“Playboy” turned lawyer Alexander van der Zwaan had it all but destroyed his reputation after being jailed for 30 days for lying to the FBI in April 2018 over Russia’s links to President Trump’s election campaign. Aside from receiving positive publicity in Tatler after marrying Eva Khan, daughter of a Ukrainian-Russian billionaire named German Khan, in a “lavish society ceremony” at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire in June 2017, this “ostentatious” Belgian-born, Notting Hill based attorney might now realise that telling the truth is generally for the best.
Alexander van der Zwaan with his art critic wife Eva Khan at their 2017 wedding; ‘Tatler’ lauded it as one of the “seven big weddings” of that year
London has simply become a money park for dodgy money and though ‘McMafia’ reflected elements of that, the truth is far more depressing
Since the 1st January, the nation was engrossed (though many were also totally bored) by the BBC’s eight-part drama series McMafia.
Based on a fictional – though plainly inspired by the likes of the late Boris Berezovsky – Russian mafia family relocated to London, the TV adaptation of this thriller was filmed primarily in Knightsbridge, Mayfair and South Kensington. It showcased what many might consider the extreme wealth of Central London, but, in fact, was presented a little bit amateurishly.
Of the show, Carol Midgley in The Times summed it up well. She remarked: “If this is how miserably the super-rich live, I’d take a semi in Swindon any day” and equally now, if you wander the streets of SW1, SW3, SW7 and W1, you’d not disagree with her.
Recent news that the Fine Art Society is closing in Bond Street after 140 years due to “soaring rents” and “an influx of wealthy international fashion houses” illustrates the effect of the arrival of uncultivated new wealth in that sector, but equally sad is the demise of local restaurants and shops that actually provide things that genuine, full-time residents actually need.
Boarded up in Belgravia this month, after 44 years in operation, the Ebury Wine Bar closed supposedly due to the retirement of its owner, Nigel Windridge. Also gone – aside from the key loss of the much loved La Brasserie in Brompton Cross – are restaurants like Itsu in Walton Street and Racine in Brompton Road. Replaced by shisha bars and other businesses aimed at wealthy Gulfies and oligarchs, the streets of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea are increasingly becoming utterly devoid of character.
Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.
Knightsbridge townhouse for sale for sum 11% lower than it sold for in 2011; it comes with a rather large hole in the garden that has been described as “almost as deep as the Führerbunker”
To the poet and wit Henry Luttrell (1765 – 1861) “eating pâté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets” was his idea of heaven. Now, a very wealthy buyer has the opportunity to acquire what some might consider the very opposite of such with the sale of his former home – complete with a 4-storey hole in its garden – in Knightsbridge.
Empty for many years and the subject of numerous critical articles about its dereliction in such titles as the Mirror and Daily Mail, Grade II listed 31 Brompton Square is on the market for £3 million less than it sold for in 2011. It was previously reportedly owned by the industrialist Lord Tanlaw and was also in the possession of the High Commission of Malaysia at some point.
Fraudster Achilleas Kallakis was undoubtedly the most controversial owner of the buildingPhilanthropists Dora and Mary de Beer (pictured with Esmond de Beer) were certainly more civilised residentsBaron Tanlaw of Tanlawhill reportedly owned the house for a period also
Aside from being home to the philanthropist sisters Dora and Mary de Beer (owners of the house between 1934 and 1981) and the Conservative Party politician the Hon. Michael Astor in addition, most controversially the property was bought by the now jailed businessman Achilleas Kallakis in the mid 2000s.
Kallakis – who in spite of demanding he be called ‘His Excellency’ and ‘The Don’ was actually simply “Britain’s biggest mortgage fraudster” – began work on a scheme to create what he termed a “pleasure palace” at 31 Brompton Square in 2005. He employed contractors to dig four levels down beneath what had been a pretty garden and commenced both authorised and unauthorised works to create what could still ultimately become a 22,000 square foot, 8-floor “trophy home.”
Construction stopped in 2008 after Kallakis’ arrest and in 2011, 31 Brompton Square was sold for £8 million more than sought to a Virgin Islands based company by receivers acting for Barclays Wealth. Said by locals to actually be owned at that time by a Dubai based businessman named Jonathan Hart, further planning schemes were submitted in October 2016 and now agents Savills seek £25 million for the unfinished building.
Of the sale, one near neighbour told The Steeple Times:
“This bastard of a basement has blighted this area of Knightsbridge for far too long.”
“We have feared subsidence might cause the hole to cave in since 2005 and now hope a new owner will rectify the mess left by the conman Kallakis. We simply want to be able to live out our years in peace and would like a nice, quiet family rather than a brash billionaire be the purchasers.”
September 2017 – For sale for £25 million ($33.9 million, €28.4 million or درهم125 million).
June 2016 – Predicted to be worth £50 million ($67.8 million, €56.9 million or درهم249 million) if iceberg extension were to be completed.
March 2011 – Sold for £28 million ($38 million, €31.9 million or درهم139.5 million) after a bidding war on an asking price of £20 million ($27.1 million, €22.7 million or درهم99.6 million).
An aerial view of the giant hole behind 31 Brompton SquareA closer view of the dormant siteThe front elevation of 31 Brompton SquareA proposed floor plan for the buildingA CGI image of a proposed design for a reception room within the existing buildingA CGI image of a proposed design for a reception space in the proposed extension of the houseA CGI image of a proposed design for a reception space backing onto the gardenA CGI image of a proposed design for a swimming pool within the extensionA CGI image of the proposed gardenAnother view of the spaceA drawing of the proposed redevelopment
Part refurbished Irish Georgian stately home for sale for just £136,000; it was originally built by the Fry family
What could be one of the cheapest Georgian stately homes ever has been placed on the market for just £136,000 ($179,000, €150,000 or درهم658,000).
Three storey, five bay, mid-18th century Frybrook House in the centre of the town of Boyle in County Roscommon, Ireland – the birthplace of Maureen O’Sullivan (Jane in the Tarzan movies) – stands in 3 acres of land beside the River Boyle
Frybrook House appeared to be in much better condition externally in the early 2000s
Described recently by The Times as a “hot stately home,” the 8 bedroom, 8 bathroom mansion was built for Henry Fry, a merchant from Somerset, after he established a weaving operation on the site in the 1740s. It was run as a bed and breakfast in the early 2000s and last offered on the open market for £309,000 – with additional land and properties – in 2015.
Period features include fine restored plasterwork, original cornicing, window shutters, marble fireplaces and roll top baths and though the property appears to be in some state of disrepair and dereliction, it is described as “partly restored and refurbished.” Sadly, pictures also show the setting is somewhat spoilt by a modern industrial building to the rear.
September 2017 – £136,000 ($179,000, €150,000 or درهم658,000) with 3 acres of land and various outbuildings.
July 2015 – £309,000 ($406,000, €340,000 or درهم1.5 million) with 6 acres of land, 4 houses on an adjoining street and a “period building” housing a café.
Novelist David Cornwell (AKA John le Carré) speaks sense on the elite, Brexit and Donald Trump
David Cornwell – better known as the novelist John le Carré – gave a rare interview in yesterday’s The Sunday Times. In it, he spoke candidly and revealed his beliefs that Brexit is something he “despises” and that Donald Trump “is such a horse’s arse.”
“Surely the definition of a decent society is: one, how it chooses its elite; and, two, how it looks after its losers. Now we choose our elite horribly badly and, as long as private education commands the scene, don’t talk to me about levelling the playing field — the social contract is bust in this country.”
“We’re getting people who start their political careers at university and go in as special assistants to MPs, like those ridiculous people who were advising May [Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill]. We are run by the wrong elite.”
“I understand why people who are socially deprived, with the safety net taken away from them and treated as second-class citizens, have every right to vote for some other dream. I understand that, and I understand it needs a desperate remedy, and fast, but Brexit isn’t the answer.”
Of Trump, he added:
“The Russian-Ukrainian money trail is the one that, combined with collusion in Russian electoral tampering, will, with luck, nail him.”
Cornwell is spot on all scores and we salute him.
‘A Legacy of Spies’ by John le Carré is out on Thursday (Viking, £20). Pre-order from Amazon for £9.50 by clicking here.
‘Sir Shifty’ filmed in debauched incident in Mykonos; he would do better to sip rather than spray his beverages
Sir Philip Green will forever be remembered as a man whose former company, BHS, collapsed with the loss of 11,000 jobs. At that time, in The Steeple Times, the actor and producer Steven Berkoff compared him to both Shylock and Al Capone, but now ‘Badly Behaved Boozy Brit Abroad’ can add be added to this slug-like individual’s roster after he was spotted dousing fellow diners with champagne in Greece.
Filmed by someone named Sarah Nazari and shared on her Instagram page, the minute long clip shows Sir Philip at a beach bar-restaurant named Nammos Mykonos. Alongside other revelers, the business tycoon was pictured hosing other guests down with £109 ($141, €120 or درهم517) per bottle “spraying champagne.” He didn’t look like he had a care in the world and perhaps, just maybe, his daughter’s new jailbird boyfriend, Jeremy Meeks, had provided him with inspiration to behave like a reprobate.
Of antics more befitting of a 20-year old than a 65-year old, an unnamed source told The Times: “You couldn’t be in this club if you aren’t rich, so he wasn’t impressing anyone. He just looked like a sad old man trying to play with the pretty people.” Spot on: ‘Sir Shifty’, at his age, would do well to sip rather than spray.
Scumbag paedophile Max Clifford bankrupts himself leaving his victims without compensation
Since being jailed, paedophile Max Clifford has shown absolutely no contrition and utterly no remorse. He’s sued newspapers, let his equally arrogant daughter, Louise, buy the “goodwill” – if such bizarrely even exists – of his former PR firm and tried to sell his ghastly Surrey home for £3.45 million. Now, in spite of reportedly being worth around £10 million prior to going on trial, this arrogant one-time friend of everyone from Simon Cowell to James Hewitt has pulled another scam and bankrupted himself this week.
Max Clifford on the day of his marriage to his now ex-wife, Jo, with (left to right) Theo Paphitis, Bobby Davro, Pauline Quirke and Des O’Connor
In walking away from debts of £7.5 million, Clifford has effectively limited what compensation he has to pay to the women and children he sexually abused. One was aged just 14 when he sexually abused her and of the news an unnamed female victim remarked: “His recent behaviour illustrates his complete arrogance and denial that his actions had any impact on his victims”.
74-year old Clifford’s lawyer, John Szepietowski, told The Times: “Mr Clifford has always honoured his debts and finds this situation completely alien to him. He deeply regrets being in this situation”.
Currently serving eight years at Her Majesty’s Prison Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, Max Clifford has yet again proven his entire worth. Here is a cretinous creature who’ll forever be remembered as nothing but a scumbag and a disgrace.
Pictured above: Disgraced former PR Max Clifford with his daughter Louise Clifford, proprietor of Borne Media.
Scumbag paedophile Max Clifford bankrupts himself leaving his victims without compensation
Since being jailed, paedophile Max Clifford has shown absolutely no contrition and utterly no remorse. He’s sued newspapers, let his equally arrogant daughter, Louise, buy the “goodwill” – if such bizarrely even exists – of his former PR firm and tried to sell his ghastly Surrey home for £3.45 million. Now, in spite of reportedly being worth around £10 million prior to going on trial, this arrogant one-time friend of everyone from Simon Cowell to James Hewitt has pulled another scam and bankrupted himself this week.
Max Clifford on the day of his marriage to his now ex-wife, Jo, with (left to right) Theo Paphitis, Bobby Davro, Pauline Quirke and Des O’Connor
In walking away from debts of £7.5 million, Clifford has effectively limited what compensation he has to pay to the women and children he sexually abused. One was aged just 14 when he sexually abused her and of the news an unnamed female victim remarked: “His recent behaviour illustrates his complete arrogance and denial that his actions had any impact on his victims”.
74-year old Clifford’s lawyer, John Szepietowski, told The Times: “Mr Clifford has always honoured his debts and finds this situation completely alien to him. He deeply regrets being in this situation”.
Currently serving eight years at Her Majesty’s Prison Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, Max Clifford has yet again proven his entire worth. Here is a cretinous creature who’ll forever be remembered as nothing but a scumbag and a disgrace.
Pictured above: Disgraced former PR Max Clifford with his daughter Louise Clifford, proprietor of Borne Media.
Classically proportioned Wiltshire village house for sale; it’ll supposedly appeal to “your typical wealthy Briton” (whatever that might mean)
Primarily built between 1620 and 1760, a classically proportioned four-storey house in the Wiltshire village of Seend has been placed on the market this week for £4.5 million ($5.8 million, €5.2 million or درهم21.2 million).
Of ashlar and rendered stone construction and built for Mary, Dowager Duchess of Somerset in 1760, Seend Park (or ‘Seend Green House’ as it was previously known) was owned by the now retired judge Sir Mathew Thorpe from 1971 and since 1990 by its current owners. It has been Grade II listed since 1962 and was somewhat unkindly described by the architectural scholar Sir Nikolaus Pevsner CBE FBA (1902 – 1983) as: “So absolutely plain… that it looks like an institution”.
The main house, which has been modernised in recent years and extends to 11,357 square foot, includes 4 reception rooms, 11 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It has many original features and in addition there is a 4 bedroom, 1,994 square foot lodge and a 3,630 square foot coach house within the property’s 26.4-acre grounds.
Of the pint-sized mini estate, James Mackenzie of selling agents Strutt & Parker told The Times: “Architecturally, the house will attract your typical wealthy Briton”.
Refurbished Surrey manor house with connections to Detmar Blow and Gertrude Jekyll for sale for £2.55 million
Reduced in price by £200,000 since when it was previously on the market in June 2015, a Surrey manor house is again for sale – but this time for £2.55 million ($3.32 million, €2.96 million or درهم12.20 million).
First mentioned in association with Robert de Upbroke in 1282, Osbrooks at Capel, near Dorking was built as a hall and smoke bay house in the 15th and 16th centuries. Subsequently redeveloped in the 17th century and then extended by Detmar Blow (1867 – 1939) – an architect, contemporary of Edwin Lutyens and disciple of John Ruskin – in the arts and crafts style in the early 20th century. The building was given Grade II listed status in November 1966 and more recently had a swimming pool, gym and garaging added.
Osbrooks in 1890Osbrooks today (with 20th century extension to left)
Standing in 14 acres of gardens and grounds designed by amongst others the especially prolific Gertrude Jekyll (1843 – 1932), Osbrooks now provides 4,987 square foot and features 4 reception rooms, a bar, 8 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It includes such details as oak joinery, leaded windows and tall, diagonal chimney stacks and could very easily be used as a location in a Midsomer Murders or Miss Marple murder mystery television drama.
Of the property, in April, John Fisher of selling agents Sotheby’s International Realty told The Times: “It could be a house for entertaining as well as comfortable living. It has all the space you could require, as well as proximity to good schools”.
An adjoining 4-acre plot with stabling and planning permission for a 1,959 square foot, single storey dwelling is also available through Sotheby’s. It is offered for £450,000 ($586,000, €523,000 or درهم2.2 million).
