James Murphy examines his romantic heroes, Ian Fleming and James Bond
I was privileged to attend the recent Masterpiece art and antiques fair in Chelsea. For me, the undoubted highlight was coming face to face with the letters of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, on Peter Harrington’s stand. (more…)
‘Made in Chelsea’ tours and chain stores have taken the place of Led Zeppelin and Sloane Rangers on London’s Kings Road
The Kings Road was famous as the centre of counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s. It subsequently became gentrified in the 1980s and 1990s but now is primarily dominated by the outlets of chains such as Vodafone, Lush and French Connection. (more…)
A Cumbrian mansion built by opium traders and more recently used by cannabis growers comes to the market for just £1.5 million
Built by the well-known Dent family, who made their fortune trading both tea and opium, Flass is a vast 23,000 square foot Palladian mansion on the outskirts of the village of Maulds Meaburn in Cumbria. Ironically it was also the setting for one of the country’s biggest drug raids in May 2012. (more…)
Sir Roger Moore’s joke about being poor is nothing but offensive
Quoted in the Daily Mail’s ‘Ephraim Hardcastle’ column on Wednesday, Sir Roger Moore stated that he couldn’t afford to retire because “I have to keep working to afford petrol for my Smart car”. (more…)
This Hungarian “former student radical” and emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent argued that historic abuse offences should effectively be swept under the carpet on Newsnight in July 2014. Faversham based Furedi – who is married to the CEO of the UK’s largest independent abortion provider – has previously bizarrely leapt to the support of Sarah Palin, attacked the scientific consensus on Global Warming and published a book titled “First World War: Still No End in Sight”. His supporters argue that his critics are just “jealous, small-minded and unable to engage politically or intellectually with the ideas he devises and promulgates on a cooperative, non-coercive basis” whilst he loftily sees himself as “the Lenin de nos jours”. That this academic, wannabe politician and author wrote a book describing the Jimmy Savile scandal as a “moral crusade” in 2013 about says it all. Frank Furedi is nothing more than a pompous, ridiculous man.
Matthew Steeples samples a menu inspired by Monty Python at The Rib Room
Michele Caggianese, the manger of The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower is a man who can be relied upon to come up with clever marketing ideas and in his latest menu offering he’s created something that enables diners to “taste The Meaning of Life” (more…)