopeful outing.
With the heritage of Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti and memorable Grand Prix victories, the 21st century Bugatti is a brand of our Euro-age, as a French subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. After some six years in concept, the Veyron was launched in 2005, and models of increasing refinement rolled off for nearly a decade after. Four turbochargers produced 1001 horsepower offering a top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h) and the price was announced at £880,000 ($1.2 million, €1 million or درهم4.5 million). It sealed its iconic status when the BBC’s Top Gear compared it to Concorde.
And who are amongst the greatest who have sought the greatest? Tom Cruise set the pace of the Mission Impossible III premiere by arriving in a Bugatti Veyron. Beyoncé gifted one to Jay-Z, and the Veyron’s speed and slick looks lured sportsmen Cristiano Ronaldo and Floyd Mayweather Jr and lifestyle designer Ralph Lauren, plus a sizeable clutch of big-time rappers and R&B dukes.
Jazzy customisations and two-tone body paint on Veyrons have been plenty, so it’s soothing to see our pearly king sporting a restrained black interior. It’s currently number plated as ‘BIG 3.’ Does that give a clue as to its current owner?
Just hope we don’t have any more lockdown travel restrictions. You’re almost guaranteed to be tracked if you’re driving this. And don’t even think about emulating the infamous 2014 insurance scam when an owner drove his Veyron into a lake, claiming ‘to avoid a low flying pelican’, then tried to claim £1.6 million ($2.2 million, €1.8 million or درهم8.1 million). His antics were crisply caught on film by an admiring nearby driver and are well worth a watch.
The market at this ultimate top end has stayed unswervingly buoyant in these troubled times, so this Grand Sport looks an investment you can indulge your passion in for decades to come.
Graeme Hunt have the 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport listed at a price of £1.55 million ($2.14 million, €1.79 million or درهم7.88 million). They share that the cherished number plate ‘BIG 3’ “does not form part of the sale,” but add: “We do have ‘BUG 8’ on retention should anyone wish to discuss it.”
Larysa Switlyk’s attempt to go global with a new website sharing imagery of her slaying bears and zebras is proof that this woman is nothing but an international menace and monster
Zebra and black bear slaying barbarian Larysa Switlyk has a new website titled ‘Unleashed Global Adventures.’ On it she fails to spell “copyright” correctly (she misspells it “copywrite”), but that’s by far the best thing about this promotion of what she shamelessly states to be: “It’s a way of life pursuit network.”
On the site, sheep slaughtering sex-toy-up-the-bum-shover Switlyk proudly boasts of her “vast hunting resume” and her ability to help those who pay her take their “trophies home.” This prized cow sickly subsequently refers to what she curiously calls a “travel hunt” as “an investment” and even offers her “content creation services” and “social media management” of such as if she was selling children’s toys.
“Ladies hunting retreats” also feature on ‘Unleashed Global Adventures’ website and in a 2:53-minute video promoting such, Switlyk appears alongside a number of fellow female fleabags. The monsters are seen high fiving after slaughtering animals for nothing but depraved amusement and plainly have no respect for their innocent targets.
Elsewhere, our Change.org petition to get the “blue ticked bitch” Larysa Switlyk and her foul images banned from Instagram is continuing to attract much interest. It recently featured amongst their “most popular” petitions and many signing have left comments also.
Please join the 13,500 people who’ve already signed the petition by clicking here and please share it as widely as possible on social media. It’s continued growth will no doubt delight Switlyk no end and in the end, Instagram will have to listen.
Pictured top: Larysa Switlyk’s new ‘Unleashed Global Adventures’ website even includes an image of this vile vixen with a zebra she shot.
Bear Slaying Barbarian Tries Going Global – Sick Switlyk features extensively on the website posing “proudly” with her victims. Her delight in blood and dead bears is frankly indicative that she is nothing but a monster.Bear Slaying Barbarian Tries Going Global – On her Instagram page @larysaunleased this twisted twerp’s latest posts feature her with weapons that are meant for war zones. That she thinks these appropriate for killing deer and sheep is proof that she is mentally unhinged.
