Full metal jacket: a striking home in Bruton

A steel-clad home in Somerset blends beauty and contemporary architecture in a pretty Georgian town

At their first glimpse of Ferrum House, most people have the same question: “How did you get permission to build it?” Owners Andrew Pennock and Dana Anderson have been asked it countless times – often in admiration, sometimes in horror. “It’s definitely a Marmite house,” says Anderson. “We even overheard one little boy asking his mum if we were building a police station.”

Their contemporary home in Bruton, Somerset, is sandwiched between a handsome Georgian building and a former 19th-century silk mill, turned into a bacon factory in the 1900s and now divided into flats. Then, set back from the road, is Ferrum House: a mottled brutalist cube panelled in raw Corten steel that almost seems to hover above its more restrained timber-clad base.

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from Home And Garden | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2PZaLRc
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Why it’s wise to prune your vines before Christmas | Alys Fowler https://t.co/n7qvxKJijw Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9

Why it’s wise to prune your vines before Christmas | Alys Fowler https://t.co/n7qvxKJijw Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9 (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1076436950666612737)

Why it’s wise to prune your vines before Christmas | Alys Fowler

Cut back now to ensure new, strong, fruit-bearing shoots next year

I have been half neglecting my vine, letting it do as it pleases, occasionally trying to tame its wild ways, but mostly allowing the blackbirds the pick of the few grapes that appeared. That is, until Guardian food writer Anna Jones shared her recipe for roasted grapes and goat’s cheese. Now I want my fair share of grapes, too, which will mean whipping the wild vine back into shape.

Vine pruning is up there with bonsai for being notoriously complicated. This is partly because there are numerous systems for vines developed for creating fine wines and perfect dessert grapes. These systems create curtains of stems that can hang over pergolas, or complex cordons to grow strictly up wires. They all come with detailed pruning advice and technical diagrams. (I can heartily recommend the RHS Pruning and Training Manual as a starting point.)

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from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2LxH0WR
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Why it’s wise to prune your vines before Christmas | Alys Fowler

Cut back now to ensure new, strong, fruit-bearing shoots next year

I have been half neglecting my vine, letting it do as it pleases, occasionally trying to tame its wild ways, but mostly allowing the blackbirds the pick of the few grapes that appeared. That is, until Guardian food writer Anna Jones shared her recipe for roasted grapes and goat’s cheese. Now I want my fair share of grapes, too, which will mean whipping the wild vine back into shape.

Vine pruning is up there with bonsai for being notoriously complicated. This is partly because there are numerous systems for vines developed for creating fine wines and perfect dessert grapes. These systems create curtains of stems that can hang over pergolas, or complex cordons to grow strictly up wires. They all come with detailed pruning advice and technical diagrams. (I can heartily recommend the RHS Pruning and Training Manual as a starting point.)

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Number of young families owning homes rises after 30-year fall https://t.co/9lFwUJzzQp Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9

Number of young families owning homes rises after 30-year fall https://t.co/9lFwUJzzQp Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9 (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1076270903632236544)

Number of young families owning homes rises after 30-year fall

Thinktank says 190,000 more young families own their homes than two years ago

A three-decade period in which it became ever harder for young families to buy their own home has come to an end, analysis of official statistics has revealed.

House prices have fallen or remained stagnant over the last two years, in part because of Brexit uncertainty, enabling 190,000 more young families to become homeowners and reversing the downward trend since 1989.

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from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2Aa8Vbg
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Rightmove’s year in review: 2018 in numbers https://t.co/Qt0EF9FUn7 #estate agents Nottingham

Rightmove’s year in review: 2018 in numbers https://t.co/Qt0EF9FUn7 #estate agents Nottingham (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1076136481297707008)