Diary would hate to give the impression to anyone – least of all our editor – that we’re under-occupied. We just devote a lot of time to “research”, that’s all.
So, on seeing last week’s news that eight towns are to be made cities in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee, we quickly found ourselves diving down a YouTube rabbit hole for a trip down memory lane. Hang on – we mean thoroughly researching the backstory.
Older readers will recall 1984’s (then) famous Milton Keynes red balloon advert. A young boy walks, cycles and smiles his way around the new town, clutching a red balloon. To a score by Michael Nyman no less, he gathers friends, turns heads and joins a mass balloon release. Who wouldn’t want to move there? Click here to relive the magic – and pay attention to the last line of the ad: “Wouldn’t it be nice if all cities were like Milton Keynes.”
That’s right, MK used the ad to unilaterally bestow city status on itself. It just took the rest of us – including the Queen – another 38 years to catch up.
Somethin’ stupid
With the potential Capco merger requiring sealed lips, Shaftesbury’s team were not quite their usual chatty selves following this week’s preliminary results. It turns out that “not saying anything about the possible merger” translates as “won’t be able to make any forward-looking statements at all”.
As a result, most questions resulted in a cheery “No comment!” from boss Brian Bickell, while attempts to say anything that didn’t contravene the strict purdah frequently dissolved into gales of giggles. But he did confirm that, whatever happens, he will be retiring. Sort of. “Sooner or later old age catches up with us all,” he sawed sagely. “I am the proud owner of a Freedom Pass, after all!”
But does this really mean that Bickell will be bowing out? Even if the merger – “No comment!” – doesn’t come to pass? “Well, Frank Sinatra came back a lot, didn’t he?” One thing you can definitely say for Bickell: he does it his way.
BIG’s… in… space!
Sometimes you have to think big. And when it comes to US and Denmark-based architecture practice Bjarke Ingels Group, it is BIG by name and big by nature.
On a recent trip to Copenhagen, Diary very much enjoyed hiking up one of BIG’s best-known projects: a waste disposal plant/ski slope hybrid called CopenHill. But it’s not all downhill from there. Believe it or not, this is at the more conservative end of the spectrum when it comes to the firm’s bold ideas.
Currently working with NASA, the practice is designing the first permanent structure set to be built on the moon. Yes, the moon. A base for astronauts, the building will be designed on Earth before being 3D-printed by space-venturing robots. Forget blue-sky thinking, these guys are going stratospheric.
If paradise was half as nice…
Last week, we detailed how Justin Halewood, acquisitions director at co-working operator Plus X, is starting a new life on the ocean waves, working remotely on his boat while sailing the Caribbean with his family.
If you like the idea of an exotic home office, but without the seasickness, Santa Cruz-based Outsite has opened 25 new “work-stay-play” destinations for digital nomads in the past two years, in such desirable locations as Madeira, Cabo and Bali.
But working from paradise clearly isn’t for everyone. The Financial Times sent one brave correspondent to a subtropical island to attempt the whole remote thing in the sun. “Don’t get too jealous,” she reports back. “After four days, I’m relieved to fly home.”
Some people have no staying power. Diary is confident that we could grit our teeth and make it work, just as soon as our EG bosses greenlight a similar experiment.
Jubilation inflation
It’s not just Milton Keynes (and its fellow new cities, including the home of Diary’s forefathers, Dunfermline) celebrating the Queen’s big day early. The Mortgage Advice Bureau is hugely excited about the history-making anniversary of Her Majesty’s ascent to the throne.
It got in quick with its celebratory Platinum Jubilee press release, comparing UK house prices as she marked each milestone during her reign. Spoiler alert – they’ve gone up. Like, a lot.
UK house prices have surged by 2,432% since the Queen’s first (Silver) Jubilee in 1977. Back then, the national average for a house was a mere £10,926 – less than that for a new car now. That figure soared to £113,304 by the time of 2002’s Golden Jubilee, to £170,049 in 2012 (Diamond) and £221,833 in 2017 (Sapphire). Here we are at Platinum, and the figure stands at £276,755. A tidy sum – albeit not one that the Queen would struggle to secure a mortgage for.
Share your tales from the quirky side of the property industry by e-mailing diary@eg.co.uk
