Tag: memorial

  • Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed

    Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed

    Matthew Steeples selects some of the most telling and cringeworthy remarks from the newly unsealed 2016 Ghislaine Maxwell deposition

    On Thursday, I ploughed through all 465 pages of the newly unsealed April 2016 deposition of Ghislaine Maxwell at the law offices of Boies Schiller & Flexner. After being promised lurid details of ‘Bouncing Bob’s’ daughter’s “wild sex life” and her lawyers claiming it’d “spread like wildfire across the Internet” (and thus prejudice her trial), overall it was just a bit of a damp squib.

     

    Whilst the bombshells many were hoping for simply did not emerge and though most names redacted could easily be identified – Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton included – what the mainstream media avoided mentioning was that there were many telling remarks and many contradictory statements in the unsealed document.

     

    Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed – Ghislaine Maxwell unsealed – Matthew Steeples selects some of the most telling and cringeworthy remarks from the newly unsealed 2016 Ghislaine Maxwell deposition.
    Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed – Ghislaine Maxwell with her chum Prince Andrew and accuser Virginia Giuffre at her London home. During the deposition, Miss Maxwell referred to Ms. Giuffre as a “liar” hundreds of times.

    Aside from the fact that ‘Grubby Ghislaine’ clearly illustrated she has her late conman father’s temper in an episode of table thumping, Miss Maxwell’s evasiveness in avoiding giving straightforward answers was transparent. She also showed her own true character and also illustrated the lengths she would go to protect the late Jeffrey Epstein.

     

    With the public set to see this mucky madam on trial next year, we can now anticipate the approach this devious devil will take. It’ll be bombastic and bold, but she’ll unlikely be doing anything that puts her great mate, the non-sweating, Pizza Express loving royal, at risk – that’s for sure.

     

    Here below, we select a few of the amusing and strange questions and quotes from what was unsealed:

     

    Ghislaine Maxwell gets questioned about a John Bryan – Duchess of York-esque ‘toe sucking’ equivalent incident:

    Q – “Did you ever ask [Virginia Giuffre] to rub Jeffrey’s feet?

    A – “I believe that I have read that, but I don’t have any memory of it.”

     

    Asked about “sexual acts,” Maxwell – a woman well-known for teaching other women how to give blowjobs at dinner tables – unconvincingly answered:

    A – “I don’t know what you mean by sexual acts.”

     

    A – “I’ve never had non-consensual sex with anybody… At any time with anybody.”

     

    Curiously defining her citizenships:

    Q – “Are you a citizen of the United States?”

    A – “I am.”

    Q – “Are you also a citizen of England?”

    A – “I am.”

    Q – “Are you a citizen of any other land?”

    A – “TerraMar.”

    Q – “That’s the name of your charity project that deals with oceans, is that correct?”

    A – “Yeah. I’m French as well.”

     

    Bizarrely asked to define her own sex, Maxwell was honest in one regard:

    Q – “Are you a female, is that the sex that you are?

    A – “I am female… I am a 54-year-old woman.”

     

    On sex toys:

    Q – “How would you describe sex toys?”

    A – “I wouldn’t describe sex toys.”

     

    A – “I need you to define a sex toy, I don’t have enough knowledge of sex toys.”

     

    On her and Jeffrey Epstein’s star-studded address book:

    A – “I believe this a copy of a stolen document. I would like to know how you guys got it… You have the stolen document.”

     

    A – “Like everybody, I have an address book.”

     

    Put in her place by the interviewer:

    A – “Let’s move on.”

    Q – “I’m in charge of the deposition. I say when we move on and when we don’t. You are here to respond to my questions. If you are refusing to answer, the court will bring you back for another deposition to answer these questions. Do you understand that?”

     

    A – “You have got your questions mangled… You have mangled your entire questions… I have to object.”

    Q – “You don’t get to object… She is turning into a lawyer already.”

    A – “I would like to.”

     

    A – “I apologise sincerely for my banging at the table earlier, I hope you accept my apology.”

     

    Asked if she was responsible for Jeffrey Epstein’s activities and actions, Maxwell replied:

    A – “I’m not responsible for what Jeffrey does and I don’t always pay attention to what happens in the house. I’m very busy.”

     

    On whether she ‘recruited’ girls for her boss/lover:

    A – “Stop right there. I never recruited girls, let’s stop there. Break down the question.”

     

    Q – “Have you ever said to anybody that you recruit females?”

    A – “I don’t recruit anybody.”

     

    A – “I resent and despise the word recruit… I never had to do anything with underage people.”

     

    On whether she ‘recruited’ girls to take the sexual activity pressure off herself:

    Q – “Have you ever said to anybody that you recruit other females… to take the pressure you having to have sex with Jeffrey?”

    A – “I totally resent it and find it disgusting that you should use the word recruit. I have already told you I don’t know what you are saying and your implication is repulsive.”

     

    A – “I never trained a female under the age of 18 at Jeffrey’s house.”

     

    On her thoughts on the deposition process:

    A – “You don’t ask me questions like that. First of all, you are trying to trap me, I will not be trapped.”

     

    A – “Any interest I have is in accuracy. I’m only looking for accuracy.”

     

    A – “Apparently, even saying Virginia is a liar has hazards.”

     

    A – “You are trying to trap me.”

     

    Asked about her interaction with naked people in Epstein’s residences, Maxwell brushed such aside:

    A – “Sometimes… I have seen people from time to time take their top off. I have seen people from time to time do that.”

     

    On whether she photographed naked people:

    A – “It is possible that I took pictures of people that were somehow semi [nude] or had some clothes on or no clothes on, but at no time were any of those pictures remotely inappropriate… I know where you are headed with this and it’s nowhere appropriate and it’s really unattractive.”

     

    Asked about her interactions with Virginia Giuffre – with whom she flew on private plans on at least twenty occasions and with whom she was pictured in her London home with Prince Andrew – Maxwell clearly lied:

    A – “I don’t recall meeting her.”

     

    A – “I wouldn’t recollect meeting her at all but for the tissue stories about this situation.”

     

    A – “I really have no recollection of her.”

     

    A – “I barely recall Virginia, period.”

     

    A – “I don’t recall smoking cigarettes with Virginia Roberts.”

     

    A – “Virginia is a liar… An exaggerator, a fantasist and an absolutely true terrible person.”

     

    A – “I said that there are some things [Virginia] may not have lied about.”

     

    On whether she had sex with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre:

    A – “I never ever, at any single time, at any point ever participated in anything with Virginia and Jeffrey. And for the record she is an absolute total liar and you all know she lied on multiple things and that is just one other disgusting thing she added.”

     

    On whether she dined with Virginia Giuffre with Prince Andrew in London at Tramp:

    Q – “Do you recall going to dinner with XXX, Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Roberts in London at any time?”

    A – “I do not.”

    Q – “Do you recall going to a place called XXX, XXX, Jeffrey Epstein and yourself and Virginia Roberts?”

    A – “I would just like to state for the record XXXXXXXX I do not have any recollection of it and I doubt it happened.”

     

    On whether Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre had sex in a bath at her Kinnerton Street, Belgravia, London home:

    “The tub is too small.”

     

    On whether she and Jeffrey Epstein gave Prince Andrew a Spitting Image puppet of himself and whether they got Virginia Giuffre to “play with him” whilst sitting on his lap:

    A – “There was a puppet… A caricature of XXX.”

     

    On Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual activity preferences:

    Q – “Does Jeffrey like to have his nipples pinched during sexual encounters?”

    A – “I’m not talking about any adult sexual things when I was with him.”

     

    Questioned about the number of occasions she’d flown on the ‘Lolita Express’ and other Epstein planes:

    A – “I cannot tell you how many, a lot.”

     

    Asked about a 13-year-old victim of Epstein whom came to one of his residences:

    A – “I have no idea how old she was… I have no idea… I don’t hire girls like that.”

     

    Turning to a 14-year old:

    Q – “Was she a child?”

    A – “I don’t know what you mean if she looked like a child… Leave it at that… You are making stories up again as usual, there would not be any reason why I would ask her how old she was.”

     

    On a total of 30 underage minors allegedly being brought to Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach house:

    A – “I cannot testify to 30.”

     

    On whether Jeffrey Epstein abused minors:

    A – “I can’t testify what Jeffrey did or didn’t do.”

     

    A – “I never observed Jeffrey having sex with a minor.”

     

    Q – “I’m asking what you believe, from your own belief, do you believe that Jeffrey Epstein abused minors?”

    A – “I can only go from what I know personally about what Virginia’s lies talked about. She is the only person I know that actually claimed that. And I can say with certitude that everything Virginia said was a lie.”

     

    A – “I don’t believe [Jeffrey Epstein] was sentenced for [sexual abuse of a minor] actually.”

     

    Asked if she’d ever seen Jeffrey Epstein – with whom she had an intimate relationship with herself – having sex:

    A – “I have never seen anybody have sexual intercourse with Jeffrey, ever.”

     

    On whether she was ever in a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein herself:

    A – “That’s a tricky question. There were times when I would have liked to think of myself as his girlfriend.”

     

    A – “I don’t think I said I was his girlfriend.”

     

    A – “I don’t think I would ever have characterised myself as his girlfriend.”

     

    A – “I’m sure I would [have] loved anybody to come out and say they were Jeffrey rather than me.”

     

    On whether she was asked to ‘carry’ a baby for Jeffrey Epstein:

    A – “I don’t recollect conversation about Jeffrey and babies in any form… I don’t recollect baby conversations with Jeffrey.”

     

    Asked if she’d ‘organised’ for Virginia Giuffre to have sex with others:

    A – “I have never instructed Virginia to have sex with anybody, ever.”

     

    On allegedly dressing Viriginia Giuffre up as a school girl when giving massages:

    A – “I have no idea what you are talking about… I have no idea what you are talking about… I clearly know what a school girl outfit is. I have no recollection of providing anybody with a school girl outfit.”

     

    On President Clinton being on ‘Paedo Island’ with Virginia Giuffre and herself and whether Jeffrey Epstein dined with him:

    “Virginia is absolutely, totally lying. This is a subject of defamation about Virginia and the lies she has told and one of [the] lies she told was that President Clinton was on the island where I was present. Absolutely 1,000 per cent that is a flat out total fabrication and lie.”

     

    “Allegations that XXX had a meal on Jeffrey’s island is 100 per cent false… I’m sure he had a meal on Jeffrey’s plane.”

     

    On why she kept in touch with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction:

    “I’m a very loyal person and Jeffrey was very good to me when my father passed away and I believe that you need to be a good friend in people’s hour of need and I felt that it was very thoughtful, nice thing for me to do.”

     

    On how much she got paid and what benefits she received post Epstein’s conviction:

    Q – “Were you paid over a million dollars?”

    A – “It was under 500, it was an amount of money less than $500,000, less than a million dollars and I did it out of thoughtfulness and consideration for somebody who was in trouble.”

     

    A – “I don’t recall the details of the cars [I was given].”

     

    A – “I don’t recall any gifts really… I barely recall gifts, I barely recall a lot of this.”

     

    On her legal ‘arrangement’ with Jeffrey Epstein:

    Q – “Do you have a joint defence with Jeffrey Epstein?”

    A – “I believe I do.”

     

    On her legal ‘arrangement’ with (presumably) Prince Andrew:

    Q – “Do you have a joint agreement with XXX?”

    A – “I don’t believe I do.”

     

    On what dirt Jeffrey Epstein might have on her:

    Q – “What negative, unflattering, private or potentially embarrassing information does Jeffrey Epstein know about you?”

    A – “I imagine none.”

     

    A – “I can’t think of anything I have ever done that is illegal… I have a DUI in the UK a long time ago.”

     

    On where Jeffrey Epstein got his wealth:

    Q – “Do you know how Jeffrey Epstein made his money?”

    A – “No… I have no idea.”

     

    On where she was then living:

    “I’m just couch surfing.”

     

    For more fascinating revelations about this ever-developing case, listen to the brilliantly put together The Prince & the Pervert Podcast’ by clicking here.

     

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    Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed – Ghislaine Maxwell unsealed – Matthew Steeples selects some of the most telling and cringeworthy remarks from the newly unsealed 2016 Ghislaine Maxwell deposition.
    Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed – Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein at a memorial event for her late conman father Robert Maxwell on 24th November 1991 at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
    Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed – Ghislaine Maxwell unsealed – Matthew Steeples selects some of the most telling and cringeworthy remarks from the newly unsealed 2016 Ghislaine Maxwell deposition.
    Mucky Madam Maxwell Unsealed – Ghislaine Maxwell is used to having things her way and here she is pictured in her youth tapping away at an early computer. In August 2020, she demanded the prison housing her give her another device and a desk also – her request was unsurprisingly denied.

  • British Witch – Ghislaine Maxwell

    British Witch – Ghislaine Maxwell

    Ghislaine Maxwell is condemned as a ‘British witch’ in a new podcast just as Prince Andrew is permanently banned from Remembrance Sunday services

    This morning, it was revealed that Prince Andrew will not be appearing at this year’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. Speaking to the Daily Mail, an unnamed source declared: “Unless matters change dramatically, no one believes we will ever see the Duke of York in the royal line-up on Remembrance Sunday again.”

     

    Whilst this foreverness may seem truly deserved, in other news in a 56-minute episode of the Broken: Seeking Justice podcast titled ‘British Witch’ just released, it was revealed that Jeffrey Epstein met mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell “as early as 1988” through her father.

     

    Key proof of Epstein’s closeness to Robert Maxwell and not just his daughter was previously provided in the form of photographs shared on Twitter in January by Kirby Sommers. Of them, in the podcast reporter Emily Saul remarked:

     

    “In addition to these accounts, there’s also a photo, snapped a mere 19 days after Robert Maxwell’s death [on the 19th November 1991], that intimately links Epstein and Ghislaine. Shot at the Plaza Hotel during a memorial event for Robert Maxwell, the picture shows Ghislaine and Epstein in conversation. Wearing a blue silk jacket, Ghislaine smiles coyly at Epstein, who is seated to her right, wearing a white bowtie and an enormous grin. It doesn’t look like a first date.”

     

    Going further of this revelation, Saul concluded: “If this is true, then the power dynamic between them shifts significantly. Perhaps she was the boss and Epstein did her bidding. Or, at the very least, they may have been equals.”

     

    “Chronologically, geographically, the idea that Robert Maxwell setup his daughter with Epstein makes sense. Epstein and Robert Maxwell both had offices at the same address, the historic Helmsley Palace Hotel in Midtown Manhattan… Robert Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein did business together.””

     

    Pictured top: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the memorial event for her father.

     

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    British Witch – Ghislaine Maxwell condemned as a ‘British witch’ – Ghislaine Maxwell is condemned as a ‘British witch’ in a new podcast just as Prince Andrew is permanently banned from Remembrance Sunday services.
    Mother of ‘British Witch’ Ghislaine Maxwell – Betty Maxwell, Robert Maxwell’s widow, at the same event alongside a photograph of the megalomaniac crook.
    British Witch – Ghislaine Maxwell condemned as a ‘British witch’ – Ghislaine Maxwell is condemned as a ‘British witch’ in a new podcast just as Prince Andrew is permanently banned from Remembrance Sunday services.
    British Witch – Kirby Sommers’ tweet about the Maxwell memorial evidence.
    British Witch – Ghislaine Maxwell condemned as a ‘British witch’ – Ghislaine Maxwell is condemned as a ‘British witch’ in a new podcast just as Prince Andrew is permanently banned from Remembrance Sunday services.
    British Witch – Ghislaine Maxwell with her parents.
  • Moron of the Moment – Julia Hartley-Brewer

    Moron of the Moment – Julia Hartley-Brewer

    In her crass comments about a right-wing thug who relieved himself by the memorial to Keith Palmer, the constable murdered in the 2017 Westminster attack, Julia Hartley-Brewer simply made a prat of her stupid self

    In spite of declaring herself “irreligious,” Julia Hartley-Brewer likes to hector others. She’s rarely without an opinion the size of a two-tonne truck and yesterday this Birmingham born, Oxford educated megaphone “sparked [a] backlash” after pointing out that a 28-year old man, Andrew Banks of Stansted, “urinated BESIDE the plaque [dedicated to the memory of PC Keith Palmer]. He did not urinate ON it.” She arrogantly then concluded: “This is basic stuff.”

     

    After rightly being called out as an ignoramus, ‘Julia Heartless-Brouhaha’ or ‘Julia Hideous-Sewer’ (as she is occasionally nicknamed) tried to justify her careless chatter. She added: “FFS, people, stop pretending to be stupid. I’m not DEFENDING this asshole for urinating beside the memorial. I’m telling the Met Police that they need to be accurate. Pissing BESIDE the plaque is awful. Pissing ON it would be even worse. Now get over your fake pearl clutching.”

     

    This, however, was unsurprisingly not accepted and whilst some correctly pointed out the urine would have likely “splashed” sideways, others got to the crux of the matter. One Twitter user, ‘Angry (EU) Mum,’ countered: “Why do you as a woman think it is ok for a bloke to expose himself by getting his dick out and urinating in a public place?”

     

    Media commentator and former police commander Chris Greany, though, gave the best suggestion. He concluded: “Julia, take the day off today.” He was right and Hartley-Brewer would do well to henceforth learn a new craft: That of the art of silence.

     

    Meanwhile, Banks, who is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, was subsequently quite rightly charged with outraging public decency; may this right-wing scumbag have the book chucked at him.

     

    [Update: 12.05pm GMT, 15th June: Andrew Banks was jailed for 14 days after pleading guilty to outraging public decency. Ironically, prosecutor Michael Mallon told the court: “The Tottenham fan was in central London to ‘protect statues,’ but admitted he did not know which ones,” reported ‘Metro.’]

     

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    Moron of the Moment – Julia Hartley-Brewer – In her crass comments about a right-wing thug who relieved himself by the memorial to PC Keith Palmer, the constable murdered in the 2017 Westminster attack, Julia Hartley-Brewer simply made a prat of her stupid self.
    The photograph of Andrew Banks of Stansted relieving himself on Saturday that sparked the outrage of the public.
    Moron of the Moment – Julia Hartley-Brewer – In her crass comments about a right-wing thug who relieved himself by the memorial to PC Keith Palmer, the constable murdered in the 2017 Westminster attack, Julia Hartley-Brewer simply made a prat of her stupid self.
    Julia Hartley-Brewer responded to the image with this crass tweet.
  • Evelyn McHale (1923 – 1947)

    Evelyn McHale (1923 – 1947)

    Little is known about what drove Evelyn McHale to jump from the Empire State Building and be captured in the “most beautiful suicide [photograph] ever” on 1st May 1947.

     

    Berkeley, California born bookkeeper McHale was one of nine children of a divorced bank examiner. The 23-year-old worked at the Kitab Engraving Company in Pearl Street, Manhattan and was engaged to a college student discharged from the United States Army Air Force named Barry Rhodes. She seemed to have had it all, but chose to end her life from atop one of the most famous buildings in the world.

     

    “Elegantly attired and wearing a silk scarf, white gloves and a pearl necklace… [she is said to have] carefully removed her coat and neatly folded it, next she placed her black pocketbook on top of her coat [along with her makeup compact filled with family pictures and a handbag]. At 10:40am: Patrolman John Morrisey of Traffic C, directing traffic at 34th and 35th Avenue, reported seeing a white scarf floating lazily down from the heavens. Moments later this peaceful, dreamy scene was brutally interrupted by a heart rendering boom” as McHale had jumped 1,050-feet to her death and a crowd had converged.

     

    Photography student Robert Wiles is said to have run over and captured a “poignant and surreal photo.” It was the only image of his ever published and Life Magazine captioned it: “At the bottom of the Empire State Building the body of Evelyn McHale reposes in grotesque bier, her falling body punched into the top of a [United Nations Assembly Cadillac limousine].” The driver was “in a nearby drug store, thereby escaping death or serious injury” other reports added.

     

    A note found in her pocketbook announced: “I don’t want anyone in or out of my family to see any part of me. Could you destroy my body by cremation? I beg of you and my family – don’t have any service for me or remembrance for me.” She had crossed out the following: “My fiancé asked me to marry him in June. I don’t think I would make a good wife for anybody. He is much better off without me” and then ended: “Tell my father, I have too many of my mother’s tendencies.”

     

    Of the image, one commentator later remarked: “Evelyn’s gloved hand appears to be serenely touching her pearl necklace, and her legs crossed as if taking a nap,” whilst another added: “Evelyn McHale will go down in history as something akin to a fallen angel, as poignant and iconic as Marilyn Monroe.”

     

    She was cremated with no service, grave or memorial and her fiancé reportedly said of her: “When I kissed her goodbye, she was happy and as normal as any girl about to be married.” He remained single for the rest of his life and died in Melbourne, Florida in 2007.

     

    Many ‘sightings’ of Evelyn McHale wearing bright red lipstick and “looking distressed” on the 86th floor observation deck have been reported and in the years since her death, she has been recalled in the works of Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Pearl Jam and Taylor Swift amongst others.

     

    Evelyn McHale (1923 – 1947) – Little is known about what drove Evelyn McHale to jump from the Empire State Building and be captured in the “most beautiful suicide [photograph] ever” on 1st May 1947.
    The United Nations Assembly Cadillac limousine that the body of Evelyn McHale landed upon after falling 86 floors from the observatory deck of the Empire State Building in New York City and the original image (unedited) taken by Robert Wiles. It has been has been compared to the photograph by Malcolm Wilde Browne of the self-immolation of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức who burned himself alive at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11th June 1963.
    Evelyn McHale (1923 – 1947) – Little is known about what drove Evelyn McHale to jump from the Empire State Building and be captured in the “most beautiful suicide [photograph] ever” on 1st May 1947.
    An image clearly showing the damage to the car from above.
    Evelyn McHale (1923 – 1947) – Little is known about what drove Evelyn McHale to jump from the Empire State Building and be captured in the “most beautiful suicide [photograph] ever” on 1st May 1947.
    Joséphine Wister Faure created a ‘mixed media sculpture’ of the car that the body of Evelyn McHale hit on 1st May 1947. Her sculpture is described as: “An interpretation of the photo, revisiting the impact of the image and the trace this woman left, both literally and physically. Also being true to her last wishes in which she specifically asked not to be seen. Inside the car the radio is playing 1947 NYC broadcast.” It was exhibited at the Boite Noire Gallery in the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles in 2015.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXhxfOzkq5w
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQyHyJa2tSs

     

  • The Poppy Pariahs

    The Poppy Pariahs

    Matthew Steeples names and shames the retail giants who won’t be selling Royal British Legion poppies this year; they include Boots, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Tesco, Waitrose and Wholefoods

     

    Even ‘Murky’ Meghan Markle – down under in New Zealand on tour – is sporting one right now; the humble poppy. A mark of respect to those who fought so we didn’t end up living under a regime of terror, most surprisingly, isn’t available at a single supermarket in Belgravia, Chelsea, Fulham or Knightsbridge.

     

    Today, I visited Sainsbury’s in Elizabeth Street, Belgravia in the hope of buying a Royal British Legion poppy. I asked at the counter and was met with: “We don’t sell those things.” I then telephoned the company’s press office and was told: “Our employees got the wrong end of the stick.”

     

    Subsequently, by email, a media relations executive working at the firm, Jordan Grant, replied and commented: “We can reassure customers poppies will be available in store this week.” Given it is already 29th October and Remembrance Sunday is just 13 days away, this is hardly acceptable – especially given the store is already selling Christmas decorations (Christmas Day is 57 days away).

     

    Next, in frustration, I visited Tesco on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. Situated directly next to the National Army Museum and close to the Royal Hospital – home to the legendary and widely respected Chelsea Pensioners. On asking for a poppy, a till operative lackadaisically remarked: “We do not sell those things. We are a supermarket.”

     

    Waitrose Belgravia – commonly known as “Celebrity Waitrose” due to the likes of John Cleese and Lady Helen Taylor being regulars –presented a similar but worse response. The customer service desk operative at the flagship store told me: “We do not condone war so do not sell poppies. It is against our company policy.”

     

    A friend, on my behalf, visited Wholefoods and was told: “We don’t know what poppies are” (they, at least, suggested donating to a homeless charity). She also got told at Boots: “We don’t sell things like that” but did find a lovely pair of Sikh gentlemen selling poppies in the Fulham Broadway underground station. She gave them £25.

     

    A phone call to Selfridges was met with: “We do not supply poppies” but Harrods came through. Their customer service desk call handler announced: “We will be selling poppies later this week. We like to support the Royal British Legion.”

     

    Shame on the high street retailers of Britain. Not a poppy in sight and not an ounce of support for the heroes who’ve saved us. This is an utter disgrace and it should be named as such.

     

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  • Grenfell Ineptitude

    Grenfell Ineptitude

    Matthew Steeples suggests it is time to bring down the Grenfell Tower in the wake of news that £30 million has been spent on temporary accommodation for survivors

     

    Today The Independent revealed nearly £30 million had been spent on hotel rooms for surviors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Whilst this is utterly shocking – and also indicative of the fact that not nearly enough has been done to rehouse residents – it also acts as a reminder that whilst the tower remains standing, further costs rack up from bills associated with stopping it collapsing.

     

    Whilst some might argue the case for the 24-floor structure not being demolished as it serves as a ‘memorial’ to the 72 people who lost their lives there, others are, in my view rightly, calling for it now to be brought down. The possibility of replacing it with, say, a garden of remembrance seems one of the better options on offer but what should be the priority first is that the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea council do more to help the 150 households still waiting to move into permanent homes. Shame on them for their ineptitude to date.

     

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  • Take Me To The Titanic

    Take Me To The Titanic

    Apartment in mansion block in Sloane Square for sale for £6.2 million in spite of needing updating; it is within the building from which a Mayor of Chelsea lived and departed to his death on RMS Titanic

     

    A third floor flat in a portered mansion block on Sloane Square has gone on sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons in spite of being decorated like a relic from the 1980s. It is situated above Hugo Boss’ flagship store and within Grade II listed Wyndham House, the building from which a former Mayor of Chelsea went to his untimely death aboard the RMS Titanic in 1912.

     

    Previously priced at £6.5 million ($8.4 million, €7.7 million or درهم30.9 million) when marketed by Russell & Simpson in February 2016, the 2,684 square foot lateral apartment includes a 30-foot long reception room, 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and features such details as ornate ceiling friezes and plasterwork and working fireplaces. A larger 5 bedroom flat within Wyndham House sold for the staggering sum of £12 million ($15.5 million, €14.2 million or درهم57 million) in July 2015 according to Land Registry records.

     

    Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912
    Wyndham House resident and Mayor of Chelsea from 1909 to 1911 Charles Head (1869 – 1912) perished aboard RMS Titanic, his body was never recovered but a sundial was erected in his memory in nearby Cadogan Place Gardens

     

    Aside from being one of Chelsea’s grandest residential blocks, Wyndham House was at home to one of the victims of the Titanic maritime disaster in the early 1900s and it was from here that Charles Head, Mayor of Chelsea between 1909 and 1911, went to his death in April 1912. Head, a Cambridge educated barrister turned director of Head & Co. insurance brokers and underwriters at Lloyds of London, was a well known supporter of the arts, a councilor from 1906 and had only married 18 months earlier. He travelled alone on a £42 first class ticket (the equivalent of £4,400, $5,700, €5,200 or درهم20,900 today) on the Titanic’s maiden voyage and bizarrely had taken out a £25,000 insurance policy “against ocean accidents”. His precaution left his widow very well provided for given such a sum was the equivalent of £2.6 million today ($3.4 million, €3.1 million or درهم12.4 million).

     

    Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912 Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912Take Me To The Titanic – Wyndham House, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AR – For sale for £6.2 million ($8 million, €7.3 million or درهم29.5 million) through Cluttons – Home to Christopher Head (1869 – 1912), former Mayor of Chelsea, who died on the RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912

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