Property

Do you know how much faeces 30 dogs can produce over a couple of years? I have some idea because I recently helped my mother regain access to the small cottage adjoining her house, after she had rented it out to a nightmare tenant who caused incalculable damage. It took nine months to evict the tenant after she stopped paying rent, having already been in considerable arrears. Reclaiming the property proved onerous and expensive, involving legal instruction and eventually High Court enforcement. Upon finally entering with enforcement officers, some of us retched. We found half an inch of dog mess all over the floor and smeared across walls; empty bottles;

Suit cases Volodymyr Zelensky again failed to wear a suit and tie to a meeting at the White House, in spite of being asked to do so – although Donald Trump did say he looked ‘fabulous’ in his black button-up suit. What did Allied leaders wear to the great conferences in the second world war? — Cairo 1943: Winston Churchill wore a white suit with bow tie; Franklin D. Roosevelt a lounge suit with striped tie; and the Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek a military uniform. — Tehran 1943: Churchill and Stalin both wore military uniform; Roosevelt wore a pinstriped suit. — Yalta 1945: The photo session was held outside in

Coined terms Liz Williams, a Reform UK council candidate in May’s local elections, began a High Court action trying to overturn the result after she lost on the toss of a coin, having tied with the Green candidate Hannah Robson. The toss of a coin has been used several times to decide local elections. Has chance favoured a particular party? 1987  Labour candidate Bob Blizzard defeated the Conservative May Reader in Pakefield Ward of Waveney District Council after the toss of a coin. 2000  Labour defeated the Conservatives on the toss of a coin in the Worksop North East ward of Bassetlaw District Council. 2007  The Tory Christopher Underwood-Frost defeated

‘Same old boring Sunday morning, old men out, washing their cars.’ So begins the punk anthem ‘The Sound of the Suburbs’ by the Members. There are plenty of cars being washed (and waxed) on my road on any Sunday morning and the strimmers are buzzing, despite this being peak breeding season for insects. But here’s the thing. We live in deepest north Norfolk, not the achingly suburban Surrey town of Camberley that so provoked punk angst. When we bolted from south London after the lockdowns, our checklist included no streetlights, motorways (the nearest is 98 miles away), new-builds or nearby neighbours. To secure the rambling farmhouse we wanted, we had

Papal reign The mostly elderly runners and riders to be the next pope are unlikely to challenge the record for the longest papal reign – still held by the very first pope, St Peter, who served for 34 years in the 1st century. The second-longest reign was the 31 years and 7 months served by Pius IX between 1846-78, while third was Pope John Paul II (1978-2005). John Paul II was preceded by one of the shortest papal reigns in history, that of Pope John Paul I, who died just 33 days after being chosen in August 1978. Nine have lasted less than a month: Urban VII lived for just

I’ve been judging a beauty parade, but I hasten to add that no bikinis were involved. Four leading investment firms were competing for the mandate to manage a charitable endowment – and offering insights into the way professional stock-pickers see the world. First, despite (or if you’re a disciple, because of) the madness of Donald Trump, any portfolio designed for even a moderate-risk UK investor will be heavily weighted towards US tech and consumer stocks. On the other hand, none of the pitches said anything about China or other previously fashionable emerging markets. And their lack of enthusiasm for pure UK equities (as opposed to London-listed multinationals) was impossible to