The Steeple Times

Tag: Kensington

  • Betting on the Blues

    Betting on the Blues

    Jon Vine on betting on Britain’s 2017 General Election

     

    The General Election is just days away and bookmakers are experiencing a surprisingly stronger than usual uplift in interest from political betting punters. After Theresa May called an election back in April, the United Kingdom is going to the polls three years earlier than expected and bookmakers have unsurprisingly made her party, the Conservatives, huge odds-on favourites to win the most seats and an overall majority.

     

    Political betting has become big business over the past few years and bookies expect millions to be wagered on this year’s election. One firm alone, William Hill, took £3 million on the last General Election in 2015 and £5 million on last year’s US presidential election.

     

    With six days to go until the election takes place, the Tories are just 2/9 with bookmakers to win the most seats, and 1/4 to win with a majority. It’s a general 6/1 at time of writing that Labour win the most seats, with a Labour majority 10/1 with some firms.

     

    However, although the Conservatives are the bookmakers’ favourites, momentum appears to be with Labour, and their election odds continue to be trimmed ahead of polling day.

     

    Mrs May’s lead over Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on YouGov’s ‘Best PM’ tracker has dropped massively in recent weeks, and punters can expect more twists and turns over the next few days.

     

    In-play betting on the 2017 General Election is expected to be more popular than any previous election, and betting on a range of election markets will be available on 8th June itself, with ‘in-play’ General Election betting expected to be live with a number of major bookmakers even after voting ends and right through the night until a result is announced.

     

    Polling booths will open at 7am on Thursday 8th June and voting will take place until 10pm. Counting of votes will only begin when the polls closed, and by the early hours of Friday, June 9th, the result of the 2017 General Election will likely be known.

     

    Betting is available on candidates in 650 individual constituencies, and live election odds are available on such sites as BetOnPolitics.co.uk website.

    For BetOnPolitics.co.uk, editor Phil Lowe commented:

     

    “The decision to call an election caught everyone by surprise, although, looking back, there were a few signals that the PM was up to something – a big one being the omission of a date in the political calendar for the Queen’s Speech”.

     

    “Despite the polls coming out in recent days, Mrs May and the Conservatives will still be confident of victory on June 8th and the betting still suggests this will be the case. The initial talk of a ‘landslide’ victory for the Blues may have died down, but although the markets got the result of the EU referendum wrong, and were also wrong with the US election, all signs still point to a defeat for Labour”.

     

    Example odds:

     

    Chelsea and Fulham

    Alan De’Ath, Labour Party – 25/1

    Bill Cashmore, Green Party – 400/1

    Greg Hands, Conservative Party – 1/500

    Louise Rowntree, Liberal Democrats – 250/1

     

    Kensington

    Lady Borwick, Conservative Party – 1/50

    Emma Dent Coad, Labour – 50/1

    Annabel Mullin, Liberal Democrats – 14/1

    James Torrance, Independent – 100/1

     

    Islington North

    Keith Angus, Liberal Democrats – 20/1

    James Clark, Conservative Party – 40/1

    Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party – 1/200

    Knigel Knapp, Official Monster Raving Loony Party – 250/1

     

    Maidenhead

    Lord Buckethead, Official Monster Raving Loony Party – 250/1

    Tony Hill, Liberal Democrats – 33/1

    Pat McDonald, Labour Party – 33/1

    Theresa May, Conservative Party – 1/500

     

    Westmorland and Lonsdale

    James Airey, Conservative Party – 13/5

    Eli Aldridge, Labour Party – 200/1

    Mr Fishfinger, Independent – 200/1

    Tim Farron, Liberal Democrats – 1/7

     

  • A Land of Contrasts

    A Land of Contrasts

    Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far

     

    The mere mention of the area of Kensington and Chelsea brings all sorts of connotations: One thinks of the Albert Hall and Hyde Park, Harrods and Harvey Nicks and one imagines affluence and culture. Here is an area that one associates with a certain kind of genteel elegance and one where both dowager duchesses and an educated, international community has long lived in harmony. Sadly, however, the apple cart has tipped and the area has descended to become a place where homeless people shiver on the streets whilst multi-million pound mansions lay rotting. This is an area that has had its soul ripped from its very being and this is an area that has fast become nothing but a money park with a hidden edge.

     

    The cause of this undoubtedly unwelcome change chiefly can be laid at the door of foreign ‘High Net Worth’ (HNW) investors – individuals and corporations who’ve brought ‘Home-aggedon’ to the Royal Borough by snapping up buildings that were once filled with families for crazy sums – and greedy landlords focused on kicking out local businesses in favour of high-paying, trophy tenants. Where once prosperous operations, such as La Brasserie on Brompton Cross, traded for nearly fifty years, are now empty units and outside them sit homeless people begging for scraps.

     

    Yes, there are ‘fake homeless’, but the problem is real and beneath the surface one also finds what can be termed the ‘hidden homeless’. These ‘have-nots’ and ‘have-nothing-at-alls’ sit in Pret stores and mind their own business. They cause no trouble but have been let down by the system. You’d be surprised how many such people there are in the Royal Borough and you should realise one thing: Us mere non-HNW mortals are just one pay cheque away from joining them.

     

    Pictured top: A homeless man in Pelham Street; he ‘lives’ just across the road from the £105 million home of billionaire Professor ‘Muck’ Flick.

     

    A Land of Contrasts – Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far.
    A Land of Contrasts – Meanwhile, in Knightsbridge, ‘homes’ (not that anyone lives in them) in One Hyde Park sell for up to £140 million
    A Land of Contrasts – Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far.
    A Land of Contrasts – Now, in Fulham Road, even “trendy” cafes such as L’Eto are unable to afford their rents and are so desperate to get out of their tenancies that they display ‘to let’ signs whilst still trading
    A Land of Contrasts – Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far.
    A Land of Contrasts – The area’s new wealth, meanwhile, flaunts its money in the most ostentatious fashion possible and has not a care for the community
  • Faded Grandeur

    Faded Grandeur

    Knightsbridge flat for sale for £3.75 million in spite of needing complete renovation and having a lease with just 9 years remaining

     

    A lateral flat – with an interior that could be described as ‘Miss Havisham-esque’ in terms of its faded grandeur – at 16/17 Ennismore Gardens, SW7 has gone on sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million).

     

    Comprising of a first floor balcony flat of 3,111 square foot and a fifth floor staff or guest flat of 488 square foot, the 3,559 square foot property offered has a total of 3 reception rooms, 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It is within a Grade II listed building and described by selling agents Hobart Slater as being “potentially one of the finest apartments in Ennismore Gardens”.

     

    The catch? There are just nine years left on the lease and though this could be extended, purchased at asking price it effectively equates to a cost of £417,000 per year ($544,000, €485,000 or درهم2 million per year). A further expense comes in the form of a service charge of £17,672 per year ($23,033, €20,554 or درهم84,641 per year) also.

     

    Faded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart SlaterFaded Grandeur – Flat 2, 16 – 17 Ennismore Gardens, London, SW7 1AA, United Kingdom – First Floor Flat and Fifth Floor Staff/Guest Apartment – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million) through Hobart Slater

  • Hannah, Soleil and Winter Strafford-Taylor

    Hannah, Soleil and Winter Strafford-Taylor

    Narcissist and “yummy mummy” Hannah Strafford-Taylor describes herself as “Instagram’s most stylish mum” to her 8,600 followers. Mocked as a “plastic clichéd fool using her bizarrely named daughters [Soleil and Winter] as accessories”, Mrs Strafford-Taylor told the Mail Online: “My husband says I have my own unique currency of holidays. I compare everything to the price of a holiday. My favourite place in the world is the Maldives” in January 2017. Of her one commentator remarked: “Well, she loves herself a bit too much” whilst another concluded: “Another bragging Brit, we can all do that”.

     

  • Poore Borwick

    Poore Borwick

    New contributor Mark Newton shares his views on the “dubious record” of Lady Borwick, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Kensington

    Kensington, Kensington, its name beats the drum of the Conservative heartland of London. Tory grandees have worked long and hard to be fortified in this Bastion with greats like Alan Clark, Michael Portillo and Malcom Rifkind amongst its previous tenants. To be given Kensington is to be awarded one of the safest, and most convenient seats in the land – a prize to be won by only the hardest working, and most industrious of MPs and this, to my mind, makes the continued selection of Lady Borwick (née Victoria Poore) as the Tory candidate even harder to understand.

     

    Known locally by the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’, this latest MP is cast quite differently from the usual Kensington mould. Lady (‘Call me Victoria’) Borwick’s stance on Brexit, lousy debate participation and letter response history, questionable use of public funds and ongoing links to shady businesses is creating quite the heated storm in the chattering leafy private gardens of Kensington. Over the next three articles, I’ll be taking a look at Lady Borwick to try to get to the bottom of how and why one of the safest Tory seats of the land came to be held by the one of the least worthy occupants.

     

    Lady Borwick succeeded in getting her hands on Kensington after Malcolm Rifkind stepped down at the 2015 General Election. The circumstances of that coup are somewhat strange, not least because of the history of Kensington in selecting high profile and hard working MPs. What seems to have happened is simple nepotism. Lady Borwick, having twice failed to make the selection list for London mayor during Steven Norris’ candidacy, finally slid into the London Assembly in 2008 as one of three London-wide Conservative members. From there it was an easy promotion from Boris Johnson to the Deputy Mayorhood, and it seems no-one less than the great ‘BoJo’ himself shoe-horned her into the Kensington seat ahead of better qualified and more industrious candidates.

     

    So why then is the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’ doing the rounds in the Royal Borough? Surprisingly, it has very little to do with her controversial Brexit stance in a strongly Remain constituency. What’s got Conservatives up in arms is her uselessness as a constituency MP. According to the MP tracking website TheyWorkForYou, Lady Borwick’s response rate to written enquiries is just 18% – an abysmal score that places her 618th on a list of 641 responding MPs. If there’s one thing the well-to-do residents of Kensington don’t like it’s an MP who is too busy or lazy to respond to their well-meant enquiries, particularly a Member of Parliament who manages to be significantly less efficient than her much busier, high profile forbearers.

     

    So, what, might you ask, is taking up so much of Lazy Borwick’s time that she can’t manage to get to her mail bag? Some suggest that it may be her tireless work for charity, yet, strangely, Lady Borwick’s parliamentary voting record seems to spit in the face of the charitable causes she purports to support. Recently, she has jumped on the laudable activities of @CleanAirLondon, a much needed initiative to clean up London’s diesel rich environment, yet in the Commons ‘Lazy Borwick’ has consistently voted against climate change measures, and against a greater public control of bus services. Hard to reconcile with the self-promotional pictures of her backing smart energy meters.

    Lady Borwick also claims to support local hospitals and to regularly visit the elderly residents of Kensington. She even spoke at a recent debate in favour of mental health and mobility support. Yet in the House of Commons she has almost always voted against paying benefits to those unable to work due to illness or disability and has consistently voted against the terminally ill being given assistance to end their lives.

    Finally, there are those who suggest ‘Lazy Borwick’ may simply be too busy with parliamentary duties to answer constituents’ letters, yet she spoke in just 15 debates in the last year, well below average amongst MPs, and dramatically lower than previous high profile Kensington MPs.

    Whatever it is that keeps Lady Borwick entertained, it can’t then be serving the interests of her constituents, so to get answers we need to dig further, into her bizarre and odd beliefs about Europe, and her odd use of public funds and ties to ‘Big Data’ business.

    Coming up next – ‘Brexit Borwick’ and residents’ anger in Kensington; the constituency with the greatest proportion of EU nationals of any London borough.

     

    Pictured above – ‘Woman of the people’ Lady Borwick – a “director and member of Poore and Second Poore Ltd; holding companies limited by guarantee” – aboard a 40-metre yacht in 2014 with Sunseeker Cheshire’s Jonathan Kingsley. At the time Mr Kingsley commented: “It was a wonderful opportunity to promote our iconic brand and reinforce the British success of Sunseeker to this high profile, influential Lady. She, and her son, adored the boat”.

    #LazyBorwick

     

  • The Best 4x4xFar

    The Best 4x4xFar

    Immaculate 1993 Land Rover Range Vogue for sale; its price will astound but its condition will impress

     

    An immaculately presented twenty-four year old Range Rover has gone on sale for £42,500 ($54,800, €50,100 or درهم201,200).

     

    Offered by West London based Graeme Hunt, the 1993 Land Rover Range Rover Classic Vogue LSE 4.2-litre is boldly described as “an absolute cracker” and has passed through the firm’s hands twice. The grey with tan interior car has every conceivable extra, an upgraded stereo and a Brooklands body kit.

     

    The present owner, one of Graeme Hunt’s “most endearing and trusting customers”, acquired the vehicle three years ago and “embarked on a stratospheric restoration – a restoration upon which he chose to put his mark on, and in an indulgent manner”. The result is a luxury car complete with carpeting more befitting of a Scottish castle than Kensington and a definite future classic.

     

    The Best 4x4xFar – 1993 Land Rover Range Rover Classic Vogue LSE 4.2-litre – For sale through Graeme Hunt for £42,500 ($54,800, €50,100 or درهم201,200) – Immaculate classic Range RoverThe Best 4x4xFar – 1993 Land Rover Range Rover Classic Vogue LSE 4.2-litre – For sale through Graeme Hunt for £42,500 ($54,800, €50,100 or درهم201,200) – Immaculate classic Range RoverThe Best 4x4xFar – 1993 Land Rover Range Rover Classic Vogue LSE 4.2-litre – For sale through Graeme Hunt for £42,500 ($54,800, €50,100 or درهم201,200) – Immaculate classic Range RoverThe Best 4x4xFar – 1993 Land Rover Range Rover Classic Vogue LSE 4.2-litre – For sale through Graeme Hunt for £42,500 ($54,800, €50,100 or درهم201,200) – Immaculate classic Range RoverThe Best 4x4xFar – 1993 Land Rover Range Rover Classic Vogue LSE 4.2-litre – For sale through Graeme Hunt for £42,500 ($54,800, €50,100 or درهم201,200) – Immaculate classic Range RoverThe Best 4x4xFar – 1993 Land Rover Range Rover Classic Vogue LSE 4.2-litre – For sale through Graeme Hunt for £42,500 ($54,800, €50,100 or درهم201,200) – Immaculate classic Range Rover

  • Lady Ridsdale DBE (1921 – 2009, née Victoire Bennett)

    Lady Ridsdale DBE (1921 – 2009, née Victoire Bennett)

    Dame Paddy Ridsdale, as she generally known, was an intelligence operative, secretary to Ian Fleming during WW2 and the inspiration for the Bond character Miss Moneypenny.

     

    A Conservative Party stalwart and married to Member of Parliament for Harwich from 1954 to 1992 Sir Julian Ridsdale CBE (1915 – 2004), Dame Paddy – or Vicky, as she was known to some – is best known for her role in ‘Operation Mincemeat’, a “famous caper” concerning a “man who never was” in 1943.

     

    In the war, Dame Paddy wrote love letters and telegrams that were planted on the body of ‘Major William Martin’, an invented, drowned naval officer, that was floated in the ocean off Spain. The body carried fictitious plans of a purported Allied invasion of Sardinia and Greece and formed part of a plot designed to deflect attention from the Allied landings in Sicily. Of it, she later remarked: “I was sent to buy clothes in all the best men’s shops and had to pose as his girlfriend. I had to go to post offices and rather loudly send this telegram to ‘my boyfriend’, hoping of course that somebody would overhear me”. In due course, the body was indeed found, the Axis powers completely taken in and “Mincemeat swallowed whole, hook, line, and sinker”. A BAFTA winning film directed by Ronald Neame, The Man Who Never Was, made about the deceptive scheme in 1956.

     

    Dame Paddy was known as a “political hostess in the style of a bygone era”, lived in a mansion “sandwiched between a sheikh and a Saudi prince” in The Boltons for the majority of her adult life and is buried in the grounds of the church there. She had one daughter, became Lady Ridsdale when her husband was knighted in 1981 and was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in her own right, for political services, in 1991.

     

    Of her relationship with her one-time employer Fleming, she concluded: “Ian had so many girlfriends that I was not tempted to become one of them”.

     

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xemGlAV6TAw

     

  • Carina Reid

    Carina Reid

    Thieving Chelsea based trollop Carina Reid was labeled “arrogant”, “extremely boorish” and a fraudster by a judge in May 2017. Often spotted in the now defunct La Brasserie restaurant, this tarty so-called beautician was jailed for three years in May 2016 and ordered to pay back £50,000 she’d falsely claimed in benefits a year later. Despite arguing she had no savings, taken no holidays and lived off free food from a mosque, somewhat dubious Miss Reid somehow managed to send £116,000 abroad to acquire property in Dubai in 2013/2014, paid £20,000 as a deposit for a flat in the Kings Road, SW3 and held savings of £180,000 in 19 separate bank accounts. Of this dishonest wench, Judge Douglas Marks-Moore remarked: “This is pie in the sky… You don’t listen to a word I have to say anyway. You have not got a hope in hell of getting an extension. You have been playing the system in my view”.

     

  • Rich Pickings

    Rich Pickings

    Trophy house with a “dictator interior” in The Boltons has nearly £10 million sliced off its asking price; iceberg home behind reduced by £5 million

    A house in London’s second most expensive street has returned to the market at the much reduced price of £30 million ($38.8 million, €35.5 million or درهم142.6 million) in spite of having an interior that would only appeal to the likes of Bashar al-Assad, Muammar Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein.

     

    Previously marketed at £39.5 million ($47.1 million, €47.1 million or درهم188.3 million) in 2015 through Russell Simpson and now offered by Knight Frank, semi-detached 6 The Boltons extends to 9,781 square foot and comes with a 2,469 square foot mews house to the rear in Creswell Place.

    Both buildings are described as “requiring modernisation throughout” and in total provide 5 reception rooms, 16 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. The main house has a lift to all floors, air conditioning and as well as parking for 5 cars, there is an internal garage and an interconnecting garden.

     

    For those with another £32.5 million ($42.1 million, €38.5 million or درهم154.5 million) to spare, Knight Frank also offer another house adjoining the Cresswell Place mews house. Featured in The Steeple Times last May, that house, Cresswell House, has also had a rather punchy £5 million ($6.5 million, €6 million or درهم23.8 million) sliced off its asking price. A super-compound anyone?

    Rich Pickings – 6 The Boltons, London, SW10 9TB, United Kingdom – For sale with Knight Frank for £30 million ($38.8 million, €35.5 million or درهم142.6 million) – Adjoining Cresswell House, 5 Creswell Place, London, SW10 9RD for sale for £32.5 million ($42.1 million, €38.5 million or درهم154.5 million) Rich Pickings – 6 The Boltons, London, SW10 9TB, United Kingdom – For sale with Knight Frank for £30 million ($38.8 million, €35.5 million or درهم142.6 million) – Adjoining Cresswell House, 5 Creswell Place, London, SW10 9RD for sale for £32.5 million ($42.1 million, €38.5 million or درهم154.5 million)

  • Backing Borwick

    Backing Borwick

    K&C resident Justin Downes shares his reasons for supporting Victoria Borwick, the Conservative Party Parliamentary Candidate for Kensington

     

    It is sad that politics has become – if it ever wasn’t – such a filthy business. It is sadder still when a politician noted for integrity, hard work and compassion becomes the subject of a barrage of lies and politically motivated vilification.

     

    Reading some of the remarks about the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Kensington Victoria Borwick in the comments section of a recent article in The Steeple Times, I wondered whether the individual referenced could possibly be same person I have known for so many years.

     

    Could I be prejudiced because I vote Tory? That is doubtful: I haven’t voted Tory for many a year. Maybe, it is because I don’t think I have the political agenda that those attacking Victoria seem to and maybe it is because I believe I actually take people as I find them.

     

    Like many thousands of other residents, I have always found Victoria Borwick ready to help anyone at any time, irrespective of who they might be. Have those authoring these derogatory comments ever met her? I doubt it.

     

    In a world of boring conformity Victoria stands out as her own person. Many will remember the time RBK&C proposed destroying Sloane Square. Victoria – a lady I’ve never known to use the title ‘Lady Borwick’ – stood side by side with residents to the detriment of her political career. It was made clear to her by the then leader of the council, the hideous Sir Merrick Cockell, she would be out in the cold for years to come.

     

    If Victoria faces one criticism, in my view, it’s that she gets over-involved in cases where an overbearing council is bullying the weak. I particularly remember the case of an old soldier, living in the most terrible of conditions, with developers harassing him at every turn. Victoria fought for him like a lioness. She would even pop by to ensure he had food for the weekend.

     

    On a separate but connected note, I have recently been advising a very bright young Conservative candidate (yes, I am politically indifferent). He is facing selection for a Midlands seat: one that overwhelmingly voted ‘Leave’. He, himself, was a dogged and campaigning ‘Remainer’.  He asked me, if asked, whether he should deny the fact.

     

    My question to him was this: “Are you, or are you not, a conviction politician?” He replied he hoped he was. He answered his own question, took his chance and got selected. So, integrity does count in politics.

     

    Justin Downes is a resident of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. He has been a reader of The Steeple Times for a number of years.

     

    The Steeple Times welcomes well-reasoned and contrasting contributions from readers on all subjects as long as they comply with our editorial guidelines. Should you wish to contact us in such regard, please email [email protected]