Diary isn’t sure it could have got through 2020 without Lego. Lockdown volumes one and two saw quite a few sets take shape on our dining table. And, this month, our eyes widened at the newly announced 9,036-piece Roman Colosseum set – surely the year’s grandest piece of Lego architecture?
Well, one 14-year-old had other ideas, delivering an epic-in-scale, self-designed model of Manhattan that went viral in the Twittersphere thanks to his proud mum this week. This got us at EG wondering what the design and build skills of the real professionals out there are like. With the nights drawing in – and all of Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video already consumed – what else are you going to do with your evenings? Play with Lego and show off, that’s what. Get building and share your triumphs with EG by tweeting us @estatesgazette using #brickingit.
(PS, we would show you the Manhattan built by the aforementioned teenage Lego savant but, alas, it looks like he’s already gone pro and his savvy mum has signed up a PR team. Check out the post from @Laura33697398 on Twitter though, you won’t regret it.)
Slow progress
Are you in the process of buying or selling a house? You may want to consider a more productive use of your time. How about conquering Mount Everest… twice? Or flying to the moon and back… nine times?
According to Yes Homebuyers, such things are possible in the time that it is taking for a sale to go through in current market conditions, thanks to the influx of buyers triggered by the stamp duty holiday. Rather than the usual average of 11 weeks (which, let’s face it, is already far too long) the process is currently taking a positively glacial 15 weeks. This, we are told, would be enough time to play 630 rounds of golf on an 18-hole course, run 546 marathons or play 1,680 games of football. All of which may be less painful than the UK conveyancing process.
Year of the rat
The Chinese calendar has never been so accurate. While 2020 may have been a suboptimal time for human beings, it has, it seems, been the year of the rat.
According to the rodent counters at pest control company Pest.co.uk – who should know of what they speak – an abundance of vacant properties and waste food has seen the rat population soar by 25% to 150m. That means there are now 2.2 of them out there for every person in the UK. “
They say you are only ever 6ft away from a rat,” says the firm’s Jenny Rathbone, “and in typical 2020 fashion, it’s now more likely than ever this year!”
So there’s another thing to add to the list.
They’ve even calculated a league table of rat populations that sees London way out in front with 19.9m, ahead of Birmingham (2.4m), Leeds (1.7m) and a cluster of the UK’s other big cities around the 1m mark. On the plus side, at least 2020 wasn’t the Chinese year of the dragon…
Lonely this Christmas?
Depressing news in our inbox this week, as SpareRoom predicts that, based on data from 5,490 flatsharers, almost half will be staying at home this Christmas rather than visiting family or friends, if Covid-19 restrictions remain in place. For 70%, this will be their first Christmas Day away from loved ones, apparently… with over a third admitting they may not even buy their families presents this year. And, adding to the gloom, the figures mean that 32% of flatsharers expect to be on their own for the festive period. With mental health already suffering due to the pandemic, the effects are sure to be amplified at an emotional time of year, so be sure to check in on any friends who might feel isolated. And, for any resi landlords out there looking to earn some goodwill, why not get into the spirit of the season and do something nice for tenants stuck home alone. Perhaps Santa could find his way to them after all?
Not fade away
At EG’s Future of Real Estate conference late last year, Skull Fades Foundation founder Ged King gave an impassioned, unforgettable keynote speech about the organisation’s work. The Manchester-based charity was set up to provide homeless people with haircuts – and also to train them to cut hair themselves. With companies able to sponsor chairs, become corporate sponsors or even provide space, King asked the real estate industry for help: “How many people have slept outside your developments?”
But the pandemic has proved a mighty challenge, and Skull Fades announced on social media that its Foundation Barber Shop will not reopen when lockdown lifts, saying: “Covid lockdowns have killed our model.” The post promises, however, that the team “will build something better when this is all over”.
If EG readers have any way they can help the organisation in the next stage of its journey, please get in touch via the Skull Fades Foundation website.
