The Steeple Times

Tag: success

  • Hero of the Hour 2023 – Oscar Award Winning Actor James Martin

    Hero of the Hour 2023 – Oscar Award Winning Actor James Martin

    As the modest ‘An Irish Goodbye’ actor James Martin wins an Oscar, we join those celebrating his truly deserved success and his becoming the first star with Down’s Syndrome to win at the Academy Awards

    Many readers of The Steeple Times are big fans of the North Yorkshire born television chef James Martin and one of our readers, Gary Hazell, is involved in distributing his eponymous gin. 50-year-old farmer’s son Mr Martin brings joy to many every Saturday on ITV1 and his “silky smooth, flavor rich gin” most definitely goes down a treat; his passion for cars both classic and modern is also clear and he is most certainly just the kind of role model the nation needs.

     

    After winning a BAFTA in February for his role in the short film An Irish Goodbye and last night – on the very day of his 31st birthday – adding to that with an Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards, another James Martin is now also making waves. Here, indeed, is a Northern Irishman most definitely headed to becoming one of the best-loved and most deserved luminaries of 2023.

     

    This particular James Martin is a rising star actor whose career began when he was a guest on his father Ivan Martin’s U105 radio show on Father’s Day and Christmas Day in his youth.

     

    Of this in December 2014, the radio presenter remarked of his son: “I never look at my son James and think: ‘There’s James and he has Down’s Syndrome.’ I just think: ‘There’s James.’ It has always been that way… James is a remarkable young man and I admire him so much. He has never let his disability hold him back. He is an ambassador for Mencap and he has spoken at the European Parliament and to the Assembly at Stormont.”

     

    Responding about his father in the same interview for the Belfast Telegraph, the undoubted star of last night’s ceremony in Los Angeles added: “My dad and I are very close… We have great craic and a lot of banter… Dad is also supportive of my acting… I love to act and want to be a good actor.”

     

    The 23:29-minute film was the second collaboration between co-directors Tom Berkeley and Ross White. It was released on 4th March 2022 and of his son’s success winning an Oscar for it, Ivan Martin today told BBC Radio Ulster: “All I ever wanted was for James was that he’d be happy and, I tell you what, he’s happy now… It’s been a journey. You get to the Oscars and everybody keeps saying the prize is getting there, but, truth to tell, you want to win and I had my doubts about it because one of the opposition films was a Disney film and they had it in the last week… They had really been ramping up the promotion for it, but, calm heads win the end… A film we can all be proud of… It’s just crazy. There were a few tears shed, but what an achievement. Just delighted.”

    Subsequently James Martin appeared in the BBC’s Ups and Downs and starred opposite Anna Friel in ITV’s Marcella and last night he was well and truly celebrated. Speaking ahead of An Irish Goodbye being named the Best Live Action Short, Martin shared:

     

    “The timing of it has been just perfect. You know, you can’t plan somebody’s birthday to be on the Oscars. So, it’s a big day, [but] I just want to enjoy it really, just enjoy the experience.”

     

    “I was just in the airport going down the escalator and [I heard some say:] ‘Well done An Irish Goodbye.’ ‘I’m just thinking to myself: My God this is amazing.’”

     

    “I always say to people, never judge a book by its cover. Not just getting a BAFTA, but going to LA is a big deal… It’s just nice to be included.”

     

    Later, after his win and having had the 3,000 audience sing Happy Birthday to him, the modest-to-his-core actor told BBC News: “We’re just so proud to be representing Northern Ireland. To be on that stage in front of all of our cinematic heroes – it was a special moment.”

     

    An Irish Goodbye – which was written and directed by Tom Berkeley and Ross White and also stars Seamus O’Hara, Paddy Jenkins and Michelle Fairley – has been described as a “black comedy following the reunion of estranged brothers Turlough and Lorcan following the untimely death of their mother.”

     

    Going further in an 18-page press notes release, the 23:29-minute film’s production team added:

     

    “Under the watchful eye of odd-ball parish priest Father O’Shea, the brothers’ pained reunion is worsened by the fact Turlough must now make new care arrangements for Lorcan, who has Down Syndrome.”

     

    “A robust and dedicated farmer, Lorcan’s dream of continuing to work the land he grew up on is thwarted when Turlough decides he’s sending him to live with their aunt on the other side of Ireland.”

     

    “But when the brothers discover an unfulfilled bucket list belonging to their late mother, Lorcan senses an opportunity: he’ll only agree to leave the farm once he and Turlough have themselves completed every single wish on their mother’s list… All one-hundred of them.”

     

    Today, we join all those saluting the actor James Martin and urge readers to join us in raising a glass to his latest award with a snifter or two of the chef of the same name’s London Dry Gin. Cheers!

     

    The full film can be watched on BBC iPlayer by clicking here.

     

    Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party.

     

    Oscars 1
    ‘An Irish Goodbye’ is a short film written, produced, and directed in 2022 by Tom Berkeley and Ross White. The film stars James Martin, Seamus O’Hara, Paddy Jenkins and Michelle Fairley and is set on a farm in Northern Ireland.
    James Martin and Ivan Martin
    The award-winning actor with his radio presenter father, Ivan.
    Oscars 2
    On-stage to collect their award; the team behind the film used their acceptance speech to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the star-of-the-show. Co-director Ross White also stated: “Deary me, thank you so much the Academy for this incredible, incredible honour. Thank you to our fellow nominees, all the nominees for your work, and your work it inspires us so very, very much. Thank you to everybody back home and Northern Ireland who helped us make this film. We wish we had the time to list you all here, but you know who you are.” He then continued: “There’s something very important we’d like to speak about as well. This award is actually the second most important thing about today, because it’s this man’s birthday. He’s out here in Hollywood, wearing a leopard print suit jacket. We’d love to use the rest of our time up here to sing for James.”
    James-Martin-Motors-Into-Gin
    The actor’s English namesake… ‘The Steeple Times’ reviewed ITV1 ‘Saturday Morning’ presenter James Martin’s London Dry Gin in January this year and lauded it as showcasing “tradition with a twist.” To purchase a bottle, click here and do join us in urging the pair to team up for a joint tellybox appearance; it’d make for great viewing.
  • Who Is Gatsby Randolph?

    Who Is Gatsby Randolph?

    Matthew Steeples previews ‘Who Is Gatsby Randolph?’ and finds it not only refreshingly raucous, but also proof that anyone can achieve their dream

    In England, we have party crashers like David Pun – a bow tie wearing blaggart who pretends to own Harvey Nichols, but actually lives in a bus shelter in Hammersmith. Freakish toerags like him and the bigoted berk Marie-Claire, Baroness von Alvensleben pollute events, hoovering up canapés and nabbing gift bags with audacity and awfulness, but in Hollywood there’s a marvelous man who has got the art of getting into the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party down to a fine art.

     

    David Pun and Marie-Claire, Baroness von Alvensleben
    London’s leading liggers, amongst them bow tie wearing David Pun (right) and convicted racist Marie-Claire, ‘Baroness’ von Alvensleben (left, with disgraced ‘entertainer’ Michael Barrymore), flash business cards lacking class, style and elegance, but still somehow get their wicked way into society bashes. How they get away with it remains a mystery and though there have been proposals to make documentaries about their antics, these have yet to reach the viewing public.
    Alexa Jago
    English actress turned award winning producer Alexa Jago, however, has managed to bring the remarkable yet totally true story of a humble boy from Memphis, Tennessee who sought out and achieved his dream of getting to the top in Tinseltown to the big screen.
    Oscar and Dom Perignon
    With a (borrowed but real) Oscar and a bottle of Dom Perignon (or five), this bio-documentary of an aspiring music producer turned tastemaker illustrates the power of Instagram. In it, the star claims “social media is archival footage” and through weaving his posts into a cohesive story, Gatsby Randolph becomes a genuine and welcomed personality.
    https://vimeo.com/423678137

    A ‘mockumentary’ in style and deservedly lauded as “Borat meets Entourage,” Who Is Gatsby Randolph? tells the story of Memphis, Tennessee born Kobie Randolph’s transition as he seeks out fame and fortune in Tinseltown. Rather like in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel from which he takes his adopted moniker, “people were not invited – they went there” is the premise of our suave, cigar chomping protagonist.

     

    Produced by talented English theatre and film actress turned award winning producer Alexa Jago – best known for having worked alongside amongst others Kevin Costner and for having been part of the team behind the 2015 hit Kajaki (AKA Kilo Two Bravo) – and due for theatrical release in the coming months, here is a film about a young man’s rise from poverty to the pinnacle of power and privilege living in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

     

    With 101,000 followers on Instagram currently, but ironically without 101 Dalmatians, in what has been described as “a poignant wild ride through red carpets with unlimited access to all the glitz and glamour,” this bio-documentary examines not only success, but also struggle.

     

    Reinvention is key to Kobie Randolph’s transition into his alter-ego ‘Gatsby’ and of his journey, the star recently told FilmInk: “As a filmmaker, I recognised that my own story of rags to riches was, in fact, a movie in the making.” He most certainly has achieved that and Who Is Gatsby Randolph? most definitely looks set to be one of the hits of 2022.

     

    Pictured top – Kobie Randolph, a man described by British actor Hainsley Lloyd Bennett as making him “feel like I could take over Hollywood.” Of him, the ‘Pennyworth’ star recently remarked: “His electric spirit jumps through the screen… He projected that he was somebody, so everyone treated him like he was and that was irrespective of his race, his age and his looks.”

     

    Anna Wintour
    Here (pictured with Anna Wintour) is a hustler who threw convention to the wind and got himself in front of Steven Spielberg even.
    Glenn Close and Emily Blunt
    This is an amusing and lighthearted tale that echoes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character’s intrepid pursuit of the American dream. Its protagonist (pictured here with screen sirens Glenn Close and Emily Blunt) really did get into ‘Vanity Fair’s’ Oscar after-party not only once but four times.
    Angelina Jolie
    On his journey, Gatsby Randolph met everyone from Angelina Jolie (pictured) to Reese Witherspoon.
  • Wisdom From Wales

    Wisdom From Wales

    Nikolay Kalinin delves into Labour’s success in Wales in the recent elections and suggests if the party wants to win nationwide they should pay heed to what went on there

    If there’s anything that the Senedd election results can tell us, it is that the Welsh people are amongst the few that have not gone completely crackers and voted for parties that will make their lives worse at this time.

     

    This can be evidenced by the fact that there are now no seats taken by members of UKIP and the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, with the former losing all seven of their seats and gaining a miserable 0.8% of the constituency vote and 1.6% of the regional vote. This is an even more shameful result than AWAP, which gained 1.6% of the constituency vote and 3.7% of regional vote.

     

    However, both the Green Party and AWAP had a high chance of winning a regional seat in the South Wales East – where back in 2016 UKIP came second with 17.8% and got 2 out of the 4 regional seats. Nevertheless, both parties fell short by just over 5,000 votes.

     

    The anti-lockdown Reform UK also failed in their goal to “change politics for good,” gaining no seats and once again showing Nigel Farage and Richard Tice that no one cares about their party.

     

    So far, none of the party leaders have said anything about their predicament, meaning that they have truly been defeated in a literal and mental sense, and hopefully they will keep their filthy noses out of Welsh politics for as long as possible.

     

    How was Labour successful? They avoided focusing too much on attacking BoJo and his sleazy Eton pals and ‘Carrie Antoinette,’ and focused instead on positive messaging, even managing to attract the voters who backed UKIP back in 2016.

     

    Welsh Labour’s leadership during the pandemic has also meant that the electorate feels more comfortable with voting for a party which has led the region during one of the biggest public health crises the country has ever seen, with many describing this attraction to the government as “Stockholm syndrome,” which I personally find to be very stupid.

     

    Another conclusion that we can take from the results is that Plaid Cymru’s dreams of a Welsh referendum of independence is going to be very hard to achieve due to the lack of seats they have. They only managed to gain 13 seats, which is only one seat higher than their results in 2016.

     

    The Welsh Labour manifesto has been seen as a big reason why Labour did not gain a majority, since it has been criticised as over-cautious, although looking at it I don’t see anything too tame there. Labour for example wants to keep prescriptions free in the region, open up a new medical school and develop the Young Persons Guarantee that will give everyone under 25 the offer of work, education, training, or self-employment.

     

    Labour’s results in Wales should be a model for Labour as a whole party; there’s some speculation that by 2040, Labour will have enough support for a coalition government, although I don’t see this as possible if Labour keeps going at this rate.

     

    As I previously mentioned in my article about Hartlepool and when I spoke to Nick Abbott on LBC, the reason Labour won in Wales was because they appealed to the former UKIP working-class voters. So, next, it’s time Sir Keir Starmer applied that same tactic nationwide.

     

    Pictured top: First Minister of Wales, The Right Honourable Mark Drakeford.

     

    Wisdom From Wales 2021 – Analysis of election results and Labour – Nikolay Kalinin delves into Labour success in Wales in the recent elections and suggests if the party wants to win nationwide they should pay heed to what went on there.
    Wisdom From Wales – Two contrasting leaders, Mark Drakeford and Boris Johnson, who’ve both had remarkable success in the 2021 elections. Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford was returned with an extraordinarily increased majority and polled nearly 50% of the total votes cast in Cardiff West. Labour also took back Rhondda from the former Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood. Of the success of this pair and Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland also, ‘Unherd’s’ Freddie Sayers remarked: “One factor that hasn’t been much discussed is that these three characters — Sturgeon, Drakeford and Johnson — have for the past year of pandemic been on the television screens almost every evening precisely calibrating the level of freedom people should expect to enjoy. Sometimes our leaders have been generous, allowing us to have a coffee on a park bench with a friend; at other times, they have been pointlessly capricious, such as when Mark Drakeford insisted that non essential items like birthday cards and books were cordoned off in Welsh supermarkets so that people did not shop unnecessarily.”
  • Heroine of the Hour 2021 – Hollie Doyle

    Heroine of the Hour 2021 – Hollie Doyle

    Hollie Doyle achieved a remarkable 5 wins in a row at Kempton Park last night at odds of 2,522-1; her success brings cheer to racing a time when the sport most needs it

    Whilst the inexcusable Gordon Elliott scandal has brought the worst kind of shame to the racing community in the last week, news that Hollie Doyle has continued her winning form and landed five wins last night in a card of eight races at Kempton Park is truly to be celebrated.

     

    Having ridden five winners in one day at Windsor in August last year in a card of seven races, Doyle’s 2,522-1 achievement yesterday included an 8-1 winner in the form of Madrinho and a 14-1 success with Sir Titan.

     

    Speaking to The Racing Post, Doyle remarked:

     

    “It’s great as these things don’t happen very often so you have got to make the most of them.”

     

    “I seem to do quite well here but I’ve had some good rides here today. Charlie Appleby’s horse [Highland Avenue] has got a lot of potential and I thought if I get beat on that I’ll give up!”

     

    “I thought Archie’s [Watson’s horse, Laos] should go close and to be honest when I spoke to Tony [Carroll] he filled me full of confidence with all three of his rides. You just need a bit of luck and I have had that. My agent has done me a good job in getting a good book of rides.”

     

    “I’m never satisfied with what I’ve done and I always want to achieve more and when you get on these sort of runs you always want to do better.”

     

    Hollie Doyle’s remarkable achievements in 2020 numbered:

     

    • Women’s British record holder for wins in a calendar year.
    • First Royal Ascot winner with Scarlet Dragon in the Duke of Edinburgh.
    • Winner of £1.9 million in prize money.
    • Record-breaking first woman to win five races on a card at Windsor.
    • Broke her British record in October 2020 after 117th winner and achieved a total of 151 wins in the year.
    • First woman to win at the QIOCO British Champions Day at Ascot.
    • Nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year and came third behind Lewis Hamilton and Jordan Henderson.

     

    All at The Steeple Times again celebrate this true heroine’s latest success and look forward to lots more to come from the brilliant champion that is Hollie Doyle.

     

    Heroine of the Hour 2021 – Hollie Doyle achieved a remarkable 5 wins in a row at Kempton Park last night at odds of 2,522-1; her success brings cheer to racing a time when the sport most needs it.
    Heroine of the Hour 2021 – Hollie Doyle pictured with her fellow jockey boyfriend Tom Marquand. She has quite rightly been lauded as “at the peak of her game” and deserves the nickname ‘Historymaker Hollie.’

  • Firing Up A 20th Century Limo

    Firing Up A 20th Century Limo

    ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the rammed full of gadgets limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even

    Whilst a 1967 Mercedes-Benz ‘Dictator Car we featured in April eventually sold for £237,000 ($298,000, €264,000 or درهم1.1 million), a lover of limousines with far shallower pockets might care to bid on a Japanese example that is headed to auction this month.

     

    Though the word “limousine” originally derived from the “type of carriage hood that physically resembled the cloak worn by shepherds in the Limousin region of France,” this automotive category is now sadly more generally associated with that especially ghastly, much over-used adjective “luxury.”

     

    Limousines are not only considered the preserve of the aforementioned despots, but they’re also the favoured modes of conveyance of business titans, young Arabic and Russian showoffs and rappers now even. A well-known reader of ours even once stated she’d like to have several herself. This friend of royalty added that a collection of security guards running alongside with torches also would complete her ideal spectacle.

     

    Coming in the form of a four-seat, stretched saloon car, the 1994 Toyota Century to be offered was imported to the UK by Mohamad Issa in 2019. It is longer than a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but slightly shorter than a Maybach at 19-feet in length, is presented in black with a black leather interior and was fully serviced in Japan prior to being shipped. The odometer reads 34,500 miles.

     

    Historics Auctioneers will sell the 1994 Toyota Century limousine at their Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July. They have set an estimate of just £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) and describe the car as being: “A stunning example of a rare car even in Japan, this is a real collector’s car that is a sign of wealth and power for the price of a new Ford Fiesta!”

     

    Featured earlier this year in a 19-minute video by two vloggers named Ben and Alfie of a YouTube channel named The Department of Motoring Affairs, of this particular Century they surmised: “People are surprised that this is a Toyota… If you don’t get it by now you don’t belong in the club anyway… If you know, you know” and indeed they’re right: Here is a quirky limousine that you could only originally have had if the Japanese ‘powers that be’ allowed you.

     

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    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    The passenger “compartment” is described as “richly appointed” and includes not only “soft and supple” heated power, leather seats with variable speed massage functions, but also gadgets galore. Most importantly for the notoriously shy Japanese market, the compartment has all-round curtains as well as an electric privacy partition to separate it from the driver’s compartment (with an intercom communications system).
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    There is a cordless 1990s mobile telephone, a television (described as “working but TV to Japanese specification”) with a VHS player, as well as a tape deck built into the rear centre armrest that even has an in-built recording device. A mini fridge also has a heating function for hot food and there is a cabinet containing crystal glasses and a decanter even.
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    A desk can fold out for a mogul who wishes to work whilst on-the-road inside their Toyota Century limousine. It is made of mahogany and for those that wish to ‘drink-and-ride’ there are mahogany glass holders as well.
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    The chauffeur also gets to sit in luxury (unlike in many other limousines). Whilst in original limousines, the chauffeur’s compartment was open, here they get not only a roof, but a leather seat also.
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    Technology is the order of the day given this Toyota Century limousine was manufactured in Japan. The car has automatic transmission, cruise control and a fully functional digital dash.
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    The soft-closing boot contains the original tyre and jacking equipment.
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    The engine is a Lexus 4-litre 5V-EU V8. Of it, Historics Auctioneers remark: “We are informed by the vendor that [it] starts well and pulls strong with the temperature gauge reading a little below half and the automatic transmission shifts are firm and smooth.”
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    From the front; this Toyota Century stretched saloon is described as “clean and straight, the chrome trim and bumpers are all intact and gleaming.”
    A 20th Century Limo – £13,000 to £17,000 ($16,300 to $21,300, €14,500 to €18,900 or درهم59,900 to درهم78,300) for 1994 Toyota Century limousine at Historics Auctioneers Windsorview Lakes sale on 18th July 2020 – ‘Stretched’ 1994 Toyota Century for sale for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta; the limousine comes with a food heating compartment and privacy curtains favoured by notoriously shy Japanese people even.
    And from the rear; here is a car that Historics Auctioneers laud as having a look “denoting conservative success.”
    Historics Auctioneers have produced a video tour of the vehicle to market it to potential purchasers during the coronavirus lockdown.
    The 1994 Toyota Century limousine to be auctioned featured in an amusing 19-minute long YouTube video in March this year by vlogger Alfred Munkenbeck and his co-host Ben (surname unknown). They plainly loved the vehicle.
  • Kingly Kinlet

    Kingly Kinlet

    Grand Grade I listed Shropshire mansion Kinlet Hall for sale after coronavirus forced the closure of its wedding venue and summer school

    • Striking Grade I listed Palladian mansion in Shropshire for sale.
    • Kinlet Hall is priced at £3.5 million or just £104 per square foot.
    • The house has until recently been a school and wedding venue, but this usage has been stopped because of the coronavirus lockdown.
    • A cricket ground included with the property was lauded as one of “Britain’s most scenic” by ‘The Telegraph’ whilst HRH Princess Anne has competed in horse trials in the parkland.

    Coinciding with the partial relaxation of the coronavirus lockdown, the ‘trophy country house’ market seems to be revving up with the commencement of marketing of several historically significant residences.

    Now, following on from our feature on Saturday on the £10 million crumbling Jacobean gem Lilford Hall Estate in Northamptonshire, the same agents, Savills, have now introduced the sale of another treasure – the utterly stunning Palladian architectural treasure that is Kinlet Hall in Shropshire.

    Significantly cheaper at £3.5 million or £104 per square foot and in far better condition than 33,406 square foot Lilford Hall, the 33,609 square foot Grade I listed Kinlet Hall comes with less land – 102 acres as opposed to 321 acres. It is further from London, which may limit its appeal to wealthy city sorts, but given it has been used as both a school and wedding venue until lockdown, it is in actual “working condition” as opposed to the perilously falling down state that Lilford is sadly currently in. That is, indeed, a major plus.

    Featuring a seven-bayed central block of three storeys plus cellars, the hall is flanked by two two-storey wings. Presently configured to provide 5 reception rooms and 15 bedrooms, there are classrooms, gyms and flats also. Surprisingly, unlike with many residential to school conversions of mansions in the 1940s where ugly modern extensions were distastefully tacked on, damage to the integrity of the original structure has been minimal.

    In addition, to a 5-bedroom detached house named ‘The Old House’ and a range of farm buildings within the grounds, there is a cricket pavilion and a cricket pitch. The Telegraph named its runner-up for “Britain’s most scenic cricket ground” in 2008 and interestingly amongst the many established plant and tree species in the grounds is a Wellingtonia that allegedly came as a seed in a matchbox from the Americas.

    Of Kinlet Hall, Tony Morris-Eyton of Savills comments: “[This is] an exquisitely beautiful Palladian country house, formerly a prep school, awaiting its next chapter with enormous potential as either a private home or [for] other uses.”

    The village of Kinlet is situated on the northern edge of the Wyre Forest about 18 miles from Telford and 23 miles from Birmingham.

    Kingly Kinlet – £3.5 million ($4.4 million, €3.9 million or درهم16.3 million) for Kinlet Hall, Kinlet, Bewdley, Shropshire, DY12 3AY, United Kingdom through agents Savills – Grand Grade I listed Shropshire mansion Kinlet Hall for sale after coronavirus forced the closure of its wedding venue and summer school. HRH Prince Anne has competed at horse trials in its parkland.
    Design Maestros – Villa Pisani, Montagnana (top left) by Andrea Palladio (lower centre) inspired both Francis Smith of Warwick (lower left) in his designs for Kinlet Hall and William Buckland (lower right) in his creation of the Hammond-Harwood House (top right).

    The Names & Numbers – Kinlet Hall, Kinlet, Bewdley, Shropshire, DY12 3AY, United Kingdom

     

    June 2020 – Put up for sale for £3.5 million ($4.4 million, €3.9 million or درهم16.3 million) through agents Savills. Orchard Lodge, a 4-bedroom cottage with an acre of paddock, is available by separate negotiation.

     

    July 2017 – Moffats School closes for the final time citing financial pressures. Of the decision, school chairman Julian Engleheart told the Shropshire Star: “We have always been a small school by choice, maintaining the family ethos of our founders. However, the current financial climate is putting enormous pressure on small schools and we have decided that it would be unwise to commit to a new year this September. However, we will continue to run educational activities in our lovely house and grounds, which provide such a wonderful environment for learning.”

     

    1946 – Moffats School (founded in 1934 by the children’s writer Natalie Engleheart in a Hertfordshire house called Moffats) is relocated to Kinlet Hall.

     

    1939 – 1945 – The house was temporarily home to a school for the blind; the parkland became a camp for the US army as part of their preparations for the Normandy Landings.

     

    1827 – Ballroom added to the designs of Sir Jeffrey Wyattville (1766 – 1840) trained architect Edward Haycock (1790 – 1870) for William Baldwyn Childe. He died three years before it was completed and “this is the only significant part of the house not dating from 1729.”

     

    1727 – 1729 – Kinlet Hall is “built in a classic early Georgian style with the symmetry and grand elevations synonymous with [the English master-builder and architect] Francis Smith of Warwick (1672 – 1738)” for Tory politician William Lacon Childe (1700 – 1757) close to the site of an older Tudor manor house.

     

    Other notable works by Smith and his family include Calke Abbey, Fawsley Hall, Kirtlington House, Ombersley Court and Stoneleigh Abbey. His design was said to be inspired by Andrea Palladio’s (1508 – 1580) Villa Pisani at Montagnana – which also reportedly was the influence for the ‘Anglo-Palladian’ Hammond-Harwood House by the English architect William Buckland (1734 – 1774) in Annapolois, Maryland, USA.

     

    During construction, the old village was removed to “improve” the setting. Only the original church, St. John the Baptist, which contains monuments dating to the 1580s, was left as a “remnant.” It was restored subsequently in 1892.

     

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  • Penny Streeter OBE (née Penny Stiff)

    Penny Streeter OBE (née Penny Stiff)

    A classic ‘rags to riches’ tale is that of Penny Streeter. Born in what was then Rhodesia, this police superintendent’s daughter came to England when she was 12 and worked on Margaret Thatcher’s Youth Training Scheme and in Pizzaland at the age of 16. She went into business with her mother at 22, went bust and after ending up living in a homeless refuge with her children, worked her way back and launched what has become A24 Group, a healthcare recruitment agency in 1995. By 2002, this hard-working woman’s company was the “fastest-growing company in the UK” and in 2019, she was listed as being worth £208 million in The Sunday Times ‘Rich List.’ Streeter and her husband now own a vineyard in South Africa and a winery in Horsham, West Sussex. We say: Cheers to her!

  • Susie Steiner

    Susie Steiner

    “I’m sorry I still love him” unabashedly declared author, journalist and “stationary addict” Susie Steiner of Tony Blair on Twitter during the coronavirus lockdown whilst amusingly adding of Boris Johnson: “If only I could retreat to Chequers.” Registered fully blind and a mother of two, this former Guardian commissioning editor did a “little one-page feature, showing the ‘Keep Calm’ poster as one of her favourite things” in 2005. “After that, all hell broke loose,” according to Stuart Manley, co-owner of Barter Books of Alnwick, and what Steiner terms a “message of stoicism and patience” went viral. She thinks “it’s had its day now” and after publishing her first novel, Homecoming, in 2013, this West Hampstead based Londoner signed “significant six-figure” deals for her subsequent works. “Susie is a joy to publish” remarked Suzie Dooré of Borough Press, whilst she herself gave away the secret to her much deserved success in a 2016 interview with The Hampstead & Highgate Express: “I’m very disciplined about my work… The daily-ness is what matters; it’s being in contact with it all the time that keeps the work alive in your mind. Your mind is doing it even when your trogging up the hill from school or waiting in the hairdressers. It fingers it like a pebble in your pocket.”

     

    Susie Steiner – Journalist turned best-selling crime author; she loves Tony Blair – Registered blind former ‘Guardian’ commissioning editor Susie Steiner helped ‘Keep Calm’ go viral in 2005 and became a novelist in 2013. This Londoner’s best-selling works include ‘Missing, Presumed.’
  • Positivity From Pleurat

    Positivity From Pleurat

    Refugee turned “one-man vodka band” Pleurat Shabani shares a message of positivity (and a reminder that we’ll all be having a martini or three together again soon)

    Having escaped the civil war in Croatia, Kosovo born Pleurat Shabani headed to London in 1994. He, unlike Dick Whittington, did not find streets paved with gold but ended up working as a lavatory cleaner and kitchen porter.

     

    Later, forced onto the streets after losing his job at Soho House, Shabani “hit rock bottom” but did not give up. He found a job as a glass washer at Oliver Peyton’s Atlantic Bar & Grill – which ironically was later ‘sunk’ by Marco Pierre White’s Titanic restaurant – and after being promoted to a role as a bartender, began a journey that ultimately resulted in the creation of his own vodka, Konik’s Tail.

     

    Shabini, without the big money backing most spirits brands garnered in the early-to-mid 2000s, is a surprising success story. We reported on it back in 2014 and in spite of his shoestring budget – and the fact he literally had to glue his own footwear together (he considers them “ part of his journey”) – Konik’s Tail is now stocked in everywhere from Dukes Hotel to Waitrose.

     

    Now, at this time of lockdown, the notoriously shy luddite Shabani has taken to social media and on Instagram, a place he’s only posted once before, shared a message of positivity that we should all heed. It follows in full below:

     

    “First of all, I hope this finds you well in these increasingly challenging times of disruption and enormous changes to the daily lives of all of us. Together, we have learnt that passion, optimism and community will help us all come out stronger.”

     

    “The pride of who we are as a community is not part of our past, it defines our present and our future. You have inspired me. Your presence has inspired me. Your friendship has inspired me. And, your stories have inspired me.”

     

    “Together we will succeed and that success will belong to everyone of us. Better days will return. Stools behind the bar might be empty, no late nights, no last calls, but this – you are not forgotten. Our hearts are full of love until we are reunited again. I know we will be with our friends again, with our families again and I know we will share a Konik’s Tail martini again.”

     

    “Spread the love and positive energy, help a friend, even a stranger. Until we meet again, be well, be safe and love each other. My warmest wishes to you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

     

    Konik’s Tail Vodka is available from Waitrose for £38 for a 70cl bottle. Thankfully they can still deliver it – so have your chilled martini glasses at the ready.

     

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  • Down With Dumb Diane

    Down With Dumb Diane

    After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too

    Life is not so rosy for Diane Abbott right now. She had to “resign” from her Shadow Cabinet post (well, she’d never have accepted being inevitably “pushed” if she hadn’t gone willingly) and on Wednesday, she’ll see her degenerate son, James Abbott-Thompson, sentenced for biting a policeman and spitting at another.

     

    Remembered in Tuesday’s Telegraph as having an “infelicity with words and numbers that made John Prescott look like JFK,” Abbott pathetically told Sky News in February: “I was a backbencher for a few years and there is an awful lot to do on the backbenches” (take that to mean: “I’ll keep causing trouble and making a berk of myself and dipping my grubby mitts in the till via gigs at the BBC and elsewhere”).

     

    Calculator-less, “most abused of any Labour MP ever” Abbott – whom also claims she’s going to be singlehandedly able to stop Labour going into a “dead end” with a “swerve to the right on migration policy” – however, did find time to once again block The Steeple Times on Twitter. She also get one positive call out in the little-read Independent where the self-declared “fangirl of Naomi Campbell” and “she/her/I” Lola Oriowo accused anyone having a go at Jeremy Corbyn’s ex-sexual partner of being “institutional racists.”

     

    A selection of the opinions of Twitter users about Miss Abbott’s departure follows below. This double left footer will certainly not be missed by many.

     

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    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Diane Abbott has busied herself by once again blocking ‘The Steeple Times’ since being demoted. Plainly she hasn’t got much else to do.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.
    Down With Dumb Diane – Good riddance to Diane Abbott MP – After retreating to the backbenches, can life get better for the thickest politician in history, Diane Abbott? She’s got the sentencing of her criminal son to look forward to for starters… And a few paid gigs at the Beeb no doubt too.