Witty Fort Lauderdale based philanthropist Michael Bienes passes away
Philanthropist Michael Bienes sadly died of cancer on 5th April according to the Sun Sentinel.
New York born Mr Bienes, a multi-millionaire many times over until falling prey to Bernard Madoff’s crooked Ponzi scheme, was known for hosting lavish parties and supported everything from the Holy Cross Hospital in Broward County to the Royal Opera House in London. He was generous to a tee and known for his dry sense of humour and wit.
The 80-year old, whose accountancy firm, Avellino & Bienes was an early feeder fund of Bernard L. Madoff Securities, leaves a widow, Dianne. She told the Sun Sentinel:
“Michael was never a man who would take advantage of anyone simply because he was always afraid of doing anything wrong. He loved people and valued the relationships he cultivated”.
Michael Bienes will be missed by many in both America and Britain. We offer our condolences to his wife and family.
“Penthouse to rival any other penthouse in the world” in converted brewery next to Tower Bridge for sale for £12.5 million
Described as “a penthouse to rival any other penthouse in the world” despite its somewhat pedestrian decoration, a £12.5 million ($15.7 million, €14.7 million or درهم57.6 million) five floor apartment next to Tower Bridge is currently for sale.
Situated within the former Anchor Brewhouse, a building that formerly housed the Courage Brewery, ‘The High Command’ penthouse includes 4,286 square foot of internal space and 1,203 square foot of terraces. It has a private internal lift and as well as featuring 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, comes with a gazebo, a domed rotunda with a gallery, 6 terraces and 4 private parking spaces.
On the market periodically since February 2015 with Knight Frank and Cluttons, ‘The High Command’ enjoys views across the City of London to the north and Canary Wharf to the east.
‘The High Command’ is described as being “designed to picture frame’ the various aspects of Tower Bridge”The building at night with ‘The High Command’ highlighted‘The Riverside’ is situated on the ground and basement levels of the building and is offered for £6 million
Buyers with a slightly more limited budget have the option of purchasing a ground and basement flat in the building. ‘The Riverside’, a 3-bedroom apartment, is offered for £6 million ($7.5 million, €7.1 million or درهم27.6 million) by Knight Frank.
Party-loving David Pun finds fame in Queensway’s Food Basics Oriental Superstore for all the wrong reasons; for him, it’s a far cry from Harvey Nicks
David Pun is well known on London’s party scene and for the claims he makes about his connections to the families that own Harvey Nichols and The Peninsula Hotels. Like fellow liggers Sandra Shevey and Dennis Doble, he’s extremely partial to a gift bag but now, it seems, he’s achieved fame at the Food Basics Oriental Superstore in Queensway, W2 also.
Spotted by a reader on Sunday, Mr Pun features in a picture montage on a wall of the shop in images taken from the supermarket’s CCTV footage.
When asked why the pictures were there, a worker remarked: “Shoplifting happens a lot here” but declined to comment on exactly what the assorted selection of visitors had been helping themselves to.
Firezza’s first “proper restaurant” in Dean Street, Soho offers gourmet pizza by-the-metre at remarkably reasonable prices; it is a must visit
Edin Basic can be credited with changing the way Brits order pizza. Prior to his arrival in London from war torn Bosnia some twenty-five years ago, home delivered pizza was – if it ever arrived – greasy, cold and pretty unimaginative.
Replacing ham and pineapple as the most exotic thing on the menu with an aim to “create the best pizza in the world”, Mr Basic travelled to Naples, learnt from the best and brought his vision to West London. In 2001, Firezza was born and in the years that followed he built up a 17-site business that was sold to Pizza Express in 2016. He is still part of the operation and is currently expanding the business nationwide and, with a few twists, into China also.
On Wednesday this week, Basic’s journey took a new turn when Firezza opened their first “proper restaurant” in Dean Street, Soho. Featuring the by-the-metre, fire-baked gourmet pizza that customers of the firm’s delivery service have so-loved for nearly two decades, this anything but fussy venue served around 800 on its first day but was still able to provide quality at affordable prices.
Ranging from a margherita for just £5.95 through to a capricciosa for £7.65, Firezza Dean Street is a restaurant that won’t break the bank but equally won’t disappoint. Aside from the freshest ingredients, with an open kitchen and a stunning space pod like Marana Forni pizza oven, watching the chefs work is akin to a ballet performance. Perfectly organised and planned to ensure pizza-to-table in around five minutes, Basic’s team are efficiency to the tee.
House red and house white wines are also perfectly quaffable but, as my companion waxed lyrical all the way home, it’s the cannolo that’ll bring you back again and again. Three of these Sicilian delights will set you back just £2.50.
Firezza, 22 – 25 Dean Street, London, W1D 3RY. Open Sunday to Thursday from 10am until 12 midnight; open Friday and Saturday 10am until 1am.
HSBC to relocate 1,000 key jobs from London to Paris because of Brexit
Theresa May, a woman more interested in getting het up about Easter eggs than the fate of the British economy, should take note. HSBC are planning on relocating as many as 1,000 of its traders and salespeople from London to Paris due to Brexit.
Representing a section of the firm’s staff that generates a most significant 20% of its revenue, the move accompanies news that the bank’s clients “are asking to book more of their trade and foreign exchange activity in their French operation through [the firm’s] Paris office than their UK” divisions.
On Wednesday, Noel Quinn, head of global commercial banking at HSBC Holdings Plc, told Stephen Morris of Bloomberg Markets:
“Some companies are also evaluating whether to ‘flip’ their regional head offices to European cities from Britain. This would require them to reclassify the UK branch as a country office that would become a subsidiary of the continental headquarters”.
A 20-question interview with contemporary artist Alexander Newley
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Eros, anger, anxiety, love – in perfect and contradictory admixture.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
When fate raises its sword to make you tremble, go forth into it and you will find bliss.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2017?
Who’s that? Cancer/Steve Bannon – basically the same thing…
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
No missing – still on target.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
I have no material wealth. Health and creativity is ALL, although I’d like some new drapes in the kitchen.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the state of the financial system?
The dollar rocketed when Trump came in. Need we say more?
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“The UK” delivered in a peppy, north London accent and “Your call is very important to us, please stay on the line…”
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I couldn’t agree more. Everything is a spiral: work from the centre out. I have just raised a fair bit for the St. Martin-in-the-Fields homeless charity through the auction of my paintings.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
A necessary evil. Can you imagine life before? The carousel goes faster and faster and we have to find a way to stay on it. That said, the counter-revolution: silence, mindfulness, not giving a fig is pretty good, too.
Portraits of Dominick Dunne (1925 – 2009) and Sir Nigel Hawthorne CBE (1929 – 2001) by Alexander Newley
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Shakespeare (of course), Oscar (of course), Churchill (large brandy in hand), Chaplin (tearing tickets), my father (Anthony Newley), Sheela (my love), Ava (my daughter), Freud x2 (grandfather and grandson) and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (for perfect Surrealism).
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
A tuna melt with ketchup, on the undercliff in Lyme Regis, watching the sun sink on a balmy summer’s eve.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
10:45am (if it be a mixture of German dessert wine and seltzer).
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
Tea please, milk, no sugar (although I want the sugar).
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
I rarely enjoy them because I don’t go to enough, and you have to invest in the social whirl before it pays back. I’m still working on that—but I did have a pretty good time at Hugh Hefner’s once.
Who is the most positive person you know?
Myself, although periodically encumbered by massive humbug.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
The occasional bout of self-love.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A minotaur rampart on a bed of roses.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A prototype Isotta Fraschini. Only two were made and one crashed at very high speed.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I can identify almost anyone from the back; the habit of a portraitist.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
Two vases of anemonies, one tall one short.
Alexander Newley is a contemporary artist. His subjects have numbered Steven Berkoff, Christopher Reeve, Oliver Stone, Gore Vidal and Billy Wilder and his work features in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
TV drama film examining largest financial fraud ever by an individual set to air in May in America; ‘The Wizard of Lies’ examines the crimes of Bernard L. Madoff
On 20th May, Americans will finally be able to watch director Barry Levinson’s take on the crimes of the Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff when The Wizard of Lies airs on HBO.
Sentenced to 150 years for his £51.9 billion ($65 billion, €61.2 billion or درهم238.7 billion) crime, Madoff is played in the television drama film by Robert De Niro whilst Michelle Pfeiffer takes on the role of his wife, Ruth.
Two trailers have recently been released to international audiences and we share the most recent below. A date for the drama’s release in the UK is still to be announced.
A tenacious Romany Gypsy turned multi-millionaire businessman, Mayfair and Hertfordshire based Alfie Best overcame “many obstacles and prejudices” to make his fortune in cars, mobile phone stores and mobile home parks. The owner of Wyldecrest Parks also produces his own gin and claims his life philosophy is “90% perspiration and 10% inspiration”. His equally entrepreneurial son, Alfie Best III, appeared with him on Channel 4’s My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune.
1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500 that has been driven just 81 miles and stored in a Knightsbridge garage since new to be auctioned for 1,000% more than a normal example of its age
A Mercedes-Benz with a difference is to be auctioned on its twenty-first birthday on 12th April. The car to be offered is an SL500 that effectively has covered an average of just 3.9 miles per year during its lifetime and it is presented in “virtually new condition”.
Offered by Coys of Kensington, the Imperial Red with Mushroom leather two-seat roadster was bought from Normand of Mayfair and was only recently recommissioned after spending the vast majority of its life locked in a Knightsbridge garage.
Of the time warp car, Chris Routledge, CEO of Coys of Kensington, remarked:
“This is a car with a fantastic story. Purchased as a birthday present and driven only 81 miles before the [female] owner lost the keys and never drove it again. It even comes with a letter written by the owner’s butler verifying its mileage and its provenance”.
“Had she not lost the keys and used it regularly, we estimate it would now be worth between £5,000 to £7,000 ($6,200 to $8,700, €5,900 to €8,200 or درهم22,800 to درهم31,900), but the fact that it has kept such a low mileage and has not been driven in more than twenty years makes it worth between £45,000 and £55,000 ($56,000 to $68,000, €53,000 to €64,000 or درهم205,000 to درهم251,000)”.
“What happened with the keys remains a mystery but the car comes with new keys for the new owner”.
“Gentleman’s manor house” that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Thornfield Hall in ‘Jane Eyre’ available to rent for just £14,400 per year; alternatively you could take a tiny studio in SW3 for the same sum
Described by Charlotte Brontë (1775 – 1817) as being “three storeys high; a gentleman’s manor house; battlements round the top gave it a picturesque look” in Jane Eyre, Thornfield Hall was where Jane Eyre became a governess and where she fell for Mr Rochester. The 16th century building that is said to have been Brontë’s primary inspiration, North Lees Hall, is now available to rent and is offered for the same sum as a poky 179 square foot studio in Chelsea Cloisters in London, SW3.
North Lees Hall, Birley Lane, Hathersage, Derbyshire, S32 1BR is owned by the Peak District National Park and available to let after the Vivat Trust, that managed it as a holiday rental from 1988, ceased trading in 2015A first floor studio – 154 Chelsea Cloisters, Sloane Avenue, Chelsea, London, SW3 3DR – is available through JLL for the same sum but is hardly as imposingRuth Wilson played Jane Eyre with Toby Stephens as Edward Rochester in the 2006 TV adaptation of Jane Eyre; part of the series was filmed at North Lees Hall
Supposedly designed by Robert Smythson (1534 – 1614), the architect of Hardwick Hall, Grade II* listed North Lees Hall features a tower and turrets and comprises of 2 reception rooms, 3 double bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It also has a large breakfast kitchen and basement but the panoramic views from the castellated roof terrace are what will most likely impress potential tenants.
North Lees Hall is available through Saxton Mee for £1,200 per month ($1,484, €1,402 or درهم5,453 per month). Tenders to rent it on a furnished basis for a minimum of twelve months must be submitted by Friday 28th April.
