LIZ JONES: I'm feeling so nostalgic, I unblock David
I'm officially in recovery after an horrendous year. I'm seeing my new therapist once a week. I've booked a course of yoga classes at Middleton Lodge, my local country-house hotel. Nic wonders why I don't do yoga at the village hall, but I tell her I need bucolic surroundings: 'Do you want me more depressed?' Middleton Lodge yoga, every Friday at 6.30am, takes place in the walled kitchen garden.
I can't stand yoga, but I don't want to lose strength or flexibility as I get older. To improve my self-esteem, I've ordered socks, a grey V-neck sweater and a sleeveless sweatshirt in the sale at Navygrey.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Is now the perfect time to install a swimming pool in your back garden?
Did you install a swimming pool then come to regret it? Let us know at money@ During the cloudless skies of the first lockdown, some turned their houses and gardens into top-notch private leisure centres. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak built a 12m swimming pool at his home in Yorkshire. His predecessor Boris Johnson followed suit in 2023, gaining permission for an outdoor pool at his house in south Oxfordshire – despite planning wobbles over the presence of a newt colony nearby. As the weather turns scorching, you may be tempted to do the same thing in your own garden, even if it's in the city. But should you? Swimming pools in the gardens of large country houses are often referred to by estate agents as among the top 'toys' that make up the ideal family home, along with tennis courts, home gyms and party barns. The appetite for outdoor pools in the UK tends to wax and wane. After the financial crash of 2007, demand softened as many were put off by the annual running costs. However, the increased efficiency of air-source heat pumps has significantly reduced these, and many modern pool designs tend to avoid having a deep end, resulting in less water to heat in the first place. You'll find pools in luxurious homes across the stockbroker belt and into the Cotswolds and beyond, but they are more unusual in city gardens. Small garden? No problem Analysis from Yopa, an online estate agency, found that properties with pools account for less than 5pc of all the properties on the market. And, it added, just one in five are selling. Houses with pools cost significantly more than those without: the average asking price for a property with a swimming pool in April was £490,498 compared with the wider average asking price of £267,500. In London, the average price of a property with a pool, according to Yopa's research, was £961,000. A swimming pool in the back garden will rarely add value to a property; it might do the opposite, even for those in the countryside, warns Verona Frankish, of Yopa. 'A swimming pool can seem like the ultimate property feature, particularly when we do get a spell of warm weather, but it's probably not as appealing as you think when it comes to buyer appetites for such properties.' Marc Schneiderman of Arlington Residential, an estate agency based in St John's Wood, north-west London, thinks differently. 'It's absolutely worth putting in a pool even if the garden is very small,' he says. 'Outdoor pools are pretty rare, certainly in more central London locations. On average, only 5pc of houses we have handled in the past few years have an outdoor swimming pool. With the weather in the summer months seeming to get hotter each year, those properties with pools are super desirable to certain buyers and give the house a unique selling feature, even if it is at the expense of the overall garden space.' City vs the suburbs Estate agency The Modern House recently sold two ordinary-looking terraced houses in London with surprise swimming pools in the back garden. One was in Forest Gate, in a slowly gentrifying corner of east London on the Elizabeth Line. The house had an asking price of £1.2m, considerably higher than the average £540,462 price of a terraced house in the area, according to property portal Rightmove. The other, near Wood Green in north London, was on the market for £1.6m; houses in the area sell on average for £649,466. It featured palm trees in the garden which provoked an Instagram user to coin it 'Costa del Haringey'. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Modern House (@themodernhouse) There is no formal record of the number of private outdoor swimming pools in London gardens. However, Rob Grant, for a newsletter on Substack, estimated that there are 3,200 private outdoor swimming pools in London. He did this using data from the Greater London Authority. Outer London boroughs, such as Richmond-upon-Thames, Bromley and Havering, had the highest concentration of back garden swimming pools, although there is a cluster in more central locations, including Hampstead and Wandsworth. This tallies with figures from London Swimming Pool Company, an installer: 15pc of all the pools they have built for private clients in London over the past 30 years have been in Wimbledon where gardens are generally more generous in size. Other areas the company has worked in include Primrose Hill and St John's Wood. Savills is currently marketing a seven-bedroom detached property in Parkside, Wimbledon Village, for £13.9m, and a large, seven-bedroom house near Tooting Common with an outdoor pool is also on the market for £3.5m with Savills. Knight Frank, meanwhile, is selling a double-fronted Victorian house in Wandsworth with an indoor pool in the back garden for £3.975m. Planning rules and costs Most urban homeowners with a large enough rear garden can build an outdoor pool under permitted development rights, providing they don't take up more than 50pc of the total area. It's advisable to check with the council before contracting a digger just in case there are any exclusions in the local area. There are other aspects to consider including where the pool's water will discharge. If the plan is to drain into the public sewer, that might need permission from the local water authority. In April, Water UK, which represents the 16 water and sewage companies in England and Wales, proposed charging some households, such as those with swimming pools or big gardens, more for the water they use. Compass Pools by Waterstream is the biggest installer of pools in the UK, building around 100 a year. To date, their business is up 40pc on last year, thanks to the long dry spring. Four fifths of its clients opt for outdoor swimming pools and the average price is £130,000, although those made with concrete blocks and a vinyl liner are cheaper to install. Access to allow an excavator to reach the back garden in a city house and carry out the essential digging work is the main factor that will impact the cost of a back garden pool. 'In London, it can get quite expensive because cranes are often required to move the excavator into place when we're working in the garden of a terraced house,' says Alex Kearnsley, from Compass Pools. 'You're almost certainly looking at a starting price of six figures.' Compass-designed pools for back gardens are typically made from ceramic composite similar to that used in yacht building and are built off-site. This ensures that installation is far quicker than a conventional concrete pool. Once the excavation work has been completed, the structure is then craned into the garden in one day along with all the equipment for the plant 'room' (in reality a small, half-height shed). The challenge is delivering a pool down narrow and congested London streets using a specially adapted articulated lorry. This will involve suspending on-street parking for the day – a process that Kearnsley describes as 'good fun'. Typical town or city pools will be either in the form of a swim lane used for exercise, measuring about 12m long and 2.5m wide and positioned down one length of the garden. Families tend to go for a plunge pool of 8m by 4m, although they can be as small as 4m x 2m if space is limited. There needs to be a minimum decking space of 1.2m around the pool to allow for access and emergency exits, which are normally paved, and space for the equipment such as pumps and filters. As 90pc of outdoor swimming pools are heated by air-source heat pumps, space needs to be allocated for these too. Where space is a concern, some owners opt to install a hard cover over the pool so that it can be used as a patio off-season. Compass offers this service, which costs approximately £20,000 to install.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Heather Graham stuns in red bikini on vacation in Mediterranean hotspot
Heather Graham sent temperatures soaring as she soaked up the sun in Sardinia on Friday. The 55-year-old actress was spotted going for a swim, showing off her flawless figure in a red bikini. Later on, she slipped on a wide-brimmed sunhat while lounging in the sand. Over the years, she shared a few tricks to her age-defying looks, including her 'obsession' with yoga, sugar-free diet and up to 12 hours of sleep a night. She said: 'I'm obsessed with yoga. For fun, I would go on a yoga retreat and do four hours of yoga a day. Then I do Pilates.' During that interview, she also insisted that her restrictive diet just makes her 'feel a lot better'. Heather added: 'I do eat sugar sometimes, but as a broad rule, I try to just eat no sugar basically. And I will sometimes eat things with white flour, but I try to avoid white flour.' Lifestyle: Over the years, she shared a few tricks to her age-defying looks, including her 'obsession' with yoga, sugar-free diet and up to 12 hours of sleep a night
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Meghan is accused of being a copy-Kate again: Duchess takes to a swing to promote her new As Ever products in snap that is VERY reminiscent of the Princess of Wales
Meghan Markle has been accused of copying Princess Catherine once again, as her new As Ever post strikes a very similar tone to the Duchess of Cambridge. Yesterday, the Duchess of Sussex teased her recent launch via the As Ever Instagram account with a snap of her grinning on a swing in a sunny garden. Wearing a puffed sleeved yellow maxi dress, Meghan was pictured with her long brown tresses flowing in the wind, simply captioning the image: 'No more sleeps'. Prior, Meghan had promised some 'delicious surprises' after describing the April launch of her products including jam and herbal tea as 'absolutely extraordinary'. But her most recent snap is eerily reminiscent of a picture taken of Princess Kate in a garden she designed for the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019. The plot, designed by the Princess of Wales, was called 'Back To Nature', and was inspired by the magic of childhood. According to designers at the time, the Princess wanted to promote the benefits of being outdoors as well as the garden to be a playground for children to enjoy. Proud of her creation, a beaming and playful Princess Catherine can be seen, recapturing her tomboy childhood, on a rope swing slung. Meghan's seemingly inspired photograph comes shortly after she was accused of ' gaming' fans after nearly all her new As Ever products sold out within minutes for the second time. The Duchess of Sussex yesterday afternoon released a video saying she 'couldn't believe' that nearly all of her items had already been bought up, including the flower sprinkles. She said the team at her lifestyle brand had 'spent time' making sure they had more stock - as she unveiled a new honey, an apricot spread and a rose wine. Meghan also released a restock of six of the items from her first batch that 'flew off the shelves' two months ago. However, some fans were sceptical at how quickly everything sold out on Friday. One person posted on social media: 'She is playing the 'sold out' game and thinking we are all stupid. You fool no one Meghan Markle.' While a second wrote: 'Wait the only new thing she dropped was the apricot spread. WT*. And it sold out after 20 mins. 'Meghan must think people are really stupid.' A third person added: 'Wow they have super small quantities. The apricot and tea already sold out.' It comes after Meghan shared in a video on her Instagram story in which she said her team had this time made sure they had more stock. She said in the post: 'We spent so much time making sure we had so much more inventory. 'That's why we took the time and you guys are doing it again. We are nearly sold out on everything. 'And I can't believe it - even flower sprinkles which I knew would be the big one again. So that has more inventory than all of it and that is also about to sell out.' While the apricot spread and honey went on sale today, the Napa Valley rosé wine will be available from July 1. The rosé is Meghan's first foray into the wine market - with the product sourced from the famous region of California , up the west coast from her Montecito mansion. It has been described by her brand as having notes of 'soft notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality and a lasting finish' and a 'bespoke blend' which is 'launching just in time for summer entertaining'. The 'limited edition' orange blossom honey which Meghan said had a 'beautiful golden hue, an enticing aroma, delicate floral notes and subtle citrus undertones' and would be 'a standout addition to your pantry' went on sale for $28 (£21). The other new item was the apricot spread - one in keepsake packaging at $14 (£10) and the other just in a jar at $9 (£7). The As Ever website yesterday showed that nearly all of the new and restocked products, including the apricot jam were already sold out Meghan said this 'newest spread balances a delicate sweetness and a gentle brightness that lets this beautiful stone fruit shine'. The brand's description adds that the spread is 'made with gorgeous fruit and a touch of sweetness, letting the apricot's bright flavor shine' and that the 'smooth texture and gentle tartness pair beautifully with everything from toast to cheese boards'. Announcing the items, Meghan said: 'We are pleased to share that many favourites from our debut As Ever collection are back – and, we've added something new. We hope you find some special treats that bring extra joy to you and your loved ones.' In April the Duchess released her first nine As Ever products including raspberry spread in keepsake packaging for $14 (£10) or a normal jar for $9 (£7), with the brand describing the collection as being 'infused with joy, love, and a touch of whimsy'. Others were flower sprinkles for $15 (£11), wildflower honey with honeycomb for $28 (£21), a crepe mix and a shortbread cookie mix with flower sprinkles, both $14. Three types of herbal tea also came out at the same time - hibiscus, lemon ginger and peppermint - for $12 (£9) each. All the products sold out in about 45 minutes. The products restocked by Meghan today were the three herbal teas, the floral sprinkles, crepe mix and shortbread cookie mix – but not the raspberry spread.
