I got a home with help-to-buy – can my dad buy it for less than market value? I’m hoping my parents can give me the balance between sale price and what the property is really worth Q I have a property which I bought with an equity loan under the help-to-buy scheme. This Read more about I got a home with help-to-buy – can my dad buy it for less than market value?[…]
More money than scents? Pot-pourri is back, at up to £330 a sniff… After years in the doldrums, the once ubiquitous bowl of fragrant dried petals is making a comeback, at a very fancy price A bowl of pot-pourri was once a sign of comfortable middle-class status: an asset to be displayed Read more about More money than scents? Pot-pourri is back, at up to £330 a sniff…[…]
What ‘English style’ owes to Asia’s gardens Our traditional national landscapes of sweeping lawns and undulating hills are deeply indebted to China and Japan Like so many other aspects of our culture, the origins of British garden style can be traced back overseas. As an avid reader of garden history books, I Read more about What ‘English style’ owes to Asia’s gardens[…]
Strong winds and troubled trees | Allan Jenkins As autumn’s blustery weather arrives it’s time to take stock of struggling trees – and plant bulbs for some early spring colour It is near winter at the summerhouse. Toadstools carpet the grass, some in clumps like fairy homes, others tall and on their Read more about Strong winds and troubled trees | Allan Jenkins[…]
Kraut rocks: ‘Preserved cabbage is the perfect hybrid of life hack and craft’ Cabbage is a vegetable that’s conquered the world and its ubiquity has done nothing to dampen its cool factor The arachnologist Norman Platnick once claimed you’re never more than a few yards away from a spider. There must be Read more about Kraut rocks: 'Preserved cabbage is the perfect hybrid of life hack and craft'[…]
‘My home is a portal to how I felt as a child’ An illustrator’s atmospheric family home in Bath is a haven for old objects, lost curios and fairytale beginnings Aload of CND banners and a gathering of Quaker women in the garden was the harbinger of future happiness for Jude Wisdom Read more about 'My home is a portal to how I felt as a child'[…]
From planting garlic to collecting leaves – gardening jobs for autumn Autumn may be in full swing but there is still plenty to do Plant healthy cloves of garlic 2.5cm deep with the pointed end up: ‘Solent Wight’ is an excellent variety, bred on the Isle of Wight. It needs a sunny Read more about From planting garlic to collecting leaves – gardening jobs for autumn[…]
Let’s move to Glossop, Derbyshire: it’s fierce and friendly A strong and independent spot, not much given to pretension What’s going for it? Last time I popped into Glossop, five years ago, it was coming of age as a Nu Mill Town, following in the wake of Todmorden, Ramsbottom and, of course, Read more about Let’s move to Glossop, Derbyshire: it’s fierce and friendly[…]
The trivial tasks that haunt our to-do lists | Emma Brockes I suspect that thinking about my broken vacuum cleaner functions as a small diversion from other anxieties For a while, it was anything to do with insurance that would break me. I’d file my taxes roughly on time, conscientiously plough through Read more about The trivial tasks that haunt our to-do lists | Emma Brockes[…]
Sniping can be a useful safety valve – and fun, too | Coco Khan Someone’s immaculate home set me off on a rant, until I worked out why I was so rattled Recently, I tagged along to a property viewing where the estate agent announced that despite the listed price, the owners Read more about Sniping can be a useful safety valve – and fun, too | Coco Khan[…]