Poacher
Regular
That was deliberate policy; local authorities were not allowed to use the proceeds of sales to pay for new homes.
BRFR Cake Stop 'breaking news' miscellany
- Thread starter briantrumpet
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Pblakeney
Legendary Member
Maggie wanted everyone to be slaves to their mortgages. Seems to have worked.
BoldonLad
Old man on a bike. Not a member of a clique.
- Location
- South Tyneside
yes, I knew that
icowden
Pharaoh
Looked again - it's not actually a castle and it does need work...
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/gallery/remote-scottish-mansion-15-bedrooms-34447837
A secluded Scottish mansion home to 15 bedrooms and its own waterfalls has hit the market for less than £300,000.
Achnashellach Lodge is situated in the Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands. Previously a guest house, it dates back to the nineteenth century and is set within around 18 acres of woodland gardens.
The home features a spacious kitchen, 15 bedrooms, seven bathrooms, seven utility rooms, two receptions, four lounges, and two dining rooms. It even includes a billiards room and a separate games room.
Future Property Auctions describes the property as a "potential stunning family home, guest house, boutique hotel or spa", as well as an opportunity for "exclusive remote Scottish living." It is set to be auctioned off in February, with a starting bid of £293,000.
The front of Achnashellach Lodge is "in reasonable order" according to sellers. However, the back is in a "non-habitable condition" and will need major repairs.
The listing states: "Achnashellach Lodge is a magnificent titled shooting Lodge surrounded by stunning mountain scenery. A former 15 bedroom guest house and residential property in need of full restoration set within approx 18 acres of private, rural woodland.
"The property retains many original features throughout. A grand portico entrance leads to a series of spacious reception and lounge rooms dating from 1860s.
"A hydro-electric power system from the river was installed in 1927 but is also in need of restoration."
OP
OP
briantrumpet
Pharaoh
Doesn't look to be currently up for sale - all the articles are from Feb 2025, and it's been withdrawn from auction.
Those links in the article are nuts - just loop back to other generic Daily Record articles. There's a better article here https://www.whfp.com/2025/01/10/up-...oric-west-ross-lodge-with-a-complicated-past/
OP
OP
briantrumpet
Pharaoh
A good interview with John Davidson, he of the Tourettes incident:
https://variety.com/2026/film/awards/john-davidson-tourettes-tics-bafta-n-word-interview-1236671850/
https://variety.com/2026/film/awards/john-davidson-tourettes-tics-bafta-n-word-interview-1236671850/
BoldonLad
Old man on a bike. Not a member of a clique.
- Location
- South Tyneside
Slaves to rent or mortgage?, does it matter which?
OP
OP
briantrumpet
Pharaoh
It's looking like an impossible-to-call by-election, but the good news is that if Reform should win it, Labour + Greens vastly outweigh Reform, so in places where the anti-Reform vote isn't so evenly split, a tactical vote should be easier. But it also does show how Labour have screwed up their messaging with their Reform-lite policies (amongst other things).
Also worth noting that Goodwin is in court today defending their breaking of electoral law by sending out their 'letter from a neighbour' without the necessary party info. It won't help them that they did the same in Wales.
Also worth noting that Goodwin is in court today defending their breaking of electoral law by sending out their 'letter from a neighbour' without the necessary party info. It won't help them that they did the same in Wales.
Pblakeney
Legendary Member
At the time renting was much cheaper than buying. Made you more mobile too. Once you were locked into a mortgage you really needed to keep your job. Anecdotally when partners started working full time too. Nice tax raiser.
BoldonLad
Old man on a bike. Not a member of a clique.
- Location
- South Tyneside
I understand the "mobility" aspect, although that could be overcome if we had a half decent system for buying and selling property, not. so sure that, in the long term, renting was ever actually cheaper?
Pblakeney
Legendary Member
Not cheaper in the long term but if you are living pay check to pay check...
Especially so 40+ years ago. That renting is now (roughly) as expensive as buying should be a scandal.
First Aspect
Guru
Buy to let. Too high a number of landlords need rents to cover mortgages, so rents become as costly as mortgages, plus management fees plus some profit for the landlord to cover maintenance and some actual profit. This sets the market rate.
I actually think once you have a deposit, buying is a fair bit cheaper. Whether it is still cheaper once you factor in other ownership costs I don't know. It's a long time since I rented.
Beebo
Guru
It will be interesting to see if the Green voters have a sudden change of heart back to Labour on the day.
Also those Lib Dem voters need to sort it out. Don’t waste your vote at the risk of Reform winning.
First Aspect
Guru
I think there's normally a bit of a swing to the right in the final results, in comparison to polling.
OP
OP
briantrumpet
Pharaoh
TBH, if Reform got in because left-leaning voters could work out who to vote for, it might be a wake-up call for them and the parties. If Labour wake up to the fact that they are losing voters to the Greens because of the legacy of McSweeney's attempted appeal to Reformy types, and there's decent news on the economy and the NHS (for example), I'd not count them out.
Or... (very unlikely, and probably too short a timescale) - Labour realise/accept that FPTP is unsuited to fractured politics with more than two or three main parties, where a party with just 30% of the vote can get a majority in parliament quite easily. Obviously that suited them quite well in 2024 though, so I won't hold my breath.
