NEED TO KNOW | AREA INSIGHT March 3, 2011 COMMUTING: Trains to Waterloo take a reasonable thirty-five minutes. EDUCATION: The Royal Grammar for boys, Guildford High School and Tormead for girls are all well-known. George Abbot is the preferred state secondary, judged outstanding by Ofsted. Buy in the north-eastern corner of town to ensure you are in its catchment area. CRIME: Rates are reassuringly [...]
SELLING March 3, 2011 MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL LONDON ESTATE AGENCY, KAY & CO Q.I am looking to upsize but want to make sure I’ve found something else to buy before I put my property on the market. What do you advise? A.At present the prime central London market lacks fluidity and it is very difficult to tie in [...]
PROPERTY NEWS March 3, 2011 HOUSE PRICE OPTIMISM RISES Nearly 50 per cent of people are “certain” house prices will rise over the next ten years and 26 per cent are “certain” they will go up in the next five years, according to a survey by LSE and estate agents John D. Wood. Home occupiers were more confident than renters, [...]
RISE OF THE URBAN PROPERTY FUND | WHAT THEY OFFER March 3, 2011 HIDEAWAYS CLUB CITY FUND l Up to £1.8m invested in each apartment l Properties will have a minimum of two double bedrooms and bathrooms, king-sized beds with Egyptian cotton sheets, the latest high tech and audio visual equipment, a DVD and book library, wireless internet, flat screen televisions and fully equipped kitchens l Half share [...]
Mega overseas property fair comes to Earl’s Court March 3, 2011 THE market may be gloomy, but there are rays of light – especially if you’re thinking of attending the twice-yearly mega overseas property exhibition at Earl’s Court. As usual, this month there are thousands of overseas properties for sale, from hundreds of exhibitors from more than 40 countries. Homes range from £20,000 to over £1m. [...]
Go off to see the Wizard March 3, 2011 THE Wizard of Oz is a surprisingly polarising story. For some, the merest hint of “somewhere over the rainbow” brings tears to their eyes. And Judy Garland as Dorothy – well, enough said. Others, though, find it a deeply sinister plot, shot through with unforgiveable cloying cliché. One critic recently commented that on his first [...]
ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND March 3, 2011 UNKNOWN Cert: 15 IS psychological thriller Unknown cinema’s first venture into the perilous world of international botany? Can’t say for sure either way, but fingers crossed it’ll be the last. Liam Neeson is plant fan Dr. Martin Harris, who’s in Berlin for a conference about corn, when his taxi plunges into a river. His heart [...]
Nora Ephron’s wisdom March 2, 2011 I REMEMBER NOTHING AND OTHER REFLECTIONS BY NORA EPHRON Doubleday, £12.99 NORA Ephron, the author of this collection of reminiscences, wry observations and the occasional recipe, will be familiar to most as the creator of THAT scene in When Harry Met Sally. While I Remember Nothing is unlikely to reach the celebrated heights of Meg [...]
He gets all green-eyed when I go out networking March 2, 2011 DEAR VEXED: I have been going to more and more work functions of late and my partner is starting to get suspicious/jealous. What should I do? Dara, 26, solicitor OH dear. A?jealous boyfriend.?Jealous of what exactly, though? Of the prospect of your spending time out of his sight in the witching hours following work, and [...]
OUT OF OFFICE March 2, 2011 BOOK AHEAD: TERRY GILLIAM’S FAUST AT THE COLISEUM If you’re looking for a chance to get your operatic juices flowing, then Terry Gilliam’s new production of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust for the ENO should do it. Co-produced with Antwerp’s De Vlaamse Opera, the show looks to be a must-book. Based on a translation of [...]