Latest news with #Paddington
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Chilling detail in house that sat abandoned for 30 years before it was sold for $3million in a blue-chip suburb
A war hospital-turned-family home which was abandoned mysteriously for three decades has sold for $3million, well over the opening bid. The two-bedroom property at 31 Perrott Street, in the affluent inner Brisbane suburb of Paddington, has been referred to as the 'old haunted house' by neighbours. The history of this property suggests that it has been in the same family for a century, according to Domain, and it was once used as a hospital during the war. Occupied until the 1990s, the house was then mysteriously abandoned. The owners have since passed away, leaving the property uninhabited for over 30 years. 'When they left, they basically walked out and left everything as it was,' architectural historian and 'house detective' Marianne Taylor said on social media. 'The table was still set. There was still food in the cupboard. 'It was an absolute time capsule! There was even a creepy basement! 'I haven't been in a house from this era that has been so little altered... The house is still full of old furniture, paintings and belongings.' The dilapidated home has a unique layout, with the rooms spread over three floors and high ceilings with stained glass windows. Amid holes in some ceilings, black-and-white photographs, leftover toy dolls, and a 'creepy basement', the home exudes a foreboding atmosphere. During her exploration, Ms Taylor shared a video of what appeared to be 'pharmacy display cabinets' in one room, along with Kodak camera film. 'Marjorie Robertson, who lived in the house in the 1930s, was a chemist,' she said, before turning to the camera items. 'Chemists also used to sell cameras and film, and also used to process film.' There is also a brick extension with a self-contained flat that has a roof overgrown by plants. Walking below the extension, Ms Taylor filmed a dark bunker and gave her assessment: 'The extension above this dates from the 1940s, so I think it may have been an air raid shelter!' In the Ray White listing online, the home was described as 'one of Paddington's most spoken about homes', which 'will require significant works to bring it up to a comfortable living standard'. The property, and its brick extension, sold for over $3million during an auction on Saturday The 473sq metre property went up for auction on Saturday with an opening bid of $2.75million. One local family in the crowd of 150 managed to secure the property for $3.1million. According to Domain's profile of Paddington, while there is no detail on a two-bedroom home, the median price for a three-bedroom property in the suburb is $1.67million. Among the dozens of curious people eager to take a look at the home, one said she loved the rustic laundry. 'It's got a spinner. It has the beautiful copper and you can build a fire underneath to heat the water,' she told 7News. While another admired the 'amazing' ceilings, a third described the property as 'gold'. 'The colours of the windows, the character of the timber,' he said. The home is located just 3km - or a six-minute commute - from Brisbane's CBD, with the City Glider the most convenient transport option.
Daily Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Update on Nicole Kidman's application for Portugal residency
New details have emerged over Nicole Kidman's plans to acquire residency in Portugal. A source close to the 'Paddington' star said while she and husband Keith Urban plan to gain residency in Portugal, they will keep Nashville as their primary base, according to The couple – who share daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15 – already own a plush pad in Lisbon. 'Keith, Nicole and the girls will continue to live primarily in Nashville however they do own property in Portugal,' a source told the New York Post. MORE: Inside Meghan, Harry's Netflix deal disaster Real reason Ellen fled the US revealed Surprise fortune Hulk Hogan left behind Last week news broke that the Oscar-winning actress submitted her paperwork to the country's immigration agency. But notably absent from her application was Urban, whose name did not appear on any documents. However, The Post understands the country music star wasn't mentioned in any paperwork because he was unable to break away from touring at the time. 'Keith was unable to be in Portugal for this appointment as he is currently on tour in the US and it is mandatory for applicants to be physically present in order to apply for the visa,' a source told The Post. 'He is scheduled to submit his application at a later date that works with his tour schedule. 'While Nicole and Keith own a home in Portugal, their primary residence will continue to be in Nashville.' Since tying the knot in 2006, Kidman and Urban have divided their time between the US and Australia, which could soon see Europe thrown into the mix. The duo has accumulated an impressive international real estate portfolio. Over nearly two decades, the couple has purchased two penthouses in the exclusive North Sydney Latitude building, combining the two to make one huge condo. The pair's first joint purchase came one year after their wedding, when they signed on the dotted line for a 36-acre estate in Franklin, Tennessee, for $US3.8 million ($A5.36 million). The following year, they upgraded to a lavish mansion in Nashville's exclusive Northumberland community, which they added to the growing portfolio that already boasts properties in Manhattan, Sydney and New South Wales. Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission. MORE: Ex-wife 'issues': Bitter MJ dispute exposed Fortune left behind by Ozzy revealed DiCaprio's insane $35m ask exposed
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Update on Nicole Kidman's application for Portugal residency
New details have emerged over Nicole Kidman's plans to acquire residency in Portugal. A source close to the 'Paddington' star said while she and husband Keith Urban plan to gain residency in Portugal, they will keep Nashville as their primary base, according to The couple – who share daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15 – already own a plush pad in Lisbon. 'Keith, Nicole and the girls will continue to live primarily in Nashville however they do own property in Portugal,' a source told the New York Post. Last week news broke that the Oscar-winning actress submitted her paperwork to the country's immigration agency. But notably absent from her application was Urban, whose name did not appear on any documents. However, The Post understands the country music star wasn't mentioned in any paperwork because he was unable to break away from touring at the time. 'Keith was unable to be in Portugal for this appointment as he is currently on tour in the US and it is mandatory for applicants to be physically present in order to apply for the visa,' a source told The Post. 'He is scheduled to submit his application at a later date that works with his tour schedule. 'While Nicole and Keith own a home in Portugal, their primary residence will continue to be in Nashville.' Since tying the knot in 2006, Kidman and Urban have divided their time between the US and Australia, which could soon see Europe thrown into the mix. The duo has accumulated an impressive international real estate portfolio. Over nearly two decades, the couple has purchased two penthouses in the exclusive North Sydney Latitude building, combining the two to make one huge condo. The pair's first joint purchase came one year after their wedding, when they signed on the dotted line for a 36-acre estate in Franklin, Tennessee, for $US3.8 million ($A5.36 million). The following year, they upgraded to a lavish mansion in Nashville's exclusive Northumberland community, which they added to the growing portfolio that already boasts properties in Manhattan, Sydney and New South Wales.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Insane': Run-down home sells for $3 million
The more than $3 million sale of an overgrown two-bedroom house in Brisbane has raised questions about the state of the city's housing market. The home in Perrott Street, on a 473 sqm corner block in the ritzy inner-city suburb of Paddington, went under the hammer over the weekend. After an opening offer of $2.75 million, a flurry of bids quickly brought the sale price to $3.1 million – well above the suburb's median price of $1.9 million. The property listing said it had been in the same family for 100 years and was used as a hospital during the Second World War. But it had not been occupied since the 1990s and would require 'significant works to bring it up to a comfortable living standard'. Photos showed the house was in a state of disrepair with the roof overrun with weeds, though it stood on a spacious block and commanded views of the city. Reaction to the sale on social media was mixed, with some Aussies labelling the $3.1 million sale price as 'insane' and 'ridiculous', and the home itself as a 'dump'. 'Problem is someone will knock it down for the land and build some garbage thing,' one said. 'It gets you a block of land worth $3.5 million three weeks from now after you bulldoze the shack,' another added. But Ray White agent Max Hadgelias told that the new owners were a local family who intended to be owner-occupiers. There had been 'fantastic interest' in the home, with 15 registered bidders at the auction along with scores of locals who attended out of curiosity, Mr Hadgelias said. Given the home was a protected character house it was 'unlikely' to be bulldozed to make way for a development. 'It requires a lot of work, but someone restoring it will bring it back to its former glory.' Although the property was in a run-down state, the price was 'underpinned by its location,' which included its sought-after Paddington postcode, elevated position and city views. Mr Hadgelias described the local housing market as 'strong – there's good activity across all spectrums at the moment'. Leith van Onselen, chief economist at said the sale was indicative of overstretched demand for housing in Brisbane. The city had seen an 89 per cent increase in house prices since March 2020. 'Brisbane's had one of the biggest house price rises in the country since the pandemic,' Mr van Onselen said. 'It's gone from being one of the more affordable housing markets to being the second-most expensive (after Sydney).' The cause was a 'gigantic surge' in both interstate and overseas migration to Brisbane. 'It's a real pressure cooker situation in Brisbane unfortunately, and I think the (2032) Olympics will make it worse. 'Obviously the inward migration from overseas and Australia has overwhelmed supply.' PropTrack data for June showed Sydney remained Australia's most expensive city with a median house price of $1.18 million, followed by Brisbane at $908,000, Adelaide at $837,000, Perth at $836,000 and Melbourne at $818,000.
Metro
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
I didn't know much about Oasis - I still left Wembley in tears
When I found out I was going to see Oasis, it felt like winning a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory – only to remember I've never had much of a sweet tooth. Growing up in the U.S., Oasis were 'those guys who sang Wonderwall,' a song so overplayed and parodied it barely registered as music anymore. I honestly thought they were a one-hit wonder – a British meme band people pretended to like for the bit. So when I moved to the UK and realised that Oasis aren't just a band here, but a cultural institution, I was baffled. How could something so massive not have translated to the States, when we're famously greedy for British exports? We'll take your Shakespeare, your Love Island, your Paddington, but somehow not your Gallagher brothers? Every time I tried to listen to Oasis, it felt like walking into a house of worship for a religion I didn't belong to. The symbols were familiar, the rituals recognisable, but the meaning escaped me. I always concluded the same thing: Oasis is so rooted in its Britishness that it struggles to stand alone outside that context, and unlike the Arctic Monkeys or other UK exports, the music itself isn't quite strong enough to overcome that cultural specificity. But if Oasis is a religion, then Friday night at Wembley was my spiritual awakening. It began with Liam and Noel Gallagher walking on stage hand-in-hand, a moment that sent the crowd into such a frenzy I genuinely thought I was witnessing a world-historical reconciliation – 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall, ' but with more bucket hats. Behind them, a montage of media headlines played, charting the road to their reunion. As I tried to read them, I noticed with genuine shock that the men around me – mostly in their forties – were openly weeping. I felt like an imposter. Like a lifelong, Buddhist receiving a blessing from the Pope: Was this moment wasted on me? Liam – bucket hat pulled so low he could've wandered through the crowd unnoticed – was relentlessly on-brand: tambourine in his mouth, mid-song gestures for someone to fetch him a drink, radiating pure cheeky swagger. But it wasn't the chaotic bravado that's landed him in trouble before. It felt authentic, playful, and even self-aware. His voice was strong, precise, and melodic. I'd never found him impressive on record, but in that moment, I got that this is how he's meant to be heard: backed by a tidal wave of fans scream-singing every word back at him like a battle cry. Astonishingly, all but three of the 23 songs played came from a blistering 18-month period between 1994 and 1995, making the evening a concentrated portrait of a hyper-specific period of time. Noel's solo section was unexpectedly moving. The Masterplan and Little by Little reminded everyone who the melodic architect really is, while Half the World Away, dedicated to The Royle Family ('not that royal family, the real f***ing Royle Family,' he clarified), lit up the stadium in a sea of swaying phone lights. Liam returned for Live Forever, dedicated to the late Ozzy Osbourne, whose face was projected on the screens in an unexpectedly touching acknowledgement of the shoulders Oasis stood on to reach such great heights. The crowd – who started at energy level 10 and ended somewhere around unhinged – was the friendliest I've ever encountered at a show. There was a jittery, reverent alertness to them, the energy of people who had spent too much money, waited too many months, and weren't going to miss a single second. In front of me, a group of forty-something men who proudly told me they'd known each other since secondary school in Leeds had reunited from all corners of the UK after fighting tooth and nail for tickets. They cried. They hugged. They threw beer. One of them, too drunk to stand still, barely faced the stage. Arms flung over his head, head tilted back, he grinned like a man reborn. It was as if to say: I don't need to see it, I just need to feel it. And he did. But did I? Oasis's music is inseparable from the moment it emerged: mid-'90s Britain, all swagger and denim and cigarettes in the rain. If you were a teenager then, I doubt you can see them objectively, and if you weren't there, I'm not sure you ever truly get it. I accept that. They captured a version of Britain when things felt possible: Cool Britannia, Blair before the disillusionment, Britpop dominating the charts, football in renaissance, and an economy that still promised upward mobility. They were Beatlesy, but stripped of the naivety. Less dreamy, more laddish. They felt like the natural continuation of something proudly, specifically British in a moment when globalization was eroding cultural edges. Still, most of their music sounds… fine to me. Competent. Catchy. But not great. Then again, I love plenty of music that sounds unremarkable to others. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. And if I can't see past my own biases, I certainly can't fault anyone else for theirs. At one point, the man next to me noticed I was taking notes and asked what I was doing. When I explained I was reviewing the show, he appointed himself Oasis's unofficial spokesperson. 'This one's a B-side,' he said semi-defensively during Acquiesce, 'but it's for the real fans. It might be hard to understand… maybe even boring to you but…' I reassured him I was having an excellent time, which was true. But more than that, it felt borderline disrespectful not to have a great time while witnessing a night many people would remember as one of the best of their lives. So I gave in. I leaned into the energy. And before long, I was on the shoulders of a father of three from Newcastle – whose name was either Tom or Greg – scream-singing Rock 'n' Roll Star like I, too, was from Northumberland and had shared my first kiss to it in 1996. As I began to understand – physically, emotionally, viscerally – the big deal about this band, things only ramped up. Liam called Wonderwall a 'wretched song' but sang it anyway. The communal roar that followed felt like the ghosts of 90,000 people's youths materialising for four minutes and sixteen seconds. Tom or Greg cried without embarrassment, clinging to the neck of his lifelong friend ('This bloke right here, since we was ten!') who beamed so hard I thought his face might split. Then came Champagne Supernova, fireworks exploding over Wembley. More Trending Liam closed the night with: 'Nice one for making this happen. It's good to be f***ing back.' Somehow, in the context, it felt like a Shakespearan monologue. I left Wembley exhausted, elated, and – somehow – converted. Still, if you weren't a teenager in 1996, I'm not sure you can ever fully understand what Oasis means to their fans. They're too embedded in a specific moment, a particular British mythology that doesn't translate easily. But on Friday night, I brushed up against it and realised it's not that Oasis's deep entanglement with British culture holds them back from being one of the world's greatest rock bands – it's precisely what makes them so special. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Oasis honour late rocker Ozzy Osbourne with sweet Wembley show tribute MORE: Aldi permanently changes name of store in a move shoppers are calling 'biblical' MORE: Oasis hit London this weekend – here's where to buy the reunited band's official merch
