Toothy tea leaf Angela Gulbenkian admits stealing £1.1 million and pleads guilty as fellow art crook Inigo Philbrick remains in the clink also
“Grifter heiress” Angela Gulbenkian once mused “life is art” on her Instagram page, but for her, after putting in a guilty plea “to scamming collectors out of art they never received,” she might opt to change that to “life is prison.”
Branded an “ultimate deceiver” alongside the equally audacious art broker Inigo Philbrick in The Steeple Times last June after legendary Chelsea interior designer Jane Morris of Percy Bass called out the crook for conning her firm also, Gulbenkian yesterday admitted two charges of theft at Southwark Crown Court.
Married to the great-grandnephew of the British-Armenian art collector and oil baron Calouste Gulbenkian – father of the legendary Nubar – this wicked wench used her surname to give herself a “veneer of respectability in her work as an art advisor” supposedly. She even used a fake familial foundation email to back up her “shady dealings” and exploited Instagram in a manner similar to Philbrick’s dopey baby mama and Made In Chelsea whining warbler, Victoria Baker Harber.
Sadly, however, for the many victims of this bleach blonde bimbo turned art lifter, it seems that those who handed Gulbenkian over a million pounds will find it hard to recover their funds according to Artnet. In an email provided to them, Metropolitan Police officer Duncan Graham declared: “A confiscation order was made for the amount stolen. At present no assets are present within the UK to realise this confiscation.”
Speaking to The Art Newspaper, Christopher Marinello of Art Recovery International, who is representing one of private jet loving Gulbenkian’s victims, added:
“[The plea] was not too surprising to us because we had her dead to rights. She signed a stipulation of settlement in 2018 where she acknowledged owing the money that she stole, and that she was going to pay it back, but of course she defaulted, so the trial would have been very quick.”
“We pursue these fraud cases vigorously, and I think it’s the only way you can do that. The art world is seeing a rise in fraud and we went after Gulbenkian and anything and everything she touched. We think that the way to take on these fraud cases is to be relentless, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Angela Gulbenkian (née Ischwang and deservedly nicknamed ‘Awful Ange’ by a former friend) – who has been on remand since being extradited from Portugal after failing to show up at court in May 2020 – will be sentenced on 28th July. She will subsequently potentially face trial over separate charges in relation to a case involving the sale of a Warhol portrait of Queen Elizabeth II at a later date. Long may this grubby grotbag rot!
Birds of a Cell – Bearded bullshitter Inigo Philbrick, a wannabe ‘Talented Mr Ripley,’ and toothy tea leaf Angela Gulbenkian share not only a love of art, but also the pleasures of the pokey currently. Philbrick, like ‘Awful Ange,’ was quite deservedly “grabbed” after he sought to evade justice by hiding out in Port Vila, Vanuata, South Pacific in June 2020 and then flown “under instructions from the FBI” to the United States of America. He now faces charges of theft, misappropriation, borrowing money against artworks he did not even own and selling overlapping shares of artworks and has been branded a “pillock” and “Ponzi schemer.” His victims number the Reuben family and art columnist Kenny Schachter.The crimes of both Gulbenkian and Philbrick have involved the works of pumpkin sculptures designed by Yayoi Kusama.A socialite who traded on the name of the late, great Nubar Gulbenkian and the billionaire family of the same name, ‘Awful Ange’ thought declaring “life is art” appropriate. Now, though this monstrous mess will quite rightly languish in the pokey for quite some period, members of the public should be warned that she is someone to most definitely avoid. Period.
As it is revealed Donald Trump nearly pardoned Ghislaine Maxwell, Kirby Sommers’ book about her is released and the screws turn on her connections with the Clintons also
When it rains, it pours for Ghislaine Maxwell and though on 19th January this year – the day before Donald Trump left office – we got panned in some quarters for reporting that the chances of the 45th POTUS pardoning the mucky madam were still high, it now seems that she actually did come closer to getting just such than was earlier imagined.
Whilst the moaning mendacious minx is no doubt slouched in her cell currently contemplating what could have been if ‘The Donald’ had done her a turn, Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged procurer of underage girls – who faces trial in November unless she does the sensible thing and pulls a plea bargain – may now be coming to regret not speaking out about what she knows about the deviancy of Trump.
Yesterday, just as sales for Kirby Sommers newly released book Ghislaine Maxwell: The Unauthorized Biography rocketed on Amazon and Kindle, The Hill reported that “former President Trump considered issuing a pardon to Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell shortly before leaving office, according to a new book from author Michael Woolf.”
Going further, they remarked that “Woolf wrote in his new book Landslide that Trump took a ‘sudden interest’ in Maxwell’s case. ‘Has she said anything about me?’ Trump reportedly asked about Maxwell. ‘Is she going to talk? Will she roll on anybody?’”
Elsewhere, adding to the wicked wastrel’s woes, Rolling Stone reported Tuesday that Audible, Inc. have announced a new true-crime podcast series, Chasing Ghislaine, by Vanity Fair journalist Vicky Ward will premiere on 15th July, whilst Joe Miller of Restoring Liberty reported on U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska has ordered that “Ghislaine Maxwell must turn over documents related to her personal affairs, including records that may reveal more about her finances and relationship with the Clintons.”
Pictured top: Ghislaine Maxwell with Donald Trump on six separate occasions (in seven images). Others with them number Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Paris Hilton.
To purchase a copy of Kirby Sommers’ newly released book, ‘Ghislaine Maxwell: An Unauthorized Biography’ (to be reviewed in ‘The Steeple Times’ shortly’), please click here.
The now incarcerated mucky madam with Christopher Mason, an Englishman now in New York best known for chirping about Kim Kardashian’s arse, writing filthy poems about Jeffrey Epstein’s penis and singing also about board games about Donald Trump also.At yet another gathering, the ‘Bouncing Czech’s’ deviant daughter is pictured flashing her cleavage alongside the model and well-known noxious nuisance Naomi Campbell and the deranged deviants Donald and Melania Trump.
Christopher Mason’s quite frankly repugnant ode to Jeffrey Epstein
With the benefit of hindsight, Christopher Mason’s ‘song’ – penned at the behest of Ghislaine Maxwell for Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday in January 1993 – is decidedly sickening and sordid. Frankly, it should join the archives with the ‘music’ of Rolf Harris and Gary Glitter.
The ‘cappella’ shockingly talks of the later convicted and thankfully now croaked paedophile’s erections and penis and goes as follows:
Poor Jeffrey Epstein is 40, oy vey!
Life must be tough, his hair is already so gray
He sure looks older, but it’s clear from his smile
The older he gets, the more juvenile
Ghislaine is lavishing him with her affections
She claims he has 24-hour erections
Sounds like he’s busy, now ain’t that berserk
How does he find the time to get off to work
He wakes when the cock crows while everyone slumbers
He rivals Einstein when crunching those numbers
He taught at Dalton: The naughty boy blushes
To think of schoolgirls and all of their crushes
Christopher Mason subsequently wrote other poems for Jeffrey Epstein. In one he was described, according to the Daily Mail, as “’Silverado,’ as if he were a grey-haired cowboy… Urban cowboy desperado.”
An examination of the true character traits of the Duchess of Sussex’s PR peddling biased ‘bestie’ Omid Scobie by Nikolay Kalinin
Apart from being a royal editor for Harper’s Bazaar, Omid Scobie claims to be “an authoritative voice on the lives and philanthropic endeavors of the royal family’s younger members.” Strangely though, very little is actually known about this mysterious meddler and given his supposed “fame,” isn’t it strange that there isn’t even a Wikipedia page about him?
On his Twitter feed, Scobie does pompously announce that he’s written a “Sunday Times bestseller” called Finding Freedom about Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their subsequent marriage and defection from the royal family to contradictorily being “private” in the commercial sector. He doesn’t, however, add that said tosh filled tome went to half-price, bargain basement in most bookstores.
In August 2020, the ‘Daily Mail’ shared that plastic-not-fantastic Omid previously worked at gossip magazine ‘Heat’ and partied with the ‘glamour model’ Jodie Marsh. They mentioned how somebody had “airbrushed” Meghan Markle’s “entry on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia… to include more flattering details days before her romance with Prince Harry became public” and illustrated the ‘Finding Freedom’ author’s “drastic transformation” in two very different photographs.Illustrating himself to be anything but a real journalist, “influencer” Scobie told the ‘Women in Leadership Publication’: “A casual follower be forgiven for thinking that royal news is just fizzy commentary on the pomp and soap opera of The Firm” in their spring 2021 edition. He self-importantly added: “Reaching millions on Twitter has also enabled my own views and advocacy to travel further” and concluded: “I want to do everything I can to ensure that individuals from every background can get a seat at the table.” Here is someone far from a journalist; here, in fact, is someone who should just be called out as the Duchess of Sussex’s PR peddler.
According to HITC, Scobie was born in Oxfordshire to an Iranian mother and a Scottish father. His papa, Bill Scobie, runs a marketing group called Lingo; it has only one Twitter follower and he purports also to be a musician.
Scobie’s journalistic career began when he worked as a reporter for the gossip go-to Heat. He quit the magazine after he claimed that an executive called him a “P**i” in an email. Whether he was compensated or got an apology for this unproven allegation remains unknown.
Meanwhile, WaliKali suggests that Scobie’s net worth is $800k. It is not only mysterious as to how they managed to calculate that, but it’s also impossible because this means that his net worth is more than that of say LBC host Nick Ferrari – even though the latter has a bigger audience than Scobie and is certainly a far better-known figure.
Scobie’s circle of associates is just as curious; for example, Markus Anderson – a man who mysteriously went from a waiter at Soho House to become one of their top consultants – supposedly introduced Scobie to Markle and was the one who led him on the path of becoming an unofficial spin doctor for the Sussexes. Not much is known about Anderson in general; he was born in Canada and according to Town & Country, “his upbringing has influenced his taste in beverages.”
Scobie has a verified Twitter account with over 70,000 followers, which sounds legitimate, except for the fact that in reality 26% – almost 19,000 – of those followers are fake. If you’re the kind of person who uses fake followers, that means you are the kind of person who has no legitimacy in the media industry.
Things are no better for Scobie’s associate Carolyn Durand, who co-wrote Finding Freedom. She has over 12,000 followers on Twitter, of whom almost 44% – in other words 5,293 followers – are fake. It’s surprising how she is also verified on Twitter.
The “Sunday Times bestseller” Finding Freedom has 4/5 stars on Amazon.co.uk, which gives the impression that it was well-liked by readers. It is true that the book did top the charts in the UK, selling 31,000 copies in almost a week. However, what many forget is that a group of people called “Sussex Squad” – which sounds like a battalion of people who could execute anyone who dare criticise the Duchess of Sussex – had been leaving fake 5-star reviews on Amazon on purpose, until Amazon stopped that by limiting reviews to “verified purchases.”
The analysis of the book from esteemed media outlets were no better; whereas on Amazon the book is listed as being described by the Daily Telegraph as “utterly gripping,” the actual review references it as “a one massive moanathon – a one-sided, highly biased, self-pitying account of the relationship (between Harry and Meghan).”
What’s even worse is that both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex actually disowned the biography before it was even published; as the Daily Express reports, the Duchess of Sussex’s lawyer had claimed that the book is “either extremely anodyne and/or I understand are the product of creative licence and/or are inaccurate.” Bizarrely, later, her representative argued that she contributed to the book, but did not provide the authors with the contents of the letter sent to her estranged father.
Scobie’s unreliability can also be evidenced by the fact that he accused the Duke of Cambridge’s aides of planting reports that the latter was “worried about Harry’s mental health,” while not providing evidence that this was the case. Honestly, if you want some-one to believe your side of the story regarding the affair, you have to provide solid evidence, and that goes for both sides.
It seems that ITV too have become suspicious of ‘Spin Doctor Scobie’ as his comments about “planted reports” were cut at the last minute from their documentary Harry & William: What Went Wrong? It aired last night and told opinions on the story about Princes Harry and William’s supposed “rift.”
Scobie is also advertised on the HarperCollins website as the host of ABC’s “popular” podcast The Heir Pod, yet the podcast is anything but popular. If you go to Chartable, a service which provides statistics on podcasts, the podcast does have a rating of 4.7 stars out of 5, but only on the basis of 735 reviews. Meanwhile, popular podcasts within the news category – of which The Heir Pod is listed in – such as the BBC’s Global News podcast and The Ben Shapiro Show have thousands of reviews, which demonstrates that there is practically no engagement with Scobie’s podcast.
Another piece evidence of the podcast being anything but “popular” is the fact that it doesn’t chart in any of the big markets such as the US, UK, Canada or Australia. At the time of writing, The Heir Pod charts in Argentina (160th place), Kyrgyzstan (248th place), Antigua and Barbuda (125th place) and Bhutan (138th place). It thus seems to me like ABC is pointlessly wasting millions on a podcast which its target audience doesn’t even want to listen to.
Similarly, Scobie and other members of the sanctimoniously sinsister “Sussex Squad” have silenced and attacked Kate Robertson, a youth organisation leader who criticised the Duchess of Sussex on Twitter for not resolving her grievances with the royal family in private. Eventually, they forced her to delete the tweet and apologise.
Later, Scobie went on Good Morning Britain and justified what happened by saying: “Everyone’s allowed the right to have an opinion on this,” but then also stated: “It stands out when someone speaks so against the couple.” To me, this sounds like pure reinforcement of double standards. Honestly, if you have to rely on ‘cancel culture’ and suppression of freedom of speech in order to defeat your opponent, you don’t deserve to be called a journalist and you certainly should be seen as a threat to society rather than a respected public figure.
What all of this demonstrates is that Omid Scobie is not a genuinely honest reporter and most certainly not the “authoritative voice on the lives and philanthropic endeavors of the royal family’s younger members” that he claims to be. The truth, instead, is that Omid Scobie is a washed-up, childish clot who tries yet fails to portray himself as someone with legitimacy and it’s about time that he got exposed for being nothing but ‘MeGain’s’ number one PR peddler.
Whilst Omid Scobie’s podcast, #TheHeirPod, was “downgraded from ‘a real chore’ to ‘unlistenable’” according to ‘Royal Analysis,’ the true revelation is that it isn’t even popular in the places where it surely should be most relevant, Britain and America.An analysis of Omid Scobie’s Twitter feed clearly shows that a large proportion of his followers are a bit like himself: FAKE.
When he’s not bragging about wearing Balenciaga, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior or sharing photos of his dog, Yoshi, on his Instagram account, the ‘Finding Freedom’ author constantly bangs on about how he believes the royal family to have racist elements. His speculation is rarely supported by anything other than unnamed sources that give his suggestions little to no credibility.Markus Anderson with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and her mother, Doria Ragland.
Canadian waiter turned Soho House director Markus Anderson was allegedly the person to have introduced Prince Harry and the then Meghan Markle. This “champagne partial” individual has been repeatedly linked also to Omid Scobie online on sites such as Quora whilst the site ‘Royal Analysis’ has reported: “Well, apparently, Omid and Markus used to be very close. I don’t think it’s out of the question for Markus to have facilitated Meghan and Omid getting together to strategize about what positive press coverage Omid could give to Meghan.”
Video of e-scooter turning into fireball illustrates why these dangerous death traps should be completely banned in Britain
Shared by London cabbie feed @TaxiLeaks on Twitter with their 11,000 followers on Saturday, a video of an e-scooter’s battery smoking and then exploding provides proof yet again that these unregulated nuisance machines must not be allowed on Britain’s roads and pavements.
This is the death trap device that Sadiq Khan, Heidi Alexander, Will Norman and TfL are promoting.
This is what happens when the battery becomes faulty (apparently a common problem)
In their 0:45-second video – accompanied by the caption: “This is the death trap device that Sadiq Khan, Heidi Alexander, Will Norman and TfL are promoting. This is what happens when the battery becomes faulty (apparently a common problem). I’m sure Heidi can explain being deputy Mayor for transport” – illustration was clearly provided of the dangers of these uninsured ‘mobile weapons.’
Elsewhere on our pages previously, The Steeple Times have highlighted other examples of death and destruction caused by these still for the moment mostly illegally used devices. In July 2019, we reported on the case of Ambar Zohra, a foul-mouthed cretin who hit a pedestrian in London’s Walton Street on a pavement on her scooter, just days after another user was killed on such a device on a roundabout in Battersea.
Whilst later, in July 2020, we commented on the government’s decision to trial rentable e-scooters after no doubt being bunged by operations such as the £1.6 billion valued American provider Bird, @TaxiLeaks’ video today again shows whilst it time the UK did to the contrary: It is time to make e-scooters illegal and to banish them from Britain.
Only last month, a man and woman suffered “serious injuries” after riding an e-scooter they were both on hit a VW Golf in Wolverhampton. At the time, the ‘Daily Mail’ remarked: “Evidence is mounting over their safety record, with critics suggesting they make it easier for criminals to whip people’s phones from their hands on the street and make a fast getaway. And in July 2019, TV presenter and YouTube influencer Emily Hartridge was killed while riding her e-scooter in Battersea, London. Hartridge, who was thrown from the scooter on a roundabout, is believed to be the first person to die in the UK in an accident involving an e-scooter. She was later ruled to have been riding too fast with an under-inflated tyre when she was tragically killed in a crash with a lorry. In the UK, two other people are now known to have died using them, while in the United States the number of e-scooter accidents that leave people needing hospital treatment has risen by more than 222 per cent in four years.”Yesterday, in the ‘Daily Mail,’ Peter Hitchens wrote of his “near-miss with an idiot on an e-scooter.” He observed: “The point being that if e-scooters become legal, you can expect to see a lot of them careering along a pavement near you. There’s a strong chance that they will crash into you from behind, breaking one or more of your bones. This happened to a three-year-old child in Feltham a few weeks ago, and as far as I know the culprit has not been found. And, while that will itself still be against the law, nobody will do anything about it. For the same reason, they are the perfect tool for those drug couriers who are already swapping their pushbikes for them. Legal businesses such as fast-food delivery, which seem to employ some of the most ruthless people in the world, will also no doubt take advantage. We don’t actually need to find all this out. Cities all over Europe are licking their wounds after legalising e-scooters, especially Paris. Singapore last year more or less banned them after several injuries and fatal accidents, as well as fires in public housing blocks caused by faulty batteries… But Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, and the House of Commons Transport Select Committee both seem to have been beguiled by the e-scooter lobby, which appears to mesmerise its victims in much the way that a cobra is said to do.”
After the ‘Daily Mail’s’ Richard Kay shared what he knew of Diana, Princess of Wales’ non-reconciliation with Sarah, Duchess of York because of verrucas, we look at other examples of Fergie’s foot related f**k ups
Late last night, on what would have been the eve of the 60th birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales, the rightly revered journalist and friend of the royal Richard Kay wrote about what he remembers of her 36th and last birthday in 1997.
In a scorching article for the Daily Mail, Kay brought up not only Donald Trump and David Tang, but also referenced Prince Harry and Prince William’s mother’s animosity to her former sister-in-law, Sarah, Duchess of York that day – and revealed, once again, that it was caused by a row over foot infections.
Speaking of ‘verruca-gate,’ Kay remarked:
“Later that night, [Diana] called me again. Among the birthday cards had been a letter from Fergie. The two women, who had been through so much together, were now estranged.”
“The reason? Fergie’s autobiography in which she had written that she had once caught verrucas from wearing a pair of Diana’s shoes. There were other reasons, too, involving issues of trust.”
“The princess was furious and, ever since the book’s publication the previous autumn, the pair had not spoken. Until this point, nobody knew. But that night a newspaper was set to go public with the details.”
“A friend alerted Diana and she immediately abandoned the letter of thanks she was about to write to the duchess in which she said she was prepared to offer her friendship again. The two women, once so close because of adversity, were never to be reconciled.”
Toe sucking twerp Sarah Ferguson with the then Lady Meyer, a lover of Chanel shoes amongst other things and an advisor on footwear to the “kitten heeled” cretin Theresa May amongst others.
Curiously, feet and foot fetishes seem to be something that go side-by-side with Fergie. Not only did her toe sucking incident with John Bryan in August 1992 soil her somewhat already soiled ‘reputation,’ but it must be remembered that the ‘Duchess of Dork’ also got herself involved with the shameless and not-at-all selfless charity tinbanger Catherine (now unbelievably and quite unjustifiably Baroness) Meyer in the 2000s – a “Chanel clad” woman who cringeworthily once made Michael (now Lord) Howard drink champagne out of her shoe at a party.
Going further and after taking money from the thankfully now croaked paedophile Jeffrey Epstein with the help of her other mate, the now incarcerated mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, the ‘Duchess of Downright Dim’ stuck her pork trotters in the proverbial in May 2019 whilst visiting Ontario, Canada. For the occasion, this ludicrous lush wore a not-so-ironic pair of pumps emblazoned with “never complain and “never explain.” Whilst she certainly had “foot-in-mouth” disease on that outing, it remains unknown if she had a verruca to go with them also.
It’s now time for one final thing for childlike ‘Farting Fergie’; it’s finally time to shoe out this ridiculous rotter before she shoves her terrible tootsies in yet another slurry pit.
Pictured top (left to right): A verruca infected toe, the Duchess of York’s inappropriate footwear and the warbling wastrel wearing said shoes.
On Thursday 20th August 1992, the ‘Daily Mirror’ shared what they called “the pictures they didn’t want you to see.” In them, a topless Duchess of York was shown having her toes sucked in the South of France by a Texan millionaire named John Bryan. Of the incident, the ‘Mirror’ later reported: “Royal writer Richard Kay claimed in the ‘Daily Mail’ that he received a message via pager from Princess Diana the night before the photos hit the newspaper stands. Diana’s message was simple: ‘The redhead’s in trouble.’”
One is left wondering if Sarah, Duchess of York (pictured here with her deservedly incarcerated mucky madam mate Ghislaine Maxwell) spent any of the money she got from the paedophile, sex trafficker of children Jeffrey Epstein on shoes.
Theodora Ong reports from the 2021 London Classic Car Show and suggests other automotive events for classic car enthusiasts in the coming months
This weekend, I wallowed in acres of glistening chrome and gushed over the retro appeal of heritage vehicles with their stylish and eccentric owners at the 2021 London Classic Car Show at Syon Park.
Admiring cars of yesteryear is a pleasurable pursuit of reverie; with sunshine bouncing off windscreens and the reality of raindrops causing owners and guardians to be sprightly and attentive around their cars. You get absorbed into their world of devotion. Here, in possibly the nearest meadow to central London, and next to a trout fishery, there’s no sense of sales urgency – not even on the auction stands.
Celebrating anniversaries is the thing amongst car owners’ clubs. It transports us to a distant era, but arguably it’s the cars you’ve seen on the road in your own lifetime which seduce with the greatest allure. The centenaries of the Bugatti Brescia and the Lancia Lambda and, the 60th anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Jensen owners’ club were all being discreetly honoured. There is much to remind you of their design vision and construction innovation over other marques and models which fade forgettably.
When Enzo Ferrari named the Jaguar E-Type: ‘The most beautiful car in the world’, he made it immortal, and the frenzy continues to this day. When a 1975 Jensen Interceptor III starred in a later series of The Saint in the ’80s, it became synonymous with a more exotic mystery – especially as more overseas locations were used for filming. The Interceptor was upgraded with electric sunroof and phone to capture the ultimate comfort of a modern grand tourer. Regardless that it achieved just 10-14 miles per gallon, it beat Aston Martin and Bristol on the film maker’s shortlist.
Jensen, this maverick of mystery – manufactured in West Bromwich – is what we chose to track down at the show. Congratulations, Jensen owners! So, the 50th landmark celebrates the collective passion of the club, not just the car. Take three…
Jensen 541 R
The 541 was launched in 1954 and was the first time Jensen used a fibreglass shell over a tubular steel chassis, partly due to post-war restrictions over the use of steel. But this liberated the design and enabled more complex styling with curious hollows and linear layering.
The original putty and elastoplast colourway of this 1959 model is in immaculate showroom finish and was chosen by Alan Jensen himself for exhibiting at the Earls Court Motor Show. It reads just 105,000 miles, and owner Len Boulton claims a top speed of 125 mph.
Oh, and if anyone finds his petrol cap at a service station off the M25, please tell him. Remember those days when that was quite a common loss?
Jensen SP
This top of the range SP model was launched in 1971 to replace the loss-making four-wheel drive Jensen FF. This one has been technically upgraded by current owner Richard Fisher. It has a whopping 7212cc engine to deliver 0 to 60mph in 6.9 seconds and fuel consumption which ‘you don’t want to know’. Design pedants will question its apparent wonky alignment of side windows and its five sections of visible glass – but just relax and love it.
Jensen Interceptor Cabriolet
Between 1950 to 1958 only 88 of these early Interceptors were built. This particular 1954 model was the first British car to be produced with metallic paint and a vinyl roof. You thought vinyl came of age in the ’70s TV The Sweeney era? This car was painstakingly rebuilt from the chassis up over 15 years from 2000. It was rescued back from California where it was on the point of being scrapped. It has an aluminium body but the boot lid was the first panel Jensen produced in fibreglass. A 4-litre engine powers this solid-looking drive. A lighter looking version was later sold at the Austin A40 Sports.
Contrasting Characters
It’s all about appreciating diversity after all, so here is my pick of two others at the show that couldn’t be any more different.
Maserati Ghibli
It’s a while since the exclusive 96 Club – with some 150 members and 450 on the waiting list – have held a regular rendezvous for breakfast in Belgrave Square. Member Luca Pisetta brought his 1969 Ghibli here to Syon Park. It is family-owned and he is intent on it remaining so for the next generation too.
Meanwhile, despite the absence of breakfast, his fellow 96-er Paolo Callea poured a blushy pinot grigio natural wine from his family’s estate in northern Italy. When under the influence of drink, any admirer would surely enjoy an enhanced vision of the Ghibli’s bold angles and shark-like nose hiding those pop-up head lamps.
At the time, over its six years of production, it was one of the fastest and most expensive cars in the world. It cost more than and even outsold the Ferrari Daytona. About 700 Ghiblis survive today from the 1,170 produced. This particular one had a complete restoration with full engine rebuild over four years, which took some 2,000 hours.
96-ers Luca Pisetta and Paolo Callea.
Salveson Wagonette
Can a vehicle dating from 1893 really be a car at all, if it’s proud to be powered like a coal-fired steam train? With its ‘60s yellow submarine-style paint over, this is positively agricultural looking. It was designed and built at the Salvesen company’s Grangemouth shipyard in 1893, making it the first car to be manufactured in Scotland. A refusal to be influenced by the new generation of oil essence engines led to its distinctive construction with a vertical tube boiler. And yes, it goes, it drives fine – but any guesses for 0 to 60mph?
Classic Dates For Your Summer Diary
Silverstone Classic, Northamptonshire, 30th July to 1st August 2021, combines historic motor racing with displays from 130 car clubs and an auction. It expects to feature 10,000 classic cars over the weekend.
The annual Jensen meeting at The Ace Café, Wembley, 14th August 2021, should be teeming with Jensens. Rock up for a full English and a cup of Ace Café own tea.
Salon Privé, Blenheim Palace, 1st to 5th September, is the hub for 500 classics rolling in. The event is considered one of the big three internationals alongside Pebble Beach Concours and Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
Concours D’Elegance, Hampton Court Palace, 3rd to 5th September 2021, serenely gathers a core of 60 of the world’s rarest classics, plus some 300 further astonishing cars.
The Goodwood Revival, 17th to 19th September 2021, is the only historic race meeting to be staged entirely in period outfits, on a classic circuit which remains unchanged since its heyday.
The2021 London Classic Car Show took place 25th to 27th June. This year it was at Syon Park, and it is usually an annual event.
The 96 Club Breakfast Rendezvous. We vote to bring them back please.
Kings Road, Chelsea, SW3 flat goes on sale for just £40,000 in an area where a house has been offered for £200 million
Whilst most consider Chelsea – the heart of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea – ritzy, in March 2014, realty firm Beauchamp Estates bizarrely declared it “a place where servants live.”
Now, contrasting with the sale of what potentially could be “Britain’s most expensive home” in the same area – the £200 million plus ($278 million, €233 million or درهم1 billion) The Old Rectory, Old Church Street, featured in The Steeple Times in May 2019 – a comparative bargain basement property has gone on sale in the vicinity.
Set to be offered in an online auction on Wednesday 14th July with an estimate of just £40,000 ($56,000, €47,000 or درهم204,000), Flat 10, Blenheim House at 180 Kings Road most certainly must be the cheapest one bedroom flat currently available in the Royal Borough.
Described as “requiring modernisation,” the third floor flat includes an entrance hall, small kitchenette, sitting room, bedroom and en-suite shower room. It is situated at the corner with Burnsall Street and above the Snappy Snaps shop.
The catch? The property is on a lease that has just five years remaining that expires on 16th September 2026. Unlike with many other properties with such short tenures, however, agents McHugh & Co. state: “If requested by the purchaser prior to completion, the sellers solicitor at the expense of the purchaser will serve notice on the freeholder pursuant to a Section 42 Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and assign the benefit of that notice to the purchaser.”
Curious Facts About The Kings Road
The 1.9-mile long road was the king’s private road until 1830 and thus some people refer to it as ‘King’s Road’ whilst others simply reference it ‘Kings Road.’
The World’s End estate takes its name from King James II, who considered the area to be the end of the world when he used to ride down Kings Road.
Famous residents have included Sir Arthur and Lady Colefax, Ellen Terry and Peter Ustinov.
Argyll House (213) is undoubtedly the road’s grandest house. It has been home to the 4th Duke of Argyll and the 5th Marquis of Normanby amongst others.
‘The Pheasantry’ (152) is now a Pizza Express, but was originally the site of a business breeding exotic pheasants, cattle and foxes. It later became the residence of Eleanor Thornton – who became the inspiration for the Rolls-Royce mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy – and as “bohemian apartments” housed Eric Clapton, Anthony Haden-Guest and Germaine Greer.
The Water Rat (383) – now a restaurant named Chicama – was the haunt of the actor and gangster John Bindon in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. A one-time “squeeze” of Princess Margaret, Bindon was known for being able to hang five half-pint beer glasses on his penis.
In 1876, the world’s first artificial ice rink opened just off the road.
Sir Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirt movement had a barracks on the road in the 1930s.
In his 1955 thriller Moonraker, Ian Fleming describes his legendary spy James Bond as residing in “a comfortable flat in a plane tree’d square off the Kings Road.” Another of fiction’s most famous spies, George Smiley (created by John le Carré), lived just off the Kings Road at 9 Bywater Street.
Dame Mary Quant OBE – inventor of the miniskirt – opened her first boutique in the Kings Road in 1955. It was named Bazaar and now features a blue plaque dedicated to her.
In the 1960s, the road was the centre of mod culture and later, in the punk and hippie eras, it was dominated by counterculture.
In 1969, a lion named Christian was purchased from Harrods by John Rendall and Anthony Bourke. He went to live in their furniture store on the Kings Road before later being taken to live in the wild in the Kora National Reserve in Africa.
Led Zeppelin’s record label Swan Song Records was based at 484 Kings Road from its inception in 1974 until the company closed in 1983.
The Pet Shop Boys met in an electronic store on the road in 1981.
The first UK branch of Starbucks opened on the road in 1998.
Nikolay Kalinin urges readers to support journalist and screenwriter Peter Jukes’ crowdfunder as he commences legal action against mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s moronic mouthpiece Jay Beecher
Far-right twerp Jay Beecher went somewhat silent after The Steeple Times published an article in April about him joining the hellish circle of utterly delusional individuals hell-bent on defending mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell.
Several days ago, however, this noxious nitwit emerged out of the dark hole that is the Phantom Zone in order to shockingly and without any evidence accuse the talented screenwriter and Byline Times editor Peter Jukes of child abuse in an article for the far-right Politicalite website. According to Beecher, the accuser he wrote of once starred in one of Jukes’ plays after joining an amateur acting group.
Jukes responded on Twitter and announced that he was setting up a legal crowdfunder against Beecher and his associates Jordan Kendall, James Bembridge and James Melville. In another post featuring a screenshot of an email sent to Beecher’s representative, Jukes has denied the clearly nonsensical accusations and stated that if he “actually believed these allegations he should inform the police.”
In another tweet, Jukes stated: “Beecher and James came up with this on the back of a naff Google search on me, having already declared they were going to take Byline Times ‘down,’” which demonstrates that Beecher’s actions are motivated by a desire to bring down a man calling out clear crackpots like him.
Jukes’ complaints against Bembridge and Melville were based on them retweeting the article published on Politicalite – where Beecher is a regular contributor – which reiterated the appalling accusation that Jukes committed child abuse.
Today, I urge readers to support Jukes’ campaign to tackle Beecher’s lies, because his work as editor of Byline Times has allowed people to gain a new perspective on our country, which is important in these divisive times. It is important also that the harmful tosh being spewed by people like Jay Beecher is not allowed to harm anyone else’s lives and it is important also that such individuals are brought to book for their reprehensible conduct.
To contribute to Peter Jukes’ crowdfunder, click here. All donations will be used only to fund the costs of specialist defamation solicitors, Bindmans LLP.
Prior to publication of the ‘Politicalite’ smear, Peter Jukes responded in writing to Jay Beecher’s nonsense with a comment. It read: “These allegations are completely untrue and I believe Mr Beecher to be making them maliciously. Rather than publishing a libelous and contemptible smear – if Mr Beecher actually believed these allegations he should inform the police. I would happily talk to them and prove this is a malicious allegation for which Mr Beecher will be able to provide no proper details or supporting witnesses, because none exist.After ‘The Steeple Times’ highlighted Jay Beecher as an attention seeking desperado devoted to supporting the deviant daughter of the pension pot plunderer Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwell, in April, the cowardly cretin blocked our Twitter account. Today, we remind readers that what we are dealing with here is an ignoramus with an especially nasty tongue.
Desperate for attention Jay Beecher has pinned himself to a whole array of crackpot ‘causes’ over the years. Aside from having been involved in UKIP (from which he was ultimately and unsurprisingly suspended) and the Tory Party, he more recently created a weird wack job website named ‘The Maxwell Files.’ Here, in June 2021, he published a rambling rant in support of the deservedly incarcerated Ghislaine Maxwell. In it, he quoted the mucky madam’s brother as saying: “One of our favourite games when she was very young was to teach Ghislaine bad words (which of course she did not know the meaning of) and then encourage her to use them in front of our parents when they had guests over which got us into trouble but made Kevin and I hoot with laughter as when Ghislaine, around 4, told a former Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford to ‘piss off’ when he asked her how old she was. We had told Ghislaine that was a form of greeting!” With friends like Beecher, who needs…
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.
As Jim Davidson’s decision to come out in support of the paedophile nonce Gary Glitter is declared a step too far (even for him), we share 10 of this buffoon’s very worst moments
Jim Davidson – of whom fellow comedian Benny Hill once declared: “Went to a showbiz party. Met Jim Davidson, a fine comedian and a gentleman. Talked to all three of them” – has put his feet firmly in the proverbial yet again. No surprises there, but on this occasion this washed-up wazzock’s gone further than before and come out in support of one of the most reviled paedophiles on the planet.
This week, in comments shared first by the Dorset Echo and then the Mirror, former supermarket shelf stacker Davidson – a 5×3 due to his having had 5 kids by 3 of his 5 wives – came out as a supporter of the one-time glam rock singer Gary Glitter (real name: Paul Gadd) and commented: “I spoke to Paul when I visited The Verne [prison] two years. He’s remorseful and he looked ready to start a new life.”
‘Dimwitted Davidson,’ curiously however, showed no empathy for the victims of this perverted paedophile nonce in his comments. “Public hate figure” Glitter has been convicted on numerous occasions in Britain and Vietnam and aside from having downloaded more than 4,000 child pornography images, is convicted of drink driving on multiple occasions, indecent assault, having sex with a girl under the age of 13, obscene acts with minors and the attempted rape of minors amongst other things.
Though this monster will remain on the UK’s Sex Offenders Register for life and was last sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2015, he has declared that he will return to the music scene as soon as he can. In 2008, he remarked: “I have an incomplete album that I want to finish. I have been thinking about the plan during my days in jail. I have sung rock ‘n’ roll for 40 years. After jail, I will continue to rock ‘n’ roll.”
Elsewhere yesterday on Twitter, Davidson attempted to portray himself as political aware to his 180,000 followers with a 2:18-minute video missive on Twitter during which he repeatedly praised Boris Johnson and mocked the Prince of Wales. He ended: “Don’t listen with mother.”
Jim Davidson OBE’s 10 worst moments…
On Great Yarmouth:
“Full of fat children of all colours.”
On London and the UK:
“I am never coming to London again… I may as well go to Dubai and be an ethnic minority there than wait five years till I become one here.”
On former UKIP leader Nigel Farage:
“The Jim Davidson of the political world.”
On beating up one of his 4 ex-wives:
“We’re like a couple of boxers. On the first occasion, I poked her in the eye by accident. I actually went for the mouth… The second time I gave her a shiner. I threw a bunch of keys which whacked her in the eye. Just for a giggle she kept blackening it up to make it look worse.”
“I took the wife out last night; one punch!”
On supposedly giving up on making jokes about black people:
“I can’t do impressions of Frank Bruno or Ian Wright? That’s racist, is it? But I can do Sven-Göran Eriksson?”
“I’m not going to get on my knee, and I’m not going to go ever black person I see, ‘hail you.’ I’m not going to apologise for the past; the past was the past.”
On Black Lives Matter protestors:
“Pondlife… F**king stupid.”
On Piers Morgan (after he was paid to appear on his Life Stories programme):
“You don’t deserve to listen to anyone’s life story because you don’t f**king listen.”
Proving himself the ultimate ‘Brain of Britain’:
“People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die.”
After being declared bankrupt:
“My problem is money.”
On himself:
“I’m a homophobic arsehole.”
Reactions to Jim Davidson’s offensive remarks on Twitter:
In October 2019, ‘The Steeple Times’ joined those condemning Warner Brothers for deciding to use a song by the incarcerated paedophile Gary Glitter (also known as Paul Raven, G.G., The Leader, Rubber Bucket, Paul Monday and Paul Russell) in their film, ‘Joker.’
