The Steeple Times

Tag: success

  • Nissan IS Leaving

    Nissan IS Leaving

    Crowdfunded advert van campaign used to illustrate the lies told by Brexiteers to those working at Leave.EU’s headquarters

     

    The Vote Leave campaign used its bus to tell lies about the NHS and Brexit and now a crowdfunded advert van campaign is returning their untruthful allegations to them.

     

    Sharing their message loud and large, Remain supporting @ByDonkeys parked the vehicle outside Lysander House – the headquarters of many of Arron Banks’ businesses and the registered address of Leave.EU – on Catbrain Lane in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol and displayed tweets from Nigel Farage amongst others.

     

    Led By Donkeys, a grassroots campaign group that launched three weeks ago, has already raised over £99,000 and plans to use the money to display embarrassing tweets by Brexiteers across the land.

     

    To support Led By Donkeys, click here.

     

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0uuDBp_ujY

    Nissan IS Leaving – Led By Donkeys take an ad van to Leave.EU’s HQ – Crowdfunded advert van campaign used to illustrate the lies told by Brexiteers to those working at Leave.EU’s headquarters.Nissan IS Leaving – Led By Donkeys take an ad van to Leave.EU’s HQ – Crowdfunded advert van campaign used to illustrate the lies told by Brexiteers to those working at Leave.EU’s headquarters. Nissan IS Leaving – Led By Donkeys take an ad van to Leave.EU’s HQ – Crowdfunded advert van campaign used to illustrate the lies told by Brexiteers to those working at Leave.EU’s headquarters.

  • Seeking Success

    Seeking Success

    Matthew Steeples  urges successful readers to help an ambitious young man who had the courage to write to the residents of London’s most prosperous areas asking for advice

     

    A letter came through my door recently from someone I’d never met. It impressed me and I want to share it with you, the successful and the talented.

     

    In it, a 19-year old man named ‘Mark’ told of his struggles to find a fulfilling career in London but he did not bleat. Instead, this plainly bright individual, asked not for money or a job, but simply requested that those reading his missive write to him to share their “take on success [and their] journey to it.”

     

    Adding: “It would mean a lot to me,” Mark then gave his email and I today urge readers to take a moment this Christmas to do something good: Join me and share your stories with him; this youngster deserves hope and he deserves to be saluted for having shown initiative.

     

    Email Mark at [email protected]

     

    The full letter follows:

     

    Dear Sir or Madam

     

    I am writing this letter to ask for your input on what makes people successful.

     

    I am 19 years old and just last year I was working on a construction site in an apprenticeship when one day I looked at everyone working and I could see in their faces that they were not happy. They had to work six days a week to earn enough money to pay the rent and some food bills and from that moment I knew that I had to change my life.

     

    It’s as though I was looking at myself twenty years into the future and as I was walking back to Victoria train station to go home, a brand new McLaren stopped at the traffic lights beside me. I looked at the man driving it and said to myself: “I have to be like him. I have to be financially free. I cannot live the rest of my life on £9 – 10 per hour. I will not settle for that.

     

    So, I quit my job. We as people have only a short time to truly enjoy our lives and I will not spend my time here making slightly above the minimum wage. I am here to take and achieve everything I can.

     

    I know I have what it takes to reach my goals but I am stuck on how to accomplish them. I want to hear other people’s stories for myself, real life journeys, no matter how basic or crazy they are, so I can implement some factors into my own life and achieve my dreams. I have complete confidence in my abilities and will stop at nothing to ensure I reach my purpose.

     

    If you could let me know your take on success or your journey to it, please email email me at [email protected]

     

    It would mean a lot to me. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

     

    Yours faithfully

     

    Mark

     

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    Seeking Success – Help a young man by offering him advice – Matthew Steeples urges successful readers of The Steeple Times to help an ambitious young man who had the courage to write to the residents of London’s most prosperous areas asking for advice.

  • A Victory for Babar

    A Victory for Babar

    IFAW secure a ban on the sale of most items of ivory in the UK with the assistance of Michael Gove MP and ‘Fake or Fortune’s’ Philip Mould

     

    Elephants love Wednesday, and so will you.

    Elephants remember Wednesday as if it was only Tuesday.

    Anthony T. Hincks, author.

     

    Last week, the International Fund for Animal Welfare announced that the Ivory Bill had been approved in the House of Commons and will now go for Royal Assent.

     

    Superb news for elephants in the regard that this will close most elements of the UK ivory market, The Steeple Times has long supported this cause. Prior to Theresa May’s pointless election in 2017, Matthew Steeples, editor-in-chief, wrote to Lady Borwick – then the MP for Kensington. This bizarre woman, who was also President of The British Antiques Dealers’ Association and spoke frequently in the House of Commons in support of the ivory trade, responded with the bizarre comment: “[Doesn’t everyone enjoy] tinkling the ivories – playing the piano?”

     

    Of the news, David Cowdrey, UK head of policy and campaigns at IFAW told The Steeple Times:

     

    “This amazing news means we can give the best present ever to elephants this year; namely that another ivory market is closing and increasing pressure for all countries to do the same and help make the killing of elephants for ivory a thing of the past.”

     

    “The Bill’s passage through Parliament was not easy and at times worrying. There were a number of attempts by the antiques lobby to water down the Bill, putting forward amendments that would have created more loopholes than a sieve full of water, but IFAW was on the case and briefed hundreds of supportive MPs and Lords throughout the Bill’s passage through Parliament. The end result was that all of those bad amendments were either withdrawn or voted down and we will now have one of the toughest ivory bans in the world, with a few very limited exemptions, which we put forward and supported.”

     

    “The resulting Ivory Act will now ban the sale of most ivory items in the UK, which is fantastic news and we could not have done this without you. With elephant populations in crisis and an elephant poached every 26 minutes for the illegal ivory trade, it is vital to shut down the legal markets as urgently as possible so that they can no longer be used as a smokescreen for illegal killing and trafficking.”

     

    “IFAW would like to congratulate everyone involved, especially our supporters and the UK Government for taking such swift action since pledging to introduce a ban. It has to be said that the Ivory Bill must be one of the quickest pieces of legislation to pass through Parliament in recent years and this reflects the importance that the Government attached to it.”

     

    “I have to personally congratulate The Rt. Hon. Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for the Environment, who has championed this Bill from our very first meeting and also the Ivory Bill team at Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for their amazing support and work in delivering a balanced and excellent piece of legislation. It is also important to note that all political parties supported this Bill and without their support it would not have succeeded.”

     

    “When IFAW stepped up its campaign for an ivory ban in earnest about three years ago, we were starting from a bleak place. Though it had been included on manifesto documents little had been done politically, it was not a priority and was even dropped as a manifesto pledge by the Government at the last election. IFAW crafted a campaign that would create real change and brought in some vital players we needed to reassure and have on side, such as the Musicians’ Union, Music Industries Association and Association of British Orchestras to really understand their issues and work together as partners.”

     

    “We spoke to museums and fine art dealers like Philip Mould and took their concerns on board, worked with them and built strong relationships that would shape the campaign and achieve real positive change for elephants. I also spoke to enforcement officers to understand what would work and what would not work, because at the end of the day any new legislation has to be enforceable and we want the people behind the illegal wildlife trade to be brought to justice. We lobbied hundreds and hundreds of MPs, Lords and civil servants. We wrote letters, IFAW published reports, gave evidence to select committees, conducted surveys, signed petitions and kept up a constant pressure, advocating real joined up solutions to the Government and all of our suggestions were taken on board.”

     

    “As a public element to the campaign, we ran another UK ivory surrender, our fourth in the UK, where members of the public were encouraged to give up any unwanted ivory to be put beyond use and ensure it would not be traded. We continue to be overwhelmed by the huge public response to this, with hundreds of ivory trinkets and tusks donated to IFAW over recent months. The majority of donated ivory is passed to the relevant Government agency to destroy, and just a few items are retained for education work and publicity purposes.”

     

    “Our partnership approach was supported and echoed by other NGOs and we all worked together to deliver one of the best and strongest ivory bans in the world. We now hope this will be replicated by the European Union and that they will act as courageously as the UK Government did to close down the EU to ivory and produce equally strong legislation. Our job will not be done until all ivory markets are closed and people only value ivory on a living, wild elephant.”

     

    “It has been a hard, long and successful campaign thanks to all of your support and I hope has delivered a great Christmas present and one that we can all celebrate. The elephants won’t forget, and neither will we.”

     

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  • Davide Giardino – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Davide Giardino – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with economist turned real estate investor Davide Giardino

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?

    “The happiness and success of those closest to my heart.”

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    “If you keep your destiny in mind, every moment in life becomes an opportunity to move closer to it.”

     

    Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2018?

    Technocrats – as at least populists are lying most of the time.

     

    Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

    A simpler life. I miss the routine of going to an office every morning. Am I crazy?

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    Assets? Well, in all seriousness, good health for me, my family and my friends.

     

    Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank.” What’s your view on the state of the financial system?

    Who is richer and who is poorer from the latest financial crisis? You’ve got my answer…

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    “I am saying it for your sake.”

     

    In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

    Charity often substitutes for the lack of adequate government or international policy which is disappointing. I support a variety of causes including helping children born with congenital diseases and homeless children.

     

    The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

    Shut them off at night.

     

    Real estate investor Davide Giardino – What’s on your mantelpiece? A 20-question interview with Beverly Hills and Greater LA based economist turned real estate investor Davide Giardino.

     

    If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

    My twin brother, a bunch of friends, Isabelle Huppert, Glenn Close and probably Angelina Jolie.

     

    If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

    Bucatini with lobster (I always liked bucatini more than spaghetti), gâteau de pommes de terre (cooked the Neapolitan way), a large portion of figs and a torta caprese chocolate cake. I woiuld probably eat it at the Villa San Michele in Capri, Hotel Bel Air or Cliveden House – all places close to my heart for different reasons.

     

    What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

    11am, though not every day.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A Negroni.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    A dear friend of mine throws the most memorable dinner parties. I love how he always selects a group of diverse people who do not know each other, but will create an incredible energy together by the end of the night. It always helps that I’m always the guest of honour!

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    Maybe me.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Buying French pâtisserie and flowers for myself many times each week.

     

    If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

    “I want it all.”

     

    If you were a car, what marque would you be?

    A vintage Fiat 500 with a new engine. They are so cute and practical and I don’t need a Maserati to compensate for a lack of personality or something else.

     

    Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

    I am still trying to figure myself out.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    Fresh flowers.

     

    Davide Giardino is the founder of DGC-Luxury Homes and a licensed realtor at Rodeo Realty – Beverly Hills and Greater LA. He has extensive experience in the real estate advisory and investment business and previously was an economist at several global finance institutions. He describes himself as “a multi-lingual globetrotter” and holds a double degree from Bocconi and USC, an MSc in European political economy from the London School of Economics and a masters in finance from LBS.

     

    Follow Davide Giardino on Facebook at @dgcluxuryhomes and on Instagram at @dgc_la

     

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  • Robin Leach (1941 – 2018)

    Robin Leach (1941 – 2018)

    “With champagne wishes and caviar dreams” was the famous signoff of London born Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach. Harrow High School educated, this one-time Daily Mail reporter moved to the US in 1963 with $145 in his pocket and after briefly becoming a shoe salesman founded a music publication named Go Magazine.

     

    After selling up “at considerable profit,” Leach worked for The National Star and CNN before coming up with Lifestyles in 1984. He attributed the show’s popularity to Jimmy Carter exiting the White House and boasted: “[It was] because the Reagans brought in an aura of wealth. Jimmy Carter was too ordinary. So, when Reagan came in, it was time for a show about wealth and success… Hear this: In the course of an hour, I deliver twice as much audio information and visual images as any other show on television. I’m fast and loud on purpose. I cram 10 pounds of caviar into an eight-pound pack.”

     

    “Sensational, not scandalous” in his approach, twice married, father of three Leach’s subjects numbered everyone from Celine Dion to Madonna and Adnan Khashoggi and Donald Trump. As a result this celebrant of wealth and capitalism became a millionaire and pretty famous himself and in 2007, in the Fergie song Glamorous featuring Ludacris, the latter rapped: “Lifestyles so rich and famous, Robin Leach’ll get jealous.” With his passing, most certainly, this much parodied “life of the party” has most definitely moved to the skies.

     

    Robin Leach (1941 – 2018) – “With champagne wishes and caviar dreams” was the famous signoff of London born Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach.Robin Leach (1941 – 2018) – “With champagne wishes and caviar dreams” was the famous signoff of London born Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach.Robin Leach (1941 – 2018) – “With champagne wishes and caviar dreams” was the famous signoff of London born Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach.

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

     

  • F*** Off Farage

    F*** Off Farage

    Nigel Farage’s return to “frontline politics” is going to bring nothing but division and diversion suggests Matthew Steeples

     

    Nigel Farage just can’t help himself: A failed candidate seven times in British Parliament elections and leader of UKIP twice, this bombastic brute is now “returning to frontline politics” in order to “challenge Theresa May’s ‘fraudulent’ Brexit plan.”

     

    A man of contradictions, Farage – who is anti-Prince Charles, pro-Vladimir Putin and in favour of the legalisation of handguns in the UK – wrote of his intentions in this morning’s Daily Telegraph in an article titled: “The time has come to teach the political class a lesson: I’m back fighting for a real Brexit.” In the opinion piece, he remarked:

     

    “Over the last few months, and particularly since the Chequers betrayal, scores of people have stopped me in the street to ask: ‘When are you coming back?’ Well now you have your answer: I’m back.”

     

    “Theresa the Appeaser has produced a set of ideas that are nothing more than a cowardly sell-out. With all this in mind, now is the time for action.”

     

    “It is now beyond doubt that the political class in Westminster and many of their media allies do not accept the EU referendum result. It is equally clear to me that, unless challenged, these anti-democrats will succeed in frustrating the result.”

     

    “Well, I’ve had enough of their lies, deceit and treachery. The time has come to teach them a lesson – one that they will never forget.”

     

    In response to this predictable publicity stunt, James McGrory, of the pro-remain People’s Vote campaign group, told The Guardian:

     

    “Nigel Farage has had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra, just without the success. If he was serious about making a return to frontline politics, he would stand to be an MP. I can only hope that Nigel Farage sticks to the promise he made live on TV to have a people’s vote on the final Brexit deal.”

     

    In reality, all this move shows is that Farage is nothing but self-motivated. In the past I’ve termed him a “man of the elite” but now I’ll go further: Nigel Farage is nothing but a self-serving meddler and yet again – mark my words – the insane nightmare he desires serving up to the British public will fall flat on its face.

     

    #ExitBrexit

     

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  • Calamity Corbyn

    Matthew Steeples slates Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to secure a 20 point lead in the polls

     

    This publication is regularly criticised for being “anti-conservative.” It most certainly isn’t and that we are blocked on Twitter by both Diane Abbott and George Galloway is definitely evidence of what the true “far left” think of our ramblings.

     

    Recent polls by YouGov suggest the Conservatives and Labour “level pegging on 42 per cent” but also that Mrs May leads 35 per cent to 29 per cent over Jeremy Corbyn on “who’d make best Prime Minister.” Interestingly, however, 36% opted to choose “don’t know” and that could hint that whoever changes their leader first might be in for a better chance of electoral success.

     

    Corbyn’s failure is further indicated in news that Labour membership is falling at a rate of around 4,000 per week. That is pretty appalling for his party but that that he is not 20 points ahead at a time when the worst Prime Minister in history is truly making a dogs dinner of Brexit is proof that it is time for him to simply throw in the towel.

     

    Follow The Steeple Times at @SteepleTimes and Matthew Steeples at @M_Steeples.

     

  • Harnessing a Horse Track

    Harnessing a Horse Track

    Well-equipped 0.5-mile harness racing track in Yorkshire for sale for £1.5 million; it was the scene of an “ear biting incident” by a traveler in 2009

     

    A dream property for harness racing enthusiasts has been put up for sale in Yorkshire. Its star feature is a 0.5-mile all-weather racetrack and it also comes with 26 acres of land, a spectator stand, a trackside club house with bar and catering facilities, 50 stables and a horse walker.

     

    Created by former boxer Michael Welling with what he described as “very little or no help from the racing fraternity” and built-up over ten years from 2006, York Harness Raceway and the Camden Stud was closed in 2016. It had been a destination with harness racing enthusiasts and was also the setting of a well-thought of annual horse sale.

     

    Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling
    York Harness Raceway owner Michael Welling
    Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling
    A photograph of racing on the circuit

     

    In 2009, a traveler turned harness racer named John Harrop was jailed for 4.5 years after biting off part of the ear of an official at the track whilst on steroids, but of it, in 2013, Welling more positively told The Yorkshire Post:

     

    “This was where I fell in love with the sport. It is the first harness racing track I ever came to. I was intoxicated by the speed, the excitement and the atmosphere… It’s a speed thing in the same way as having a fast car and once you’re hooked you start setting aims.”

     

    “I’m throwing everything into making the track the success it deserves to be. This place has my heart and soul and I am determined to make it work as a realistic business. When I first started racing in 1993 it was only a hobby for me but it has now taken over my time and I’m here 24/7. When I was a kid I was brought up with horses and carts so it’s really in my blood. This place holds so many happy memories and the people who come here are salt-of-the-earth families. I’m certain that if more people came to see what we offer they would be hooked in much the same way I was.”

     

    Additional features at the property include an “almost brand new” 3 reception room, 5-bedroom detached house extending to 3,222 square foot and a large modern barn with a wash bay and tack room.

     

    Agents Jackson-Stops seek offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) for the property. An additional 75 acres of land is available by separate negotiation that is partly prone to flooding.

     

    Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

     

    Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael WellingHarnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael WellingHarnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael WellingHarnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael WellingHarnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael WellingHarnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling Harnessing a Horse Track – York Harness Raceway, Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, near Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire, YO26 8EU, United Kingdom – For sale for offers over £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Jackson-Stops – Owned by former boxer Michael Welling

     

  • A Con and A Cabriolet

    A Con and A Cabriolet

    One-off 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI cabriolet to be auctioned; originally commissioned by a British playboy turned jailbird with connections to Princess Margaret but only actually completed in 1993

     

    A 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet with bodywork by the renowned Italian automotive stylist Frua is to be auctioned this month.

     

    Offered with an estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million), this truly unique, one-of-one design was amazingly the final Rolls-Royce Phantom VI completed in spite of the model remaining in production until 1991. This mammoth beast of a car, surprisingly, however, has just 72 miles on its clock and is thus described as “as brand new.”

     

    The car’s first owner, Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson, was a bit of a playboy but sadly he never got to actually drive or be driven in it. A “member of Princess Margaret’s inner circle of friends,” this Cambridge graduate was a member of the “Mayfair mammas’ lists of the season’s most eligible bachelors” until “exchanging his Edwardian hacking jacket for prison grey” in 1954 after being jailed for 12 months for an import/export fraud according to a report in Sydney’s World’s News in August that year.

     

    Some years after being freed, ex-con Buchanan-Michaelson took part in the 10,000 mile 1968 London to Sydney Marathon in a Mercedes-Benz 280SE. In a book about the adventure he was described as both a “successful and wealthy businessman, employing a cook, a butler, a maid and a chauffeur” and as an “accomplished sportsman.” Also listed as a lavish spender, Buchannan-Michaelson was later bankrupted in November 1977 – though at the time he lived in grandeur at both at Churchbury Manor at Fairford, Gloucestershire and 26 The Vale, in Chelsea, London, SW3.

     

    In 1970, in the period between the international car race and his bankruptcy, Buchanan-Michaelson commissioned Rolls-Royce to build him a Phantom VI. After delivery to Jack Barclay Ltd. In June 1971, the vehicle’s chassis was sent to Frua of Torino, Italy to have bodywork fitted but for some reason work stopped and it was not until 1977 – and by now with a new American owner, James Leake, and new drawings of its eventual form – that the project continued.

     

    With Pietro Frua (1913 – 1983) retiring soon thereafter and Mr Leake’s death in 1983, the chassis passed to new ownership and it was only eventually completed as a finished motor vehicle in 1993.

     

    That year, the four-door ‘state cabriolet’ was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show and its boxy look must have surely either have wowed or horrified visitors. It is described as having “an elaborate multi-position convertible top allows the car to be configured as a sedanca de ville, landaulet or fully open convertible.” The interior is trimmed in burled walnut with sterling silver inlays and amongst other luxuries are front and rear heating, air-conditioning, fresh-air ventilation systems, a television, a video player, a radio and a cocktail cabinet. Underneath the seats is a portable Davidoff cigar humidor and even a matching silk-lined ladies’ vanity case. What more could anyone ever need?

     

    RM Sotheby’s will sell the Frua Phantom VI at their Monterey sale in California on 19th August and term it: “The last word in modern opulence.”

     

    A Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originallyA Con and A Cabriolet – 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI all-weather cabriolet by Pietro Frua – To be sold at auction by RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale on Saturday 19th August 2017 – Estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million) – Owned by Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson originally

  • Canvassing a Con

    Canvassing a Con

    After a Chelsea chef who came out of nowhere named Michael Riemenschneider is revealed to be a “conman” in the ‘Mail on Sunday’, readers tell of his past form

     

    As can only be expected of a paper that loves a bit of sensationalism this week’s Mail on Sunday’s ‘YOU’ got rather carried away in an interview with a “wealthy widow” named Flora Mascolo – a woman who claims to be a victim of, mind the magazine’s gushingly cringeworthy description, a “delicious romance soon turned sour” with a Michelin starred chef named Michael Riemenschneider.

     

    Bizarrely, that Riemenschneider – a man whose first London restaurant, we noted in February 2014, was literally covered with images of his face and captions referencing his name – is lauded as a “handsome celebrity chef” in the feature by Margarette Driscoll is somewhat ambitious given several locals we contacted remember him as “podgy” and a “little bit greasy.” A well-known Chelsea restaurateur – where the Swiss born chef opened a replacement restaurant that few ever even got to hear of just months after opening and nigh on immediately closing his original Marylebone premises in summer 2014 – recalls an individual whose “ability to talk about himself and his achievements made me immediately question the truth of his claims.”

     

    That Driscoll lauds this individual as “talented and dynamic” is perhaps fair given his “experimental cuisine” most definitely had many merits, but that she describes a man Mascolo herself calls a “coward of a man” and “somebody who was a lie, from the beginning” as “destined for similar success” to Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay is nothing but far fetched. Here was someone who opened in bizarre off-piste locations, insisted diners fitted into limited time spots and ridiculously thought he could limit customers to a set menu priced at £275 per head or a ‘cheaper’ one at £95 per head.

     

    Riemenschneider, a man whose exploits are reported to have cost the widow of the co-founder of the Toni & Guy hairdressing empire some £2.27 million, is now supposedly bankrupt and living in Austria. Cars bought by him including a Mercedes-Benz GTS have reportedly been seized and of him Mascolo comments: “If you wrong me, you will remember my name. He didn’t know who he was messing with.”

     

    A wealthy female reader of The Steeple Times contacted us to share her thoughts on the interview. She did not wish to be named but stated: “This strange, anything but handsome individual, pestered me on social media. He messaged me one day out of the blue in 2013 and he told me that we had friends in common. I am glad I did not fall for his attempts to lure me. Plainly, Mrs Mascolo did and I am sorry for her.”

     

    She continued:

     

    “This man wasn’t a ‘celebrity chef’ but, in fact, a Facebook stalker of ladies he thought had a bit of cash. In his messages to me, I quickly realised he was an individual who’d come out of nowhere and brought with him an ego the size of Harrods.”

     

    “The journalist [Margarette Driscoll] gets rather carried away about his restaurant. It was in a sub-basement off Sloane Square and it didn’t even have a website. Nobody went there because nobody even knew about it. Where there’s money, there’s muck.”

     

    Michael Riemenschneider will no doubt reemerge someday. He was certainly a good cook, but sadly he turned out to be an even better conman.

     

    Canvassing a Con – Chef Michael Riemenschneider revealed to be a conman by the Mail on Sunday’s YOU magazine.Canvassing a Con – Chef Michael Riemenschneider revealed to be a conman by the Mail on Sunday’s YOU magazine.