It's Sir Tim Rice of Dundonell

OSCAR-WINNING lyricist Sir Tim Rice has bought the Scottish Highland estate which belonged to three eccentric brothers well known for their extravagant London parties and New Year balls.

Sir Tim is thought to have paid GBP 2 million for the 33-acre Dundonell Estate near Ullapool, northwest Scotland. The estate belonged to the three Roger brothers, Neil, Alastair and the most flamboyant, Allan - better known as "Bunny".

Allan died last year and the estate, which has 34 miles of coastline and an 18th-century mansion, was left to the son of a Chinese servant who put it on the market. None of the brothers married. Bunny Roger, who always maintained that a sporran was useful for carrying a powder compact, was known for the extravagant London fancy-dress parties he threw on his birthdays. On his 80th he appeared in a figure-hugging jumpsuit. He would run up the dramatic An Teallach mountain, which towers above the estate, in his kilt. Sir Tim, who is married with a son, Donald, is understood to plan no major changes for the estate, which includes a crofting settlement of farmers, boatbuilders and musicians on the nearby Scoraig peninsular.

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