Environmental awareness has yet to be a plot line in Coronation Street, but it’s possible that the scriptwriters could be enthused by the eco-version of Ken and Deirdre Barlow’s house constructed at the Ideal Home Show (the exhibition opened this morning) This green house stands next to a traditional copy of the couple’s terraced home, the scene of so much adultery, so many family arguments and on-going recrimination over these events. George Clarke, the architect and presenter of Channel 4’s The Restoration Man, has kitted out the planet-friendly Barlow pad with the latest in green kit from; the open plan ground floor with its witty, contemporary decor is as different as possible from the cluttered, fusty interior of chez Barlow. Maybe the younger characters in the soap will start to agitate for their Weatherfield homes to be made over in a similar, edgy Manchester style.
Mortgage lending slumped in January. Just 28,500 loans were advanced, worth £4.2 billion, down 26 per cent on December. These figures come from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) which blames factors such as bad weather, higher inflation, interest rates fears and suchlike. All of which is true. But the major cause of the fall in the figures is the reluctance of the CML’s members to make affordable finance available to a greater range of borrowers.
A little something for fans of The Great Gatsby.The Long Island mansion, held to be F Scott Fitzgerald’s inspiration for the house of Daisy Buchanan, is in a sorry state and awaiting demolition, having been for a while on the market for $30 million. Guests at parties held at the house in its Jazz Age glory days included Winston Churchill. For more, click on the link below