Pre-Ramble:

Apparently Earl Spencer, brother of our beloved Diana Spencer, auctioned off a bunch of family heirlooms last week, bringing in over 21 million pounds to cover a few restoration projects. 

The 14,000 acre estate, located in Northamptonshire, England has been in the family since the early 16th century. An old joint like that is bound to need a few repairs… he’s probably putting in one of those trendy sport courts and upgrading the home theatre with HD.

I’m not big on Rubens (a portrait went for over 9 million pounds … ), but I am drawn to the spectacular collection of 19th century carriages listed in the sale (one shown above right). Reported to be among “the most important examples in the world,” the carriages (which run exclusively on biofuel, by the way) went for up to 130,000 pounds apiece.  There appears to be ample hauling capacity in these rides and the horsepower is undeniable.

The Take-Away: Nothing like a good old-fashioned garage sale to purge the estate of all that clutter. If you haven’t used it in a year, it’s got to go … isn’t that the suggested metric for this kind of thing? I understand there were also some really good bargains on military uniforms and old LPs.

Post-Note: After the first round of the British Open, Rory McIlroy, 21-year-old punk from Northern Ireland, is in the lead with a record-tying 63.