Not sure whether I should post this link here or on the "some fun" thread. I have pasted the bits that particularly amused me: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...pittance-it-didnt-even-cover-my-expenses.html Do you have a pension, or is property enough? I’ve got a pension but I stopped paying into it years ago and I don’t think it’s worth very much – probably less than £250,000. How much was your current home when you bought it and what’s it worth now? I bought a wing of Rangemore Hall that was built for Edward VII. It is huge: about 16,000sq ft. There are eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms and I have 13 acres of land. I paid approximately £2m for it nine years ago. I spent a fortune on it, and it’s probably worth about the same as I paid for it. Do you own any other properties? As well as Rangemore Hall, I’ve got a house in London in St Katherine’s Dock. It’s not big: 4,000sq ft. It’s worth about £4.5m. I have another four properties around the world. I absolutely hate hotels, which is why I’ve got so many: I like to think I’m coming home. I’ve got a property in Boca Raton in Palm Beach, Florida, a villa in Altea, Spain, and a five-bedroom villa and an eight-bedroom villa in Marrakesh, plus I’m building another two there at the moment on some land I bought six years ago. I bought my house in Florida for approximately $3.5m (£2.23m). I’m not sure how much exactly it’s worth now, but people have offered me substantially above the price I paid. I bought the villa in Spain for £1m, and it’s probably worth £2.5m now. I think the villas in Marrakesh are worth about £4m in total as well. I’ll buy another property if I see an upcoming market. Like for instance, now, I’m thinking of investing in Croatia and northern Cyprus. That’s the sort of area that I think will boom again. What’s the one luxury or indulgence you couldn’t live without? La Prairie face cream. It’s expensive: between £400 and £1,000 for a single pot. I buy two or three a year. I also like to spend on my four dogs. They are very pampered pooches. They have aromatherapy massages, spa days and their own little wardrobe. I’ve got two teacup yorkies in the UK, and another teacup yorkie and a cocker spaniel in Marrakesh who are looked after by my staff there all year-round, and lead the most idyllic life: acres of land to run about in, a swimming pool when it gets too hot and their own chef, who makes them their own herb-free tagines and lasagnes.
You must be Barking, Yorkies are not for girls. So sorry Dave, didn't mean to go down the chocolate path again but couldn't resist.
Morning all from a bright and breezy rural France. Friday 13th is regarded here as a lucky day, just the opposite to the UK. I wonder why?
Good question that. Maybe something to do with the origins of the names for the day in both languages + the fact that, statistically, the 13th day of a month is more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week? The French 'vendredi' literally means 'day of Venus' I believe, giving connotations of mother love, whereas Friday in Old English is 'day of Frig'. Frig to the Old English simply meant 'to copulate'. Whether any of that makes any sense, I have no idea really...
