Latest Homes magazine

Hamptons International’s exclusive open evening brings the country to the city

Hamptons International, one of the UK’s premier international residential agents has announced it is bringing the country to London in a unique property ‘Open Evening’ from 5pm-8pm, on Thursday 24 April at its headquarters in Grosvenor Square. A selection of country properties will be showcased to London buyers, investors and tenants.

Recent research has revealed growing numbers of London based buyers are looking to move to the country, with over 35 per cent of applicants from the capital looking for country properties, a significant rise since 2004, when only 9.3 per cent of all those registering their interest in the country house market were resident in London.

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Is your beach hut the toast of the coast?

The humble beach hut has become the ultimate des res, selling for thousands of pounds, with interiors to match. Pearly Bay wine, in association with interior specialist Linda Barker has launched a competition to find ‘The Toast of the Coast’ – the most stylish hut in the country – and wants to hear from owners who think their hut is the ultimate beachside hideaway.

Whether you have a pad on the pebbles or a shack on the sand, we want to hear from you and to get you on your way, celebrity interior designer Linda Barker has come up with top ten tips on how to transform even the most humble beach hut into a style statement. Linda will also be on the judging panel for the competition.

To enter ‘The Toast of the Coast’, win a summer’s supply of Pearly Bay wine plus £250 worth of Really Linda Barker accessories, simply send in three photos to pearlybay@lawton.co.uk, telling us where it is and a little about you.

Closing date is 31 May 2008

Andrew Kay ponders the irrational overanalysed world of Human Resources

What times we live in, our world full of people telling us how to do what we do, how to sue, how to claim, how to protect ourselves… And for the most part I sense that the people who are doing the telling, have few qualifications for doing so.

When did it all start to go wrong? When did everything that we do become dictated by teams of professional managers, the battalions of industry pros who don’t actually do anything but make a living telling us what to do. I hesitate to use the term but I think they gather under the banner ‘Human Resources‘. Human resources? Name them!

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Molly wants to enjoy her child, but not at 6am

A lot of my friends don’t have children yet. I’m looking forward to them saying, “I don’t know how you coped.” Neither do I! Do people really enjoy parenting? When? The odd shared bath or tickling session when they giggle uncontrollably (even though technically you are forcing them by prodding their armpits). Who truly, day in, day out, loves parenting?

“There’s no waking up slowly with a toddler: it’s go go go from the minute they wake”

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The Paul O’Grady Show’s Marc Abraham gets a buzz from the ‘big six’

With this winter’s milder weather encouraging animals to start planning their year weeks earlier than usual, it’s impossible not to feel the mounting anticipation of spring.

With daylight on the increase, and temperatures steadily rising too, our thoughts automatically turn to spending more time outdoors, going for walks, or just sitting in the garden. It is about this time that we first start to hear the deep droning sound that heralds the arrival of the bumblebee.

“Over the past few years conservationists have been concerned over the decline of bumblebees”

Did you know we have 15 species of bees in the UK?

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