DES RES to let in city centre. Don’t be put off by the location — one of the busiest traffic islands in London — for this is the chance to holiday in style. The Times (Jan 27) says that English Heritage is venturing into the property market by opening some of its 120 historic homes, among them Marble Arch, which is to be converted into holiday flats.
If a roundabout does not appeal as a holiday destination, other properties include a house in the grounds of Dover Castle and a cottage at Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire.
Sakid Ahmed fancied a short break and went to extreme lengths to get one. He wanted a day off work, the Daily Express (Jan 26) reports, and feared that his chances of promotion would be dashed if he called in sick again. So he phoned the police instead and said that he had seen two men with a handgun in a green Suzuki Swift — the car he and a friend were travelling in. He reasoned that the police units who responded to his call would be satisfied with a quick stop-and-search, after which he would be free to go — with a good excuse for being off work. Wrong. He was arrested at gunpoint.
Also in trouble with the authorities is Sir Paul McCartney. The Daily Mirror (Jan 26) says that “the pop legend” has built a log cabin on his country estate without first obtaining planning permission and the local council has ordered him to take it down. “Planning laws are there for a reason,” says a councillor. Let it be? It seems unlikely.
In Hampshire, meanwhile, council officers are busy with pigeons and claims that their loft lacks planning consent. Peter Campbell and his racing birds have run into trouble with his neighbours, who say that the pigeons soil their washing. The Daily Telegraph (Jan 26) reports that the dispute has become bitter, especially after someone shot at the birds with an air rifle. A model eagle owl and hawk-shaped kites have also been used in an attempt to scare the pigeons away. Coo.