Sarah Jessica Parker finally confirms she dated major Hollywood star

I bought Ian Fleming's incredible UK beach home for under £1million – now I'm selling up because it's ‘too small'

Scottish Sun

6 hours ago

Scottish Sun

I bought Ian Fleming's incredible UK beach home for under £1million – now I'm selling up because it's ‘too small'

Owner spotted it while swimming the Channel NEVER STAY NEVER I bought Ian Fleming's incredible UK beach home for under £1million – now I'm selling up because it's 'too small' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A JAMES Bond superfan who snapped up Ian Fleming's former seaside home for less than £1million is putting it back on the market – because he says it's no longer big enough for his family. Mermaid Cottage, the striking 1920s Art Deco house in St Margaret's Bay, Kent, was once owned by both Bond creator Ian Fleming and legendary playwright Noel Coward. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 It's now up for sale with a guide price of £1.75million Credit: Getty 7 Its villain, Hugo Drax, constructs his deadly Moonraker rocket just outside Dover near Deal Credit: Strutt & Parker 7 It remained in private hands until 2008, when current owner Mark Sawyer spotted it during a visit to Kent with his then-partner Credit: Strutt & Parker It's now up for sale with a guide price of £1.75million. Fleming is believed to have written part of Moonraker at the property between 1951 and 1957, taking inspiration from the surrounding cliffs and coastline for the novel's dramatic setting. Its villain, Hugo Drax, constructs his deadly Moonraker rocket just outside Dover, near Deal. Coward had owned the house previously and renamed it 'White Cliffs' after restoring it following wartime damage by British and Canadian troops preparing for D-Day. He spent around £2,000 reinforcing the chalk cliffs and reportedly found his love of painting during his years there, according to Dover Museum. The house passed to Fleming in 1951, becoming his weekend and holiday escape. It remained in private hands until 2008, when current owner Mark Sawyer spotted it during a visit to Kent with his then-partner. The 56-year-old, who works in private equity, first glimpsed the village while swimming the Channel in a team relay: 'I distinctly remember the captain of the boat saying, 'There's St Margarets, it's a really pretty village'. I saw it from the water for the first time.' Although the house wasn't officially on the market, the couple fell in love with it and persuaded the estate agent to take it off the books immediately with a £20,000 deposit. They bought it for £800,000 and have since spent around £1million on renovations, including buying land to extend the garden. James Bond expert drops huge hint about new 007 actor after he starred in movie with huge A-list actress 'I'm a massive Bond fan. For me that was the cherry on the cake,' Sawyer said. 'Most people say when we're down there: squint and you could be in the Mediterranean,' he added. 'In the winter, the bay is so much quieter. "You sit there with the log-burning stove roaring with a storm blowing outside. 7 A JAMES Bond superfan who snapped up Ian Fleming's former seaside home for less than £1million Credit: Rex "You're immersed in nature. 7 After nearly two decades in Mermaid Cottage, Mark Sawyer is selling his Bond-worthy home "The only land you can see from our living room is France.' His partner Lara Jewitt, a Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist, helped design the garden, which echoes the style of Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage. The couple bought land from the council in 2014 to create it, but soon ran out of space. 'We developed every square inch down there, and we just wanted a bit more room,' Sawyer said. 'I never thought I would sell it, to be honest with you. It has three bedrooms, and that is too small to have both of my children back, potentially in the future with their partners, and my family to stay.' Not everyone is pleased about the decision. 'My daughter is still not talking to me since I told her I am selling it,' he admitted. 'She'll get over it eventually.' Strutt & Parker, who are handling the sale, describe Mermaid Cottage as a 'breathtaking location' with a 'rich history of famous connections.' 7 They bought it for £800,000 and have since spent around £1million on renovations, including buying land to extend the garden Credit: Strutt & Parker

Sick of And Just Like That? Try Sex and the City: The Movie instead

The Guardian

a day ago

The Guardian

Sick of And Just Like That? Try Sex and the City: The Movie instead

It's a rite of passage. Some stole late-night glimpses when they snuck into the lounge room while their mother watched it. Others gobbled it up on a laptop in bed. For gen Z, many first encountered Sex and the City via meme pages dedicated to digitally archiving the best outfits, best quotes or most problematic storylines from the HBO series that followed the misadventures of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis). Then, when the series landed internationally on Netflix last year, gen Z got properly acquainted – and much to the surprise of their millennial elders, they didn't hate it. The original show remains timeless. And rather than suffer through the increasingly deranged overtures of its revival And Just Like That, newer fans may do well to revisit an earlier sequel – Sex and the City: The Movie. Released in 2008, it aligned perfectly with a cinema boom for millennial women, where moviegoing was done in groups, usually supplemented by themed drinks and food. It was also panned viciously by critics, who called it shallow and bloated – though this Sex and the City diehard thinks it deserves a reappraisal. It picks up where the series finale left off, providing a very neat synopsis of the intervening years. Carrie is still dating her on-again, off-again beau, Big. Charlotte and her husband Harry have adopted their daughter Lily. Samantha has moved to LA to manage her movie star boyfriend Smith's career. And Miranda has moved to – quelle horreur – Brooklyn. Granted, there are a lot of things wrong with this film. Like its 142-minute run time, which is at least 90 minutes too long. Or its farcical series of events: a near-wedding, a breakup, a pregnancy, a tragically horny dog, some questionable product placement, a trip to Mexico that leads to a faecal incident, and then an actual wedding. Or that every character's life seems to revolve around Carrie in a far more egregious way than the series. Or that they fat-shame Samantha for putting on a couple of kilos. If the series was barely concealed lifestyle porn for millennial women, the movie makes no attempt at justifying the absurdity of these people's lives. The clothes are even flashier, the real estate is more lavish, and their personal problems are always solved by money. But beneath the excess, Sex and the City: The Movie works when it zeroes in on the ways that its central quartet continually show up for each other. Samantha feeds Carrie yoghurt after she hasn't left her bed for two days. Miranda opens her door on New Year's Eve to a breathless Carrie, who's run across the city to get there before midnight to tell her, 'You're not alone.' When Charlotte runs into the man who's betrayed her friend, her face cracks open in feral rage. 'I curse the day you were born!' she screams. The movie, like the show, only makes sense when it's exploring the inexplicable bonds among these four women and what it means to be a true friend. One of the most emotionally brutal scenes in the movie is when Miranda and Carrie go out for dinner on Valentine's Day – sans suitors. Carrie is heartbroken; Miranda has a guilty secret to confess. When it all spills over into a fight in the middle of the restaurant, it feels genuinely tragic: a failure of communication so familiar it stings. It's one of the most believable moments in the movie; Parker and Nixon capture the agony of friendship so naturally it almost feels improvised. Crucially, the film can stand on its own. You don't need to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Carrie's past boyfriends. You don't need to know that Samantha once dated a lesbian artist, or that Charlotte and Harry met because of her divorce, or that Miranda once yelled at a man, 'I'm no Mena Suvari but I'm great in bed!' You can get through Sex and the City: The Movie without knowing what any of those things mean and still understand what this movie is about: four women who help each other as they constantly renegotiate their relationships with men. It's a perfect paean to imperfect friendships. Sex and the City: The Movie is available to stream on Binge and Prime Video in Australia, Netflix in the UK and HBO Max in the US. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here

The Guardian

a day ago

The Guardian

Sick of And Just Like That? Try Sex and the City: The Movie instead

It's a rite of passage. Some stole late-night glimpses when they snuck into the lounge room while their mother watched it. Others gobbled it up on a laptop in bed. For gen Z, many first encountered Sex and the City via meme pages dedicated to digitally archiving the best outfits, best quotes or most problematic storylines from the HBO series that followed the misadventures of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis). Then, when the series landed internationally on Netflix last year, gen Z got properly acquainted – and much to the surprise of their millennial elders, they didn't hate it. The original show remains timeless. And rather than suffer through the increasingly deranged overtures of its revival And Just Like That, newer fans may do well to revisit an earlier sequel – Sex and the City: The Movie. Released in 2008, it aligned perfectly with a cinema boom for millennial women, where moviegoing was done in groups, usually supplemented by themed drinks and food. It was also panned viciously by critics, who called it shallow and bloated – though this Sex and the City diehard thinks it deserves a reappraisal. It picks up where the series finale left off, providing a very neat synopsis of the intervening years. Carrie is still dating her on-again, off-again beau, Big. Charlotte and her husband Harry have adopted their daughter Lily. Samantha has moved to LA to manage her movie star boyfriend Smith's career. And Miranda has moved to – quelle horreur – Brooklyn. Granted, there are a lot of things wrong with this film. Like its 142-minute run time, which is at least 90 minutes too long. Or its farcical series of events: a near-wedding, a breakup, a pregnancy, a tragically horny dog, some questionable product placement, a trip to Mexico that leads to a faecal incident, and then an actual wedding. Or that every character's life seems to revolve around Carrie in a far more egregious way than the series. Or that they fat-shame Samantha for putting on a couple of kilos. If the series was barely concealed lifestyle porn for millennial women, the movie makes no attempt at justifying the absurdity of these people's lives. The clothes are even flashier, the real estate is more lavish, and their personal problems are always solved by money. But beneath the excess, Sex and the City: The Movie works when it zeroes in on the ways that its central quartet continually show up for each other. Samantha feeds Carrie yoghurt after she hasn't left her bed for two days. Miranda opens her door on New Year's Eve to a breathless Carrie, who's run across the city to get there before midnight to tell her, 'You're not alone.' When Charlotte runs into the man who's betrayed her friend, her face cracks open in feral rage. 'I curse the day you were born!' she screams. The movie, like the show, only makes sense when it's exploring the inexplicable bonds among these four women and what it means to be a true friend. One of the most emotionally brutal scenes in the movie is when Miranda and Carrie go out for dinner on Valentine's Day – sans suitors. Carrie is heartbroken; Miranda has a guilty secret to confess. When it all spills over into a fight in the middle of the restaurant, it feels genuinely tragic: a failure of communication so familiar it stings. It's one of the most believable moments in the movie; Parker and Nixon capture the agony of friendship so naturally it almost feels improvised. Crucially, the film can stand on its own. You don't need to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Carrie's past boyfriends. You don't need to know that Samantha once dated a lesbian artist, or that Charlotte and Harry met because of her divorce, or that Miranda once yelled at a man, 'I'm no Mena Suvari but I'm great in bed!' You can get through Sex and the City: The Movie without knowing what any of those things mean and still understand what this movie is about: four women who help each other as they constantly renegotiate their relationships with men. It's a perfect paean to imperfect friendships. Sex and the City: The Movie is available to stream on Binge and Prime Video in Australia, Netflix in the UK and HBO Max in the US. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here

Sarah Jessica Parker finally confirms she dated major Hollywood star

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I bought Ian Fleming's incredible UK beach home for under £1million – now I'm selling up because it's ‘too small'

Sick of And Just Like That? Try Sex and the City: The Movie instead

Sick of And Just Like That? Try Sex and the City: The Movie instead

Sarah Jessica Parker finally confirms she dated major Hollywood star

Hashtags

Try Our AI Features

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I bought Ian Fleming's incredible UK beach home for under £1million – now I'm selling up because it's ‘too small'

Sick of And Just Like That? Try Sex and the City: The Movie instead

Sick of And Just Like That? Try Sex and the City: The Movie instead

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