In the midst of the whole MPs’ expenses row it seems two particular cases have caught the public imagination (and fired their ire).
First it was the fantastically ‘up-yours-plebs’ moat cleaning claimed by Douglas Hogg and more recently it’s been the Duck Island purchased by Sir Peter Viggers.
The Twittersphere was all over it. First, @CountryLifeProp tweeted [...]

After my slightly negative post last time around I have more positive news – the vendor has sorted the lease! Hurrah!
The agent just called and said that the lease has now all been agreed, probably another week of paperwork though, but he thinks that early next week he should have a [...]

Here’s a little something that’s bound to upset the folks over at housepricecrash.co.uk.
It’s from the last Land Registry report (actual sold property prices for March) and it may well be a very early sign that the housing market has hit the bottom and is starting to turn upwards.
Although house prices in England and Wales have [...]

Browsing through property listings a few weeks ago I came across a picture of a house with a herd (if that’s the correct collective noun) of alpacas in the garden.
Apparently it’s quite the thing for the country set to have a few of these woolly blighters wandering round the paddock.
But the wheels of fashion – [...]

Congratulations to Emma Rushin, winner of the Walkers Crisps “Do Us A Flavour” competition to come up with a brand new flavour for the nation’s favourite potato snack.Â
Emma’s winning creation is called Builders Breakfast which she describes as a “mouth-watering combination” of bacon, buttered toast, eggs and tomato sauce.Â
(In a crisp??? Hmmm.  I’ll think I’ll [...]

Interesting interview with Robin Bew of the Economist Intelligence Unit on cantosTV.
Bew sees some signs of improvement and reckons we may be close to the bottom, a sentiment that echoes a lot of the recent commentary on the housing market.
Oh, but hang on (cough) – I’m feeling a little feverish. Could that be swine flu? [...]

Here’s a top offer from a top hotel group.
Principal Hayley Hotels have launched an “Open to Offers” competition where the (very, VERY) lucky winner will have their mortgage or rent paid for a year.
Even better, entering is a breeze – all you have to do is fill in your name, email address and postcode on the [...]

Here’s a handy visual representation of figures recently published by Moneyextra.com about mortgage availability.
It shows that in the first quarter of 2009 people with a 25 per cent deposit had access to the largest number of mortgage products: 797.

In Q1 2008 there were still plenty of deals at 90 per cent LTV (401) but this [...]

Great story on Sky News about a motel manager in New Zealand who’s banned an entire town from staying in his holiday complex of studio apartments and villas.
The town in question is Wainuiomata, population circa 17,000 – none of whom are now welcome at the Supreme Motor Lodge in Palmerston North, NZ.
The reason for this [...]

Sometimes you’re drawn into a world you know little about and come back both amazed and enlightened.
It’s happened to me twice today already. The first came about by following the @talkirish Twitter feed.
To explain: I have an Irish girlfriend I’d like to impress with my knowledge of her native tongue. But thus far my Irish [...]