Tag: Rolls-Royce

A Demon Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce owned by “maverick” Demon Internet dot-com millionaire Cliff Stanford to be auctioned; an au pair he employed was tragically murdered by a British serial sex offender in Spain; he was convicted of “email spying” in a scandal featuring gerrymanderer Dame Shirley Porter
- Cliff Stanford is best-known for having established the early dot-com success story Demon Internet in 1992. He had a (boom, boom) “demon touch” and sold the company for £66 million in 1998.
- After pocketing £30 million personally, one of Stanford’s first moves was to buy a private plane and “one of the most lavish Rolls-Royces then available.”
- He paid the equivalent (with a discount) of £265,000 today for the opulent Rolls-Royce and declared it: “My favourite present to myself.”
- The 1998 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur is now to be auctioned for less than a tenth of that price with a lower estimate of just £18,000.
- Stanford’s Spanish au pair was tragically murdered in 1999 and subsequently in a totally unconnected series of events, he was convicted of “email spying” on notorious Conservative politician and gerrymanderer Dame Shirley Porter and her son.
- According to his personal Twitter account, Stanford is now based in Tallinn, Estonia; he recently tweeted in support of Dominic Cummings, but neglected to mention if he would have loaned his motor for the spinner’s infamous Barnard Castle drive.
In 1998, “flamboyant” Internet pioneer Cliff Stanford paid the equivalent of £265,000 in today’s money for a brand-new motor. He did not opt for the eco-friendly kind-of-car that today’s tech titans drift around in, but instead slam dunked and went for the ultimate symbol of flash – a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur with every conceivable extra.

Stanford’s long wheel base ride – a vehicle that would have been the envy even of Charles Frere, the business tycoon bounder of Howards’ Way, in terms of its lavishness – personified excess and reflected the persona of a man whom “laughingly” considered getting the numbers ‘666’ incorporated into the dial-up for his Demon Internet company’s software.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit and the longer wheelbase Silver Spur (and their Bentley equivalents) were the favoured mode of conveyance of business moguls in the 1980s and 1990s. Charles Frere (played by the late Tony Anholt, died 2002), a stereotypical example of such a character, was regularly seen in such motors in the BBC classic ‘Howards’ Way’ also.

Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, Clifford Stanford started his career as an accountant, but “found his way to the Internet via a love of computers.” He hit the jackpot with Demon Internet in 1992 and after selling that company to Scottish Telecom for £66 million, claimed his empire would be “bigger than Branson’s” according to the Guardian.

Speaking to the paper in December 2001, he continued: “I always wanted to be wealthy. Money doesn’t buy happiness but lack of it can lead to misery. Now I really enjoy my life, I do whatever I like and no-one tells me otherwise” and next he set up another venture, Redbus Investments, with Dame Shirley Porter’s son, John, as chairman. It listed on the stock exchange in March 2000 and the company’s activities included not only Internet hosting, but also a landmine disposal system and forays into football and popular music.

Redbus, according to ZDNet in Sept2005, was where “Stanford’s trouble seemed to start.” Kiss-and-tell scandals involving a “champagne fueled romp” at Claridge’s and his being banned from the hotel ensued, whilst in 1999 his Spanish au pair was murdered by a serial British sex offender named Tony King – who was only jailed in 2006 after a previous wrongly convicted suspect was cleared in 2002.

In 2001, the Guardian reported on the tycoon’s associations with Max Clifford – with a plainly hoodwinked Stanford remarking: “Max always has loads of really interesting people at his events” of the long since disgraced and now thankfully dead paedophile – and mentioned an unsuccessful investment of £1 million in a “badly managed” girl band called Girls@play. It had The Apprentice’s Alan Sugar’s niece as its lead singer, but ultimately was “a complete disaster really,” the businessman lamented.

By 2005, Redbus had unraveled spectacularly and in September that year, Sandford was convicted of intercepting emails belonging to his former friend John Porter. He tried to claim his actions were legal, but after being given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay a fine of £20,000 and £7,000 in prosecution costs, a later appeal was denied.

Divorced, a father of two and reinvented as an “innovation strategist” according to his LinkedIn.com page, Stanford is now is based in Tallinn, Estonia with his American-German science fiction writer partner Sylvia Spruck Wrigley. Aside from a website named May.be that lists their many projects, the tech expert is an enthusiastic chess player and user of Twitter.

As well as tweeting enthusiastically about a “clean break Brexit” and complaining about Amazon, Turkish Airlines and the Estonian take on fish and chips on the social media site, he recently came out in support of Dominic Cummings. Of Boris Johnson’s puppet master’s recent problems, Stanford surmised: “Witch hunt.”

Historics Classic and Sportscar Auctioneers will sell Cliff Stanford’s Rolls-Royce Silver Spur on the 18^th July and have set an estimate of just £18,000 to £22,000. They describe the vehicle as “one of the highest specified cars we have seen and presents well in black with black leather seats, carpets and headlining,” but neglect to detail any of the high jinxes that this larger-than-life character no doubt conducted from its rear seating area.

Cliff Martin Stanford (born 1954) – The Names & Numbers

18^th July 2020 – Cliff Stanford’s one-owner-from new 1998 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur – registration S110 NGN – to be auctioned by Historics Classic and Sportscar Auctioneers with an estimate of £18,000 to £22,000 ($22,200 to $27,100, €19,800 to €24,200 or درهم81,600 to درهم99,700) at their Windsorview Lakes sale.

June 2009 – Co-founded Power Ethernet. He describes this firm as bringing “disruptive technology to fruition.”

September 2005 – Convicted and given a suspended sentence of 6 months and a fine of £20,000 ($24,700, €22,000 or درهم90,600). A later hearing denied leave to appeal in February 2006.

2003 – Charged under the Computer Misuse Act and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 with the interception of emails between Jonathan Porter, one-time chairman of Redbus Interhouse, and his disgraced mother, Dame Shirley Porter – a woman best known for the “homes for votes” scandal in Westminster.

March 2000 – Floated Redbus Interhouse on the stock market.

October 1999 – Stanford’s Dutch-Spanish au pair, Rocío Wanninkhof (1979 – 1999), is abducted and stabbed to death. He offered a £50,000 ($61,000, €54,000 or درهم224,000) reward immediately and then doubled the sum in September 2003 “to anyone who could provide information” according to The Independent. After the estranged female lover of Wanninkhof’s mother was wrongly convicted for the murder in 2001 and subsequently cleared, a British sex offender, Tony King, was jailed for the killing in 2006 for 19 years.

1998 – Cliff Stanford paid £150,000 ($185,000, €165,000 or درهم680,000) for a 1998 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur, the “last production chassis number for UK sale.” He supposedly secured a discount of £20,000 ($24,700, €22,000 or درهم90,600) on the list price from dealers Jack Barclay and added extras including “a wine cooler to rear armrest, centenary door panels, picnic tables with separate stowage compartment, TV monitor/video to rear compartment and electrically adjustable lumbar support.”

1998 – Founded Redbus Investments four days after the sale of Demon Internet.

1998 – Sold Demon Internet to Scottish Telecom for £66 million ($81 million, €73 million or درهم299 million) with 172,000 subscribers. Stanford became an early dot-com multi-millionaire, personally netted £30 million ($37 million, €33 million or درهم136 million) and moved to Brussels “to avoid capital gains tax” according to the Guardian.

June 1992 – Cliff Stanford founded Demon Internet with 200 subscribers. He had been brought up in Southend-on-Sea, Essex by his single-parent mother and began his career in accountancy.

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The turbo-charged long wheelbase Rolls-Royce Silver Spur is described as a “classic machine.”

The interior is in as new condition.

The black leather seats have been well-cared for.

The model was the first Rolls-Royce to feature a retractable Spirit of Ecstasy mascot on its bonnet.

Rolls-Royce gave the car a 6.75-litre V8 engine.
June 29, 2020
Rolls-Royce isn’t Rolls-Royce but it is Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce issues a press release to try and stop the media mistakenly saying they are Rolls-Royce; they want to highlight the difference between PLC and Cars

When you think of Rolls-Royce, you may think of handcrafted limousines made with the most exquisite materials. You might think of the royalty, heads of state and stars who’ve owned such vehicles, but one thing’s for sure, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a “wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW Group (Munich)” now want to make very clear: They have nothing to do with the aircraft, ship and submarine manufacturers Rolls-Royce PLC.

In a press release issued on Thursday, Andrew Ball for Goodwood, West Sussex based Rolls-Royce Motor Cars pointedly remarked:

“Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has issued a statement in response to continuing media confusion and misreporting concerning its assumed or implied connection to Rolls-Royce PLC.”

“Media are kindly asked to note that images of Rolls-Royce motor cars, the black and silver ‘Double R’ logo, the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ (‘Flying Lady’) mascot, the Rolls-Royce Pantheon Grille and other related content are all signifiers of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and its Brand.”

“The use of these images to illustrate stories relating to Rolls-Royce plc together with copy that unnecessarily confuses or conflates the two companies, is incorrect and leads to public confusion.”

Given “recent announcements” have led to the “media confusing and misreporting” the two, one thing’s for sure: A Rolls-Royce car is a Rolls-Royce car when it’s a Rolls-Royce Motor Car; when it’s not, it’s just not. “Now Jeeves, be a darling, go fetch the Toyota.”

Some quotes about Rolls-Royces

“Greatness takes time: It takes 13 hours to build a Toyota, but it takes 6 months to build a Rolls-Royce.”

Unknown.

“Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.”

‘Most successful investor in the world’ Warren Buffett.

“At 60 miles per hour, the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”

‘Father of Advertising’ David Ogilvy CBE.

“When you are a rich man, you are proud to own a Rolls-Royce and when you are a poor man, you are proud to own a Renault.”

Charismatic footballer Eric Cantona.

“If a working-class Englishman saw a bloke drive past in a Rolls-Royce, he’d say to himself: ‘Come the social revolution and we’ll take that away from you, mate.’ Whereas, if his American counterpart saw a bloke drive past in a Cadillac, he’d say: ‘One day, I’m going to own one of those.’ To my way of thinking, the first attitude is wrong. The latter is right.”

Media tycoon Kerry Packer.

Pictured top: A selection of models currently available in Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ current line-up.

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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars want to remind the world that they produce motor cars. They most certainly don’t want people thinking they produce flying hairdryers.

In October 2016, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured this 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I by Brougham De Ville. It has an interior inspired by Versailles and the interior was described as “like stepping inside a very fine Georgian manor house.”

In March 2017, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured this 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I drophead coupé. It was nicknamed ‘The Honeymoon Express’ given it seats just two and has an oversized boot capable of carrying a week’s luggage.

In August 2015, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured this 1973 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI by Pietro Frua. It was described as “the largest convertible ever built,” measured over 22-foot in length and took two years to build. The giant motor was originally owned by His Excellency Consul Simon van Kempen of Switzerland and Monaco sold for £442,546 including premium as part of The Frederiksen Auction in Denmark.

In February 2018, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured this special edition 1995 Rolls-Royce Flying Spur converted to an estate car from a Silver Spur III.

In September 2016, ‘The Steeple Times’ joined those describing the owner of this Rolls-Royce as having “the most vulgar numberplate in Britain.” The owner of ‘SH10W OF’ plainly is a person without an ounce of modesty in their entire being.

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

June 12, 2020
Roy Clark’s Roller

‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide doors and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf

American Hee Haw host and country singer Roy Clark (1933 – 2018) was best known for songs such as Yesterday, When I Was Young and Thank God and Greyhound. Now, enthusiasts of this tobacco farmer’s son have the opportunity to buy a piece of his memorabilia in the form of a Rolls-Royce that he owned for some forty years.

Last offered without reserve at the Leake Auction Company sale in Tulsa in June 2019, the dark red 1964 Phantom V touring limousine by James Young was owned by the star from 1977 until his death. Clark paid $19,500 (the equivalent of £70,000, $86,000, €79,000 or درهم316,000 today) when he purchased it and after it was subsequently sold to a “noted private collection in Texas,” they lavished £24,000 ($30,000, €27,000 or درهم110,000) on servicing it in 2019 and 2020.

This month, RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21^st to 29^th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000). Of the car, they remark:

“The limousine is finished in a lovely shade of dark red and accented by a gold pinstripe running the length of the car. The initials “RC” are prominently featured on the driver’s side passenger door. The interior is trimmed in tan leather and is accented by beautiful woodwork throughout. The driver compartment features Smiths instrumentation, an AM/FM radio, and an altimeter in the passenger glove box door. Furthermore, the car is equipped with electric windows and air conditioning which is vented into both the driver and passenger compartments. A division window separates the driver from the passengers. The rear compartment is the epitome of 1960s luxury and features dual footrests, fold-out jump seats, pillar-mounted flower vases, reading lights, and a Smiths clock while fold-out picnic tables flank a small cocktail bar with crystal decanters and glassware.”

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May 20, 2020
Michael Russell (1933 – 2020)

Described in The Telegraph’s obituary of him as a “publisher, wit and author,” Michael Russell is best known for writing the spoof memoirs of J. R. Hartley – the charming mythical old man of Yellow Pages advert fame in the 1980s. Bournemouth born, Oxford educated and a father of three, Russell loved horse racing and fishing and was known for his “extremely shrewd judgement as to which books would sell in shops.” His one-man company produced over 500 books by the time of his death and amongst titles that were hits were Richard Spitzy’s How We Squandered the Reich – a book that described Hitler as being “like a cross between a head waiter and a chimney sweep.”

April 13, 2020
An Overhyped Roller

One-of-one 2008 Rolls-Royce ‘Hyperion’ Phantom drophead coupé by Pininfarina for sale for sum 51% lower than in 2009; it even has a compartment to hold rifles in front of its windscreen

An “opulent” Rolls Royce that was the last car creation supervised by Andrea Pininfarina (before he tragically died aged just 51 in a scooter accident) has been marketed for sums as high as £3.9 million in 2009 and as low as £1.27 million in 2015. It is now once again for sale for just under £2 million.

Created for a “collector” named Roland Hall, a man of whom very little else is known other than that in 2009 Motor Authority suggested he “no longer [had] interest in it,” the one-of-one vehicle – named the ‘Hyperion’ or ‘The High One’ in honour of one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia – was supposedly “designed to evoke memories of cars from the 1930s with its long majestic bonnet, short rear overhang and low rooflines.”

The 6.75-litre V12 drophead two-seater coupé by Pininfarina also has a specially designed Girard-Perregaux watch attached to its dashboard and features a longer trunk than that its donor Phantom.

Alain Class Motors of Dubai offer the blue with beige interior automatic car and seek £1.917 million.

The Numbers – 2008 Rolls-Royce Hyperion Phantom drophead coupé by Pininfarina

April 2020 – Offered for sale for the reduced sum of £1.917 million ($2.359 million, €2.185 million or درهم8.665 million) by Alain Class Motors.

September 2017 – Offered for sale for the increased sum of £2.10 million ($2.58 million, €2.39 million or درهم9.48 million) by Alain Class Motors.

October 2015 – Offered for sale for the hugely reduced sum of £1.27 million ($1.57 million, €1.45 million or درهم5.75 million).

April 2009 – Offered for sale for the sum of £3.9 million ($4.9 million, €4.5 million or درهم17.8 million).

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The “cabin is largely unchanged” and similar to a standard Phantom, but features an “abundance of wood.”

Another view of the two-seat interior.

The fabric soft-top folds under a solid wood cover.

A compartment to house rifles is to be found under the front windscreen. It also features a solid wood cover.

The car comes with a one-of-one Girard-Perregaux wristwatch housed in its dashboard; it is badged with both Rolls-Royce and Pininfarina logos.

Roof-up.

And roof-down.

From the front.

And finally from the rear.

April 6, 2020
The New ‘Knights’ of Knightsbridge

As a shop selling “bringing back the royalty of [Arabia] home” opens in Knightsbridge, we ask: “Whatever next?”

Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge used to be the street where you’d find Bill Bentley’s and a pub owned by some Rolls-Royce driving gangsters who (probably falsely) claimed they owned Marble Arch. Both are long gone, but now, this month, there is a new addition to this once tony street: A shop named ‘Tessal London.’

Selling “fashion from Arabic tradition and modern wear into the streets of London,” this self-proclaimed “royal culture of elegance” retailer has taken over a space once occupied by a traditional tailor and is now, frankly, hawking overpriced tat.

On its website, the arrogant proprietors pompously talk of how they have a specialist department for “superior customers.” We respond: “Who do you bloody think you are? Hyacinth Bucket?” The pinnacle of vulgarity has landed in Knightsbridge. May it very soon flop as this is one shop no genuine local will either ever enter or miss.

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February 26, 2020
A Cut-Price Gulbenkian

Rolls-Royce owned by eccentric tycoon Nubar Gulbenkian expected to sell for just £30,000 in spite of £200,000 spent on restoration to date

Last August, we reported on a Mercedes-Benz 600 sedan complete with a “Jimmy Savile-esque” double bed that was sold in Paris by RM Sotheby’s. It was originally adapted for the bon viveur Nubar Gulbenkian (1896 – 1972) and now yet another of this truly mega-rich oddity’s four-wheeled creations is due to be auctioned in March.

Offered at no reserve but expected to sell for around £30,000 ($39,000, €35,000 or درهم143,000) in spite of some £200,000 ($260,000, €236,000 or درهم955,000) having already been spent on its renovation, a 1947 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith built to Gulbenkian’s designs by coachbuilders Hoopers is to be offered with no reserve.

Described by Historics Auctioneers as “unique” with styling that is a “little unorthodox, as with most things designed by Nubar Gulbenkian” the partly restored car has a new ash fame and has been subject to comprehensive fabrication work. Its current owner is mentioned as being “sadly not in the position to complete the work,” but much of what is required to complete the vehicle is thankfully included.

Of the Roller, speaking to the Mail Online, auctioneer Stewart Banks commented:

“Serene and stately are words that are rightly used to describe a Rolls-Royce motorcar of yesteryear.”

“The eccentric Nubar Gulbenkian, however, brought a whole new vocabulary and perspective when he penned this sensational one-off for Hoopers to create for him.”

“We are honoured to be offering this hugely important car for sale so the restoration can be completed and it can be seen and driven in all its original glory.”

Historics Auctioneers will sell the late Mr Gulbenkian’s creation on 7^th March 2020 at Ascot Racecourse.

Some quotes from and about Nubar Gulbenkian:

Of his fortune:

“I’ve been retired all my life, but I’ve also been working hard all my life. A fortune does not look after itself, after all.”

Of his schooling:

“At Harrow, I played no games and had an unpronounceable name and quite soon I was recognised as something of an oddity, but I was accepted on my own terms.”

Of his religious beliefs (and his somewhat whacky eyebrows):

“During Lent I brush my eyebrows down. It’s an oriental religious custom that you must show outward signs of your sorrow.”

Of taking England as his home:

“I get along very well with all honest people. England’s a very fine country, but it takes a long time to learn to take the English. I tell all my foreign friends the first forty years are the hardest.”

When asked to state his “position in life” on a market research form, his answer was:

“Enviable.”

Of his view of his own lifestyle:

“I believe in comfort. I enjoy myself. I enjoy life. I enjoy everything I do.”

“If something is too much of a bore to do thoroughly and with zest, then don’t bother to do it at all.”

When asked whether he preferred old brandy or young women, horses or Rolls‐Royces and city life over country life, he answered:

“I prefer everything.”

On money:

“I have all of it I could possibly desire.”

On business:

“My father always said oilmen are like cats. You can never tell whether they are fighting or making love.”

Asked about his hobbies, he invented a word (coined from Greek):

“Pan taraxia… Keeping people on their toes.”

The well-known gourmet on dinner parties:

“The best number for a dinner party is two – myself and a damn good head waiter.”

On food in general:

“Gastronomy is an art as difficult to master as music or painting, and, for me, much more rewarding. I certainly get more pleasure from working out a menu, discussing the pros and cons of each dish with a chef who knows his business than I do from listening to the best of Beethoven’s symphonies.”

“I never eat bad food. If you wander into any restaurant and want something quick, quick in ten minutes, you’ll get a bad meal and bloody well deserve it.”

Of his sartorial style:

“In England a man cannot be seen around horses without his gloves and hat. One never wears a gray bowler unless he is with horses. It wouldn’t do. It would shock people’s feelings.”

Of the only occasions he would not wear the trademark dark blue orchid that he sported daily:

“When I am in France, on board a French ship or airplane, or at a French Embassy. It is the French custom, in France, for those who have been granted the Legion of Honor to wear the insignia of the order in their buttonhole. I feel it only courteous, to show the respect for the country which granted me the honor, to wear mine instead of an orchid.”

Of how he made his orchid dark blue:

“I dip a white orchid into a mixture of Stephen’s Ink and water – I have got the mixture virtually right by now – let it dry, then shake it out gently – and I achieve a very adequate dark blue orchid.”

On suing his father in 1938 after the elder Gulbenkian upbraided him for having charged a meal of chicken in tarragon jelly with asparagus tips costing £1.80 to petty cash:

“That was surely the most expensive chicken in history.”

(The case was subsequently settled out of court, but the father had to pay £70,700 or the equivalent of £4.7 million today in court costs and lawyers’ fees).

Of his friendship with John Paul Getty:

“Have I got only one Rolls-Royce? Oh come now. I’m not so rich as Mr. Getty, but I not so poor as all that! Mr. Getty asks my wife and me down for a meal at his house, Sutton Place, from time to time. There is always plenty to eat and drink, it is all of good quality, but he does not take such an interest in gastronomy as I do. But then, few people do.”

On taking up hunting shortly after turning 65:

“I’m a huntin’ man,” he said. “Say ‘huntin’ man,’ not ‘hunter.’ A hunter is a horse, not a gentleman. ‘Fancy Nubar Gulbenkian dressing that way,’ they’d say. ‘He should know better.”

On golf:

“It is more satisfying to be a bad player at golf. The worse you play, the better you remember the occasional good shot.”

On owning two remodeled Austin FX4 taxi cabs merged with the rear parts of horse-drawn Hackney carriages:

“I like to travel in a gold‐plated taxi that can turn on a sixpence – whatever that is!”

“I wanted my taxi dolled-up, more comfortable inside and more distinguished outside, without losing its mobility. People recognise it. After a party or an opening they come and tell me where it is and I don’t have to wait.”

On marriage in general:

“I’ve had good wives, as wives go, and as wives go, two of them went.”

Of his second wife, Dora Freeland (married 1928), he stated:

“I certainly cannot blame Doré for our marriage breaking down. It was entirely my fault that it failed. Being younger and more virile than I am now, I succumbed to other charms.”

His third wife, Marie Berthe Edmée de Ayala (married 1948), on their union:

“Of course, he’s a very difficult man to live with, but it’s worthwhile. Don’t you think that all the most amusing, intelligent men would be difficult to live with? Heaven forbid that I should have married a mollusk.”

When a friend from his Cambridge University days, George Ansley, was asked about Gulbenkian, he answered:

“Nubar is so tough that every day he tires out three stockbrokers, three horses and three women.”

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A view of the car from the rear.

The driver’s compartment.

The passenger compartment (complete with much of what is required to finish the vehicle).

Another interior shot.

The car in better days (side).

And from the front.

A scale model of the vehicle.

February 5, 2020
The Art of The Tablescape

‘Tables d’Exception’ launched at Rolls-Royce in Mayfair

On 29^th November 2018, the extremely connected and delightfully affable Alexandra Foley organised a party for her client the French interior architect and antique tableware collector Hubert de Vinols at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London’s Berkeley Square showroom in Mayfair.

Showcasing Mr de Vinols’ ‘Tables d’Exception’ concept – whereby the ultimate lunch and dinner parties are created with antique ‘tablescapes’ inspired by the grand styles of the 18^th and 19^th centuries – the event not only offered guests a chance to view these ‘for hire’ works of art, but also a chance to begin what was one of the busiest Christmas party seasons in recent years in London in style.

Amongst those present were Heather Bird Tchenguiz, Liz Brewer, Basia Briggs, Dr Mark Collins, Navjot Dhanoa, Constantin Gordon, William Hanson, Christopher Hargreaves, Christian Huhnt, David Jenkins, Richard Martyn-Hemphill, Lord Oxmantown, Marie-Athena Papathanasiou, Alexis Parr, Melleney Samsudin and Matthew Steeples.

Of his reasoning to introduce his company into the UK to serve “à la française,” Vinols told The Steeple Times:

“I wish for Tables d’Exception to enable a return to refined entertaining, where a beautiful setting inspires convivial discourse. Tables d’Exception is the ‘Go To’ for generous hosts who want to entertain at the highest level, in the spirit of the Gilded Age and Belle Époque.”

Photographs: Courtesy of Edward Lloyd and David Kerr.

Pictured top: Hubert de Vinols, Heather Bird Tchenguiz and Matthew Steeples.

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An example of Hubert de Vinol’s work

Another option for those hiring his antique tableware

Organiser of the event The Hon. Alexandra Foley with Matthew Steeples and Marie-Athena Papathanasiou

Dr Mark Collins and David Jenkins

Basia Briggs

Melleney Samsudin

Dafydd Jones and Liz Brewer

Lord Oxmantown and William Hanson

Navjot Dhanoa, Matthew Steeples and Christopher Harrgreaves

Constantin Gordon and friend

Richard Martyn-Hemphill and Matthew Steeples

January 3, 2019
From Ceaușescu to The Queen

1967 Rolls-Royce state landaulet originally built for the Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu – but considered too extravagant even by him – and later used by Her Majesty The Queen to be auctioned

Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu was a dictator whose extravagance was a bit like that of Barbara Amiel: It knew no bounds. In 1966, ignoring the wishes of his Russian handlers, Ceaușescu decided to order what became the most costly Rolls-Royce Phantom V state landaulet by Mulliner Park Ward ever produced and spent £20,000 in 1966 (the equivalent of £652,000, $824,000, €726,000 or درهم3 million today) creating a truly luxurious vehicle.

Featuring nearly every available option possible, including a rear seat that could be raised or lowered to suit the height of passengers, this luxurious limousine also came with a combination cocktail bar and entertainment cabinet with a television. It had dual air conditioners for both the front and rear compartments, fluorescent lighting for parades at night and a refrigerated wine cooler. So over-the-top was it that, though Ceaușescu allegedly “probably could not have cared less” himself, Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party, complained about the lavishness of the vehicle, had it stored for one year and then shipped back to England.

Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena

Replaced with a “more suitable Silver Shadow,” Ceaușescu’s Phantom V state landaulet was sold on to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based Dr. Erle M. Heath and his wife Bonnie. They used it on a daily basis for three decades and racked up 117,000 miles in it but also loaned it to dignitaries and personalities on occasions. Used to chauffeur Her Majesty The Queen on her state visit to Bermuda in 1975, the car was also her transportation during her visit to the Grand Cayman Islands in 1983.

Subsequently, in 1978, the vehicle also was used by Princess Grace of Monaco in Pittsburgh in 1978 and then after the death of Dr. Heath in 1992, it eventually became part of the Calumet Collection. Exhibited at various concours d’elegance, the Phantom V state landaulet also transported the American astronaut Buzz Aldrin and now has 161,795 miles on its clock.

RM Sotheby’s will sell this “rich in history” car at their Arizona 2019 auction on Friday 18^th January 2019. They offer it with no reserve and an estimate of £791,000 to £1.2 million ($1 million to $1.5 million, €880,000 to €1.3 million or درهم3.7 million to درهم5.5 million).

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December 26, 2018
A Rental Ruin

Chelsea estate agent optimistically markets an £850 per week house with unpainted walls and an exposed gas meter by announcing: “It does have a new boiler”

Other than the legendary Roy Brooks, the only honest man in his game, estate agents will be optimistic about just about anything. A bit of damp: “no problem”; a nuclear power station next door: “positively charming” but John D. Wood & Co. truly take the biscuit with the marketing material for a property they are currently trying to let in chi-chi Christchurch Street, Chelsea, London.

Sent to us by an eagle eyed reader, the £850 per week ($1,108, €955 or درهم4,070 per week), 867 square foot three floor aforementioned house has conventional features such as a reception room, kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom. It also, rather unconventionally, has walls that haven’t even been painted and are just bare plaster. Pictures show also scruffily made-up beds propped up on wooden blocks, wiring and ageing televisions discarded on the floors and a garden littered with leaves.

Of this strange offering, our reader remarked: “I saw this listing and thought it was a half-finished project and up for sale, but no, it’s a rental. Buy-to-let plainly says can’t afford to finish it, says sod it and tries to rent it out in a half-finished state and describe it as a ‘unique house packed with character and charm.’ I particularly like the exposed gas meter!”

When he telephoned, a member of staff at John D. Wood told our reader: “The landlord would prefer to rent the property ‘as is’ and not do further work. It would be at least £1,000 per week if it were finished. He is happy for any tenant to paint and make further improvements.”

In typical estate agent fashion, she optimistically added: “It does have a new boiler.”

Roy Brooks – “A painfully honest estate agent”

“Beyond any doubt the best copywriter for property advertising in the history of the British press,” Roy Brooks (died 1971) took a “puckish delight in telling the truth” about the houses he was asked to sell.

An example of this Kings Road based eccentric’s advertisements read:

“Do not be misled by the trim exterior of this modest period res with its dirty broken windows; all is not well with the inside. The décor of the nine rooms, some of which hangs inelegantly from the walls, is revolting. Not entirely devoid of plumbing, there is a pathetic kitchen and one cold tap. No bathroom, of course, but Chelsea has excellent public baths. Rain sadly drips through the ceiling on to the oilcloth. The pock-marked basement floor indicates a thriving community of woodworm, otherwise there is not much wrong with the property… Sacrifice £6,750.”

Another announced:

“Wanted: Someone with taste, means and a stomach strong enough to buy this erstwhile house of ill-repute in Pimlico. It is untouched by the 20^th century as far as conveniences for even the basic human decencies are concerned. Although it reeks of damp or worse, the plaster is coming off the walls and daylight peeps through a hole in the roof, it is still habitable judging by the bed of rags, fag ends and empty bottles in one corner. Plenty of scope for the socially aspiring to express their decorative taste and get their abode in The Glossy, and nothing to stop them putting Westminster on their notepaper. Comprises 10 rather unpleasant rooms with slimy back yard, £4,650 Freehold. Tarted up, these houses make £15,000.”

Justifying his reasoning for driving his Rolls-Royce from London to Russia loaded up with 1,000 pairs of shoes, Brooks – author of Brothel in Pimlico and Mud, Straw and Insults: Confessions of an Honest Estate Agent – glibly explained: “I take these for old times’ sake – Stalingrad and the defeat of the German hordes. Perhaps I could bring back in return some of their women engineers whose factories I saw prefabricating good homes by the thousands.”

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September 10, 2018