April 24, 2005

The dangers of the possession of inherited wealth...

...coupled with a weakness for women and Champagne.

The best obituary I've read in a while, of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury. Excerpt:

On his 9,000-acre estate at Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, he planted more than a million trees and, in 1992, was joint winner of the Royal Forestry Society's National Duke of Cornwall's Award for Forestry and Conservation. He also served as president of the Hawk and Owl Trust and as vice-president of the British Butterfly Conservation Society.

It was said, after his mysterious disappearance from a Cannes nightclub, that the 10th Earl, like Gladstone, had been devoting himself to helping vulnerable young girls working in nightspots on the French Riviera to start new lives. But as the mystery deepened, it seemed that his interest was more than merely philanthropic.

Indeed, Lord Shaftesbury had always exhibited a weakness for exotic women...

He became a familiar figure in some of the loucher nightspots on the French Riviera, where he cut a curious figure in leather trousers, pink shirts and large red-and-black spectacles; he was notable for his habit of flashing his money around as he bought drinks for a succession of nubile female companions.

Posted by Dr. Frank at April 24, 2005 11:31 PM | TrackBack
Comments

God, Frank, that sounds like a Kinks song! The guy was living out an alternative ending to "Face to Face", combined with "Lola". Maybe the family can commission Ray Davies to put together a concept album and stage show based on his life...

Posted by: Nick at April 25, 2005 04:31 PM


that's got to be made up,it sound like the opening to a bad mystery novel.

Posted by: just me at April 25, 2005 07:44 PM

Moral of the story: be careful where you bury your shaftes.

Posted by: Wes at April 25, 2005 10:22 PM

I say!
Good Heavens!
Well, I never!
Other Brittish-y aristocratic-y outrage!

Posted by: josh at April 26, 2005 04:09 PM
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