The Steeple Times

Tag: telephone

  • The Pyjama Prattler – Pyjama-Clad Omid Scobie Snapped At The Dorchester

    The Pyjama Prattler – Pyjama-Clad Omid Scobie Snapped At The Dorchester

    EXCLUSIVE – As ‘Finding Freedom’ author Omid Scobie is snapped at The Dorchester in a pyjama-like outfit, we remind readers of some of the traits and oddities of this bizarre PR peddler for the Duchess of Sussex

    Just three days prior to the coronation of King Charles III, the widely respected journalist Alexis Parr – a lady of stature whom was one of the first to call out the various pieces of fake news peddled by the mendacious menace formerly known as Meghan Markle – literally ran into a bedroom wear-clad Omid Scobie as he left London’s ritziest hotel, The Dorchester.

     

    Speaking exclusively to The Steeple Times of her encounter with the YahooNewsUK ‘executive editor (royals)’ columnist – a plastic-not-fantastic-like creature known for continually banging on about his prominence on what he bizarrely labels “the royal beat” – Parr remarked:

     

    “I was surprised to see Scobie as I got out of a cab and asked him where he got his pyjama-like outfit from. He answered: ‘Moss Bros’ and in response I jokingly quipped: ‘Surely you didn’t hire THAT.’”

     

    “He looked at me sheepishly and then – though he allegedly doesn’t imbibe – told me he’d been to a party in the hotel. Sadly, I didn’t get to ask him about his supposedly claiming he was 33 when he was in fact 38 in 2020 or how he has so suddenly and so conveniently remembered discussions with Piers Morgan about phone hacking at The Mirror when he was just 18 years old in 2002 as he clambered into my cab and fled for the hills.”

     

    “I will say that ‘recollections may vary’ was a very accurate analysis by the late Queen of Scobie’s ‘friend’ Meghan and I must add that they clearly do in his case too. I do hope he went home and put on something more suitable for his next engagement.”

     

    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.

     

    Follow Alexis Parr on Twitter at @ParrOnTheRoad.

     

    Pictured Top – Alexis Parr snapped Omid Scobie as she arrived and he left The Dorchester on 3rd May 2023 (left) and a promotion for the PR peddler’s forthcoming book ‘Endgame’ (right).

     

    This morning on Twitter, Matthew Steeples asked: “Will Meghan Markle’s mouthpiece Omid Scobie prove to be a help or a hinderance when he gives evidence in Prince Harry v Mirror Group News (MGN) court case this week?” By 11:30am on Monday 15th May 2023, the majority of respondents very clearly favoured the answer: “No; he’s spinning yarns.”
    Omid Scobie Piers Morgan
    Omid Scobie is due to testify in court this week in the Prince Harry v Mirror Group News case. According to ‘The Daily Beast’s’ Tom Sykes: “He will testify that when interning at the showbiz desk of MGN Sunday paper ‘The People’ he was given a list of mobile telephone numbers and a verbal description of how to listen to voicemails, as if it were a routine newsgathering technique… [He] will say that he saw Piers Morgan being told that ‘the information had come from voicemails,’ when he questioned a story about the singer Kylie Minogue.”
    Omid Scobie 38 not 33
    Scobie was called out for allegedly telling ‘porky pies’ by ‘The Sun’s’ Alex Winter in September 2020 in an article titled: “THIRTY-SOMETHING: Omid Scobie tries to explain claims he ‘lied’ to The Times after it was reported he is 33 – when he is actually 38.” The ‘Finding Freedom’ co-author’s bizarre behaviour was unsurprisingly labelled “baffling.”
    Omid-Scobie-Jodie-Marsh-Heat
    In August 2020, the ‘Daily Mail’ shared that plastic-not-fantastic Omid previously worked at gossip magazine ‘Heat’ and partied with the ‘glamour model’ Jodie Marsh. They mentioned how somebody had “airbrushed” Meghan Markle’s “entry on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia… to include more flattering details days before her romance with Prince Harry became public” and illustrated the ‘Finding Freedom’ author’s “drastic transformation” in two very different photographs.
    Omid-Scobie-Women-in-Leadership-Publication
    Illustrating himself to be anything but a real journalist, “influencer” Scobie told the ‘Women in Leadership Publication’: “A casual follower be forgiven for thinking that royal news is just fizzy commentary on the pomp and soap opera of The Firm” in their spring 2021 edition. He self-importantly added: “Reaching millions on Twitter has also enabled my own views and advocacy to travel further” and concluded: “I want to do everything I can to ensure that individuals from every background can get a seat at the table.” Here is someone far from a journalist; here, in fact, is someone who should just be called out as the Duchess of Sussex’s PR peddler.
    Omid-Scobie-TheHeirPod-Chartable-Podcast-Chart-Rankings
    Whilst Omid Scobie’s podcast, #TheHeirPod, was “downgraded from ‘a real chore’ to ‘unlistenable’” according to ‘Royal Analysis,’ the true revelation is that it isn’t even popular in the places where it surely should be most relevant, Britain and America.
    Omid-Scobie-Twitter-Fake-Followers
    An analysis of Omid Scobie’s Twitter feed clearly shows that a large proportion of his followers are a bit like himself: FAKE.
    When he’s not bragging about wearing Balenciaga, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior or sharing photos of his dog, Yoshi, on his Instagram account, the ‘Finding Freedom’ author constantly bangs on about how he believes the royal family to have racist elements. His speculation is rarely supported by anything other than unnamed sources that give his suggestions little to no credibility.
    Canadian waiter turned Soho House director Markus Anderson was allegedly the person to have introduced Prince Harry and the then Meghan Markle. This “champagne partial” individual has been repeatedly linked also to Omid Scobie online on sites such as Quora whilst the site ‘Royal Analysis’ has reported: “Well, apparently, Omid and Markus used to be very close. I don’t think it’s out of the question for Markus to have facilitated Meghan and Omid getting together to strategize about what positive press coverage Omid could give to Meghan.”

    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.

  • Mobile Madness

    Mobile Madness

    Nikolay Kalinin slams Gavin Williamson’s war on mobile phones in schools

    Away from pursuing the passage of the blatantly stupid Higher Education Bill, Gavin Williamson has decided to wage war on mobile phones in schools, saying that they are “not just distracting, but when misused or overused, they can have a damaging effect on a pupil’s mental health and wellbeing.” Coupled with the Tory majority, the proposal will most certainly become law.

     

    Admittedly, there is some ground to his arguments – yes, I too cannot believe I said that – as apps such as TikTok and Instagram are not only distracting, but also could be used for cyberbullying and sexual harassment, as Ofsted has highlighted.

     

    However, this legislation is both useless and is some cases even harmful; for starters, schools already have restrictions regarding mobile phone use; some for example require students to switch devices off before class or put them into a box, and some can ban their usage outright. I’m not usually a supporter of libertarianism, but policies like this do make sense because they are flexible.

     

    Portable telephone can also be used for beneficial purposes; the CEO of Mumsnet for example recently wrote an article criticising Gavin’s proposal and revealing that one of her friend’s sons who has special needs uses his phone to record verbal instructions and take photos of the board.

     

    There are also apps such as Evernote which allow students to organise their notes and therefore increase their chances of memorising knowledge. For many students therefore, the phone is not just a tool for entertainment, it’s also a tool for education.

     

    If Gavin Williamson truly cares about the wellbeing of children, perhaps he should instead focus on increasing catch-up spending for students – which is only £50 per head here, while the Netherlands provides £2,500 per head – and stop trying to indoctrinate children through the endorsement of such claptrap as the One Britain, One Nation campaign.

     

    The catch-up situation is in particular important because technology is not to blame for the decline of children’s education; rather it’s the lack of financial support they and their schools receive.

     

    Gavin Williamson mobile phone school ban 1
    Used properly and appropriately, technology has a place in learning.
  • Bonkers Book Sexchange Saga

    Bonkers Book Sexchange Saga

    Reaction of “pooterish residents” of Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire to community library becoming a “book sexchange” is laughable and condemned as “righteous indignation”

    ‘Book Sexchange’ scandal hits Hants – You’d have thought any populous would be grateful, especially in times of lockup boredom, for a book exchange, but the raucous residents of Hurstbourne Tarrant in Hampshire (population 851) most certainly are not after erotic fiction was discovered in their phone box library.

     

    Echoing the uproar that followed our having made bookseller Olivia Clements a ‘Heroine of the Hour’ in February after she installed a free community library box in her garden in Exeter, a spokesman for the local council complained: “We love our phone box library but we don’t love salacious adult literature being left in there… Please find another outlet for your collection.”

     

    Speaking to The Sun, a local councillor, Kirsty North, furiously exclaimed: “This certainly wasn’t what I had in mind when the village bought the kiosk,” whilst an angry parish council clerk named Miriam Edwards added:

     

    “A lot of people don’t find this funny. We don’t want this made into some sort of laughing stock and a sideshow when the underlying issue is actually very important. We don’t want somebody acting like it’s OK to put porn in a public phone box.”

     

    Analysed further by Daniel Johnson in The Article yesterday also in an article titled: “The great British telephone box library scandal,” the “righteous indignation” and of the “pooterish” South Downs National Park residents about “smutty paperbacks in a phone box” was deservedly condemned. He quite rightly observed:

     

    “Is it possible that the good people of Hurstbourne Tarrant are stuck in a 1950s time warp, perhaps connected with their telephone kiosk library? (Where is Doctor Who when you need her?) Has news of the Lady Chatterley trial and the abolition of censorship yet to reach this corner of the South Downs National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty and seemingly of unnatural prudishness?”

     

    “The point about libraries – even very, very small ones – is that they almost always contain books that are ‘inappropriate’ for somebody. But the moral jeopardy of letting children roam fancy-free among the bookcases is far outweighed by the value of serendipity – the magical moment when a child discovers the joy of reading for him or herself.”

     

    “To treat adult literature as dangerous is to infantilise young readers – and counter-productive, too. Do parents and teachers worry about child protection every time boys and girls set foot in the local public library, lest they stray into the ‘grown-up’ sections? In reality, most are more likely to be glad that the kids are reading books at all, rather than spending their leisure looking at who-knows-what online. Their innocence is at incomparably greater risk from the smartphones they all have.”

     

    In March 2013, we reported that the number of BT telephone boxes in the UK had declined from 92,000 to just 51,500 in 2012. Since then many more have been removed and in their place a book exchange would surely be a good thing for any community – unless, of course, you are a doddering denizen of Hurstbourne Tarrant, of course.

     

    Bonkers Book Sexchange Saga 2021 – Book exchange filled with erotica – Reaction of “pooterish residents” of Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire to community library becoming a “book sexchange” is laughable and condemned as “righteous indignation.”
    Bonkers Book Sexchange Saga 2021 – A unnamed less prudish resident of Hurstbourne Tarrant told ‘The Sun’: “I have heard that there are some salacious books – I’m number 20 in the queue.” The paper added: “One title is ‘Hot Blooded’ by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié. The blurb reveals that one character is ‘struggling to resist her own animal urges’.”
    Bonkers Book Sexchange Saga 2021 – Book exchange filled with erotica – Reaction of “pooterish residents” of Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire to community library becoming a “book sexchange” is laughable and condemned as “righteous indignation.”
    Bonkers Book Sexchange Saga 2021 – When we featured the generous act of Olivia Clements in setting up a community library in her garden in Exeter in February, a tedious twerp named Mark Wicks took to Twitter and complained that it was “a really middle class thing to do with no real understanding of collection management or the role of libraries as a place maker in the local community.” We’d like to know what good Mr Wicks has ever done for anybody and what he has to say about Hurstbourne Tarrant’s ‘book sexchange’ scandal also.
  • A Priced Down Penthouse

    A Priced Down Penthouse

    After a ritzy New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014 during a government orchestrated fire sale, the building’s board go crackers

    A 5,955 square foot penthouse in New York’s 328-foot tall Walker Tower that sold for £41.2 million in 2014 went “into contract” recently for just £14.78 million much to the chagrin of the building’s other residents. The story of this massive 64% ‘discount’ echoes that of another penthouse we featured in April – that went on the market for a sum 48% lower than in 2012.

     

    Built in 1929 by Ralph Walker (1889 – 1973), a man described as “the architect of the century” by The New York Times and “the only other honest architect in America” by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Walker Tower was intended to be “as modern as the telephone activity it houses.” It originally was used by the New York Telephone Company and subsequently partly converted to provide 47 condominiums in 2013 by JDS Development Group.

     

    With units ranging in size from 1,100 to 6,500 square feet in size, Penthouse One is one of the largest. It includes 5 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms and aside from a kitchen that reportedly cost £200,000 to install, there are 3 wood-burning fireplaces and a 500 square foot private terrace.

     

    Of the penthouse, during a 7:58 minute tour he conducted in April 2019, self-declared “YouTuber and adventure filmmaker” Erik Conover remarked:

     

    “Penthouse One is widely considered to the most exclusive penthouse downtown in all of Manhattan… This [is] a one of a kind luxury apartment… You feel like the king of the kingdom here… I have no words for this place, it’s hands down my favourite apartment I’ve toured.”

     

    Speaking to Conover, realtor Shaun Osher, CEO of Core NYC, predictably went into overdrive with gushing praise of the unit:

     

    “The sky is the limit here… One of the great things about this apartment is that you separate public space from private space… The back of the house is not too shabby either… All of the views are protected forever… When guests come, their jaws will hit the floor.”

     

    Now, according to Mansion Global, a “battle is brewing” over Penthouse One – which is being sold on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of being seized as part of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal – as other residents have sought to stop the sale and “buy the condo [themselves] for the same sum, then relist it for more.”

     

    Speaking on their behalf, David Berkey, an attorney for the condo board, remarked:

     

    “The contract price can only be described as steeply distressed and unrealistic and one which could adversely affect the market value of other homes at Walker Tower. The board is acting in the best interests of all Walker Tower owners by exercising its right of first refusal to ensure that its value is recognised.”

     

    A resident of the building, Vickey Barron, added:

     

    “We’re all scratching our heads saying, ‘How did this happen?’ What we’re talking about is almost 70% discount. It’s almost like a sample sale. Walker Tower is not a sample sale.”

     

    Bizarrely Ms Barron, herself a realtor with the Compass Group, sold the apartment back in 2014 when she worked for Douglas Elliman Real Estate. At the time, she gushed to The New York Times: “I feel like I blinked and I sold it… This was a man [the buyer] who knew what he wanted and had the money to pay for it.” He plainly passed due diligence back then – somewhat, with hindsight, one might argue most surprisingly.

     

    Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building – which has a lobby concierge, landscaped common roof deck, yoga room, sauna and a ‘library lounge’ with a bar for the use of residents – Penthouse Two is currently listed to rent by Knight Frank. They seek £69,000 per month for the 6,700 square foot space.

     

    Ironically, whilst Ralph Walker shot himself with a silver bullet he had forged himself in 1973, whomever next overpays for Penthouse One at Walker Tower might well be taking a bullet in terms of misfortune for their wallet.

     

    The Names & Numbers – Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York, NY 10011, United States of America

     

    June 2020 – Penthouse One goes “into contract” for just £14.78 million ($18.25 million, €16.33 million or درهم67.02 million), a discount of 64% on its sale price in 2014.

     

    April 2019 – Penthouse One marketed at a price of £28.3 million ($35 million, €31.3 million or درهم128.5 million) by Shaun Osher of Core NYC.

     

    2013 – Units in the residential conversion are listed for sale, with the highest priced penthouse priced at £47.8 million ($59 million, €52.8 million or درهم216.7 million). According to Wallpaper in November 2013, Penthouse One sold “after less than a month on the market.” It comanded a sum of £41.2 million ($50.9 million, €45.5 million or درهم186.9 million) on an asking price of £44.5 million ($55 million, €49.2 million or درهم292 million).

     

    2016 – Of the building, realtor Vickey Barron, who purchased a unit there herself ultimately, remarked: “You don’t need to give its address. You just say ‘Walker Tower’ like ‘the Plaza’ and people know what you’re referring to.”

     

    2013 – Construction completed with the residential units given their own entrance at 212 West 18th Street separate from the commercial space, entered at 17th Street.

     

    2011 – Construction commences on the scheme.

     

    2009 – Part sold for conversion to 53 residential units, the number is later reduced to 47 in total. The buyer was Michael Stern, managing partner of JDS Development Group whilst Verizon, the sellers, kept the lowest eight floors.

     

    In January 2016, of his buy, Stern told Multi Family Executive: “I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to see it, back in 2009, when a broker called… But I went up to the roof and was astonished by the unobstructed views. It was the tallest building in Chelsea, since it had been built before zoning limited heights… [It was the] most complex residential conversion I’ve undertaken, and ever may.”

     

    1929 – Constructed to the designs of Ralph Walker as a telecommunications centre and offices. The building is described as “of concrete-encased steel frame” and reflecting “the importance of its era’s telephone technology.” It featured chevron-patterned brickwork and what was termed a “wedding cake setback.”

     

     

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    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
    A Priced Down Penthouse – £14m for NYC penthouse sold for £41m in 2014 – After a New York penthouse goes into contract for a sum 64% lower than it sold for in 2014, the building’s board go crackers – £14.78 million for Penthouse One, Walker Tower, 212 West 18th Street, Chelsea, New York through Shaun Osher of Core NYC angers building’s board.
  • Encouragement for Bamber

    Encouragement for Bamber

    In spite of a judge rejecting evidence disclosure, Jeremy Bamber’s case now looks more likely to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission; new podcast about the case begins Sunday

    Though he rejected Jeremy Bamber’s bid for the release of evidence which he believed could clear his name on Friday at the High Court, Mr Justice Julian Knowles did give the convicted familial killer new hope.

     

    In his judgment, the judge remarked:

     

    “If ever there was a case where the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) should be approached to make a decision on what is said to be new evidence, it is this one. This is a massively complex case which has been investigated and re-investigated by more than one police force over some 35 years.”

     

    “The body of material is vast. After so many years, and so much litigation, the CCRC is the body undoubtedly best placed to consider the claimant’s arguments.”

     

    We today urge readers to watch the YouTube video that follows. It examines the sequence of events on the night of 6th to the 7th August 1985 and for those interested in learning more, we also recommend listening to The White House Farm Murders: Is Jeremy Bamber Guilty? podcast by Kaiesha Page. It begins this evening and is available here.

     

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    Encouragement for Bamber – Jeremy Bamber case and CCRC – In spite of a judge rejecting evidence disclosure, Jeremy Bamber’s case now looks more likely to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
    Jeremy Bamber’s legal team have alleged that the senior investigating officer in the case, Michael Ainsley, took documents relating to the case to his home in 2010 and destroyed them in spite of “knowing there was an active appeal underway.”
    Encouragement for Bamber – Jeremy Bamber case and CCRC – In spite of a judge rejecting evidence disclosure, Jeremy Bamber’s case now looks more likely to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
    In her podcast, Kaiesha Page will examine the question: “Could Jeremy Bamber be the victim of one of Britain’s gravest miscarriages of justice?”
  • Steve Cotten (AKA ‘Britain’s Grumpiest Landlord’)

    Steve Cotten (AKA ‘Britain’s Grumpiest Landlord’)

    Alongside a cat (yes, a cat) named ‘(Frederick Albert) Hitler’ as his barman, the landlord of the “maddest pub in Britain” Steve Cotten is not known for being the most involved of hosts. On TripAdvisor, whilst one grumbler pointed out that his attitude to diners is: “If you want to eat, bring your own food… Or use the kitchen yourself,” Devon Live noted in February 2020 that Prince Harry and Damien Hirst are “fans” of the “off-grid,” Fawlty Towers-esque The Poltimore Arms in South Molton, Devon. The pub has no website, no television, no Wi-Fi, no fruit machines and no telephones and is powered by solar panels, but for lovers of craft ales and locally produced spirits, a woman going by the name ‘The Real Ale Girl’ operates a “secret weapon… emporium” selling such in a back room.

    Summing up his refreshingly no-nonsense approach to running his business, Steve Cotten once commented: “I just make it up as I go along.  I might not know how to run a pub but I know what’s wrong with every pub I’ve ever been in. There’s no landlord anywhere, nobody talks to each other.  I involve the whole community – everyone knows it’s not my pub, it’s everybody’s pub… We are a dark and cold and miserable boozer – and that’s what people like about it… They all know you can do what you want here, use it for what you want, come here on your own at any time of the day or night and help yourself to a tea or coffee. Everybody will talk to everybody… You can discuss any topic under the sun here, nothing is taboo… Everyone has a go serving behind the bar, we all have a laugh and everyone joins in… No one else talks to them like crap like I do.”

    Frankly, one is simply left asking: “Why aren’t there more places like this?” Cheers to Steve Cotten.

  • Three of the Best – Things to Get You Through Lockdown

    Three of the Best – Things to Get You Through Lockdown

    Matthew Steeples highlights three things that are keeping him going through coronavirus lockdown living (aside from not running out of gin)

    Having found myself ensconced in East Anglia for five weeks now –never did I imagine myself staying in a rural place so long – and having not actually got into a car or visited a town in that period, I busy my days reading, writing and walking a bit. It’s been especially strange not to physically see friends and I can’t say I’ve fathomed ‘House Party,’ but my telephone device has certainly seen more Bob Hoskins-esque “It’s Good To Talk” action than ever before.

     

    Whilst most people will tell you Netflix has been their best source of entertainment during this period and I will most certainly join them in commending ‘binge watching’ Ozark, I’ve found time to do things that I’ve always put-off such as clear out my iPhone’s address book and chuck out paperwork I’m never going to actually get round to dealing with. It’s been a time to read and reflect and an opportunity to listen to music a little more often and here follows a few other ‘lockdown discoveries’ of mine that you might find useful:

     

    Harvey Nichols

    Three of the Best – Things to Get You Through Lockdown – Matthew Steeples highlights three things that are keeping him going through coronavirus lockdown living (aside from not running out of gin).

    Nobody would imagine that Patsy and Edina’s favourite shop, Harvey Nichols, would be the bargain food and drink store of the lockdown, but given they don’t charge for next-day delivery wherever you are in the UK and there’s no minimum spend, here is an unbeatable service. Unlike some greedy online booze retailers (some of whom have actually increased their prices and introduced preposterously high delivery charges to coincide with us all being stuck at home), you can get a bottle of the heather-hinted, 43% ABV Edinburgh Gin for just £32, a jar of highly addictive ginger and chilli jam for £3.95 or an utterly delicious asparagus and shrimp risotto that feeds two for just £5.95. Add half a glass of white wine and Bob’s Your Uncle and Fanny’s Your Aunt.

     

    Podcasts and Radio Plays

    Three of the Best – Things to Get You Through Lockdown – Matthew Steeples highlights three things that are keeping him going through coronavirus lockdown living (aside from not running out of gin).

    I’ve become addicted to true crime podcasts such as Murder Mile (in spite of the most recent one I listened to being about the appalling murder of my late friend Robert Troyan in Mount Street Mayfair in 2013) in the last weeks. An especially gritty and somewhat grim example is The Clearing, an eight-episode serialisation based on the crimes of the American serial killer Ed Edwards (AKA ‘Wayne’ Edwards) that has been lauded by the Guardian as “an immense achievement.”

     

    Equally gripping, if you haven’t heard it already (I’m listening to it for a second time), is BBC Radio 4’s rerun of GF Newman’s The Corrupted. Featuring a fictional dodgy MP interacting with real political figures from the past including Margaret Thatcher and Douglas Hurd, here is something for political geeks to get their teeth into before the ‘B-word’ again raises its ugly head once coronavirus fades into the background.

     

    ‘The Quiz’ on Facebook

    Three of the Best – Things to Get You Through Lockdown – Matthew Steeples highlights three things that are keeping him going through coronavirus lockdown living (aside from not running out of gin).

    Some of us were already playing before orders to stay indoors arrived, but the ‘Quiz Planet’ app on Facebook has proved a charming way to interact with friends from near and afar. Some of the questions do border on the inane and others have induced a Major Charles Ingram-esque cough on my part, but if you want to while away the hours, do sign up and if you want someone to thrash, try challenging me.

     

    And Then… What’s Next?

    Most of all, of course, what will really keep you going through all this is this: A day will soon come when you’ll again be eating, drinking and being merry with your nearest and dearest at your very favourite establishment. Whether you fancy fish and chips or a bottle of Chablis (or both), it’ll come and it’ll come not a moment too soon.

     

    For now, do heed the words of the late Mr Hoskins: “What men call chatter, really does matter. It’s about being a friend. Having the time to listen. It’s what makes the world goes round.” Call a friend or, if you’re not a technophobe like me, ‘give’ them a Zoom.

     

    Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

    Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

    Twitter: @SteepleTimes and @M_Steeples

     

  • A Meterless Cab

    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’).

    A Meterless Cab – 2006 London Taxi International TXII Gold to be auctioned by Bonhams at their online Bicester sale on 30th May 2020 with an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000 ($14,700 to $22,000, €13,600 to €20,400 or درهم53,900 to درهم80,900) – Black cab that has never carried a paying passenger to be auctioned; originally owned by construction giants Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.
    Stephen Fry with the black cab he owns.
    A Meterless Cab – 2006 London Taxi International TXII Gold to be auctioned by Bonhams at their online Bicester sale on 30th May 2020 with an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000 ($14,700 to $22,000, €13,600 to €20,400 or درهم53,900 to درهم80,900) – Black cab that has never carried a paying passenger to be auctioned; originally owned by construction giants Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.
    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 30th 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.”

     

    Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

    Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

    Twitter: @SteepleTimes

     

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