The Steeple Times

Tag: society

  • Slashed Seven Sisters

    Slashed Seven Sisters

    Famous  ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards

    Montauk has variously been associated with part-time residents such as the playwright Edward Albee, the world’s largest Ponzi scheme operator Bernie Madoff and the artist Andy Warhol. It was a place that the Algonquian speaking Montaukett Native American tribe called home until one Arthur W. Benson (circa 1798 – 1889), the president of the Brooklyn Gas Light company, came along in 1879 and purchased 10,000 acres there for just $151,000 from the American government.

     

    “Land baron” Benson soon after sold half his acreage to the Long Island Rail Road for $600,000 and then set about turfing out the natives and creating a “playground for the rich.” As part of his plan, he ordered the construction of seven “shingle-style” homes that came to form a 100-acre compound for use as a “private hunting and fishing retreat for him and his friends.” They became known as the ‘Seven Sisters’ and one of them is currently for sale through Sotheby’s International Realty.

     

    Designed by Stanford White (1853 – 1906) – a “lauded architect” whom became more famous for being shot and killed by the deranged railroad heir Harry Thaw (1871 – 1947) – the property offered is said to be known as ‘Andrews House.’ It is more commonly listed, however, as 153 Deforest Road and its date of construction has been put at as early as 1879 and as late as 1888. The ‘cottage’ reportedly first belonged to Benson’s friend, a writer and one of the founders of both the bibliographic Grolier Club in Manhattan and the Society of Iconophiles, William Loring Andrews (1837 – 1920).

     

    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards. William Loring Andrews, architect and murder victim Stanford White and Harry Thaw in a ‘gilded’ jail cell.
    William Loring Andrews, architect and murder victim Stanford White and Harry Thaw in a ‘gilded’ jail cell.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    The Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America – a ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage that has seen its asking price reduced from £14.8 million in 2016 to £10.4 million in 2020.

    Remodeled and expanded in 1992 by the well-known Hamptons architect Francis Fleetwood (1946 – 2015) and updated yet again in the 2010s, 153 Deforest Road today extends to some 3,800 square foot in total. The house stands on a plot of 2.3 acres and accommodation includes a sunken living room, dining room, library, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and a second floor veranda “with mesmerising views that always inspire.”

     

    In 2016, when priced at £14.8 million, Mansion Global remarked: “The property comes with plans for a future expansion by [the renowned classical] architect Allan Greenberg,” but plainly such has made little difference to attracting interest. Four years later, 153 Deforest Road’s asking price has been slashed to ‘just’ £10.4 million and rather strangely its interior colour scheme is entirely in a depressing shade of grey.

     

    The artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, comedian and talk show host Dick Cavett are amongst others to have lived in ‘Seven Sisters’ houses. One, Tick Hall, was destroyed by a fire in 1997 and then completely rebuilt; what happens to the ‘Andrews House’ remains to be seen.

     

    The Names & Numbers – The Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954

     

    July 2019 – It is further reduced to £10.4 million ($12.995 million, €11.9 million or درهمX47.7 million) through Sotheby’s International Realty.

     

    June 2018 – It is reduced to £12 million ($14.995 million, €13.7 million or درهم55.1 million) through Sotheby’s International Realty.

     

    February 2018 – It is relisted for £13 million ($16.25 million, €14.9 million or درهم60 million) with Sotheby’s International Realty.

     

    August 2016 – The house is listed for sale for £14.8 million ($18.5 million, €17 million or درهم67.9 million) with Douglas Elliman.

     

    2012 – 153 Deforest Road is sold to a limited liability company for £5.6 million ($6.995 million, €6.4 million or درهم25.7 million).

     

    1992 – 153 Deforest Road is renovated and remodeled by the Chilean born architect Francis Fleetwood (1946 – 2015) – a man described as a “popular East Hampton, New York–based architect [of] romantic country houses” by Architectural Digest in April 2015. Fleetwood’s well-known clients numbered Lauren Bacall, Calvin Klein and Paul McCartney and of them, he once told The New York Times: “They’d all love to be born into a grand old house that had been handed down through the generations… [And, he added, surely with a grin]… So would I.”

     

    1976 – The ‘Seven Sisters’ – including 153 Deforest Road – and two other neighbouring properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

     

    Between 1879 and 1888 – 153 Deforest Road was built as a home for the writer and librarian William L. Andrews (1837 – 1920). It formed part of a group of houses known as the ‘Seven Sisters’ and was known as ‘Andrews House.’

     

    1879 – Arthur W. Benson (circa 1798 – 1889) successfully bids $151,000 or the equivalent of £3.2 million today ($4 million, €3.7 million or درهم14.7 million today) for 11,000 acres of land around Montauk in an auction. He then cleverly sold half the land for $600,000 or the equivalent of £12.8 million today ($16 million, €14.7 million or درهم58.8 million today) to the Long Island Rail Road and kept the remainder as his “private playground.” The legitimacy of the ownership of Benson and others of Montauk remains the subject of legal actions by the Montaukett Native Americans to this date.

     

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    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    Slashed Seven Sisters – £10.4 million or $12.995 million for Andrews House, 153 Deforest Road, Montauk, New York, NY 11954, United States of America through Sotheby’s International Realty, down from £14.8 million or $18.5 million in 2016 – Famous ‘Seven Sisters’ cottage in Montauk for sale for 30% less than in 2016; the ‘Gilded Age cottage’ was designed by Stanford White, an architect whose murder famously led to the ‘Trial of the Century’ from 1907 onwards.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OofTAtdlGzw
  • Fahad Takes Flight

    Fahad Takes Flight

    Blow to British racing as Sheikh Fahad places his Longholes operation in Newmarket, Suffolk up for sale for £6 million to spend more time in California

    The impact of the coronavirus pandemic was always going set to cause havoc for the racing industry, but alongside news this week that prominent racehorse owners the Rooney family are to quit National Hunt racing for good, it has been announced that 30-year-old Sheikh Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Thani has put his Longholes stud, near Newmarket in Suffolk on the market.

     

    Billed as a place for “preparing champions” and run by a “dedicated team” focused on pre-training and rehabilitation, Longholes was founded by the Accrington born “playboy” textile heir and racehorse breeder Sir George Bullough (1870 – 1939) in the 1920s and bought by Sheikh Fahad in 2013.

     

    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Sheikh Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Thani chats with David Redvers in 2016.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Sheikh Fahad wiht his brothers Sheikh Hamad, Sheikh Suhiam and Sheikh Khalifa.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Sheikh Fahad and his wife Sheikha Melissa with the late Roaring Lion.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Sheikh Fahad won the Corinthian Challege at Leopardstown on the Gordon Elliott trained Brutal in October 2017.

    Comprising of 217 acres of paddocks, schooling grounds and a 6-furlong gallop, the “renowned Newmarket stud farm” – which is 16 miles from Cambridge and 70 miles from London – includes not only 88 boxes, but also what has been described as a state-of-the-art “feel good factor” spa with hydro and water treadmill facilities amongst other things. There is a stud manager’s house, a guest cottage, a pair of staff bungalows and a pair of workers’ log cabins also.

     

    Of why the property is now for sale, David Redvers, racing and bloodstock advisor to the Sheikh – whom married an American named Melissa Margolis in 2018 and is choosing to spend more time in California as a result – told the Newmarket Journal on Friday:

     

    “Sheikh Fahad purchased Longholes in 2013 with a view to turning the attractive and historic stud farm into a state-of-the-art pre-training and rehabilitation establishment servicing the requirements of his own Qatar Racing and also the wider training centre of Newmarket. Seven years later and Longholes boasts an incredible array of modern facilities, an outstanding team of committed and highly trained professional staff and a client list that boasts many of the most recognised names in horse racing, eventing and show jumping.”

     

    “Sheikh Fahad is proud of what has been achieved at Longholes but a change in his own personal circumstances means that the farm’s exciting future now needs to be in another’s hands.”

     

    Speaking to Nick Luck of Racing TV in April 2019, Sheikh Fahad remarked:

     

    “We love horses, we’ve grown up with horses, me and my brothers. The idea was always to build something for the future, hopefully the long-term future, for generations to come. I’d like to see my kids grow up into a dynasty of breeding operations, of racing operations that they can take on from there.”

     

    “I watched I think, my early memories… I watched Channel 4 Racing, I think the Cheltenham Festival. It was very different to racing back home. We only had one racetrack and it was flat racing and they go round in the circle. My dad was the leading Arab racehorse owner in the country, so he won everything. It seemed like it was that easy to do and I started watching racing here and I saw all the different racecourses and National Hunt. And we don’t have National Hunt back home, so I was very curious about the whole industry. I wanted to learn as much as possible from every angle of it.”

     

    “I think the quality of racing, as you watch racing around the world, the biggest quality of racing is in England and Ireland in terms of top-class racing… It is good for the breed, it shows the best horses to breed onwards. The classics in Britain always prove to be the best source of that.”

     

    Of the flaws of British racing in general and perhaps hinting at a move to spending more time participating in American racing, the Sheikh continued:

     

    “It needs to up its game. It needs to find ways to attract more people into the sport. At the moment we are very grateful for the Sheikh Mohammeds in the business… Without Sheikh Mohammed [Bin Rashid Al Maktoum], this year would have been a disaster for a lot of people. The thing is that British racing needs to find more ways to attract quality. I think quality is very important.”

     

    “If you look at, for instance, Japanese racing, they have got a two-tier system. They have the JRA and the NRA. The JRA is the elite class of racehorses and horse racing and I think if you don’t break your maiden as a three year-old, then I think, that horse is not allowed to run in the JRA anymore. They have to go down to the NRA. Why can’t that some way be explored in British racing? We can’t be racing, I think you’re asking people to race for two grand or three grand…  whilst in Australia they have Saturday races with a minimum of a hundred grand a race. And in America, maidens are worth a hundred grand. And in California, I’ve got horses, and it seems ridiculous that, if you are taking a business point of view of racing and you open your books, that it would be ridiculous to have horses [in Britain] in comparison to there. The only reason we’re racing here is for the quality and prestige that we have at the moment, but you can’t rest on that. You have to change.”

     

    Later, in September 2019, the Sheikh’s Californian trainer, Simon Callaghan, told The Racing Post:

     

    “Sheikh Fahad is upping his interest in racing in America. He’s spending more time in California, so he wants to go after some of these high-end colts and go down the road of the Derby, we hope… I think his Californian wife has something to do with it.”

     

    Agents Windsor Clive seek £6 million ($7.5 million, €6.8 million or درهم27.4 million) for Longholes and offer it as a whole or in two lots. For the firm, George Windsor Clive remarked: “We’re still bringing Longholes to the market in these strange times [in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic] so that buyers can react quickly once restrictions are lifted.”

     

    For now, the other European racing operations of the Sheikh and his brothers and their Qatar Racing Ltd. company – which includes a presence at the David Redvers owned Tweenhills Farm in Gloucestershire and their own Spring Lodge stud farm in County Limerick – remain unaffected.

     

    Notable Results for Qatar Racing Limited – January 2016 to December 2020

     

    2yo turf: Roaring Lion – 36 wins and 64 placed from 218 runs.

     

    3yo turf: Roaring Lion – 40 wins and 45 placed from 222 runs.

     

    2yo AW: Kameko – 10 wins and 23 placed from 72 runs.

     

    3yo AW: Fierce Impact – 12 wins and 36 placed from 96 runs.

     

    Pictured top: Sheikh Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Thani with his wife Sheikha Melissa Al Fahad.

     

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    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
    Fahad Takes Flight – £6 million for Sheikh Fahad’s Longholes stud – Blow to British racing as Sheikh Bin Fahad Abdullah Al Thani places his Longholes, Newmarket Road, Cheveley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9EJ, United Kindom up for sale to spend more time in California. The agent is George Windsor Clive of Windsor Clive.
  • A Wyatt Wonder

    A Wyatt Wonder

    “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson

    Designed by Robert Adam’s rival James Wyatt in 1773 and “clothed in the Italiante manner” in 1859 to 1860, “grand and beautifully executed” Abbey Leix in County Laois is considered “one of Ireland’s most important country houses.”

     

    Placed for sale last June for £17.8 million ($22 million, €20 million or درهم81 million), the main house on the 1,120-acre estate, Abbey Leix House – also known as ‘Abbeyleix House’ and’ Abbeyleix Castle’) – is vast and includes 26,910 square foot of accommodation. Aside from 9 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, the classical building has amongst other things 3 major rooms on the park front, a deep hall, a music room with original Wyatt plasterwork, a library and a conservatory.

     

    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    Sir David Davies (born in Wales in 1940) at Abbey Leix.

    Renovated and remodeled since being sold to the Welsh born, twice divorced, father of five Sir David Davies in 1995 by its previous owners of the 250 years, the de Vesci family, Abbey Leix is described by agents Sotheby’s International Realty as a “21st century family home with an appropriate balance between comfort and informality on the one hand and grandeur for entertaining and the display of art on the other.”

     

    As well as Ireland’s oldest oak tree being within the grounds, the property also includes some of the “last surviving remnants of Ireland’s ancient woodland” and frontage to the River Nore. There is also a stud farm with 24 loose boxes, a separate farmyard with many outbuildings and 10 lodges and cottages on the estate. The present owner’s private airstrip was created because he wanted to be able to “fly from wherever in the UK straight into the estate.”

     

    Of why he is selling Abbey Leix, “superstar banker and businessman” Sir David – who has variously held senior posts at Chase Manhattan Bank, Hill Samuel, MEPC, Hardine Matheson, Hong Kong Land, Johnson Matthey and EFG Private Bank – told the Business Post:

     

    “I’m organising my whole estate for the benefit of my children… Although the children all love this place very much, none of them wanted to take it on… The typical refrain is ‘Dad, this is your project,’ and I’m lucky enough to have Killoughter House, the home of my childhood, to return to.”

     

    Though born in Wales, Sir David – whom was knighted “for his work as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment” in 1999 – has maintained a home in Ireland throughout his adulthood. He “proudly” became an Irish citizen after Brexit and described “inept” Theresa May as “going from one catastrophe to that leads to the next catastrophe.” Of her successor, the opera loving son of a South Wales steel mill owner went further and recently remarked: “I have no time for Boris Johnson: he doesn’t do his homework, and can’t be trusted.”

     

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    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
  • Moron of the Moment – Lindsay Lohan

    Moron of the Moment – Lindsay Lohan

    Lindsay Lohan sinks to a new low during the coronavirus crisis and attempts to relaunch her tawdry self on April Fool’s Day; the washed-up wench claims to be “evolving”

    Loathsome leech Lindsay Lohan once curiously claimed she was a “normal, nice person, a good person” and that she “[didn’t] have any bad intentions.” She then proceeded to prove herself totally wrong in leaping to the defence of the now convicted sex abuser Harvey Weinstein in 2017.

     

    Jailed for 90 days in 2001 and put in rehab in 2008 (and on many other occasions since), this often violent, deranged, on-off druggie has now decided to revive her music ‘career’ at quite possibly the most inappropriate time – that being on April Fool’s Day during the coronavirus crisis. You simply couldn’t make it up, but, as we all know, ‘Loopy Lindsay’ can’t actually get a PR advisor for toffee.

     

    Some might argue that this move is reflective of this trashbag’s position in society, but that Lohan – whom the term “celebutard” was created in her very honour by Michael Musto some years back – issued a cryptic video on Instagram that ends with the wastrel weirdly stating: “I’m back!” about says it all. Frankly, the public will be the judge of that love and given past performance tends to be a guide to the future, we all already know where this almighty mess is going to end up next.

     

    Here we go again, Lindsay: Another car crash that’s headed to be washed away down the gutter. Next!

     

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    Moron of the Moment – Lindsay Lohan Washed-up wench Lindsay Lohan sinks to a new low during coronavirus crisis and attempts to relaunch her tawdry self on April Fool’s Day.
    A Twitter user aptly summed up Lindsay Lohan’s April Fool’s Day 2020 actions.
    Moron of the Moment – Lindsay Lohan Washed-up wench Lindsay Lohan sinks to a new low during coronavirus crisis and attempts to relaunch her tawdry self on April Fool’s Day.
    In her video message on Instagram, the self-absorbed mess showed a message that stated: “Evolution of Lindsay Lohan.”
  • Hero of the Hour – Terry Waite

    Hero of the Hour – Terry Waite

    Former hostage Terry Waite wisely tells the nation to keep their dignity, structure their day, become creative and be grateful during the coronavirus lockdown

    Speaking to Sarah-Jane Mee of Sky News on Tuesday from his home in Hartest, Suffolk, Terry Waite CBE provided insightful and wise tips to the nation about how to cope with the current coronavirus lockdown.

     

    Waite, who spent 1,736 days or almost five years in captivity in Beirut from 1987 until 1991, told of how he is himself self-isolating and of how the current strange conditions have “levelled” us all. He urged people to be positive about the future and remarked:

     

    “The way to do that, in part, is to try and live for the moment; try and live for now. Erm, try and make the moment as full as possible. Now, how do you do that in captivity where you’ve no books, you’ve no paper, you’ve nothing? Well, I had to do that by mentally adjusting to the situation. Saying there’s little or nothing I can do to change this, but I can hold on to the fact that I have life now, not tomorrow, I have it now. And I’m going to live it as fully as possible.”

     

    Speaking of finding something useful to do, he continued:

     

    “I began to write in my head, I began to use my mental capacity in a way that extends that. And that was a way of just surviving. And, as I say, there will be many people who are deeply afraid and worried at the moment; well, somehow, remember that this virus will be defeated, there will be a life after that and, you know, things do have a habit of turning out well if we want to work for them.”

     

    “For the majority of us, it will be fine. But we just somehow have to develop that capacity within ourselves to take the situation at the moment as it is.”

     

    “What I had to do, also, was to keep myself, keep myself, erm, alive in the following way. I mean, I’ll tell you a silly story, but it is perfectly true. In the first week of captivity, I had my own clothes. And at night, I managed to get my trousers off even though I was chained. And I put them under the mattress to press them. Now, that might sound really stupid, but it was something that I learned in the army during National Service.”

     

    “In all these situations, keep your own dignity, keep yourself smart and the same applies today when those people are at home in lockdown. You know, don’t just get up and hang around all day in a dressing gown or pajamas. Take a pride in your appearance still, keep yourself smart. Retain your own dignity. That’s really pretty important.”

     

    “The other thing to say is form a structure for the day. Now, I’m sitting here at home alone. I’ve been in lockdown for the last week, maybe longer, but I’m so fortunate. I mean, I’m surrounded by my books, I’m surrounded by papers, I’ve got access to the Internet, a whole range of things. I can use this time creatively, which I’m trying to do. I’m actually beginning to start writing a new book at the moment. We can use this time creatively… rather than emphasising the negative.”

     

    Moving on, more generally, the humanitarian added:

     

    “I remember a few years ago, a politician saying: ‘There’s no such thing as society.’ Well, I think that’s been proved to be absolutely wrong. I’m here in Suffolk in a small village and we are very, very fortunate because there is a good sense of community.”

     

    Waite finally spoke of the positives he sees for the future. He concluded:

     

    “On Saturday, I needed some shopping doing and on Sunday morning someone left a bag of shopping at my front door. I heard yesterday, that the local church, through a charity, has organised a system of distributing meals for those that need it. And in all sorts of ways, people are responding… The British people, the time like this, it often brings out the best in people. It brings out the worst in some people and we’ve had examples of that. But, overall, it brings out the best.”

     

    “And what I hope will happen is that we’ll have a new sense of community and society when we’ve been through this and, in fact, even going much further than that perhaps we’ll have a new understanding that be in tune and in touch with our environment in a way that perhaps we haven’t been in the past.”

     

    Terry Waite is entirely right: It’s time we were more grateful for what we actually have and it’s time we put to good use this lockdown. Let his words be a lesson to us all.

     

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    Hero of the Hour – Terry Waite – Former hostage Terry Waite wisely tells the nation to keep their dignity, structure their day, become creative and be grateful during the coronavirus lockdown.
    This Twitter user nicely summed up Mr Waite’s advice.
  • A Bowled Down Price

    A Bowled Down Price

    Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum

    In March 2015, The Steeple Times featured a Texan mansion described by some as “more iconic than Southfork.” Back then this “replica of George Washington’s Virginia estate” had been for sale for four years already and now, in March 2020, it’s still on the market.

     

    Offered at prices as high as £26.1 million and as low as £12 million, Mount Vernon overlooks White Rock Lake in Dallas and was built between 1928 and 1930. It was sold in 1938 to one of the world’s largest oil baron’s, H. L. Hunt (1889 – 1974) – a man “reputed to have the highest net worth of any individual in the world” at the time of his death.

     

    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    John Amend with Laura Bush at the bowling alley at Mount Vernon and with his wife Teresa.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    One of the entrances to Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America.

    Passing on to a commercial real estate tycoon and fellow supporter of the Bush political dynasty named John Amend in 1999, the 10,511 square foot house was subsequently renovated and aside from creating spaces including a prayer room, a 10,000 bottle wine cellar, a 1950s style diner and a car museum, what is considered to be the finest private bowling centre in America was added. It comes complete with a digital jukebox that has over 500,000 songs on its concert hall quality sound system

     

    Whilst Mr Amend and his wife Teresa hosted guests including Glenn Close and President George W. Bush at Mount Vernon, in 2011 they decided to “simplify their lives” and placed it for sale. In the time since, its yoyo-ed on and off the market but speaking about the property to the Dallas News in February this year, realtor Allie Beth Allman claimed the Amends have now “made it a goal to sell the property this year.” She went further and stated:

     

    “Many interested buyers have made offers, but the family has been reluctant to sell… The kids are just now at the age that they really enjoy it, and they spend a lot of time over there. It’s hard to give that up when your grandkids are saying, ‘Oh, don’t sell.’”

     

    Allie Beth Allman & Associates now seek £14.9 million for Mount Vernon and the 10 acres that surround it.

     

    The Names & Numbers – Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America

     

    March 2020 – Relisted at £14.9 million ($18.5 million, €16.6 million or درهم67.9 million) and still for sale through Allie Beth Allman & Associates.

     

    May 2019 – Relisted at a price of £12 million ($14.9 million, €13.4 million or درهم54.7 million).

     

    May 2016 – Relisted at a price of £14.1 million ($17.5 million, €15.7 million or درهم64.3 million).

     

    March 2015 – Featured in The Steeple Times whilst listed with Allie Beth Allman & Associates and Christie’s Real Estate at a price of £15.3 million ($19 million, €17 million or درهم68 million).

     

    September 2013 – Reduced in price to £15.3 million ($19 million, €17 million or درهم68 million).

     

    November 2012 – Reduced in price to £23.7 million ($29.5 million, €26.5 million or درهم108.3 million).

     

    2011 – Placed for sale for £26.1 million ($32.5 million, €29.2 million or درهم119.4 million).

     

    2004 – Hosted its first event as “the nation’s finest professionally equipped bowling centre.” The alley reportedly cost £1.16 million ($1.45 million, €1.3 million or درهم5.33 million) to construct.

     

    2002 – Renovated and expanded.

     

    1999 – Sold to the self-declared real estate “pioneer and innovator” John T. Amend and his wife Teresa for an undisclosed sum.

     

    1938 – Sold by Thomas Y. Pickett to Harold Lafayette Hunt, Jr. for $69,000 or the equivalent of £740,000 today ($922,000, €826,000 or درهم3.4 million today).

     

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    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
    A Bowled Down Price – £14.9 million for Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America down from £26.1 million through Allie Beth Allman & Associates – Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum.
  • Sarah Winchester (née Pardee, 1839 – 1922)

    Sarah Winchester (née Pardee, 1839 – 1922)

    New Haven, Connecticut born Sarah Winchester became one of the wealthiest women in the world after the death of her Winchester Repeating Arms Company heir husband, William Wirt Winchester, in 1882. With a 50% holding in the rifle making manufacturer plus a legacy equivalent to £426 million ($529 million) in 2020, this true eccentric – whose only child died aged just one – took the advice of a medium and moved west to California.

     

    Here, in San Jose, this grief obsessed and beyond superstitious, American equivalent of Queen Victoria spent the remainder of her life constructing a mansion that she believed would appease the spirits of her relatives and those of the victims of Winchester weaponry. Known as ‘The Winchester Mystery House’ and built (but never completed) between 1884 and 1922 at a cost estimated at the equivalent of £57 million ($71 million) today. Starting from an 8 room farmhouse, the property grew to 24,000 square foot and eventually included 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 160 rooms, 52 skylights, 47 stairways (some leading absolutely nowhere), 17 chimneys (some that didn’t even reach the roof), 13 bathrooms, 6 kitchens and a séance room (that was once used by Harry Houdini).

     

    Described as being a “woman of independence, drive and courage,” Sarah Winchester died of heart failure in her sleep in September 1922 leaving a will written in 13 sections that was signed 13 times and a safe that contained a lock of her infant daughter’s hair. She was portrayed by Helen Mirren in the 2018 horror film Winchester.

     

    ‘The Winchester Mystery House’ was sold five months after its creator’s death and has been open to the public for tours since June 1923.

     

    Eccentric heiress Sarah Winchester (née Pardee, 1839 – 1922) – Widow of Winchester firearm magnate Sarah Winchester is best known for her eccentric mansion, The Winchester Mystery House, in San Jose, California.
    The vast Winchester Mystery House, 525 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose, California, CA 95128, United States of America.
  • A Corona Getaway in London

    A Corona Getaway in London

    For those looking to self-isolate in luxury in London, taking a ‘residence’ at The Milestone Hotel in Kensington could be the perfect option (if you’ve got £7,700 per week to spare)

    If you’re rich, want to self-isolate during the coronavirus outbreak in London and don’t even want to go out to do shopping, you could do worse than move into a ‘residence’ within The Milestone Hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace in W8.

     

    Though the Red Carnation Collection hotel, on its own website, is described as “temporarily closed due to current travel restrictions,” serviced apartments within the property are still being advertised online as available.

     

    Listed on OnTheMarket.com for £7,700 per week ($9,600, €8,600 or درهم35,200 per week) or the equivalent of £550 per room per night ($685, €615 or درهم2,515 per room per night), a 743 square foot single-level, third floor apartment includes a reception room, two bedroom suites and a kitchen.

     

    It is described by Harrods Estates as “beautiful” and “sumptuous” and having the “warm sense of being in your own private home.” Featuring a “vibrant and sophisticated” decoration scheme designed by Bea Tollman, the hotel’s founder, the agents laud the “contemporary polish that so cleverly blends with balancing the traditional features.”

     

    ‘Characteristics’ available to those taking the space include full 24-hour hotel service, access to the hotel’s health club, daily housekeeping services, 24-hour butler and room service and a full grocery shopping service.

     

    The neo-Gothic former private home in which this ‘residence’ is situated became a hotel in 1922 and has been known as The Milestone since 1986. It has 43 guest bedrooms, 13 suites and 6 long-stay apartments and in 2019 unveiled a leopard print carpeted suite in honour of the Duchess of Sussex named the ‘Meghan Suite.’ A blessing or a bonus, depending on your view of the wayward on-off royal, is that the likelihood of the former Miss Markle popping in for tea at this time of lockdown is as likely as the Queen riding by on Shergar the racehorse.

     

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    A Corona Getaway in London – Residence at The Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, Kensington, London, W8 5DL, United Kingdom – For those looking to self-isolate in luxury in London, taking a ‘residence’ at The Milestone Hotel in Kensington could be the perfect option. Two bedroom suite apartment available for £7,700 per week ($9,600, €8,600 or درهم35,200 per week) or the equivalent of £550 per room per night ($685, €615 or درهم2,515 per room per night).
    The exterior of The Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, Kensington, London, W8 5DL, United Kingdom.
    A Corona Getaway in London – Residence at The Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, Kensington, London, W8 5DL, United Kingdom – For those looking to self-isolate in luxury in London, taking a ‘residence’ at The Milestone Hotel in Kensington could be the perfect option. Two bedroom suite apartment available for £7,700 per week ($9,600, €8,600 or درهم35,200 per week) or the equivalent of £550 per room per night ($685, €615 or درهم2,515 per room per night).
    The main bedroom.
    A Corona Getaway in London – Residence at The Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, Kensington, London, W8 5DL, United Kingdom – For those looking to self-isolate in luxury in London, taking a ‘residence’ at The Milestone Hotel in Kensington could be the perfect option. Two bedroom suite apartment available for £7,700 per week ($9,600, €8,600 or درهم35,200 per week) or the equivalent of £550 per room per night ($685, €615 or درهم2,515 per room per night).
    The second of the bedrooms.
    A Corona Getaway in London – Residence at The Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, Kensington, London, W8 5DL, United Kingdom – For those looking to self-isolate in luxury in London, taking a ‘residence’ at The Milestone Hotel in Kensington could be the perfect option. Two bedroom suite apartment available for £7,700 per week ($9,600, €8,600 or درهم35,200 per week) or the equivalent of £550 per room per night ($685, €615 or درهم2,515 per room per night).
    The kitchen of the apartment has a look of something from the 1990s, but is perfectly functional.
    A Corona Getaway in London – Residence at The Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, Kensington, London, W8 5DL, United Kingdom – For those looking to self-isolate in luxury in London, taking a ‘residence’ at The Milestone Hotel in Kensington could be the perfect option. Two bedroom suite apartment available for £7,700 per week ($9,600, €8,600 or درهم35,200 per week) or the equivalent of £550 per room per night ($685, €615 or درهم2,515 per room per night).
    A floor plan of Apartment 6, the ‘residence’ offered.
  • Hero of the Hour – Ty Warner

    Hero of the Hour – Ty Warner

    Toy manufacturing billionaire Ty Warner has most generously turned over his 368 room hotel free of charge for New York’s medical workers for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic

    Ty Warner is a billionaire with a difference in that he doesn’t hoard his fortune. He’s given millions to charity and once, when he stopped a woman to ask for directions in California and discovered she needed a stem-cell procedure, he gave her the £16,000 ($20,000) required to save her life.

     

    This week, yet again proving his selfless nature, Chicago born Warner – whose fortune comes from making the Beanie Babies range of toys – turned over a hotel he owns, the I. M. Pei designed Four Seasons New York, for the use of the city’s medical workers, doctors and nurses treating coronavirus patients.

     

    Of why he decided to do this, Warner told Town & Country magazine:

     

    “Many of those working in New York City have to travel long distances to and from their homes after putting in 18-hour days… They need a place close to work where they can rest and regenerate. I heard Governor Cuomo’s call to action during one of his press conferences, and there was no other option for us but do whatever we could to help.”

     

    We join those saluting this very, very generous man and urge British business tycoons to follow Ty Warner’s lead. To date, amongst those who’ve failed in that regard in Blighty are Mike Ashley, Sir Richard Branson, Sir Philip Green and Tim Martin.

     

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  • A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea

    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea

    Art deco mansion block apartment in Chelsea that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale

    “Cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler MBE (1926 – 2012) appeared in everything from Minder to Lawrence of Arabia. He was first discovered as “a near illiterate newspaper boy” making eight shillings a week and invited on the BBC on a radio programme about life in wartime London. He was an immediate hit and subsequently a film company executive offered this Lambeth born boy a “monumental 42 shillings a day” to play an evacuee in The Demi-Paradise – which starred Laurence Olivier and Penelope Ward.

     

    Subsequently Fowler took on many “juvenile roles” and after serving in the RAF during the war, he appeared in films and television series including Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Jackanory, In Sickness and in Health, The Bill and Casualty and was described by Terence Pettigrew as being “as English as suet pudding.” Going further, of him, the broadcaster added: “His characters were neither honest nor irretrievably delinquent, merely wise in the ways of the streets, surviving through a combination of wit and stealth. He had a certain arrogance, but there was an appealing vulnerability, too.”

     

    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    Harry Fowler as a schoolboy named Albert in John Paddy Carstairs’ British comedy film. ‘Top of the Form’ (1953).

    Married first to the Ealing Studios star Joan Dowling, whom tragically committed suicide in 1954 by gas poisoning, Fowler’s second wife was Catherine Palmer. The couple had no children and amongst where they lived was in a portered art deco mansion block called Chesil Court in Chelsea, London, SW3.

     

    Now offered for £975,000 ($1.2 million, €1.1 million or درهم4.3 million), the one-bedroomed first floor flat in which the “everyman for every occasion” and his wife resided is appropriately decorated in authentic 1930s style. It has an original iron bath and original radiators and a Chesil Court clock even. In the bedroom, the wallpaper is a Parisienne print by Madeleine Castaing and in-keeping also are the peacock blue silk blackout curtains and silk leopard print curtains that can be found throughout, according to agents Strutt & Parker.

     

    The 586 square foot apartment is small but perfectly formed and comes with a 35 square foot south facing balcony and it was no doubt there that this Labour supporter decided against a career in parliament. “I found there was little room for laughter in politics,” The Telegraph reported he concluded.

     

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    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    The sitting room is furnished in appropriate 1930s style.
    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    The dining area.
    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    The kitchen is small but stylish.
    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    The bedroom features rainforest patterned wallpaper.
    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    The original 1930s bathroom.
    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    The south facing balcony.
    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    The entrance to Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom.
    A Cockney Paradise in Chelsea – Actor Harry Fowler’s apartment for sale Art deco mansion block apartment in Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QS, United Kingdom that was once home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler for sale for £975,000.
    A floor plan of the first floor apartment.