Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Britain's richest street: The place by the palace, where the average house price is £19.5m

By ARTHUR MARTIN and JAMES MCMEEKIN

The figure is 93 times the national average house price of £205,985. Even a single square foot of land in the street would cost you £1,193.


They are beyond the reach of mere mortals. In fact, the homes in Kensington Palace Gardens would be too pricey even for many celebrities, bankers and lottery winners.

A string of eye-watering property deals has helped to turn it into Britain’s most expensive street.

The average price of a mansion in the affluent road in Kensington, West London, is an astonishing £19.2million, according to a study by property company Zoopla.

Britain’s richest man Lakshmi Mittal, a steel magnate worth £23.8billion, bought one of the houses for £57million from the Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004, and renamed it Taj Mittal.

Since then he has bought another home on an adjoining street for a record £117million from hedge fund tycoon Noam Gottesman.


Pricey: The Boltons in Kensington is among the most expensive streets it the UK. Just a single square foot of land in the London borough now costs £1,193


Residents of Kensington Palace Gardens also include Jon Hunt, who founded Foxtons estate agency which he sold for £390million in 2007.

An extraordinary subterranean playground is being built which will house a tennis court, health centre and a private motor museum for his six vintage Ferraris.


Keeping up with the Joneses: Nigella Lawson and Madonna are just two famous faces who call the borough of Kensington home


The property tycoon is thought to have rejected an offer of £200million for his eight-bedroom home from Mr Mittal’s son Aditya in 2008.

One of his even wealthier neighbours, Russian oligarch Leonid Blavatnik, is also building a massive underground extension for a swimming pool, gym and private cinema.

Mr Blavatnik, who has made at least £4.7billion in the oil business, outbid Mr Mittal and Roman Abramovich in 2004 with an offer of £41million for the 15-bedroom property.

The street’s allure is helped by Kensington Palace, set back from the road on the eastern side. The former home of Princess Diana is still the residence of several minor royals.


Both ends of the street are manned by armed Diplomatic Protection Group officers because it houses several embassies, including those of Israel and Russia.

As prices in the street soared in the past decade the makers of Monopoly chose it as the top square on the board ahead of Mayfair.


The second most expensive street is The Boltons, Kensington, where the average house is £13.3million, with Frognal Way, Camden, third at £10.6million. In fact the top ten expensive streets are all in London.

Virginia Water in Surrey - home to Wentworth Golf Club - is the seventh most expensive postal district in the country, with an average house price of £937,419.

The survey found 5,922 streets nationwide where the average home is more than £1million. Of these, 2,290 are in London, followed by 89 in Guildford and 78 in Cobham, both in Surrey.

Nick Leeming, from Zoopla.co.uk, said: 'Our study has found an enormous gulf between prices at the lowest and highest ends of the property market.

'A home in Britain's most exclusive street is beyond the wildest dreams of all but an extremely wealthy elite.

'At a whopping £19.2million, even National Lottery winners would now struggle to afford a house on Billionaire's Row.

'Those who aspire to live in a wealthy area, surrounded by celebrities, will also need a reality check.


Fashionable: Commuter hotspot Guildford, in Surrey, boasts 89 'million pound streets' - the second highest in the country


Footballers' wives territory: Cobham has the third highest number of 'million pound streets' in the country


'With a single square foot of land in Kensington costing £1,193, it is well out of the price range of your typical British homeowner.

'People have always been obsessed with the value of their home as well as those of neighbours, friends and family.

'Our rich list will give those who live on streets near the top of the list some serious bragging rights.'




source: dailymail

MISS INDONESIA 2011 CONTESTANT - Johanna Sharon C's Photo & Profile/Biography

PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION
: Johanna Sharon C
: December 15, 1987
: 23 Years
: 170 cm
: 48 Kg
: English
Johanna has a lot of achievements in the field of academic and non academic. Since junior high school her name is always entered as the overall champion and she is also diligent donate gold medal sport for the college through basketball.Youngest of three brothers, she also had the talent to sing and to organize. She once believed to be the core committee for arts organizations that she wrestled.

source: (Thank you and credits to
http://freedom-guy.blogspot.com/
www.missindonesia.co.id
and all sources for the informationa and pictures)

MISS INDONESIA 2011 CONTESTANT - Amanda Roberta Z's Photo & Profile/Biography

PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION
: Amanda Roberta Z
: June 18, 1991
: 19 Years
: 172 cm
: 52 Kg
: English
"Do it all with a heart" is the motto of live-born girl June 18, 1991. Manda realize that the most special thing in life is to be loved by the community and family. Being a champion 2 Business Plan competition at a private university is one of the accomplishments ever achieved by Manda. To persuade the women and young Indonesian women to better appreciate her own is one program that will be Manda if she become Miss Indonesia 2011. For Manda, Miss Indonesia is not only beautiful but also must have a heart and a good person.

source: (Thank you and credits to
http://freedom-guy.blogspot.com/
www.missindonesia.co.id
and all sources for the informationa and pictures)

A rare and beautiful sight: A spectacular end to a sunny Memorial Day

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Urban phenomenon: The sun shines down on 42nd Street at the end of Memorial Day during the biannual occurrence coined 'Manhattanhenge' by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson


One of the most beautiful things in nature must surely be the sun rising and setting.

When that sunset happens to align with a street grid, basking a city that never sleeps in a radiant glow of light, even busy New Yorkers would be pushed not to stop and marvel at its brilliance.

It's that time of year again known as 'Manhattanhenge' - when the sun aligns precisely with the street grid in Manhattan, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid.


Sun rising up: Manhattanhenge occurs when the setting sun aligns itself with the east-west grid of streets in Manhattan, allowing the sun to shine down all streets at the same time


This special day - also known as Manhattan solstice - comes twice a year. This year it falls on May 30 and July 12 - when the sun sets with half the disc sitting above and half below the horizon. Though fans can also enjoy the spectacular views on May 31 and July 11 when at sunset, you can see the entire ball of the sun on the horizon.

The times are calculated every year by the astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, who coined the term 'Manhattanhenge' in 2002, named after the British Stonehenge, which celebrates summer and winter solstice.

Though in New York it does not signal the solstice - the changing of the season - due to the position of Manhattan's grid.


Beautiful: This occurs in Manhattan due to a clear view to the horizon beyond the grid - across the Hudson River to New Jersey - as well as the tall buildings that line the streets, creating a vertical channel to frame the sun


Mr deGrasse Tyson explains: 'In spite of what pop-culture tells you, the sun rises due east and sets due west only twice per year on the equinoxes - the first day of spring and of autumn. Every other day, the sun rises and sets elsewhere on the horizon.

'Had Manhattan's grid been perfectly aligned with the geographic north-south line, then the days of Manhattanhenge would coincide with the equinoxes. But Manhattan's street grid is rotated 30 degrees east from geographic north, shifting the days of alignment elsewhere into the calendar.'

Mr deGrasse Tyson notes that the dates correspond with Memorial day and Baseball's All Star Break.

He said: 'Future anthropologists might conclude that, via the sun, the people who called themselves Americans worshipped war and baseball.'


Namesake: Manhattanhenge is named after Stonehenge in England when the sun Sun rises in perfect alignment with several of the stones, signaling the change of season



Last year: The sun illuminates New York's 34th Street during 2010's Manhattanhenge as well as the city's iconic Empire State Building


He explains that the reason this unique urban phenomenon occurs in Manhattan is due to a clear view to the horizon beyond the grid - as New York does across the Hudson River to New Jersey. Combine that with the tall buildings which line the streets, creating a vertical channel to frame the sun and you get a rare and striking photographic opportunity.

To get the best view of this rare and beautiful sight, sun watchers need to be as far east in Manhattan as possible and look west across the avenues.

The best places to get a view are the Empire State or Chrysler buildings as well as along 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th Streets.

Tonight, Manhattanites can view the full ball of the sun at 8.17pm for about ten minutes.


source: dailymail

MISS INDONESIA 2011 CONTESTANT - Nurul Chintya Irada's Photo & Profile/Biography

PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION
: Nurul Chintya Irada
: 18 September 1990
: 20 Years
: 167 cm
: 62 Kg
: English, French
The girl who was born on 18 September 1990 have been fond of singing and the style in front of the camera since childhood. The second child of 3 brothers who can speak English and French was once a semi-finalist in one of the selection event magazine cover model. The motivation to participate in the Miss Indonesia this time is to add experience and have the opportunity to excel in the international world.

source: (Thank you and credits to
http://freedom-guy.blogspot.com/
www.missindonesia.co.id
and all sources for the informationa and pictures)