The Steeple Times asks artist Anna-Louise Felstead: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
My old headmaster Peter Pyemont once said in a Friday assembly: “The more you put into life, the more you get out of it”. I have lived by those words ever since.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Nietzsche, the German philosopher famously said: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”.
A singer, actress and composer who has been a star all her life. Brought up in Epsom, Surrey and best known for Downtown, Petula Clark surprisingly made her radio debut aged just 9 and appeared at the Royal Albert Hall when she was only 11. She now lives between Switzerland and Chelsea and can occasionally be spotted at La Brasserie in Brompton Cross. A lady of simple tastes, Clark modestly states: “The stretch limo with the blackout windows and the bodyguards are fun, but I prefer going out alone with just my bus fare in my pocket and catching a number 19 bus. The scenery’s the same whatever form of transport you’re using”. A Facebook page was created in 2012 as part of a campaign to make this legend a Dame. We back it with enthusiasm.
The Steeple Times asks musician and architectural historian Oliver Gerrish: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
My guiding force is optimism.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“Wealth and fame”! Just joking, I think that “I’ll sing for my supper” would be a good one!
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2012?
Bad architecture.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
Singing in The London Oratory Schola, which I enjoyed so much. I also miss my grandfather, who died recently. He was a constant source of fun, support and love.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
I would swap all my wealth (maybe “paltry savings” would be a better phrase) for a chance to present a TV show exploring the history of architecture and music in Britain. It would be great if it became a great success and made me lots of money and educated people about the wonderful heritage we take so for granted.
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?
I don’t like to borrow money and I think it is utterly wrong for the banks to be supporting peoples’ misadventures with borrowing at the expense of other non-borrowing clients who can ill afford to bail out the former with their hard earned savings.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Babe”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I believe that by supporting smaller charities with far reaching ideals one can make a real difference. I run a charity music series called the Chelsea Concerts with soprano Alexandra Kennedy and we have now raised over £15,000 for various charities, including The Cystic Fibrosis Trust, SSAFA, The Rhinology and Laryngology Fund, The Rifles’ Care for Casualties and others. Each time, along with raising money for the charities, I have felt enlightened about these causes and educated about the extraordinary people and causes that are helped by these charities. I am also a Trustee of The Georgian Group and started The Young Georgians. We are the UK’s major architectural preservation charity. I was also recently involved with The Lady R Foundation and it’s fundraising for Veteran’s Aid.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
Never use a mobile phone or have it on at a concert. It’s always the people with the worst and loudest ring tones that leave them on.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Wowzers! Boris Johnson, Britney Spears, Rosamund Pike, the composer James MacMillan, my Grandmother Molly Lefebure, Henry Conway and my other closest friends, a pretty new girlfriend, The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, Jenny Agutter, Lady Lucinda Lambton and The Queen.
If I could have a few spectral guests too they would be Edith Sitwell, Winston Churchill, Georgian architect Robert Adam, Grace Kelly, Sir John Vanbrugh, M. R. James, Cecil Beaton and The Queen Mother.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Smoked salmon and smoked mackerel pate with a very cold Diet Coke.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
A glass or two at lunch if with friends and then after 6pm otherwise.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
Negroni or a cup of tea, depending on the weather. I hate martinis.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
Older friends because they love to mix the generations and one comes back feeling full of information and also the food and drink is mostly better.
Who is the most positive person you know?
My mother.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Burger King XL bacon double cheeseburger.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A well-proportioned Palladian house.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
Make? Probably an old VW Golf as mine works well, isn’t at all showy and gets me from A to B.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I am a total country bumpkin at heart and like nothing more than being back in Derbyshire at The Barley Mow pub catching up with my friends there.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
A punk rocker shaped scrubbing brush, a model of The Queen who waves her hand when the sun touches her bag (so not very often), my flatmate’s invitations (mine are on the shelf opposite since we are very competitive!) and some photographs of our mad garden in Derbyshire.
Oliver Gerrish is an architectural historian, countertenor and founder of the Young Georgian Society.
Read Oliver Gerrish’s blog ArchMusicMan at: http://archmusicman.blogspot.co.uk/
Watch his show reel at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LRXboRYT3fs
For information on The Georgian Group go to: http://www.georgiangroup.org.uk
For information on the Chelsea Concerts: http://www.chelseaconcerts.com
Follow him on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/oligerrish
Our scoop on the next arrest in Operation Yewtree
Our editor met with someone involved in Operation Yewtree this week. They let slip the identity of the next person who’ll be helping them with their enquiries in the run up to Christmas.
Even though Jimmy Savile is dead, his predictions are coming true. Savile promised to bring the house of cards down and it seems that he’s succeeding in his aims. The name of the next well known self-righteous personality to meet with the police will not come as a surprise to most of us.
Undoubtedly best known as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, Yorkshire born Dench briefly played Pru Forrest in the BBC’s The Archers. She’s an advocate for “more progressive drug policies” and only took the role of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride & Prejudice after director Joe Wright wrote to her and said: “I love it when you play a bitch. Please come and be a bitch for me.” There’s barely a role she hasn’t conquered.
Zach Topley reports on a Wellington College teacher who lost his battle with cancer who is now topping the iTunes chart
Jimmy Higham, who sadly lost his battle with cancer last year, has soared through the iTunes download charts with a beautiful cover of Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely. Higham, a Lancashire born teacher at Wellington College in West Berkshire, recorded the song just months before his tragic death in December 2011, aged just 26.
After being released on iTunes last week, the song quickly rose through the charts and now stands at number 15. All proceeds go towards the Jimmy Higham Bursary Fund, set up in his memory to enable 16-year-olds from the north of England to attend the school and play sport.
“Jimmy was an instant hit at Wellington with students and staff, hard-working, dedicated, wise, funny, kind, helpful, a gifted teacher with amazing promise. The students loved his dry humour and willingness to listen,” the College said in a statement.
Students at Wellington have got behind the cause, spreading the word via Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #jimmyhigham.
A student commented: “We’re all hoping it can get to Christmas number one. We need support from everyone, both in buying the song on iTunes, as well as telling friends about Jimmy’s story.”
Follow the campaign for the Jimmy Higham song to top the charts on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/JimmyHighamSong
Donate to the Jimmy Higham Bursary Fund at: http://www.justgiving.com/wco
Watch the official music video for the single at: http://youtu.be/RDYOHmQWFcU
To purchase the single for just 79p, go to: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/music-video/isnt-she-lovely/id587014296
The Steeple Times asks the magician and musician Daniel Rosenfeldt: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?
Stephen Fry.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Madonna has a great one: “Don’t cheat”. You can do what you like in life but you have to put in the work.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2012?
The fighting happening in the Middle East. People in this day and age killing each other over religious beliefs. How thick do you have to be to kill another person because they choose to believe in something different to you? It blows my mind.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
Tony Blair being Prime Minister… Not. ”Me?” Nothing at all. I’m rocking a fairy tale. Great childhood, great friends and family, I live in Copenhagen and I play guitar and perform magic for a living. What’s to miss?
What might you swap all your wealth for?
Peace of mind is priceless stuff.
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?
If this is the case, then the Greeks would be laughing, but they don’t look so happy to me so maybe Donald got it wrong. And it wouldn’t be the first time: he also backed Romney.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
When people say: “To be honest”. It implies that they lie most other times.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I think we should help where we can. I perform magic in hospitals and for charity events. Everyone loves magic. Please look on my website to book me for this. I do it for free and it’s a big part of the reason I do what I do. I’m planning a tour through the hospitals in Copenhagen which starts in February.
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?
That judge had it coming. Anyone against Gerard Butler is toast! Have you seen 300?
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
The entire cast of QI, Rune Klan and his dog Balthazar, Benjamin Earl, Klaus Mulbjerg and Roland Rudd who would naturally start the speeches.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Steak béarnaise at home with my parents and brothers.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
I put beer in pancake batter and it’s never too early for pancakes 🙂
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
An ice cold beer, please.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
I like the ones that sneak up on you, you’re busy having fun and then all of a sudden Dario is dancing on the couch with a sheepskin and a lampshade on his head, air drumming.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
I don’t feel guilty about things that please me. Except maybe Dario dancing on the couch with a sheep skin and a lamp shade on his head…
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
Dario dancing on the couch… Nah!
Who is the most positive person you know?
Rune Klan.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
I would like to imagine myself as a vintage Rolls but I think I’m more of a husky drawn sledge.
Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I’m constantly surprised that I surprise people for a living. My parents are even more surprised!
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
I look forward to having my own mantelpiece.
Daniel Rosenfeldt is a magician and musician. His website can be viewed at: http://www.danielrosenfeldt.com Follow him on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/danielrrosenfeldt?ref=ts&fref=ts
Watch a YouTube video of Daniel Roesenfeldt’s “A Christmas in South Africa” at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxvK7ZYn69I and an example of his magical talents at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUydpcbb_lo
Another rumoured sale of “Beckingham Palace” is reported
November 2012: In March this year, the blog that preceded The Steeple Times looked into reports that David and Victoria Beckham would be selling their Hertfordshire home, Rowneybury House (better known as “Beckingham Palace”). For all the talk of that sale, as far as we are aware, it still remains in their possession. In recent days another media source has reported that the house is indeed on the market and that the Beckham family are now moving to New York. This has now become a story akin to that of “the boy who cried wolf” and it’s one that we’ll only believe to be true when the removal vans actually pull up.
March 2013: In a further update, the story has resurfaced but the supposed price is allegedly now just £10 million. That’s quite a reduction.
Whenever there’s a quiet news day, British newspapers like to put out claims that David and Victoria Beckham are to sell their Hertfordshire mansion, Rowneybury House. Such a sale has never followed but that the Mail Online chose to run this as a lead article is indeed interesting in view of the footballer’s recent return to LA Galaxy.
Similar stories, for example, ran in the Mirror in April 2007 and again in September 2010. In the latter piece, an unnamed spokesman stated:
“We can confirm David and Victoria have had their UK home valued.”
Strangely all of these stories share a lack of credited sources and are written in the same vein on each occasion. Though Rowneybury House has certainly not come to the open market to date, today’s suggestion that the couple are selling as they think it “wasteful to hold on to when they never visit” would appear a sensible course of action.
Rowneybury House itself was built in the 1930s and used as a council owned orphanage. Bought by the Beckhams in October 1999 for £2,500,000, the couple vastly altered and enlarged the Grade II listed house to include 7-bedrooms, a recording studio, gym, pool room and indoor and outdoor pools. They even added a 52ft garden pavilion complete with a huge barbecue reputed to have cost £70,000.
In the grounds, which extend to some 24 acres, the Beckhams have added a petting zoo for their children as well as a soccer pitch, two full size golf holes, a floodlit tennis court and a helicopter landing pad. Three gazebos, one “romantic,” one “lakeside” and another “ornamental” were also constructed.
The sum total for all of this work is, for some reason, always quoted in the mainstream press at £18,000,000. Though it is obvious that vast expense has indeed been spent on Rowneybury House by the couple, the figure does seem a little exaggerated. Equally ludicrous is the suggestion that they will sell at a loss.
The Beckhams’ time at Rowneybury House has not been without drama. In 2002, police foiled an Eastern European gang who planned to kidnap them from the house and on occasions intruders were caught in the grounds. Further drama ensued in 2008 when the pair’s housekeepers, Eric and June Emmett, were arrested after being accused of stealing items of memorabilia.
I myself found myself involved in a story about the house when, in 2004, I worked for a PR firm who were representing an estate agent selling an adjoining property. The owners Mick and Lynda Allen, who I believe eventually sold their home, Rowneybury Bungalow, to the Beckhams, used the surrounding publicity to attempt to launch the pop career of their daughter Nikki. I am not certain how she subsequently fared.
The Beckhams, who are worth some £160,000,000, now spend the majority of their time in America and are said to prefer it there. When in the UK, they opt mainly to stay at either Claridge’s or The Savoy as both are more convenient for Mrs Beckham’s meetings at her design studio in Battersea.
Both the Mail Online and the Mirror suggest that Victoria Beckham has recently been looking at apartments “next to Hyde Park” so that she can maintain a smaller base in the UK. Perhaps a move to the £7,000 per square foot One Hyde Park development could be on the cards.
If this news is indeed finally true, it’ll certainly be the end of an era for the pad dubbed “Beckingham Palace” as a portmanteau of “Beckham” and “Buckingham Palace.”
Read Kimberley Dadds’s Mail Online piece at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2119709/David-Victoria-Beckham-sell-Beckingham-Palace.html
Read Lara Gould’s Mail Online piece at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2301669/Beckingham-Palace-goes-sale-David-Victoria-eye-London-life–wont-allow-developers-buy-it.html
An Old Etonian and graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, Redmayne has performed alongside Cate Blanchett, Dame Judi Dench and Julianne Moore. He’s noted for his manners but admits he “didn’t have a clue” when he did work experience in banking prior to embarking on a career as an actor. He’s modeled with Cara Delevingne for Burberry and has a whole cast of “Redmayniacs” as his fan club. Already honoured with a Tony and an Olivier, there’s undoubtedly many more awards to come.
Edgware born Costa is best known as a member of the boy band Blue but he actually started out as an actor in the BBC’s Grange Hill. He’s sung with Stevie Wonder and Elton John and thinks that groups created via shows such as The X-Factor achieve fame “the wrong way.” We’d say he has a point.