Diary whiled away many childhood hours playing Pacman on our Atari 2600, and our handheld Donkey Kong II. So the announcement of a chain of “world-class video game-themed Atari hotels” in the US, beginning in Phoenix, Arizona, ticks all our nostalgic boxes.
The CGI render could only look cooler if there was a giant gorilla throwing barrels off the roof. “We knew that Atari would be the perfect way to give guests the ‘nostalgic and retro meets modern’ look,” said film producer and co-designer Napoleon Smith III, adding: “Let’s face it, how cool will it be to stay inside an Atari?” We’ll let Diary’s inner five-year-old answer that: very cool indeed.
In Lockhart we crust
Move over Dry January – Diary would like to offer its heartfelt congratulations to NewRiver REIT chief executive Allan Lockhart, who has successfully completed a much harder – as far as we are concerned – “pizza-free” January.
He will be celebrating the end of a very bleak month in style; his plans for 1 February, we are told, include heading to Mayfair Pizza Co and placing an order for the “largest quattro formaggio pizza with pepperoni that they have to offer, with a nice glass of Montepulciano”.
We’re not convinced about going slice-free for a whole month, but we could definitely get behind the opposite: might we suggest “Oc-dough-ber” for the next big calendar-mangling fad? The internet tells us it is already National Pizza Month in the US (insert “isn’t every month…” joke here).
Right royal rents
While Meghan and Harry work through the financial implications of giving up their HRH titles, leaving their stately home at Frogmore Cottage and moving to Canada, the team at Howsy has a silver lining.
Rents will be significantly lower in their new hometown, as Windsor is 41% more expensive than Vancouver. Chief executive Calum Brannan summises: “Long story short, if you’re struggling to get by in London, head to Vancouver.”
Howsy’s well-timed report also highlights the relaxed pace of life and the lower levels of pollution in the seaside city. What it neglects to add is that, if Harry and Meghan retain their Grade II listed property as their UK base/holiday home, they will be forced to pay a £360,000 commercial rent to the Crown Estate – possibly driving that rental divide even higher.
Collective disappointment
Six months ago, Diary was dropped at the last minute (almost literally) from The Collective’s launch of its landmark Canary Wharf development. We learned afterwards that the co-living giant had indeed hosted 200 friends and family at its Canary Wharf digs, but we got the bum’s rush. Fear not, we were treated to a VIP tour and lunch with its founder Reza Merchant, so all was forgiven.
Until, this week, we were unceremoniously uninvited to Build To Rent Network UK’s event “On the sofa with… The Collective”, due to organisers having “sadly overbooked to almost 1.5 times our maximum”. We appreciate there’s only so much room on the sofa, but we have to wonder – is it something we said?
Foosball, bloody hell
Fears are widespread that the everyday fan is being priced out of the beautiful game – but could the same now be true of table football, too? That’s judging by this highly desirable arrival in our inbox, manufacturer Teckell’s Calcio Balilla Foosball Games Table.
“This opulent and lavish reinvention of the classic game of table football is one unmissable piece of craftsmanship,” we are assured. “An investment sure to take centre stage in any household, games room or office.” With table football a breakroom staple, this vision in walnut and chrome with a ½-in thick tempered crystal glass playing field is a must-have piece for any modern-day workplace. Can you put a price on employee wellbeing after all? Teckell can, and it’s a whopping £13,000.
Living the dream
“Even as kids, long before we knew of the desire to get on the property ladder, we would dream about living in the houses from our favourite cartoons and movies,” a press release in our inbox begins.
“Feeling a bit nostalgic, the furniture experts from Farawayfurniture.com sought to find out what are the fictional houses the adults of today would still like to live in.” To this end, they surveyed “2,886 European adults” and found that the most popular fictional place to live was Wayne Manor. This is entirely unsurprising, the abode coming, as it does, with its own cavernous Batcave (somewhat undersold as a “secret room” in the missive).
Some of the other high-ranking properties, though, are rather more baffling. Ron Weasley’s house in second? Bilbo Baggins’ Hobbit-hole in third? The floating balloon house from Up is impractical – as is Spongebob Squarepants’ pineapple under the sea. But props to those who voted for the Simpsons’ house and the Addams Family mansion – they’re Diary’s kind of people.
High hopes for Digbeth
The West Midlands Combined Authority’s Deborah Cadman has returned from a recent trip to New York inspired.
At last week’s launch of the region’s design charter, the chief executive revealed plans to develop Birmingham’s very own sky-high pedestrian footpath.
“We will be seeking proposals for a new viaduct,” announced Cadman.
The bridge will be an opportunity for any developer looking to set themselves apart from the crowd, by converting the old derelict railway in Digbeth.
Though we aren’t sure about the views just yet, with the area largely comprising car parks, the coach station and old disused factories – a bit different from the grandeur of Manhattan’s elevated High Line Park. Something to aspire to, still.
