Diary has been excitedly building up to Halloween all month, but some purists like to save it for the end of October, and we can respect that. Tradition is important, after all.
So thank you, Springbok Properties, for being this year’s agent digging up spooky street names and their property values.
Apparently, “those embracing the season with a Halloween-themed road name have good reason to do so”. Springbok looked at 10 such streets and found that every single one is home to a sold price above the UK average.
Witch came top, ahead of Bat, Night, Sweet, Lantern, Broom, Dead, Trick, Scare and Spider. Trick, but no Treat? What kind of monsters did this research?
Creepy, kooky and spooky
Meanwhile, a frankly preposterous “two-thirds of Brits say their home gives them the creeps”, according to property maintenance company Aspect.
They call it “spooky house syndrome” and say “cold spots, unexplained sounds and weird odours” are among the most common problems, though some complain of a “weird aura”.
Bathrooms and spare bedrooms have the most eerie problems, while Leeds has the highest percentage of freaked-out residents – an astonishing three-quarters of Loiners (we looked it up) feel on edge in their own home.
Diary lived in Leeds for less than a year as a journalism student, had rocks thrown at us on “Mischief Night” and almost died in a gas leak. Scary stuff indeed.
Not to be Overlooked
Lastly on Halloween (for this year), Diary is very excited to return this weekend to the Overlook Hotel (officially our third-greatest piece of movie real estate) with the release of Doctor Sleep, sequel to Stephen King’s The Shining. Looming out of the snowy landscape, with its infernal maze and even more ominous carpet (not to mention its permanent residents) has there ever been a more terrifying building on film – or, indeed, anywhere?
Lego bricks and mortar
No matter how nice your office building is – and Diary is sure it’s lovely – it doesn’t include giant Lego bricks in its construction. And that means it is just not as good as the Lego Group’s new Campus HQ in Billund, Denmark.
Designed by CF Møller Architects, it will span 54,000 sq m and house more than 2,000 employees when it is finished in 2021 – all while expressing the company’s core values: imagination, creativity, fun, learning, caring and quality.
“Our mission is to inspire children,” says Niels B Christiansen, Lego Group chief executive, “so it’s important we provide our talented colleagues with an environment that is playful and inspires creativity and innovative thinking.” Mission accomplished.
If Godzilla ever attacks Denmark, this will be the first building he ever stepped on that hurts him more than it.
STEM scrum
Diary has no interest in rugby, but gathers that some readers may be glued to their screens this weekend watching the far-less-beautiful game in the hope that England wins the Rugby World Cup.
One man who has been there, done that, we are told, is Jason Robinson – and now he’s lending his talents to a new team. Robinson has partnered with modular manufacturer ilke Homes to help teach children key skills in science, tech, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – and a bit of rugby coaching, for good measure.
Robinson, a Leeds local who overcame fear of his family home (Diary assumes) to score a crucial try in England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup triumph over Australia, will be “sharing his inspirational story to show children that they too can achieve anything”.
All efforts to promote careers in STEM and inspire the next generation of housebuilders sound good to us, so best of luck to Robinson – and, we suppose, to England.
Life of luxury
Diary got a glimpse into a very different world courtesy of Knight Frank’s Luxury Investment Index 2019, introduced as a “fascinating insight into the performance of luxury collectables, many of which are now increasingly seen as investments in their own right”.
Rare whisky is easily the best performer in the KFLII, showing a 540% rise over the past 10 years and 23% in the past 12 months. Pretty good, if you can stop yourself toasting your success.
Coins, art and wine are all wise investments. And supercars have also been sound choices over the past decade, but have taken a dip this last year… albeit the market for Formula 1 cars is “hot right now”.
Stamps, watches and jewellery all warrant a mention, but, shockingly, KF overlooked comic books. In New York the other week, Diary saw a copy of Marvel Comics #1, published in 1939 for a cover price of 10 cents – now with a guide price of $1m. That’s our kind of luxury collectable.
