Tag: society

Billionaire Battersea

Historic Battersea mansion for sale for the same sum it was marketed for in 2011; it has been mostly empty throughout the intervening period and was renovated by the late billionaire Malcolm Forbes

Billionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes was a man who liked to live large. He had a huge yacht named The Highlander, threw lavish parties across the globe and counted Gianni Agnelli, Gordon Getty, Calvin Klein, Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump as friends. This “mysterious collector” also owned numerous residences and one of these, Old Battersea House in London, is for sale for the same sum as it was marketed for in 2011.

Often seen with Elizabeth Taylor at his side and described as “living life in the fabulous”, Forbes purchased Old Battersea House in 1971. It had previously been home to and saved from demolition by Battersea Council by the eccentric author and ghost hunter Wilhemina Stirling. She took up a lifetime tenancy on the building in 1931 and used it to house artworks by her sister, Evelyn de Morgan (1855 – 1919).

Businessman and publisher Malcolm S. Forbes (1919 – 1990) with seven times married actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor DBE (1932 – 2011) at his lavish 70th birthday party at the Palais Mendoub, Tangier, Morocco in 1989

Old Battersea House, 30 Vicarage Crescent, Battersea, London, SW11 3LD, United Kingdom

A. M. D. Wilhemina Stirling (1865 – 1965) owned the house prior to Malcolm Forbes

Christopher ‘Kip’ Forbes (born 1951) assisted his father restore Old Battersea House and later oversaw the family selling its art collection in 2003 and 2009

Grade II* listed since 1954 and adapted during Forbes and subsequently his son Kip’s ownership to showcase a vast collection of Victorian art and antiques, Old Battersea House was built on Tudor foundations in 1699 and was at first known as ‘Terrace House’. It originally had gardens extending down to the River Thames and is rumoured to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1632 – 1723).

Featuring “handsome classical proportions throughout” and standing within a 110-foot wide walled garden, the 10,100 square foot house includes 4 reception rooms, 10 double bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. It has off-street parking and a garden store but it is sadly overlooked by the adjoining housing estate that was built in its grounds in the 1930s.

Savills seek £12 million ($15 million, €14 million or درهم54.9 million) for Old Battersea House.

The impressive hallway of Old Battersea House

Another entertaining space

Elizabeth Taylor and her then husband Larry Fortensky at Old Battersea House in 1992

Images of the house as it was furnished during the ownership of the Forbes family

April 6, 2017
Overheard – 31st March

Clangers overheard and snippets spotted by readers of ‘The Steeple Times’

Ferry & Yah

A PR maven at the Chiltern Firehouse loudly spoke into her mobile. She speedily told the person at the other end of the line: “Bryan Ferry is amazing. Yah. Super yah… I saw his son in 5 Hertford Street. That was a triple yah… Becks and I had such a laugh coming up in the car. That was a yah, a cheers and yah… I didn’t try and talk to Bryan Ferry’s son. That wouldn’t be a yah”. She put the phone down, quaffed her cocktail and dialled her next yah-ing victim.

Milton to Walton

At the bar of The Enterprise in Walton Street, Chelsea, a chubby woman from the Midlands summoned a waitress. She exclaimed: “I want a table now. Outside. This is war. I want one now. Who do those bloody people sat there think they are? We’ve come all the way from Milton Keynes”. Another customer mumbled: “We’d rather you go back there”.

Storming Doris

“What is it with these storms?” asked a middle-aged estate agent at the bar of the since closed restaurant La Brasserie in Brompton Road, SW3. His equally bright friend answered: “Storm Doris: I thought it was a terrorist incident”.

Blairing Blackpool

At lunch at Sexy Fish in Berkeley Square, W1, a pair of businessmen debated their worst ever mistakes. The winner? “I paid £1,500 to meet Tony Blair’s son for lunch once. What a waste. I wish I’d bought a flight to Blackpool instead”.

A Need for Pecorino

“Pecorino, I need some Pecorino”, remarked a woman with an expensive looking pram in a deli in Marylebone. An elderly gent tapped her on the shoulder and asked: “Who do you and your kid think you are? Wallace and Bloody Gromit?”

The Richness of Wholefoods

On Facebook, Matthew Cranwell posted: “When I see a rich bitch in Wholefoods, I pretend I need help and ask: ‘Excuse me, do you work here?’ Just to keep things real”.

Submit comments you hear to [email protected]. We publish amusing and ridiculous chatter we receive and sometimes we change names and locations to protect the identities of the vain and the vacuous.

March 31, 2017
Charlot Malin (1969 – 2017)

Oslo born, San Francisco based interior designer and philanthropist Charlot D. Malin had a day named in her honour by The City and County of San Francisco in November 2016. A mother of twins and the co-founder of Troon Pacific Inc. with her husband Gregory, “forward-thinking” Malin worked on properties for George Lucas and Robert Redford and supported everything from the San Francisco Opera Guild to the Voss Foundation. She considered “health the ultimate luxury” and loathed microwave ovens.

March 18, 2017
Nelson & Nintendo

Georgian mansion, where Admiral Lord Nelson lived with his lover and her husband, for sale for £4.25 million; it was renovated by a former Nintendo executive

One would expect a senior executive of a tech company to live in a slick, modern home in Silicon Valley, but since 2004, Matthew Hill, for many years a senior manager at Nintendo, has called a Grade II listed manor house named Fir Hill in Hampshire’s Meon Valley home.

Built in 1765 and the scene of one of the most famous ménages à trois in history when home to Sir William Hamilton, his wife Emma and Admiral Horatio, 1^st Viscount Nelson in 1801 to 1802, the 7,905 square foot “Georgian masterpiece” includes 3 reception rooms, 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It stands in 5.2 acres of land and comes with a two-storey stable block with potential for secondary accommodation.

Mr Hill purchased the property from Mrs Vida Schreiber, previously Lady Clive, after the death of her husband, Brigadier Schreiber. He met intellectual property lawyer Georgy Evans in 2007 and married her in St Mary and All Saints church in Droxford in 2012 and in the time since, aside from completing the renovation of Fir Hill, the couple have worked together creating a website that comprehensively details the entire history of the building.

Of the renovation and why they are now selling, Matthew Hill told Hampshire Life:

“The renovation work took us 10 years on and off. Our architect said, you either have a big bang and not live here for two years or work in phases. We decided to do the work in four phases which meant we could live here, moving around the house as each phase was completed. The experience of living in the house helped with the restoration… It’s a lovely house, with a lovely feeling, but too big for the two of us now”.

Fir Hill is for sale for £4.25 million ($5.17 million, €4.87 million or درهم19.07 million) through Christie’s Real Estate.

March 14, 2017
Power Pays

That a convicted paedophile is able to avoid a jail sentence is an utter disgrace especially given pensioners get locked up for non-payment of TV licence fees; Old Etonian Andrew Picard shouldn’t be on the streets, he should be in the clink

Andrew Picard (AKA Andrew Laurence and Andrew Boeckman) was caught with 1,185 indecent images of children as young as eight on his computer. He admitted to possessing videos of a three year old being raped, children being forced to have sex with dogs and sharing indecent images on Skype with an undercover policeman yet he was spared jail and handed a derisory non-custodial sentence late last month.

Eton College, Berkshire and Williams College, Massachusetts educated former USA swimmer Picard – who changed his name from Andrew Boeckman to protect the supposed “good reputation” of his wealthy family during his trial – received a sentence of just 10 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months for ten counts of possessing child pornography in late February and thus, one must ask: “Why wasn’t he locked up?”

Justifying why he spared Picard of Probyn House, Page Street, Westminster jail and why he also decided not to place this privileged pervert and predator on the sex offenders’ register, Judge Peter Ross remarked:

“It has been said that you and your family have suffered deeply as a result of your arrest and public exposure. Your family didn’t deserve that… [Prison] would undo the counseling you have undergone”.

Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC, defending, added:

“This is a young and very able man who has hopes for the future… He was able to have this opportunity [to seek help] and this was something Andrew sought for himself, by himself”.

In a country where our government actively pursues jail sentences for pensioners refusing to pay their TV licence fees, it is a disgrace that the son of a prominent American lawyer named Philip J. Boeckman manages to avoid prison in spite of the seriousness of his offences. This utterly contemptible decision is something that brings only shame on Britain.

March 12, 2017
Large in Lowndes

Vast Knightsbridge penthouse with two terraces and a double garage for sale for a sum 478% higher than it achieved in 2000

A penthouse across three buildings in Knightsbridge that sold for £5.1 million (the equivalent of £7.9 million, $9.6 million, €9 million or درهم 35.3 million today) in November 2000 has gone on the market for the much increased sum of £29.5 million ($35.9 million, €33.6 million or درهم 131.8 million).

Exterior of 23–25 Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 9HD

Featuring 16 windows overlooking a mature communal garden and a gross internal area of 6,215 square foot, The Penthouse at 23 to 25 Lowndes Square has six bedrooms, two roof terraces and private garaging for two cars. It is offered on a 992 year lease with a share of the freehold and is subject to a whopping annual service charge of £50,576 per year ($61,525, €57,635 or درهم 225,982).

The selling agents are Savills of Sloane Street.

March 12, 2017
Chop the Charitycats

As San Francisco socialite and clothes horse Joy Venturini Bianchi is highlighted to be an American version of her fellow former ‘charitycat’ Lady Meyer, it’s time that charities worldwide were better regulated

In Britain, in 2011, the “Chanel-clad” wife of the former British ambassador to Washington, Lady Meyer, faced criticism after The Telegraph revealed the majority of the income of the charity she was then running was spent on her very own pay. She subsequently ceased to be involved in that organisation in 2016 but now, in San Francisco, a similar scandal has come to light in the form of Helpers Community Inc. (formerly rather crudely known as ‘Helpers of the Mentally Retarded’) and its executive director, a wannabe lookalike of Iris Apfel named Joy Venturini Bianchi.

The so-called charity that “natty” Ms. Venturini Bianchi, a self-proclaimed “divorced philanthropist” runs, it was reported last Friday, must “repay the public tens of thousands of dollars after misleading city officials” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The same paper had previously highlighted that Helpers had paid 78-year old Venturini Bianchi a base salary of £159,149 ($193,828), roughly £82,109 ($100,000) more annually than directors of similarly sized San Francisco non-profits and that supporters had been “disgusted with the way they were using this cause to raise money”.

Ms. Venturini Bianchi stands accused of raising “millions of dollars but failed to adequately distribute [them]” and that she is also attacked for not doing “much to fulfill [her non-profit’s] promise to donors” is, if correct, truly shocking. Just as with Meyer in England, the board of Helpers was composed from “longtime friends” and as state senator Mark Leno pointed out: “It would appear that the board is in need of a serious governance makeover”.

It is time the era of the ‘charitycat’ came to its natural conclusion. In Britain, America and elsewhere, for far too long, wealthy and connected individuals with little-to-no experience have been able to benefit from tax breaks, benefits, salaries and bonuses naïvely given by the public simply by taking over “a cause”. These amateurs should now be banished and running charities should instead become the domain of professionals.

Joy Venturini Bianchi with Iris Apfel

Joy Venturini Bianchi with Sir Elton John

March 12, 2017
Fishing with Bentley

Bentley 4×4 equipped with fly fishing kit by Mulliner to be exhibited at The London Fly Fishing Fair

Designed with the gentleman angler in mind, what some might call a “casting brake” is to be exhibited by Bentley at the first London Fly Fishing Fair this week.

Priced far higher than the standard £135,000 ($164,000, €155,000 or درهم 603,000) base model Bentley Bentayga at around £280,000 ($340,000, €322,000 or درهم 1.25 million), the Mulliner Fly Fishing adapted version on show comes with a master tackle station, a refreshment case and a waterproof wader stowage trunk. It has tubes for four rods and a pair of landing nets can be stored in a hard pocket in the side of the boot.

Aside from the specially adapted Bentley, Marina Gibson – pictured here departing from a slightly more modest means of transport – will add some glamour to the first London Fly Fishing Fair

Of the car, which is to be exhibited by Mayfair dealers Jack Barclay, John Kelley, co-founder of The London Fly Fishing Fair, remarked:

“This is an iconic development in the fishing industry. It allows the keen angler to travel in comfort and in style. We are proud to be having this vehicle be a part of our fair, where we hope to entice a diverse community of fly fishers to engage in our event”.

Fly fishing personalities including rising star Marina Gibson and longstanding favourite Charles Jardine will be present at the fair and amongst over 70 exhibitors will be the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the BASC and Orvis.

The London Fly Fishing Fair is to be held on the 10^th and 11^th March at The Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 0QH. Tickets cost £15 per person with under entry for those under 15 free.

March 8, 2017
Cheltenham Festival 2017

Excitement over the 2017 Cheltenham Festival has already begun and punters are already eagerly placing their bets

In 2016, our man ‘The Tout’s’ tip for the coveted Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in Gloucestershire, Sprinter Sacre, romped home and beat the favourite by seven lengths. This year’s festival is looking equally exciting and punters are already lining up to eagerly place their bets with guidance from such places as Cheltenham Festival 2017 Tips.

Dating back to 1860 and running between 14^th to 17^th March this year, the Cheltenham Festival is a National Hunt meeting with prize money second only to the Grand National at a total of £4.1 million. It has an average attendance of 62,000 people per day and is famous for the ‘Cheltenham Roar’, the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival. Ruby Walsh has been top jockey at the festival ten times whilst Paul Nicholls has been top trainer six times. Willie Mullins comes a close second having trained winning horses five times.

Rivalry between British and Irish trainers is intense at Cheltenham and a cup, named ‘The Prestbury’ in honour of the nearest village to the course, celebrates this annually. The first country with 14 winners or more takes that but the true highlight of the four-day event is ‘The Gold Cup’, this year coinciding with St Patrick’s Day.

Past winners of this legendary race have included such stalwarts as Desert Orchid, Master Oats and Lord Windermere but the greatest successes have come in the form of five times winner Golden Miller (1932 at 13/2, 1933 at 4/7F, 1934 at 6/5F, 1935 at 1/2F and 1936 at 21/20F) and three times winners Cottage Rake (1948 at 10/1, 1949 at 4/6F, 1950 at 5/6F) and Arkle (1964 at 7/4, 1965 at 3/10F and 1966 at 1/10F).

For those more interested in socialising, the Cheltenham Festival provides plenty to do. In 2015, ex-glamour model Katie Price even managed to secure a couple of selfies at the event with The Duchess of Cornwall.

The Cheltenham Festival runs from 14^th to 17^th March 2017 at Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH.

To book tickets, click here or telephone: +44 (0) 344 579 3003.

For betting tips, go to Free Bets, a one-stop shop for betting promotions.

Cyclist turned jockey Victoria Pendleton at the festival

Happy racegoeers

Pippa Middleton at the event

Katie Price and HRH Duchess of Cornwall pose for a selfie

February 10, 2017
Sex and the Single Zillionaire

Belvedere, CA home of late tech billionaire and author of ‘Sex and the Single Zillionaire’ Thomas Perkins for sale; he entertained amongst others Sophia Loren and Rupert Murdoch there

Thomas Perkins (1932 – 2016) had it all. Born in New York, this Harvard University and MIT graduate made his fortune in Silicon Valley, California when he co-founded Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 1972 and invested in amongst others Amazon, AOL, Compaq, Google, Macromedia, Netscape and Segway. He was said to be worth £6.4 billion ($8 billion, €7.4 billion or درهم29.4 billion), was briefly married to famed author Danielle Steel between 1998 and 2002 and wrote a novel of his own, Sex and the Single Zillionaire, in 2006.

Aside from an £8 million ($10 million, €9.3 million or درهم36.6 million) country house in East Sussex, England named Plumpton Place and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ – his 289-foot long, £104.3 million ($130 million, €120.9 million or درهم477.5 million) sailing yacht – Perkins owned a French style residence on Belvedere Island in Marin County, California. He purchased it with his Norwegian first wife, Gerd Thune-Ellefsen, in 1972 and continued to live there after her death in 1994.

Danielle Steel and Tom Perkins remained friends even after their divorce

Steel even hosted a party for Perkins’s novel at her Pacific Heights, San Francisco mansion when it launched in 2006

The tech billionaire’s yacht, The Maltese Falcon, was the largest sailing yacht in the world when it was launched in 1990

Perkins at his English country home, Plumpton Place in East Sussex

The exterior of Perkins’s Belvedere home, 345 Golden Gate Avenue, appears modest

But what is to be found within includes this spectacular ‘Grand Salon’

Extending to 8.885 square foot in total, the house – which was put up for sale last June by Perkins’s children – was built to the designs of architects Julia Morgan and George Kelham in 1928 and features 16th century linenfold wood-paneled walls in a room described as a ‘Grand Salon’. Here, Perkins entertained European royalty, his fellow News Corp board member Rupert Murdoch and the Italian actress Sophia Loren and given the room’s outlook to the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay, these luminaries cannot have failed to have been impressed.

Known simply as 345 Golden Gate Avenue, Perkins’s former home is for sale through Sotheby’s International Realty for £13.2 million ($16.5 million, €15.3 million or درهم60.6 million). It includes a formal dining room seating 18, 6 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, a guest apartment, an outdoor swimming pool and stands on a plot of 0.85 acres.

Prior to his death, in 2014, Perkins attracted controversy when he penned an article for The Wall Street Journal. At the time, he wrote:

“Writing from the epicentre [sic] of progressive thought, San Francisco, I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its ‘one per cent’, namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one per cent, namely the rich”.

He later apologised for making comparisons to Nazi Germany but subsequently added: “In the Nazi era it was racial demonization, now it’s class demonization”.

February 6, 2017