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STEPHANIE WOODS AUDITION

X Factor Steph Woods Shines Bright Like a Diamond

We were very proud to chauffeur Steph Woods last week and are even happier to introduce her newest addition to her musical repertoire. She is defiantly one to look out for in the coming weeks and we for one are very excited to see what the future holds for a genuinely talented young British female. The charts are bursting with songs that compromise musical for ability, the industry is desperate for a star like Steph! Keep a look put for her new songs on her Youtube, Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

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Steph Woods from X Factor hitched a ride with Cars for Stars

Twice X Factor evictee, Steph Woods, is definitely one to look out for! Last week she posted a picture on Twitter sprawled inside one of our Rolls Royce Phantoms! Things are definitely looking up for Steph and Cars for Stars was thrilled to be a part of her journey.

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The young liverpudlian has had an epic musical adventure, especially when thinking back to her X Factor experiences. She first auditioned

for the ITV show at the very young of 14, back in 2007. Progressing all the way to judges houses, mentored by Sharon Osborne, her dream was then crushed. Claiming she was too young to handle the pressure, Sharon

regrettably decided to take her off the show.

Steph Woods returned to the show this year on learning of Sharon’s return to the judging panel. Having all her memories resurfaced she told that this would be her last shot at the X Factor, pulling on Sharon’s heartstrings throughout the series.

STEPHANIE WOODS AUDITION

When her 2013 X Factor

voyage ended at boot camp the country was devastated to see the back of her, especially Mrs O.

The rock stars wife spilled out her emotions towards Steph on the show and continues to talk about her in the press. In an interview entitled ‘My X Factor Special Moment’ featured in Women & Home Magazine Sharon presented her emotions on the page.

“Every so often an act wanders in that reminds me why I love doing it”

Sharon talks of Steph’s return to the show after 6 years from seeing her.

‘Fast-forward six years and she turned up to audition again this year, it was such an incredible moment, really humbling.”

We can safely say that Cars for Stars was greatly honoured to work with an up and coming British star like Steph!

mr markland

Man wins Porsche damages case but loses almost £100,000 in legal costs

mr marklandA man who won nearly £1,000 in damages after a six-year legal battle with a car dealership that damaged his Porsche was landed with a £90,000 bill he had to foot. The ninety grand covered the legal costs for both parties, including the garage’s lawyers’ costs, because he had turned down a  £2,500 out-of-court settlement. Damian Markland, 34, from Preston in Lancashire, is also liable for the costs of repairs to his Porsche as well as storage. He worries he may now lose his house as well as having to sell his model shop and Porsche (which is now in good condition) to cover the fees. He said: “I feel like I’ve been screwed over twice – once by Porsche and then by the lawyers and the British legal system. It seems the only people who win in these things are the lawyers.

“I might have won around £1,000 but in my eyes I haven’t won at all. There were four parts to my claim and I lost the biggest one which was all the main money from the engine and around £40,000. I fought this thing for six years and following this I have lost faith in the justice system.”

On Mr Markland’s attempt to appeal the decision at the Civil Appeal Court, Lord Justice Longmore said that although he sympathised with Mr Markland’s position and said he had got “his fingers burnt very badly”, he did not grant him the right to appeal.

Mr Markland bought the Porsche 911 GT3 MK1 in2007 for £48,000 when iit had 25,000 miles on the clock. Not long after, the fully serviced Porsche started experiencing problems, so he took it to the Pendragon Sabre Ltd Porsche Centre in Bolton. During its service, a number of errors were made when rebuilding it, such as tyres being put on the wrong way round, the throttle cable not being connected to the engine properly, causing the car to suffer “catastrophic failure”.

As he believed that an engine rebuild would be covered by all warranty agreements, Mr Markland paid £25,000 for one, only to end up suing for £40,000 when he found out it wouldn’t be.

A judge ruled at Lancashire Crown Court in November 2012 that Pendragon had breached its contract and awarded Mr Markland damages of nearly £100,000, where he also explained that he would be liable for the Porsche garage’s costs.

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Saudi ‘princess’ in Rolls Royce accused of faking wealth to con property developers

Screen Shot 2013-07-24 at 10.18.05A woman who claims to be a Saudi princess says she is so rich that she has spent more than one million pounds on perfume in just two months. Burka-clad Sara Al Amoudi is accused at the High Court of being a one-time penniless prostitute posing as a princess to dupe two London property developers out of £14 million pounds worth of flats. She arrived at court in a Rolls Royce with number-plate ‘HRH’, wearing a full black burka and five-inch platform heels. The princess, whose age remains a mystery, told judge Sarah Asplin that she had a shopping addiction that she had sought medical help for. She said: “I have a problem with shopping – I go to doctor. In the last two months my perfume, only the perfume – $1.4million (£912,000). I can show you the pictures.” Despite the judge’s suggestion that she remove her veil, Al Amoudi still tried to hide her face from onlookers.

The two property developers Ms Al Amoudi is accused of trying to swindle money out of are Ian Paton, 45, and his wife and lover, Amanda Clutterback, 56. She claims she and Mr Paton had an affair behind Amanda’s back, and that he stole £5 million pounds worth of pocket money she had received from Saudi Arabia, and that the luxury flats signed over to her were repayment by Paton for his thefts and loans. She also accused him of using drugs such as crack cocaine, which he denied.

In court, she swore in the name of Allah that she was an honest woman that had been given around £10 million, and that her only problem was over-spending. Miss Al Amoudi said: ‘I’m afraid I’m addicted to spending money, and get through enormous amounts of cash. I can easily spend £50,000 to £100,000 in one spree.’

‘I’m afraid I’m addicted to spending money, and get through enormous amounts of cash. I can easily spend £50,000 to £100,000 in one spree’

‘They say I’m a prostitute. It’s not true. I swear to Allah I’m not liar.

The case continues.

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Cars For Stars Rolls Royce Phantom features in new MunkE ft. BarnB music video ‘CEO’

MunkE-CEO-AlbumCoverThe borough of Hounslow in West London is the birthplace of many huge names in the world of music, and now there’s one more to add to that list. Barnaby Offei, who is known by his rap name BarnB, is the latest talented artist to emerge from Hounslow. Rita Ora, Jay Sean and M.I.A. are just a few of the other globally successful urban artists that were either born or brought up in this part of London.

BarnB, 26, is the brainchild of brand new rap song ‘CEO’, which he both raps in and wrote the lyrics for. It’s released today (11th July) by new and cutting-edge record label MunkE Music, and sees him collaborate with DJ/Producer, MunkE, to create this catchy tune… and it’s expected to break download records and pose a serious threat to the likes of Tinchy Stryder and Dizzee Rascal.

The video for CEO is full of swanky possessions – all of which you’d expect to be owned by a Chief Executive Officer – including a Rolls Royce Phantom which was incidentally hired from leading luxury car hire company, Cars For Stars. The character in the video, a chauffeur parading around as a rich CEO, is only found out to be a fake (in a comedic twist) when we see him jumping out from the back seat of the Phantom whilst entertaining a lady with some champagne, only to open the door for the real CEO!

BarnB describes his style of music as current, urban, and very club-driven. He both raps and sings, so is very adaptable to many different genres, all of which he likes to experiment with. The spectrum of bands and solo artists that inspire BarnB is anything but limited – the list includes everything from Oasis to Bob Marley to Kanye West to Blink 182.

Although there’s no specific message behind CEO, BarnB likes his lyrics to have some kind of motive behind them. He’s inspired by reggae king Bob Marley in this way, whose lyrics always had a meaning and message behind them. ‘CEO’ has an extremely catchy beat, and its lyrics are full of current references (things people want to talk about), such as the Champion’s League and other recent events.

The song pays tribute to iconic figures from the world of music and sport, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ric Flair, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix, all of who BarnB sees as CEOs in their own way – whether this is the conventional meaning of a CEO or someone who commands great respect and gravitas. Of Ronaldo, BarnB said: “I really respect him as a footballer and wanted to mention him in CEO, he’s a fantastic player and brought flair back to the game, in the same way the Brazilian dream team did back in the day. He has all the characteristics of a true ‘CEO’.”

BarnB is currently working with top record label and production company MunkE Music to create more fresh-cutting edge tracks to be in the pipeline. So keep an eye out for this rising Hounslow-raised music star through record label MunkE Music or BarnB’s official Facebook page. You can watch the brand new music video featuring the Phantom below! Don’t forget to download CEO from iTunes here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuWdEGCtXmI

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Glow-in-the-dark Lambo seized by police near Harrod’s

Screen Shot 2013-06-28 at 12.31.17A £350,000 Lamborghini Aventador that glows in the dark has been seized by police after its owner was found to be driving without a license. The owner of the eye catching purple supercar is believed to be a 24-year-old Qatari called Nasser Al-Thani who is from Qatar’s ruling family.

Three police on motorbikes stopped the car when they noticed it was missing a front number plate, and it was towed away from Brompton Street after Mr Al-Thani failed to produce a driving licence or necessary insurance documents. When the tow truck arrived, an officer had the precarious job of carefully driving the vehicle onto it, very slowly. It is currently being impounded near world-famous department store Harrod’s in Knightsbridge.

Lots of bystanders and passers-by formed a crowd to stop and take a glance at the lavish and ostentatious purple Aventador with its scissor doors up, and it was described as looking like something from the Futuristic film Tron.

One onlooker said: “It is great when the wealthy foreign tourists come over to London every summer as you always see these amazing supercars. The Lamborghini looked like something out of Tron, it was absolutely stunning.”

The car had been customised with the glow-in-the-dark purple paint job by a Japanese tuning company. The Lamborghini Aventador is one of the fastest supercars in the world, and have a top speed of 217mph.

Every summer, wealthy drivers from the Middle East come over to London with their super expensive sports cars. They were the subject of a documentary called Millionaire Boy Racers which featured angry residents complaining that their driving style was ruining the area for locals.

The Al-Thani family are known for their snazzy supercars, and made the headlines when their Koenigseggs and blue Lambo were clamped outside Harrod’s three years ago.

beth jones victim

Fatal hen party crash victim Bethany Jones’s funeral today

beth jones victimThe funeral of a woman who was killed when a hen party’s bus crashed on the M62 takes place later today in South Elmsall. 18-year-old Bethany Jones died after a lorry hit the party bus she and 21 others were travelling in on the motorway in West Yorkshire in April. Twenty other women on the bus were hurt, eight of them seriously, and face a long recovery. The party were on their way to Liverpool for a hen night, when the tragedy occurred on the 16th April.

The 62-year-old driver of the minibus was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and remains on bail while further enquiries are made, West Yorkshire Police confirmed. The driver of the lorry, who is from St Helen’s, had previously been arrested on suspicion of the same offence and also remains on police bail.

Trainee nurse Beth Jones from South Elmsall, who would have turned 19 last Monday, has had a fund called Beth’s Angels set up in her memory. The money raised is being used to support the victims of the accident. It has so far raised almost £12,000, and was set up by Ms Jones’s cousin Mark Larkin, who is landlord of the Barnsley Oak pub where she used to work. He said: “We’ve got lots of events planned and we’ll carry on raising money for as long as the girls need it. Whatever is left over we’ll give to the air ambulance.”

The funeral will take place today at St Joseph’s Church in South Elmsall, near Pontefract, and will start at 11:45 BST.

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Cars For Stars donates Rolls Royce Phantom for brain cancer charity event

Screen Shot 2013-06-03 at 14.43.13Luxury car hire company Cars For Stars has donated an exquisite Rolls Royce Phantom as a prize for the 10th annual Amber Ball – a charity event that is part of the Brain Tumour Research Campaign (BTRC). The ball will feature an auction with a number of luxury prizes to bid for which include a chauffeur-driven ride in the Rolls Royce Phantom, with all proceeds going towards the cause. One generous bidder will get the opportunity to ride in one of the finest high-end cars in existence.

The Amber Ball is a black tie charity event held annually at the Hurlington Club in London, and this year takes place on the 14th June, and starts at 7pm. It includes a champagne reception, 3-course meal and wine, live music, raffles and an auction. The money raised from the event, including the auction, will go towards the Magic Wand Appeal for a state-of-the-art neurosurgical tool (a Sonowand) to be installed in Charing Cross Hospital.

More young people (under the age of 40) die from brain tumours in the UK than any other cancer, and their incidence is increasing by 2% every year. Despite this, brain cancer only receives 1% of all funding from national cancer research. Last year, the Amber Ball raised more than £50,000, and it’s hoped this total will be even higher this year.

If you want to help out the Brain Tumour Research Campaign and bid for the Phantom at the Amber Ball, you can book tickets by clicking here.

saw limo

Firefighters saw up stretch limousine

saw limoFirefighters in London have sawn up a stretch limousine to highlight the dangers of illegal limos in London. The stunt took place in Covent Garden yesterday where a team of firefighters from the London Fire Brigade sawed the doors off the novelty vehicle in front of bystanders and passers-by. It was part of a multi-organisation campaign to make people aware of the potential dangers that unlicensed and uninsured limos pose to the public. The London Ambulance Service, Transport For London and Met Police and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) were all supporting the cause.

The purpose of the operation was to demonstrate how difficult it was to free people trapped in the wreck of a limo after it’s been involved in an accident. Onlookers were informed about how the nature of limo doors makes restricted access to and from the vehicle, meaning that fire fighters often have to cut the sides off the limo to evacuate passengers. The fact that there is only a rear door, means rescue efforts are often hampered if there is limited access. It took the team of fire fighters to get the first ‘casualty’ out of the car.

Since 2012, 27 illegal limousines have been seized by agencies, and a further 232 banned from being driven on public roads.

The white stretch limousine which was cut up during the demonstration had actually been seized by authorities for carrying more than its licensed number of passengers and failing safety standards.

Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said the demonstration was “a great opportunity for the public to see our skills in action, and hopefully it will make them think twice about hiring an illegal limo.”

London’s Transport Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy, warned that firms operating unlicensed vehicles could be shut down. He also said “illegal limousines present a real threat and danger to the safety of people who hire them.”

Londoners are being reminded to make sure a limo operator is properly insured and licensed before they go about hiring a vehicle off them.

Heather Cruickshank, VOSA’s Operations Director said: “The majority of limousine operators are licensed and use their vehicles responsibly, but there is a sizeable minority that does not operate in this way – and the public must be alert to this risk.

“Only booking with licensed operators is the best way of minimising the risks to themselves and other road users – and helps send a clear message to those who chose to try and trade unlawfully.”

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All-German Champion’s League Final looking likely

Uefa-Champions-LeagueWith just two matches left before the UEFA Champion’s League Final on May 25th, it’s going to be a tough couple of games for Real Madrid and Barcelona, who will both have to really pull their socks up if they’re going to make get a much-coveted place in the final. After having been beaten by Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich 4-1 and 4-0 respectively, both teams now have their work cut out if they don’t want to get knocked out. The first of the penultimate two matches (Real Madrid v Dortmund) kicks off tonight at 7:45pm from the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. After gaining one away goal in Germany, Real Madrid stand a slight chance of making a comeback, whereas the likelihood of Barcelona knocking out Bayern Munich at tomorrow’s game is nearly negligible.

So with an all-German final looking highly likely, thousands of Germans will be flocking to the capital for the big game, which is again being held in Wembley.

The luxury car hire industry goes through the roof during events like this, especially when two non-British teams reach the final of such a prestigious tournament, and it’s being held in Wembley. Public transport can be unreliable and hectic, overcrowded and inconvenient, so many turn to luxury car hire to get them to and from the stadium for the match, or to and from the airport.

Cars For Stars is the UK’s leading luxury car hire company, and covers everywhere in the UK. So if you’re one of the lucky fans going to cheer on your team at the Champion’s League Final 2013, have you considered hiring one of Cars For Stars’ chauffeur-driven vehicles to add that extra bit of luxury to your day? So call them today on 0844 567 9000 to book your swanky and dependable transport for the 25th May – the Champion’s League Final!