Daily Post

It's Storey Time ; Sue Kelbrick Describes a Modern Take On Tradition

TUCKED away within Wirral's idyllic Eastham Village,The Belgravia is a stunning five bedroom, three storey home,combining the best of traditional design with modern living and is priced at pounds 409,995. The property has an entrance hall,an airy living room,fully fitted kitchen with separate family area, utility room and cloakroom.

Emma Enters Stage Left ; Jane Gallagher Meets a Property Developer Who has a Passion for City Living

THERE is something theatrical about property developer Emma Dears' Liverpool home. Large picture windows with dramatic real-lifeLiverpool scenes, a baby grand piano in the lounge and sweeping curtains in the bathroom.

Single's Dream

IT is official -being single is okay. And why? Because so many of us are doing it. Sex and the City has paved the way for a growing trend in single living -the number of women taking out mortgages on their own has doubled in the last 15 years.

Investment Opportunity

Calderstones, pounds 1.25m CLOSE to the heart of the Allerton area, this is an opportunity to purchase a mock Tudor detached mansion sited on a double plot and set within its own extensive grounds.

Hot Spot of the Week

GARSTON is set to become the next boom district of South Liverpool as surrounding areas begin to price buyers out of the market. Senior Partner and property law specialist Barry Davidson,from Gregory Abrams Davidson, which has recently opened new offices in Garston says: "Investors and private buyers are now looking to areas like Garston in the South as the next logical step because of the overheated post codes of L18and L25."

Naomi Draws Her Claws in ; Gabrielle Fagan Discovers Why Home Expert's Queen of Mean Naomi Smith has Changed Her Look and Found Her Mellow Side

TV homes expert Naomi Cleaver has changed. She may appear the same -back on the rampage demolishing people's home taste with all the subtlety of a Sherman tank on her new series, Honey I Ruined the House. And interior design's Queen of Mean can still be seen unabashedly telling hapless homeowners their lovingly created interiors are "crap" or "like the inside of Coronation's Street's Rover's Return bar."

Overheard

LESLEY Joseph tells anyone who'll listen how she misses Birds of a Feather and how she wishes TV bosses would bring it back. Some hope.She's also a bit miffed that her old sit-comdidn't make it into the Top 10 list of the nation's favourites.

Royal Exposure ; As It Celebrates Its Centenary,Broadcaster Sulwyn Thomas Reflects On Wales' Top Agriculture Show

HE has covered the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show "on the hoof" for over 35 years,but every year Sulwyn Thomas still worries he will go hoarse on air as he reports from Llanelwedd. The veteran journalist, who has been knee- deep in all things agricultural since he started covering the Royal Welsh in 1968, says he talks to so many people over the four days his voice goes every time. Either that,or,as happened once,his ear piece will drop out and he will be left wandering the fields near Builth ...

You Said It ... Quotes of the Week

The cleaner would come in to empty my bins a million times. I was trying to breastfeed,and just wanted privacy. At one stage,during delivery,my door was wide open and even the sandwich lady had a look -Former Page Three girl Melinda Messenger on the problems a celebrity faces when giving birth. The only reason I get work is that all the others have had plastic surgery and I haven't-Actress Dame Eileen Atkins, 70. I still love her.She's a great talent but she needs long-term treatment. I don't...

Soapbox ... (Week Beginning Monday, June 21)

EASTENDERS (BBC1) Alfie prepares to leave the Vic for good and, when he goes missing,Spencer searches frantically for his brother before heading to the fairground -just as disaster strikes. Den and Dennis struggle to rescue people from the collapsing ride as Dr Leroy and Sonia do what they can for the children being pulled from the wreckage. EMMERDALE (ITV1) Edna is found by a search party and rushed off to hospital with a badly broken hip -but not before Shadrach Dingle has helped himself to...

Why Hanks Loves Playing Mr Nice Guy ; Eileen Condon On How Playing It Safe has Paid Off for One of Hollywood's Biggest Stars. ..And He has No Intention of Changing

TOM Hanks has an enduring reputation for being Hollywood's Mr Nice Guy and for having one of the most flawless careers in the business. But it's understandable that he has opted to play it safe when you consider his troubled upbringing. After his parents divorced they both went onto marry several times,and Tom's early years were spent living with a variety of step- families. The experience left him craving stability.

Oysters and Smoked Welsh Rarebit (Serves Two As a Starter)

Fishing for Glory

THIS week's dish is one that I did about five years ago which won me the first prize at the Anglesey Oyster Festival. I have altered the ingredients slightly and now use a Welsh cheese called Y Fenni which already has the mustard seeds and ale mixed in. This is a nice way to eat oysters if you are a bit squeamish when it comes to raw shellfish,because these are relatively firm and are warmed after the grilling process.

Sweet Dreams of Little Italy ; David Powell at Ristorante Romeo,Llandudno

I WAS ticked off by the maitre d' in the last Italian restaurant I visited. It was in the unassuming but salubrious Torre di Piza,off,ahem,Fifth Avenue in Manhattan,New York.(Don't worry,I don't make a habit of visiting it. I wish I could). The crime,or rather misdemeanour, was more of a faux pas really: having the temerity or unadulterated uncouthness to pour my own wine. You see, the bottle of Pinot Grigio Oregon had been cooling in an ice bucket on a stand beside our table. My wife and I h...

Revival of the House Party ; Christopher Proudlove Laments the Demise of the House Clearance. ..But Looks Forward to a Rare Treat As Centuries of History Go Under the Hammer at Chirk

HOUSE contents sales are dead. Long live house sales. Time was when the chattels of homes,big and small, rich or poor, were almost without exception sold on the premises,but sadly,not any more. The once rich source of bargains for the amateur collector and the professional dealer alike are now rarities that are marked by much blowing of trumpets and banging of drums by the auctioneers.

Sale of the Centuries

TODAY,house contents sales conducted on the premises are so expensive to organise that usually only the largest of properties feature in them. Usually,it is far more cost-effective to ship the contents to a saleroom. However,dealers and collectors in the area are in for a rare treat on Monday when Christie's stage a classic country house sale at Chirk Castle. More than 600 lots of works of art, furniture,paintings,ceramics,books and silver,as well as antique household effects, will be sold fr...

Turn Up the Heat ; Gabrielle Fagan On How to Get a Kitchen Even Celebrity Chefs Would Be Proud Of

HI-TECHkitchens have never been so hip, with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay confessing he spent pounds 500,000 on his home kitchen -plus a separate one for his wife. The man who grilled hapless celebrities on TV's Hell's Kitchen treated himself to state-of-the-art appliances. They include a pounds 67,000 Rorgue stove,cupboard handles mimicking the shape of a Ferrari gearstick,and a walk-in size fridge.

Treble Chance ; David Powell Visits a 17th Century House with with a Few Surprises Up Its Sleeve

AS you approach the impressive Bryn Golau country house just before Capel Coch,near Llangefni on Anglesey, the first thing you realise it that this is not really one property, but three. That's because this 10-bedroomed country house has a coach house attached to it and a cottage nearby, each with three bedrooms -so you'd get a lot for your pounds 550,000 or so.

Estate Agents Starting to Feel the Pinch

WHILE the Governor of the Bank of England reawakens fears of a hard landing in the property market in 2004/5, the signs suggest estate agents are feeling the pain as the number of homes for sale falls fast. Nobody ever feels much sympathy for estate agents,of course. But perhaps the agent who sadly told me the other day he was looking for a new career to earn more money wasn't pulling my leg after all.

10,000 Head to Investor Show

WITHIN days of dire headlines warning we might be "buying homes at our peril",more than 130 property industry "experts" and exhibitors head to Manchester this weekend (untilMonday) to argue the advantages of bricks and mortar. Before the governor of the bank's baleful words,Paragon Mortgages argued that landlords in the north enjoy better yields (rent as a percentage of property value) than anywhere else in the country. Those in Yorkshireand Humberside are ahead of the national average too.