Colleagues at a computer software company, they had shelled out £560 for a stretch limousine to bring them up from Basingstoke, and the damn thing had overheated.”The radiator, not the chauffeur,” explained Alix, “although he was pretty overheated as well.” Eventually, to Stephanie’s chagrin, the limo was replaced by a Chrysler people-carrier. And they had arrived three hours late, scuppering their plans for a genteel brunch. “Still, we’ve already got started on the Bolly,” she said.I rudely asked whether she would be on the lookout for a bit of crumpet? “No way. The blokes here are looking for women who are absolutely desperate for it, and I’m not desperate for it,” she said.I asked them whether, on previous visits to Royal Ascot, they had seen any sexual misbehaviour? “Oh yeah,” said Alix “Have you looked in the car park? The limo park, especially They’re just passion wagons, they are.”.
Wanted: secluded Oxfordshire mansion for retiring head of global superpower considering return to Dreaming Spires of youth – bomb-proof windows and granny flat for Secret Service retinue essential. Wanted: secluded Oxfordshire mansion for retiring head of global superpower considering return to Dreaming Spires of youth – bomb-proof windows and granny flat for Secret Service retinue essential.
President Bill Clinton, whose tenure at the White House ends in six months, is said to be searching for a British pied-à-terre as his European base for a post-political career on the lecture circuit. At the top of his shopping list are thought to be the chocolate-box villages around Oxford, where Mr Clinton famously did not inhale while a Rhodes Scholar in the Sixties.The President has been linked to his English Alma Mater recently by suggestions that Oxford could appoint him as a visiting professor when it reopens its Rothermere Institute for American studies next year. The university, which has made no secret of its “interest” in high-profile lecturers, was quick to neither confirm nor deny whether a William Jefferson Clinton will be added to its pay roll.A spokeswoman for the university added: “We will always welcome people from public life in America.” President Clinton and his wife, Hillary have homes in Arkansas and New York which they are likely to keep after the presidential election in November when they leave the White House.Insiders believe Mrs Clinton’s new political career and her rumoured estrangement from her husband following his affair with Monica Lewinsky mean they will pursue separate lives. Mr Clinton has often spoken of his fond memories of his time in Britain, and last year held a reception for newly selected Rhodes Scholars. He has formed a close relationship with Tony Blair.But the White House has issued a rapid rebuttal of the idea that a move to Britain was on the cards. Jake Siewert, deputy press secretary to Mr Clinton, said: “I’m afraid this is nonsense.”Back in Oxfordshire, evidence points in a different direction.
Where estate agents and surveyors would be the first port of call for most housebuyers, superpower leaders appear to employ a somewhat singular property scout – Special Branch.Security sources said Thames Valley officers were making a feasibility study of suitable properties in choice locations surrounding Oxford. Factors likely to be considered include security provision, the proximity of roads and neighbours, the possibility of access by helicopter and the distance to the nearest hospitals. A police spokesman said: “Any VIP visiting the Thames Valley area will be afforded the level of protection their position entails.”Among the residences thought to have been assessed – no final decision has yet been made – is the Glympton estate in the village of Glympton, 12 miles north of Oxford, little changed since feudal times. It even boasts its own original set of stocks for pillorying wrongdoers.The 21-property estate is owned by the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who is thought to have offered to lease one of homes to the President.Glympton House, the Georgian mansion at the centre of the 2,000-acre estate, has been extensively renovated, with bullet-proof windows and obstacles on the driveway to halt terrorist car bombers.Colonel Peter Browne, the manager, denied any imminent presidential arrival. “Mr Clinton has never been here and no properties are available. I am not aware of any suggestion he is coming to Glympton.”But local estate agents said homes on the estate, bought by Prince Bandar for £8m in 1992, are never available on the open market and pass by word of mouth.
An estate agent who declined to be named said: “You tend to get selected to live there, it’s all very private and discreet.”Villagers were unmoved by the idea of a VVIP on their doorstep One said: “It would be a massive disruption Frankly, he can go elsewhere for his nostalgia fix.”. The short man at the bar of the Charles II Tavern wants three beers “Three” he says loudly to the woman who is serving. The short man at the bar of the Charles II Tavern wants three beers. “Three” he says loudly to the woman who is serving.
In case she has not understood, the short man’s friend, a big, heavy bulk also wearing an England football shirt, repeats the order. Then, just to ensure that there is no remnant of confusion and to help this woman who in their eyes is clearly a simpleton, the pair both hold up three fingers which they wave at her.The woman sets to work, pouring foaming golden lager into plastic cups which she then puts on the bar in front of Shorty.