A wild socialite and daughter of an American textile industrialist, de Janzé is one of the best known members of Kenya’s notorious Happy Valley set and was one of those suspected of the 1941 murder of Lord Errol. This hedonist shot herself and her lover, Raymond de Trafford, in the Garde du Nord railway station in Paris in 1927 and though both survived, she is said to have simply gasped: “Take care of my dog!” as onlookers came to their rescue. Pardoned and fined less than the figure set for shooting a deer out of season, this supposed bipolar disorder sufferer subsequently married and then divorced de Stafford before committing suicide with the very gun she’d used previously. She requested that her friends held a cocktail party on her grave. You couldn’t make it up.
Tag: marriage
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Alice de Janzé (nee Alice Silverthorne and also known as Alice de Trafford and Comtesse de Janzé, 1899 – 1941)
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Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
The former home of renowned Kendalian architect George Webster comes to the market
Eller How House, the home where one of the North of England’s finest architects of the 19th century, George Webster (1797 – 1864), lived and died, has recently come to the market at a price of £1,450,000. (more…)
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Katie Hopkins (nicknames include The Wicked Witch of the West, Cruella De Vil, Widow Twanky, Miss Piggy and Patrick Bateman)
Born in Barnstaple, Hopkins is a serial reality contestant who is serially capable of making seriously stupid remarks. This blonde blabbermouth was once a stand-by contestant for Big Brother and appeared on both The Apprentice and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2007. During and after her stint in competitive television, Hopkins became known for insulting successful businesswoman Michelle Mone by telling her she should be “just happy to be out of the underwear factory for the day”, having sex with another contestant and declaring that she’d slept with another man in the barracks at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. This “serial homewrecker” has done a volte-face since and though photographed romping in a field is also regularly to be found moralising about society on chat shows. Amongst her many clangers was to state that she doesn’t like children to be given “geographical location names” in July 2013. Her own daughter is called India. -
A mistress on a marriage
Gordon Ramsay’s alleged former mistress Sarah Symonds shares her thoughts on what may have caused trouble and strife in the marriage of Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi
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Anne Dunhill
This Roman Catholic novelist and Italian translator’s works have included A Darker Shade of Love, Web of Passion and Anita: A Memoir. A former debutante and model, Dunhill also writes about love, life and lunches on the site Angela Darling’s Blog and is a granddaughter of the luxury goods titan Alfred Dunhill. -
Blighted Bassett
Robbie Williams’ Wiltshire estate for sale again for £2.6 million less than he paid for it
Singer Robbie Williams paid £8,100,000 for Compton Bassett House, near Calne in Wiltshire in 2008. In the years since he’s tried to sell it several times but even now that it has been relaunched for just £5,500,000, will it sell?
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Daniella Westbrook (now also known as Daniella Jenkins)
A former Eastenders actress turned born again Christian whose car crash of a life is the envy of no one. She tragically destroyed her nose after wasting at least £250,000 on crack cocaine and even ended up being kidnapped and gang raped because of a drug debt. In 2013, twice married Westbrook announced: “I have given my life to the Lord”. Her story should be a lesson to many. -
Michelle Mone OBE
When her husband left her, she could of ‘moaned’ but instead she got on with it and paid her now ex-husband some £24 million for his share of her lingerie business. Glasgow born, Mone “”grew up a Scottish, Labour voting Protestant and is now a Conservative voting Catholic” but it is for her patented Ultimo bra that women love her most. Like Margaret Thatcher before her, this high achiever sleeps for only 4 hours each night and goes for a 5-mile jog every morning. She especially likes the lyrics of Michael Buble’s Haven’t Met You Yet. -
John Challis: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times asks actor John Challis, best known for playing Boycie in “Only Fools and Horses”: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Marlene is my guiding force at all times. Listen to your wife. She knows best.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“Never lose that bitterness”.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
Wind turbines.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
The energy of my youth.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
Life in a warm climate.
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 banking crisis?
Bloody capitalists!
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Gobsmacked”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I support animal charities especially Tusk Trust. They are fighting to save rhinos and elephants from extinction as a result of poaching. Ronnie Wood and I are the oldest and longest serving patrons of Tusk.
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?
Mobile phones are a bloody nuisance, especially on public transport. I have got into fights in the silent carriages of trains. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. I resisted a mobile for years.
John Challis and friends If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Marlon Brando, James Stewart, Kim Novak, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Tom Graveney, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, Jacques Tati, Marg Helgenberger and Paul Guilfoyle.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Gorgonzola cheese with fresh figs and a glass of vintage port on the terrace of the Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Italy.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
6pm unless out to lunch.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A martini, stirred not shaken, with a twist of lemon and an olive for my heartburn.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
I don’t do parties anymore. My 60th finished me off.
Who is the most positive person you know?
My brother-in-law, Johnny Palmer.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
ABBA.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A man with a cricket bat striking a cover drive.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
An Aston Martin DB4.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I wear Converse trainers.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
Abby Bobblehead (NCIS), a miniature Trotter yellow van and a packet of lupin seeds sent to me from a Twitter follower in Texas.
John Challis is an English actor best known for his role as Terrance Aubrey “Boycie” Boyce in the long running BBC television comedy series Only Fools and Horses and its spin-off, The Green Green Grass.
To order signed copies of John Challis’ autobiography, Being Boycie and Boycie & Beyond, and to view the list of venues for his show on tour, go to: http://www.wigmorebooks.com
Follow him on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/BeingBoycie
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Correcting ‘Kate’
Why do the press continue to refer to the Duchess of Cambridge as ‘Kate Middleton’?
Two years ago yesterday, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton married Prince William. Euphoria reigned throughout the land and 26 million are said to have watched the ceremony in Britain alone.