April 08 - The Property Issue
I have something to confess. I’ve been renting since I was a teenager. (Stop giggling at the back.) If you’ve ever brought property, considered buying property, considered buying abroad, been jealous of people who have, or wondered how the hell you’re going to survive in this market, this is the issue for you.
Once you’ve played our unique board game, Snakes and Property Ladders, by Rod Hunt and Sarah Walker, the serious work begins. Read Sarah’s piece about gaining a foothold in the market, and why, in spite of all the doom and gloom about housing, it’s still possible to make money. Then dig into the lovely Kristian Digby’s account of finding his dream investment property in France. Once you’ve got your dream place, how are you going to furnish it? We meet Jason Allcorn, creative director of [Re]design, a man with some fabulous practical, eccentric and stylish eco-ideas for furnishing.
If all the aspiration gets you down, then race straight to the inimical David Hoyle’s column – the man really is a tonic. His advice about when you should think about dusting is priceless.
I’ve been touched by the letters we’ve received in response to the schoolboy Love-Letter article we published in the last edition, and have published a small selection of these on the Letters page. Arthur Bancroft’s follow-up letter about life for older gay people in care homes also moved me. I’d very much like to pick this subject up in a forthcoming issue, so please write to me about your fears/ hopes and experiences, as gay men, of getting older.
Wipe your feet and come on in to our spacious, desirable property issue. It’s a modern conversion of an old classic, well looked after, brimming with character features…
Joseph Galliano