Latest news with #LaurenceBerger
Business Mayor
07-05-2025
- General
- Business Mayor
Four common garden plants that are causing damage to homes and are even illegal to have
These plants could damage your home (Image: whitemay via Getty Images) As the days lengthen and nights warm up, Brits are eagerly turning their focus to sprucing up their gardens for the imminent summer. While a verdant garden can be a sight to behold and leafy retreats can make for perfect gathering spots, experts caution homeowners about the potential risks of certain plants. A number of common plants could actually be jeopardising your home. Home insurance specialists at Norton Insurance Brokers have pinpointed several garden favourites that, despite their innocent appearances, are responsible for a surprising amount of property damage, insurance claim rejections, and legal disputes. The prime offender is a British favourite: wisteria. This enchanting plant with its woody vines and cascading purple blooms is undoubtedly beautiful – but it harbours hidden threats to your home, reports the Express. As these sturdy stems mature, they exert pressure on walls, gutters, and rooflines, gradually widening gaps and creating potential entry points for water and frost damage. If left unchecked, wisteria can even dislodge roof tiles or gutters. Moreover, if planted too close to a property, its root system may start to interfere with underground drainage or shallow foundations. Another British favourite that could wreak havoc on your home is English Ivy. This iconic plant, known for its stunning appearance as it cascades over old brick buildings, blanketing them in lush greenery, has a hidden strength – its aerial roots. These roots, which the ivy uses to cling to buildings, can burrow into cracks and mortar joints, causing them to crumble. Ivy can dislodge roof tiles, yank gutters from walls and add structural stress. English Ivy is stunning but needs maintenance (Image: Alexander Spatari via Getty Images) If you have rampant ivy that has damaged your home, you may find your insurance claim denied due to neglect. That's why it's crucial to regularly maintain your ivy and ensure it's not causing any damage. But be cautious – ivy provides a haven for nesting birds, and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it's illegal to harm or destroy any active wild bird's nest. If you're considering removing ivy, always check for nesting activity, particularly during spring and summer. Another popular plant is bamboo. This rapidly growing plant offers excellent privacy and an exotic aesthetic for your garden – but it can quickly turn into a nightmare. Bamboo has underground roots that spread aggressively, extending metres beyond the original planting area. These roots can lift patio slabs, break through driveways and even crack through the floorboards in your home. Bamboo can be harmful (Image: Laurence Berger via Getty Images) While bamboo roots won't typically crack a solid foundation on their own, they can exploit existing cracks and gaps, much like Japanese Knotweed. They also have the potential to block drains and pipework and destabilise garden walls or fences by growing underneath. Just like English Ivy, if your bamboo has caused problems in your home, you might find your insurance claim denied. If it's determined that the bamboo was intentionally planted or allowed to spread unchecked, any resulting damage may not be covered, with claims potentially rejected due to poor maintenance. Jasmine is another fast-growing vine that boasts beautiful white flowers and a delightful sweet scent – but this lovely plant can cause damage if left uncontrolled. In summer, jasmine can form a thick green mat that hides underlying vulnerabilities. If the brickwork is already weathered or cracked, this prolonged exposure to moisture can lead to damp issues, especially in older buildings. Jasmine can hide damage (Image: Penpak Ngamsathain via Getty Images) Jasmine can also obstruct gutters, downpipes, vents, or air bricks, reducing airflow and creating perfect conditions for water ingress and mould. As with other climbing plants, insurers usually view damage caused by jasmine as avoidable through routine maintenance. Claims involving damp, blocked drainage, or compromised rendering are likely to be declined if visible plant overgrowth is found to be a factor. So, if you want to enjoy these stunning vines, make sure you stay on top of the maintenance to avoid problems.
New Statesman
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Reframing the private school debate
Photo by Laurence Berger / Getty Images I'm not a huge fan of the traditional debate but I recently agreed to do one for the New Statesman at the Cambridge Literary Festival. The motion was: 'This house believes private schools should be abolished.' I was on the opposing side which I knew would be a hard sell – especially to a Cambridge audience – and, alas, our side lost. For me, this is a debate about education for all rather than the way it's often pitched, as a battle between rich and poor. Private schools serve a wide range of children with huge benefits to society as a whole, but they are easy targets in a culture war where both children and their parents are derided for holding on to entitlement rather than having a conscience. We have all kinds of inequalities in British society that keep people apart and reduce life chances for many, but most neither start nor stop with private schools. Perhaps if we invested more in levelling up educational standards, resources and discipline in the state sector, and did everything to help all young people realise their potential, we might stop using private schools as a political football. When salvation comes I've just spent a few fun days at Abu Dhabi's Culture Summit. Many of the discussions and keynotes explored the rapidly growing impact of AI. I know very little about AI, but I do wonder what people mean when they claim that generative AI will be our salvation: what is this technology supposed to be saving us from? There was a general sense at the summit that AI will have all the answers, but I wondered if the idea of this 'posthuman' future shouldn't make us pause, even tremble a little. My question is: if AI superintelligence can outperform humans in everything it does, what is the added value of being human? If humanity can be so easily copied, then in the world of culture and the arts authenticity will cease to matter, and we will go from being creators to intellectual-property holders. I don't disagree that AI is transformative, but as I listened to the speakers in Abu Dhabi, I wondered whether the value of being human is that our creativity comes from our desires and vulnerabilities, from our need to feel emotional and intellectual fulfilment. Unlike AI, we create because we have to. A chapter ends After 13 years, I'm leaving Edinburgh University this summer. I can't decide what to do with the books in my office. Ideally, I would bring them all home,but I can't, and, sentimental attachment aside, I want other people to be able to read them. So, I've decided to sell a few hundred of my collection to a European bookseller. In a world of increasing digitisation, there's a certain romance in holding on to real books. I have never had a Kindle because opening and flicking through pages is uniquely comforting in moments of solitude. There's a quiet pride in building up a library over the years and simply staring at the shelves, which reflect so much of your life. Saying goodbye to my books will feel like saying goodbye to a part of me. But if owning books is a privilege, being able to share them with others is no less of a joy. Family feuds Whatever you think of Prince Harry's recent BBC interview in which he admitted to wanting reconciliation with his family, we all know healing such a rift is hard. You can feel close to your brothers and sisters one day and barely speak to them the next. And the longer the silence and avoidance goes on, the harder it is to reach out. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Most of us struggle to get past the hurt or betrayal. But I also think that, rather than worrying about forgiveness, sometimes there's a value in not minimising the offence but choosing to protect yourself. Yes, I know life is short and family feuds are often pointless, but in my experience, rushing to forgive someone who won't accept some accountability never really mends a broken relationship. 'My most beautiful masterpiece' At what age does going to the garden centre become the number one activity on a sunny bank holiday weekend? Perhaps somewhere around our early fifties? Claude Monet said: 'My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.' The quiet pleasure of pottering in our garden, enjoying the freshly cut grass and the gorgeous colours of spring flowers maybe the midlife love story we all need. Mona Siddiqui is a broadcaster and professor of Islamic and interreligious studies at the University of Edinburgh [See also: Faith is a half-formed thing] Related
