Watch closely because, remember, the clues are there, as we go through... the keyhole....


Any guesses?

Is it my mate Queen Beatrix's gaff?

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Is it my mate Queen Beatrix's gaff?

Nope! But it is an international political figure's.

johnfás wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Is it my mate Queen Beatrix's gaff?

Nope!

tbh, I wouldn't know. I'm usually very drunk there. Me and Queen Bee get on very well.

Seriously, it looks like it might be one of those faux-European pads built in California. Am I right?

I'd say the person who owns and built this house certainly has a penchant for that... it is also a similar style to that as you say... it certainly isn't a building of any great age... however, you are still incorrect.

Try a third continent.

johnfás wrote:

I'd say the person who owns and built this house certainly has a penchant for that... it is also a similar style to that as you say... it certainly isn't a building of any great age... however, you are still incorrect.

Try a third continent.

There are very few personal effects in the photos, so it's hard to extract much of the owner's personality from it. I can't see many photos or ornaments or any objects which explicitly hint at those who live there.

Stab in the dark. Is it Robert Mugabe's Xanadu?

Bingo!

johnfás wrote:

Bingo!

Really? So that's where the fraudulent President of Zimbabwe rests his head. I have mixed emotions.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Bingo!

Really? So that's where the fraudulent President of Zimbabwe rests his head. I have mixed emotions.

Indeed, it is his second palace, it was completed last year at a cost of US$27 million - they sold their old one to Colonel Qaddafi.

johnfás wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Bingo!

Really? So that's where the fraudulent President of Zimbabwe rests his head. I have mixed emotions.

Indeed, it is his second palace, it was completed last year at a cost of US$27 million - they sold their old one to Colonel Qaddafi.

Ooh, Qaddafi must be really happy. He must be sitting on 1 million percent appreciation in its value.

The place is very ornate. Appropriately enough, the place reminded me of the Palace of Versailles. The social inequality of pre-Revolution France is quite similar to that which is present in Zimbabwe today.

It is just a mud hut with a few fancy curtains. The modest abode of a communist killer.

youngdan wrote:

It is just a mud hut with a few fancy curtains. The modest abode of a communist killer.

Mud hut? You're a civil engineer youngdan. Are you sure that mud would support some of those long spans? And the swimming pool? wouldn't it dissolve? Nor could a communist possibly live in it, unless as hired help.

I've been watching a bit of African tv recently and there was an outdoor ceremonial event in which each of several hundred attendees sat in a large individual squashy and ornate sofa.

The Versailles comparison is good. Our european and US elites have their grossly vulgar abodes as well, but in the main have learned to keep them out of the public eye, and feeling secure in their power don't feel the need for such grotesque over-egging of the cake.

Does anyone recall Ceausecu's little house?

I bet Bertie would look at that and say FFS, and they complain about my little gaff in Drumcondra: and me head of "the richest country in Europe".

Johnfás - I completely missed the clues - what were they?

Ah there weren't any clues really - I was just ripping off the programme "through the keyhole"... perhaps I'm the only one who has seen it.

johnfás wrote:

Ah there weren't any clues really - I was just ripping off the programme "through the keyhole"... perhaps I'm the only one who has seen it.

Ah! I was going demented - as though I had a Where's Willy book with no Willies, if you know what I mean

johnfás wrote:

Ah there weren't any clues really - I was just ripping off the programme "through the keyhole"... perhaps I'm the only one who has seen it.

No, you're not. I've seen it myself. Loyd Grossman did that programme, didn't he?

Funnily enough I went for Queen Beatrix and then Mugabe myself.

cactus flower wrote:

Does anyone recall Ceausecu's little house?

Now he knew how to be modest...

905 wrote:

Funnily enough I went for Queen Beatrix and then Mugabe myself.

Great minds think alike, eh?

The secret is to bake the mud after it is very mixed with elephant shythe. Not only does it add strenght but it also repels mosquitos. No leaks and no malaria. Happy days.

I have teams of skilled tradesmen brushing up their skills for the refurbishment of Squire Hall.


Bit of attention to the standard of finish still required.

Why do dictators build such ugly buildings. Ceausecu's place is hideous.

The first house has to be someone with more money than sense. It is full of junk ornamentation. So has to be owned by a footballer or pop star.



Proportions terrible, window on left squeezed into corner; pediment over doors all wrong and just look at how it joins into the main building, even the plasterwork is uneven. Dire workmanship and design.



Could you ever imagine sitting in this horror? You need a much higher room to carry off that load of tat, but would you want to . If a guest arrived wearing a patterned dress you would have a hard job finding them in there.

Congrats on Squire Hall. With the markets crashing make sure that them lads aren't ex Wimpey workers. The elephantshythe to mud ratio looks just about right but I would want to get a smell of it up close to be scientifically sure

My lot are experimenting with cattle dung, being sacred animals has to add something. A 1:1:6 mix seems to give just the right workability but the big problem is it tends to dry out a lot quicker than I would like so I reckon it could do with more of that special plasticiser. Problem is the cow dung is a fairly scarce commodity out where the training is being done. You have to fight for each pat. The local village women need it to cook dinner, but I feel confident that back in Ireland there should be a good supply until the price of home heating oil goes through the roof.

Wimpey workers are wimps when it comes to this sort of traditional craftsmanship. You need someone seeped in the tradition for countless generations. You couldn't beat the Indian work force, simply untouchable.

Squire wrote:

Wimpey workers are wimps when it comes to this sort of traditional craftsmanship. You need someone seeped in the tradition for countless generations. You couldn't beat the Indian work force, simply untouchable.

Anybody that's old enough to have watched the first few episodes of Glenroe might recall that Dinny and Miley moved into a rundown cottage. Dinny painted the walls with cow sh1t to keep out the damp. For decorative purposes he whitewashed over the dung though.

You know the saying about where there is muck there is brass. Must be a business opportunity in there somewhere.

Manure is a well established building material in England. In "Homes and Gardens" magazine they call it 'cob'. Dinny did well to limewash it.