Tag: taxi

Taxi For ‘Has-Been’ – The “Catastrophic” Crap Of Prince Harry
After ‘Has-Been’ Prince Harry nonsensically claimed he was pursued for TWO HOURS by paparazzi, all he has proven is that he’s nothing but a whining whingebag

“When you’re in the middle of a near catastrophic car chase wouldn’t you put on your seat belt?” quite rightly enquired the spoof Twitter account Audrey fforbes-Hamilton on Wednesday evening of Prince Harry’s allegations that paparazzi pursued him, his wife and his mother-in-law in New York for two hours on Tuesday.

After having put in an appearance at the astoundingly overpriced £795,000 ($1 million, €915,000 or درهم3.7 million) for two tables Ms. Foundation for Women awards dinner at the Ziegfeld Ballroom at 141 West 54th Street – where the mendacious menace formerly known as Meghan Markle laughably received a ‘Woman of Vision award in spite of clearly being totally lacking in ‘vision’ of anything other than power and privilege – the trio claim to have been involved in a two hour “near catastrophic” car chase around Manhattan.

An unnamed spokesperson for ‘Walmart Wallis’ and her dopey drip ‘Has-Been’ hubby subsequently whined:

“[On Tuesday[ night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and [Doria] Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.”

“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.”

“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”

“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”

However, according to The Sun: “Cabbie Sukhcharn Singh, who picked up the Sussexes and Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland, said they ‘obviously didn’t grow up in New York.’ He added: ‘I think that’s all, you know, exaggerated. I don’t think I’d call it a chase.’”

Going further the paper added: “A high-ranking NYPD insider said the chase ‘definitely wasn’t two hours,’ adding its escort had around 20 minutes of interaction with Meghan and Harry’s convoy.”

Speaking to The Guardian, Julian Phillips, NYPD deputy commissioner for public information, observed:

“The NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”

Tellingly: “Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the reports,” but, naturally, the meddling mouthpiece Omid Scobie had to get his plastic-not-fantastic face onto the screens to spout salaciously about the non-incident. Speaking to the BBC’s Newsnight – a show that should know better than to bring on this tittle-tattling twerp – the one-time ‘bestie’ of the not-so-glamorous glamour model Jodie Marsh whinged:

“It is impossible not to think of Princess Diana when we hear about car accidents and this kind of aggressive paparazzi chase and so, I was really surprised to hear from sources that not one member of the royal family – including King Charles and Prince William, who are obviously heavily affected by Princess Diana’s death – had not reached out to Prince Harry hours after this news had broken.”

“You know, it was sort of on every single headline around the world. Sadly, that shows the kind of disrepair that that relationship is. It is hard not to forget that Harry was here just a couple of weeks ago for King Charles’s coronation.”

“You would have thought that that may go towards building some kind of path towards reconciliation in some way, but it seems like that’s not felt on the other side and that would no doubt of been a sort of disappointing addition to what had already been a traumatic 12 hours for the couple.”

It is now time for just one further development; it is time for ‘MeGain’ and ‘Has-Been’ to take a taxi to Siberia.

Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.

Do you believe claims of dopey drip Prince Harry & his mendacious menace wife, the wicked wench formerly known as Meghan Markle, that they spent TWO HOURS being chased around NYC by paparazzi? #MeghanMarkle #TheHarkles #PrinceHarry #WAAAGH #DukeOfSussex #royal #HarryandMeghan
— Matthew Steeples (@M_Steeples) May 19, 2023

This morning on Twitter, Matthew Steeples asked: “Do you believe claims of dopey drip Prince Harry & his mendacious menace wife, the wicked wench formerly known as Meghan Markle, that they spent TWO HOURS being chased around NYC by paparazzi?” By 11:30am on Friday 19^th May 2023, the majority of respondents favoured the answer: “No; exaggerated nonsense.”

All of the Meghan Markle fans in my mentions screaming “NO-ONE SAID IT WAS A HIGH SPEED CHASE”. Errrr, straight from their mouthpiece Omid Scobie telling lies as per usual stating it reached 80mph

pic.twitter.com/gBKBOEJeBL
— FAN of the Prince & Princess of Wales (@TribesBritannia) May 18, 2023

On ‘Newsnight’ PR peddling pillock Omid Scobie whined: “It is impossible not to think of Princess Diana when we hear about car accidents and this kind of aggressive paparazzi chase and so, I was really surprised to hear from sources that not one member of the royal family – including King Charles and Prince William, who are obviously heavily affected by Princess Diana’s death – had not reached out to Prince Harry hours after this news had broken. You know, it was sort of on every single headline around the world. Sadly, that shows the kind of disrepair that that relationship is. It is hard not to forget that Harry was here just a couple of weeks ago for King Charles’s coronation. You would have thought that that may go towards building some kind of path towards reconciliation in some way, but it seems like that’s not felt on the other side and that would no doubt of been a sort of disappointing addition to what had already been a traumatic 12 hours for the couple.

Omid Scobie being sent on a media circuit gadabout to bang on about the non-event is further proof that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have well and truly lost the plot. This couple would do well to belt up, wrap up and shut up, but sadly they simply won’t.

On Friday morning, Matthew Steeples observed on Twitter: “Prince Harry is a brain dead berk. Period.” Hundreds of people liked and shared the tweet and thus provided indication of how the public view the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as now nothing but a laughing stock and in the league of the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor; here is a couple who frankly would do better just to give up. Equally, the former Meghan Markle’s decision to accept an award has rightly been called out. Royals should GIVE OUT awards, they SHOULD NOT accept them. Here is another example of the duo’s attitude of “rights over responsibilities” shining through. Shame on the pair of rotten toerags.

An annotated map, courtesy of a ‘Daily Mail’ report, shows the route the couple took. It proves that their claim of the incident lasting two hours is total twaddle. This ‘storm-in-a-teacup’ is nothing but just that. In attempting to play the Diana, Princess of Wales accident card, all the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have achieved is to make utter fools of themselves. They should be reminded: “When you are in a hole, it is best to stop digging.”

What’s the truth about the many ‘curious stories’ that abound about the Duchess of Sussex?
- In November 2021, the duchess was forced to apologise to the Appeal Court in London for making a misleading statement in her privacy case against The Mail on Sunday’s publishers.
- Her very own father, Thomas, has called out her many untruths about him and others again, again and again.
- Of her claiming having got married the day before she actually did, Mr Markle stated: “Lying about the archbishop? How can you say: ‘We’ve been married three days before we got married’? Her lies are so obvious, I don’t know why she says them.”
- Her very own half-sister, Samantha Markle, who is currently bringing a defamation case against her, has called her out as a liar on multiple occasions also. It has been proven that the duchess’s claim that she hasn’t seen her sibling in over 20 years was untrue given a photo of the pair together 14 years ago proves quite to the contrary.
- Her very own half-brother, Thomas Jr., said of her: “I told Prince Harry, I think she’s going to ruin your life. She’s very shallow… She’s a phony, a bully, a jaded, shallow, conceited woman.”
- The wife of Prince Harry has been called out on multiple occasions for spinning stories against other members of the royal family, most especially the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Queen Camilla.
- Staff who’ve worked for her have complained that she is a bully and investigations into this remain ongoing.
- The Duchess of Sussex is a known manipulator of the press and paparazzis and it has been claimed that she’ll “twist the truth” to get any headline she wants.
- Questions remain as to how many times she’s actually been married in total. Some say twice, some say thrice.
- What’s the truth about Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland? Is this clearly equally manipulative woman an honest and decent citizen or is she a jailbird who has spent time in the clink?
- Did the ‘Montecito Meddler’ meet Prince Andrew or Prince Harry first? Rumours abound that she could have spent time and holidayed with the former as long ago as 2001 and that her claim to have no prior knowledge of the royal family until 2016 is just utter baloney.
- “Would you trust this woman with a bargepole?” is something often asked of this money motivated minx.
May 19, 2023
Hero of the Hour 2021 – Josh Kelly

Enterprising Islington cabbie Josh Kelly turns to delivering pie and mash to replace fare absence during coronavirus lockdowns

Brought to our attention by reader June Clarke, Josh Kelly is someone just like book exchange heroine Olivia Clements who has done something positive for those in his neighbourhood during the coronavirus lockdowns.

Taxi driver Mr Kelly, after seeing his income from driving his black cab predictably plummet due to people staying at home, created Popham Pies to deliver minced beef pies with mash from M. Manze in Bermondsey throughout Islington.

Having identified a “gap in the market,” he was featured on ITV yesterday and remarked:

“[Delivering pie and mash is] pretty much my main job now because there’s just no work in the taxi at the moment – obviously with the lockdown no-one’s going anywhere.”

“It’s gone from [being able to work 24/7] to you might work 10 hours and end up with £20… When lockdowns come to an end there is some work, but very little, still quite bad. So, this was just something to sort of guarantee me a bit more money per week.”

“I don’t even go out in the taxi any more, to be honest, because it’s just not worth it. Last time I went out I did four hours and I got one job which was £16 and that covered the diesel. Once the pandemic is over there probably will be a lot less cab drivers out there.”

“It is tough when you go from working six, seven days a week to doing nothing. So, I really had to come up with something myself.”

“It’s traditional London and pie and mash in a traditional taxi, so I just thought it would catch people’s attention.”

“It’s a very traditional London thing, just like the black taxi is, so that’s why I tied the two together.”

A single pie and mash is charged at £5, a double at £9 and a triple at £13.50. All come with liquor.

Islington based readers can order from Popham Pies via Instagram or WhatsApp on +447388781736. Those elsewhere can arrange to collect from Josh Kelly by appointment in chilled (ready to cook) or cooked (to heat in a microwave) form.

Popham Pies has over 600 followers on Instagram and over 1,000 on Facebook.

Enterprising taxi driver Josh Kelly set up Popham Pies during the coronavirus lockdown to keep himself busy. He “hopes to be able to continue the pie and mash delivery service, possibly recruiting other cab drivers to expand into other areas of London.”

February 23, 2021
Locking Up Boris

Petronella Wyatt takes to Twitter to suggest Boris Johnson “locks himself down” given he is “57 years old, and obese”

When journalist Petronella Wyatt is cited in the context of Boris Johnson – her paramour between 2004 and 2008 – mention is sometimes made of how they would “ride around St John’s Wood in a taxi, listening to a tape of Petronella singing Puccini.” Now, this firecracker has changed her tune and is regularly using Twitter to mock the national embarrassment ‘Bosie The Clown.’

In a tweet this morning, witty wordsmith ‘Petsy’ was spot on when she suggested:

“Seems rather odd that Boris is proposing a lockdown for the over 50s, when that would mean locking himself down. After all, he is 57 years old, and obese.”

Wyatt is quite right: The Prime Minister’s proposal to lockdown over 50s is indeed beyond ludicrous. Instead, he should take action against the irresponsible millennials whom don’t social distance in bars in Brighton and the larger-than-life sorts whom bask on beaches in Bournemouth first.

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Petronella Wyatt’s tweet condemned her former lover’s proposal to lockdown over 50s on Twitter on Monday 3rd August 2020.

Boris Johnson and Petronella Wyatt pictured together at a party in the happier days when people could actually gather for such.

A witty ditty mocking Boris Johnson’s extra-marital activities.

August 3, 2020
An Agusta Ape

1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino in 2001 – to be auctioned

On 8^th January 2001, “shop assistant turned model turned multi-millionairess many times over turned fugitive” (via a stretch in what American’s so pleasantly term ‘pokey’) Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta “disappeared” from the terrace of her Ligurian seaside home. The series of events that preceded and followed could have featured in an Agatha Christie novel or a Sherlock Holmes story.

Situated dominant above the “requisite stop for billionaires” that is Portofino – a colourfully painted former fishing village now peppered with Salvatore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton stores – Villa Altachiara became the residence of the “embodiment of La Dolce Vita” Francesca Graffagni after she met the “helicopter entrepreneur” Count Corradino Agusta in the 1960s.

Graffagni saw off the business tycoon’s first wife, Pupetta Maresca, after a torrid affair and following their marriage in 1974, amongst other things, became chatelaine of a 40-room property complete with a helipad. It had been built in 1870 by George Herbert, 4^th Earl of Carnarvon – whose death was attributed by amongst others Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the “curse of King Tut” – as his holiday home and during the 1970s and 1980s guests to “jet-set parties” given at the house by the socialite Countess were ferried back and forth from their dock in Portofino harbour in a custom built 1978 Piaggio Ape coachbuilt ‘limousine.’ This vehicle, described as a “perfect yacht tender” with its opulently patterned interior and passenger-driver intercom, is now for sale.

Countess Francesca Agusta (née Francesca Vacca Graffagni, 29th October 1942 – 8th January 2001). It is most surprising that the late Dominick Dunne did not make a television programme about her life and demise.

Villa Altachiara (alternatively known as ‘Villa Alta Chiara’ or ‘Villa Carnarvon’) was one of Countess Agusta’s homes from the 1960s until her death in 2001; it was originally built as a holiday home for Lord Carnarvon (26th June 1866 – 5th April 1923) – the financier of Howard Carter’s explorations of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings that led to the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The Carnarvon family hosted many guests during their ownership, amongst them Brooke Astor and Evelyn Waugh.

Count Agusta died in 1989 without divorcing his second wife in spite of separating from her in 1985. At that time, in addition to Villa Altachiara, he had given her four apartments in Milan, an estate in Cuernavaca, Mexico, family jewellery and an undisclosed cash sum. With his demise, she came into yet further fortune.

This by-then “very wealthy woman” hit the headlines again in 1994 when she and her new lover, a “former Portofino playboy politician [named] Maurizio Raggio,” were discovered to have been part of a corruption scandal involving Bettino Craxi, the Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. Before police could apprehend them to charge them with amongst other things money laundering, the pair fled to Mexico and lived on her estate until 1997 as fugitives. During this period, the Countess reportedly attempted suicide at least once.

Upon her return to Italy, the Countess plea-bargained and spent just three months in Milan’s Opera prison for her crimes in spite of receiving a two-year jail sentence. After “some further time under house arrest” in the Villa Altachiara, the “retired” gadabout then took up with a Mexican, Tirso ‘Tito’ Chazaro (also known as ‘Tirso Di Ricardo’ and ‘Rafael Tirso Roncado Gonzales’), and lived in the style of Miss Havisham. She was rarely seen in public and having become dependent on drink and drugs, was known for her erratic behaviour and temper.

“Considerably the worse for wear and muttering she would not be coming back” on the night of 8^th January 2001, the Countess supposedly told her lover and two others present that she was going for a swim, but either slipped on wet leaves or was pushed off a veranda into the sea. A search followed, but after the only traces found were the Countess’s dressing gown on the seabed close to the Villa Altachiara and her slippers on nearby rocks, press reports suggested she had either committed suicide or, given her past form, staged an “elaborate disappearing act.”

Countess Agusta’s badly decomposed body washed up three weeks later on a beach at Toulon on the French Riviera. Her feet had been gnawed off by fish, her skull was smashed and her face was disfigured. She could only be identified by two rings she was wearing and her exact cause of death could thus not be determined.

As an autopsy found no trace of water in her lungs, she plainly did not die by drowning, but in in 2004 the Countess’s brother, Domenico Vacca Graffagni, was quoted in the Independent as stating: “The [original] inquiry was closed in a hasty fashion because of absence of proof, relying too readily on ‘reasonable doubt’ … It was manslaughter. He [Chazaro] was always beating her. He didn’t mean to kill her. But that evening things didn’t go the way the Carabinieri said, my sister was not drunk and she did not slip on wet leaves on the veranda.”

Adding further to speculation, much earlier, the Countess’s step-son, racing driver and team owner Rocky Agusta (1950 – 2018), told Corriere della Sera in 2001: “Francesca was a beautiful woman, simpatica, very rich… People have written that she inherited 500bn lire, but if it had been only 50 or 25, who commits suicide with 25bn lire set aside? … The people who were around her certainly did not help her… It’s not up to me to formulate accusations, but Francesca was not alone that night. She was very upset. She should have been put to bed. Instead, they let her go out into a dark, wet, cold night, not even dressed.”

In due course, the last of many wills left by Countess Agusta revealed Tirso Chazaro to be her sole beneficiary, but after this was challenged in court by her former lover, Maurizio Raggio, the pair split the legacy – reported to be worth as much as £165 million ($201 million, €186 million or درهم738 million) according to the Guardian in 2001 – sixty-forty between them.

In 2009, the Villa Altachiara was offered for sale initially for £44 million ($54 million, €50 million or درهم198 million) and then for £30 million ($37 million, €34 million or درهم135 million) in 2014. It supposedly eventually sold for less than half that sum to a Russian billionaire a number of years later in spite of an estate agent remarking: “Some say the spirit of Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta still walks the estate looking for her husband and you can hear her shouting for him on the wind.”

An estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000) for the Countess’s Piaggio Ape. Described as “sweet” and “[anything but] an Italian tuk-tuk” by RideApart, the one-off private taxi will be auctioned as part of the forthcoming RM Sotheby’s ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21^st to 29^th May 2020 online sale. One can only hope it finds a happier home than it encountered at that of its former mistress.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGavF50j98

May 15, 2020
Luke Durbin

Luke Durbin from Hollesley, near Woodbridge went missing aged just 19 after a night out with friends in Ipswich. After after being unable to afford to pay for a taxi home at about 4am, this grocery store worker was last seen on CCTV wandering around the town centre in the early hours of the 12^th May 2006.

Durbin had left his new motorbike and personal belongings, including his mobile telephone, at his friend’s house and no trace of him has ever been found since. A silver or white Volvo 440 – possibly registration M206 LYE (which was “either registered to a false name and address or on false plates” according to the ‘Missing The Missing’ YouTube channel) – seen also on camera in the close vicinity of Durbin’s last location at the time of his last sighting has never been eliminated from enquiries. Suffolk Police have stated that they “sadly believe Luke was unlawfully killed,” and though a £20,000 reward was offered and multiple arrests made, no progress has been made in solving this disappearance.

In subsequent years, Luke Durbin’s mother, Nicki Durbin, has tirelessly continued her efforts to find her son and taken a job working on the Missing People helpline to help others in similar situations. She also operates a Twitter account and an email address [email protected] highlighting the case and keeps alive the hope of one day solving what the Ipswich Star terms: “One of Suffolk’s most enduring mysteries.”

May 6, 2020
A Meterless Cab

Black cab (in green) that has never carried a paying passenger to be auctioned in May; it was originally owned by construction giants Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.

What do the Duke of Edinburgh, Noel Edmonds, Yvette Fielding, Stephen Fry, Simon Hughes, Stanley Kubrick, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kate Moss, Sir Laurence Olivier and Arnold Schwarzenegger have in common? All of them, variously, have owned black cabs (also known as ‘Hackney carriages’ and ‘hacks’).

Stephen Fry with the black cab he owns.

The ex-Nubar Gulbenkian 1960 Austin FX4 Brougham Sedanca taxi with coachwork by FLM Panelcraft. It was sold at auction for £31,900 ($39,000, €36,200 or درهم143,600) in 2015 by Bonhams at their Quail Lodge auction in Carmel, California.

Whilst in the past, the eccentric Armenian business magnate and socialite Nubar Gulbenkian went one stage further and “dolled-up” a 1960 Austin FX4 taxi to his own specifications, a more modern adapted example is to be sold by Bonhams in May.

Lacking a traditional amber light on its roof, the 2006 London Taxi International TXII Gold to be offered has “never carried a fare paying passenger in its life.” This vehicle, instead, was bought new by the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. and subsequently given a “bespoke upgrade” costing £12,000 ($14,700, €13,600 or درهم53,900) by LTI dealers KPM Automotive.

Fitted with replacement green velour seating in the passenger section, the 2.4-litre, automatic car has two Motorola telephones, air-conditioning, an intercom and a fold-down wheelchair access ramp. It has covered 18,000 miles from new and is described as being in generally “superb condition” and having a “distinguished air.”

Bonhams will offer the taxi at their online Bicester sale on 30^th May. They have set an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000 ($14,700 to $22,000, €13,600 to €20,400 or درهم53,900 to درهم80,900).

As someone named Lou Erickson once said: “Life is like a taxi. The meter keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still.”

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April 3, 2020
A Cut-Price Gulbenkian

Rolls-Royce owned by eccentric tycoon Nubar Gulbenkian expected to sell for just £30,000 in spite of £200,000 spent on restoration to date

Last August, we reported on a Mercedes-Benz 600 sedan complete with a “Jimmy Savile-esque” double bed that was sold in Paris by RM Sotheby’s. It was originally adapted for the bon viveur Nubar Gulbenkian (1896 – 1972) and now yet another of this truly mega-rich oddity’s four-wheeled creations is due to be auctioned in March.

Offered at no reserve but expected to sell for around £30,000 ($39,000, €35,000 or درهم143,000) in spite of some £200,000 ($260,000, €236,000 or درهم955,000) having already been spent on its renovation, a 1947 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith built to Gulbenkian’s designs by coachbuilders Hoopers is to be offered with no reserve.

Described by Historics Auctioneers as “unique” with styling that is a “little unorthodox, as with most things designed by Nubar Gulbenkian” the partly restored car has a new ash fame and has been subject to comprehensive fabrication work. Its current owner is mentioned as being “sadly not in the position to complete the work,” but much of what is required to complete the vehicle is thankfully included.

Of the Roller, speaking to the Mail Online, auctioneer Stewart Banks commented:

“Serene and stately are words that are rightly used to describe a Rolls-Royce motorcar of yesteryear.”

“The eccentric Nubar Gulbenkian, however, brought a whole new vocabulary and perspective when he penned this sensational one-off for Hoopers to create for him.”

“We are honoured to be offering this hugely important car for sale so the restoration can be completed and it can be seen and driven in all its original glory.”

Historics Auctioneers will sell the late Mr Gulbenkian’s creation on 7^th March 2020 at Ascot Racecourse.

Some quotes from and about Nubar Gulbenkian:

Of his fortune:

“I’ve been retired all my life, but I’ve also been working hard all my life. A fortune does not look after itself, after all.”

Of his schooling:

“At Harrow, I played no games and had an unpronounceable name and quite soon I was recognised as something of an oddity, but I was accepted on my own terms.”

Of his religious beliefs (and his somewhat whacky eyebrows):

“During Lent I brush my eyebrows down. It’s an oriental religious custom that you must show outward signs of your sorrow.”

Of taking England as his home:

“I get along very well with all honest people. England’s a very fine country, but it takes a long time to learn to take the English. I tell all my foreign friends the first forty years are the hardest.”

When asked to state his “position in life” on a market research form, his answer was:

“Enviable.”

Of his view of his own lifestyle:

“I believe in comfort. I enjoy myself. I enjoy life. I enjoy everything I do.”

“If something is too much of a bore to do thoroughly and with zest, then don’t bother to do it at all.”

When asked whether he preferred old brandy or young women, horses or Rolls‐Royces and city life over country life, he answered:

“I prefer everything.”

On money:

“I have all of it I could possibly desire.”

On business:

“My father always said oilmen are like cats. You can never tell whether they are fighting or making love.”

Asked about his hobbies, he invented a word (coined from Greek):

“Pan taraxia… Keeping people on their toes.”

The well-known gourmet on dinner parties:

“The best number for a dinner party is two – myself and a damn good head waiter.”

On food in general:

“Gastronomy is an art as difficult to master as music or painting, and, for me, much more rewarding. I certainly get more pleasure from working out a menu, discussing the pros and cons of each dish with a chef who knows his business than I do from listening to the best of Beethoven’s symphonies.”

“I never eat bad food. If you wander into any restaurant and want something quick, quick in ten minutes, you’ll get a bad meal and bloody well deserve it.”

Of his sartorial style:

“In England a man cannot be seen around horses without his gloves and hat. One never wears a gray bowler unless he is with horses. It wouldn’t do. It would shock people’s feelings.”

Of the only occasions he would not wear the trademark dark blue orchid that he sported daily:

“When I am in France, on board a French ship or airplane, or at a French Embassy. It is the French custom, in France, for those who have been granted the Legion of Honor to wear the insignia of the order in their buttonhole. I feel it only courteous, to show the respect for the country which granted me the honor, to wear mine instead of an orchid.”

Of how he made his orchid dark blue:

“I dip a white orchid into a mixture of Stephen’s Ink and water – I have got the mixture virtually right by now – let it dry, then shake it out gently – and I achieve a very adequate dark blue orchid.”

On suing his father in 1938 after the elder Gulbenkian upbraided him for having charged a meal of chicken in tarragon jelly with asparagus tips costing £1.80 to petty cash:

“That was surely the most expensive chicken in history.”

(The case was subsequently settled out of court, but the father had to pay £70,700 or the equivalent of £4.7 million today in court costs and lawyers’ fees).

Of his friendship with John Paul Getty:

“Have I got only one Rolls-Royce? Oh come now. I’m not so rich as Mr. Getty, but I not so poor as all that! Mr. Getty asks my wife and me down for a meal at his house, Sutton Place, from time to time. There is always plenty to eat and drink, it is all of good quality, but he does not take such an interest in gastronomy as I do. But then, few people do.”

On taking up hunting shortly after turning 65:

“I’m a huntin’ man,” he said. “Say ‘huntin’ man,’ not ‘hunter.’ A hunter is a horse, not a gentleman. ‘Fancy Nubar Gulbenkian dressing that way,’ they’d say. ‘He should know better.”

On golf:

“It is more satisfying to be a bad player at golf. The worse you play, the better you remember the occasional good shot.”

On owning two remodeled Austin FX4 taxi cabs merged with the rear parts of horse-drawn Hackney carriages:

“I like to travel in a gold‐plated taxi that can turn on a sixpence – whatever that is!”

“I wanted my taxi dolled-up, more comfortable inside and more distinguished outside, without losing its mobility. People recognise it. After a party or an opening they come and tell me where it is and I don’t have to wait.”

On marriage in general:

“I’ve had good wives, as wives go, and as wives go, two of them went.”

Of his second wife, Dora Freeland (married 1928), he stated:

“I certainly cannot blame Doré for our marriage breaking down. It was entirely my fault that it failed. Being younger and more virile than I am now, I succumbed to other charms.”

His third wife, Marie Berthe Edmée de Ayala (married 1948), on their union:

“Of course, he’s a very difficult man to live with, but it’s worthwhile. Don’t you think that all the most amusing, intelligent men would be difficult to live with? Heaven forbid that I should have married a mollusk.”

When a friend from his Cambridge University days, George Ansley, was asked about Gulbenkian, he answered:

“Nubar is so tough that every day he tires out three stockbrokers, three horses and three women.”

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A view of the car from the rear.

The driver’s compartment.

The passenger compartment (complete with much of what is required to finish the vehicle).

Another interior shot.

The car in better days (side).

And from the front.

A scale model of the vehicle.

February 5, 2020
Taxi!

Rare 1938 Austin taxi to be auctioned; it is one of just four known to survive

On 29^th March, the very day Theresa May taxis towards Brexit and triggers Article 50, H&H Classics will auction a 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire.

Offered with an estimate of £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)., the quirky landaulette hooded vehicle features a retractable roof, roof rack and taxi meter. It has a red interior and an 1842 cc engine.

The maroon and black vehicle was used in London before the Second World War and up until 1955, participated in the London to Brighton Historic Commercial Run in 1964 and then was left in a lock-up in Gravesend, Kent until the 1980s. Restored and returned to the road in 2003, the car is described as being in “presentable” condition.

March 27, 2017
Taxi!

Rare 1938 Austin taxi to be auctioned; it is one of just four known to survive

On 29^th March, the very day Theresa May taxis towards Brexit and triggers Article 50, H&H Classics will auction a 1938 Austin 12/4 Heavy Low Loader Taxicab with coachwork by J. & H. Ricketts at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire.

Offered with an estimate of £24,000 to £28,000 ($30,100 to $35,200, €27,700 to €32,400 or درهم110,700 to درهم129,100)., the quirky landaulette hooded vehicle features a retractable roof, roof rack and taxi meter. It has a red interior and an 1842 cc engine.

The maroon and black vehicle was used in London before the Second World War and up until 1955, participated in the London to Brighton Historic Commercial Run in 1964 and then was left in a lock-up in Gravesend, Kent until the 1980s. Restored and returned to the road in 2003, the car is described as being in “presentable” condition.

March 27, 2017
A Right to Rape

That a man who raped a 12-year old child has walked free is an utter disgrace

Daniel Cieslak met a 12-year old child in a taxi queue in Edinburgh city centre at 4am on 31^st July 2015. He took her to a friend’s flat, had sexual intercourse with her and on being arrested “became distressed” and told detectives he had been led to believe she was 16.

On the 17^th March, Cieslak, a Polish born, 21-year old student at Napier University, pleaded guilty to rape but was shockingly discharged without sentence and without requirement to sign the sex offenders’ register at the High Court in Glasgow.

The judge in the case, Lady Scott, took what she described as the “wholly exceptional” decision to “discharge [Cieslak] absolutely” despite the fact that she accepted that a victim under 13 years is “deemed incapable of consent”. She remarked: “Whilst there is no defence to this offence because of strict liability, the fact is that you would have had a defence if the victim had been a few months older”.

That Daniel Cieslak escaped punishment is an utter disgrace. It is true that the girl he raped lied to him and told him she was far older than her years, but that he claimed he did not know the true age of what essentially is a child seems a little far-fetched. In response, Isabelle Kerr, manager of Glasgow’s Rape Crisis Centre told The Scottish Sun:

“The law really can’t be any clearer. If someone is under the age of 16 they cannot give consent – therefore a 12-year old is not able to consent”.

“It’s a concern to be talking about someone of that age as an ‘active participant’. It’s going down the road of victim blaming, something we’ve been working to tackle”.

“I would be concerned that young women might be deterred from reporting rape if they feel they are not going to be believed or not taken seriously”.

Whilst Lady Scott may be of the view that “justice [has been] best served” by her judgment, we agree with those who say that she got it wrong. That Daniel Cieslak walked free is entirely wrong and that a website named Tabloid Corrections claimed that he is an “innocent man” is even worse. As with the case of the convicted but not jailed paedophile Andrew Picard, all this result does is to bring shame on Britain’s legal system.

March 21, 2017