EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Life is Swede for Fergie as she catches up with her Sex And The City namesake in Gothenburg
One is best known as ‘Park Avenue princess’ Charlotte York in Sex And The City, while the other became a real-life princess, as well as a York, when she married Prince Andrew.
So that might be why Kristin Davis and Sarah Ferguson embraced each other like kindred spirits when they met in Sweden.
The Duchess of York, 63, presented the American actress, 58, with a gong at The Perfect World Foundation Award gala at the Gothenburg Stock Exchange. ‘Thank you, duchess, for being so nice to me,’ Davis told her.
While Davis’s character has had her romantic ups and downs, they cannot compare with the actual soap opera that is Fergie’s life. Perhaps she could make a cameo appearance in the Sex And The City sequel, And Just Like That?
The Duchess of York , 63, presented the American actress Kristin Davis, 58, with a gong at The Perfect World Foundation Award gala at the Gothenburg Stock Exchange
While Davis’s character has had her romantic ups and downs, they cannot compare with the actual soap opera that is Fergie’s life
Pink Floyd star slashes £5million off house price
When Pink Floyd star David Gilmour and his wife, the novelist Polly Samson, put their spectacular seafront home on the market last year, they thought there would be a queue of potential buyers for the former ladies’ bath-house.
I can disclose that the singer and guitarist, 77, whose band’s hits include Wish You Were Here, has, however, been forced to slash the asking price by a staggering £5million. At one third of the original price, it’s thought to be the biggest cut in Britain since house values started falling a year ago.
However, the property in Hove, East Sussex, will hardly be cheap, as the new asking price is £10million.
‘In the current climate, you have to be realistic if you want a property to sell,’ one agent tells me.
Gilmour and Samson, 61, endured bitter opposition from locals to the transformation of the former Victorian bathhouse, which has views across the English Channel as well as a courtyard garden, a recording studio and ample parking.
It also has an open plan kitchen, living room, dining room and hall, as well as a study, library, snug, gym, and five bedrooms. The couple bought the derelict Medina House baths in 2015 and finally secured planning permission for the rebuild in 2017 in the teeth of opposition from residents and historical conservationists.
When Pink Floyd star David Gilmour and his wife, the novelist Polly Samson, put their spectacular seafront home on the market last year, they thought there would be a queue of potential buyers for the former ladies’ bath-house
I can disclose that the singer and guitarist, 77, whose band’s hits include Another Brick In The Wall, has, however, been forced to slash the asking price by a staggering £5 million
At one third of the original price, it’s thought to be the biggest cut in Britain since house values started falling a year ago
Gilmour, who has an estimated fortune of £140million, and Samson were condemned and their plans called ‘appalling and disrespectful’ and nicknamed ‘Polly’s Folly’. But the bathhouse was demolished in 2018, and architect Keb Garavito Bruhn was brought in to design the new residence.
His creation took inspiration from the older building, mimicking its gable, as well as the half-moon shaped window at the top. Ceramic tiles that were originally part of one of the pools were retained.
Gilmour and Samson’s main home is a farmhouse in Wisborough Green, West Sussex, 25 miles away. ‘It is a beauty, and sad for us that it took so long and was then completed during the pandemic,’ Samson said of the house last month. ‘Our children were still children and living at home when we first bought – and thought we could save the building. Now they’ve flown, so Medina House never got the chance to become our family home. We have a one-bedroom flat [also in Hove], which is enough. Now there’s just the two of us.’
She added: ‘We’ve had so many memorable parties here. It’s amazing to run across the beach for a swim and then hop back to the house for a sauna. Sometimes we’d hop across the beach with our fishing rods, bring back the catch and then cook it on the fire in the winter garden.’
Ross Ward, at the estate agent Pereds, says the reduced price is because Gilmour and Samson are ‘happy to retain the separate custom-built recording studio and ancillary accommodation’.
He explains: ‘The principal property, Medina House, is now being offered alone and this is reflected in the price quoted.’
Gilmour and 61-year-old Samson endured bitter opposition from locals to the transformation of the former Victorian bathhouse, which has views across the English Channel as well as a courtyard garden, a recording studio and ample parking
Gilmour, who has an estimated fortune of £140million, and Samson were condemned and their plans called ‘appalling and disrespectful’ and nicknamed ‘Polly’s Folly’
His creation took inspiration from the older building, mimicking its gable, as well as the half-moon shaped window at the top
Camilla joins an illustrious cast
Queen Camilla has laughed off countless cruel jibes that she’s no oil painting, but she will soon be immortalised in bronze.
I hear that Her Majesty is to be the subject of a bust by Frances Segelman. The sculptress, 74, who is married to philanthropist Sir Jack Petchey, 98, has previously carved busts of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Former model Segelman worked on the late Queen’s image over three sittings in 2007. ‘It was absolutely surreal and unbelievable to go into the room at the palace and measure her head,’ she says. ‘It was really nerve-racking.’
Once upon a time, rock stars hurled television sets out of windows. Now, hotels organise extra rooms for their train sets. ‘When I’m on the road I take projects in great big suitcases,’ says model railway enthusiast Sir Rod Stewart, 78. ‘I take paints and tools and everything. The hotels give me a special room – they clear it all out – and give me a great big table to work on.’
He adds: ‘There’s so much wasted time on the road. What do you do? Go out shopping? I’ve got my model railroad to keep me warm. I can spend seven hours building something. Then it goes into a big crate — and then it goes all the way back to London, and I put it on the layout.’
Once upon a time, rock stars hurled television sets out of windows. Now, hotels organise extra rooms for their train sets. Pictured: Model railway enthusiast Sir Rod Stewart, pictured with a huge set from his Beverley Hills home
The rock star says he can spend seven hours building something before it goes into a big crate and travels back to London. Pictured: Stewart at the Toronto Railway Historical Association
Lord’s wife: New revelations
Sasha Swire caused explosive reactions among David Cameron’s usually restrained set in 2020 when she released her gloriously indiscreet memoirs, Diary Of An MP’s Wife. In the book, she disclosed the most intimate details of her relationships with friends of her Old Etonian husband, the former minister Sir Hugo Swire.
So stand by for more fireworks, because Sasha has announced she’s planning a follow-up. ‘A second volume is on the way,’ she says. Lady Swire made the disclosure at the launch party for her latest book, Edgeland: A Slow Walk West, at Robilant+Voena art gallery in Mayfair.
Long-suffering Hugo, now a peer, grimaced stoically at the announcement, perhaps contemplating the loss of another regiment of friends.
Screen legend Richard Attenborough’s son has revealed that Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt nearly ended up playing the title role in his father’s Oscar-winning epic Gandhi.
At a special event to mark what would have been Lord Attenborough’s centenary year, Michael told an audience at Chiswick Cinema, London: ‘My father screen-tested both Tony Hopkins, a stocky Welshman, and John Hurt, for the role. But when John [Hurt] told his baker father that he’d auditioned to play Gandhi, his father joked: “Is it a comedy? Who’s playing Nehru — Harry Secombe?” ’ Actor and film director Richard, brother of the broadcaster Sir David, died in 2014, aged 90.
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