Archive for August, 2008
Relatives warned over foster pay
“Kinship carers” - people who look after a relative’s child - are often missing out on the cash help from the local council, according to campaigners.
New ISA guidelines: bark or bite?
Cash ISA transfers could still take more than four weeks despite new guidelines announced by three industry bodies.
Lower fixed rates tempt homeowners
Borrowers looking to remortgage to a fixed deal have been given a boost as a host of lenders have lowered their interest rates in the past week. Britannia, Halifax, Nationwide and Abbey have been among the major high street lenders to cut the price of their two-year fixed rate mortgage deals, prompting a surge of [...]
The Victorian solution that’s letting Britons cover the cost of living
The notion of an extended family living under one roof may be reminiscent of the Victorian era. But thanks to a combination of pension underfunding, the spiralling cost of childcare and residential care for the elderly, pressure on incomes and rising house prices, a radical change is taking place in the way British families live.
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Bradford & Bingley turns rent collector on buy-to-let properties
Bradford & Bingley is collecting directly from tenants to tackle arrears and repossessions on ‘problem’ mortgages
Landlords in limbo as councils tell tenants to ignore notices to quit
Local authorities worried about homeless numbers are urging people to tough it out until the bailiffs arrive, writes Lisa Bachelor
Natural forces: Going off grid in the Highlands
There can scarcely be a householder in Britain unaffected by soaring energy
and water bills, and rising food prices and petrol costs. But Michael Rea is
one of those few. Rea and his wife, Dot, who live on the Shetland island of
Unst, live “off grid” — that is, they don’t take mains power.
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Spirit of its time
There can scarcely be a householder in Britain unaffected by soaring energy
and water bills, and rising food prices and petrol costs. But Michael Rea is
one of those few. Rea and his wife, Dot, who live on the Shetland island of
Unst, live “off grid” - that is, they don’t take mains power.
More of this story
Time and place: William Burdett-Coutts
Around the time I was born, my father was friendly with a fantastical
character called Frank McEwan, who ran Zimbabwe’s National Gallery. One of
Frank’s projects was to provide an opportunity for ordinary Africans through
the arts. The art form that caught on was sculpture. In an attempt to keep
it pure, away from the commercial pressures of the [...]
The rise of ready-made holiday villages
“Hell”, Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in his play Huis Clos, “is
other people.” My wife’s dad, another lifelong socialist, put the same
sentiment differently. “I love the working class,” he used to say, “I
just don’t want to go on holiday with them.”
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