After an absence, it’s good to see dawn break on the allotment

Returning to the plot after a two-week isolation, it’s hard to tell who has missed who the most

My first morning out of quarantine. The end of 2020’s second long absence from the plot. But this time it is deep autumn. I am at the allotment gate at 6.30am. The mornings were lighter when I was last here. It is still dark, mid-October before the clocks fall back. But I cannot wait any longer. I have been like a dog at the door, desperate for release.

There is an occasional pre-dawn chorus. The ground is wet and slippery. I use the torch from my phone. A first, I think. Raggedy cardoons leer at me on the path. I spot a cat’s eyes. It all feels a little unfamiliar. Until I turn the corner and catch the plot’s harlequin sunflower skeletons in the beam. Home.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3mWWMfw
via IFTTT

Keeping your home damp free Nottingham Estate Agents

For a problem that affects millions of properties, damp is not as well understood as it should be. OnTheMarket offers top tips for a dry and healthy home Everyone knows that if they have a large hole in their roof, or leave their windows open during a thunderstorm, they will end up with soggy carpets. […]

The post Keeping your home damp free appeared first on OnTheMarket.com blog.

from OnTheMarket.com blog https://ift.tt/2dMuaUL
via IFTTT

After an absence, it’s good to see dawn break on the allotment

Returning to the plot after a two-week isolation, it’s hard to tell who has missed who the most

My first morning out of quarantine. The end of 2020’s second long absence from the plot. But this time it is deep autumn. I am at the allotment gate at 6.30am. The mornings were lighter when I was last here. It is still dark, mid-October before the clocks fall back. But I cannot wait any longer. I have been like a dog at the door, desperate for release.

There is an occasional pre-dawn chorus. The ground is wet and slippery. I use the torch from my phone. A first, I think. Raggedy cardoons leer at me on the path. I spot a cat’s eyes. It all feels a little unfamiliar. Until I turn the corner and catch the plot’s harlequin sunflower skeletons in the beam. Home.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3mWWMfw
via IFTTT

Ethical homeware - in pictures

New products from companies and creatives who want to change design, manufacture and consumption for the better

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/367FBRK
via IFTTT

Ethical homeware - in pictures

New products from companies and creatives who want to change design, manufacture and consumption for the better

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/367FBRK
via IFTTT

Financial first aid: how to make it through the second Covid lockdown

Coronavirus has hit jobs and pay – here’s what to do if you’re struggling with bills, mortgage or rent, loans and other costs

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

With much of the UK in lockdown and many businesses forced to close for at least four weeks, household finances are set to be squeezed again. This week, charities said they had seen an influx of middle-income families who needed to access food banks after being plunged into crisis by job losses and gaps in state help.

If you are being made redundant, are going on to furlough and face an income cut or are self-employed and having to close for weeks, there are places to turn to for advice and help. Here we look at what steps to take in a financial emergency.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3eASAz7
via IFTTT

UK homebuyers told to act fast to beat stamp duty holiday deadline

Covid restrictions and high demand for mortgages create delays in property process

Homebuyers who want to take ad-vantage of the stamp duty holiday have been warned to act quickly as high demand for mortgages and coronavirus restrictions are creating delays in the process.

David Hollingworth of brokers L&C said getting a mortgage was taking about double the usual time as lenders struggled with the volume of business, and needed longer to review some applications. “To get a mortgage offer in normal times you are usually looking at a couple of weeks from the application,” he said, “Now you could be expecting it to take at least a month, or possibly longer.”

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3eBFUbl
via IFTTT