Black interior designers

No10 has refused to rule out taxpayers footing the bill for a lavish revamp of Boris Johnson's grace-and-favour flat. The Prime Minister's spokesman repeatedly refused to say today if the state would fund a refurbishment of the four-bed quarters above 11 Downing Street, overseen by his fiancee Carrie Symonds. Instead No10 said the public must wait until this summer when details are published in the annual accounts of the Cabinet Office. The changes come just a decade after the flat was reworked by David and Samantha Cameron, including £30,000 on a new kitchen. Ms Symonds has removed Theresa May ’s “John Lewis furniture nightmare” and paintings by British artist John Nash hang alongside works by the PM himself, according to an article in Tatler. The Daily Mail reported the revamp includes “gold wall coverings” and was inspired by interior designer Lulu Lytle, whose fabrics that cost upwards of £100 per metre. The newspaper claimed Boris Johnson is now trying to set … [Read more...] about Taxpayers could fund Boris Johnson’s flat revamp as No10 refuses to rule it out

AS we're sure all parents will agree, toddlers are energetic, rebellious and - most of all - MESSY. Well if you thought you had it bad with permanent marker scribbles on your furniture, then spare a thought for Shyama Underwood. The mum-of-four, 35, from Northampton, says she hasn’t been able to take her eyes off her youngest son, Jaxon-Carter, three, since he started walking at 10 months old. Since then, the cheeky tot's warpath of destruction has set Shyama back a staggering £6,000. If breaking 12 TVs wasn't bad enough, Jaxon-Carter has also done a spot of redecorating by leaving painted handprints all over the walls before pouring SOIL over the family's new living room. But despite efforts to discipline him, Shyama says telling Jaxon-Carter not to do something makes him want to act out more. She said: "Everyone in the family calls him Wreck-It Ralph because nothing is safe in his path. "From the moment he started walking I’ve not been able to turn my back on … [Read more...] about My son is a real-life Wreck-it Ralph – he’s destroyed 12 TVs and poured SOIL all over my new living room

The wooden spire of Notre-Dame cathedral is being re-built using centuries-old oak trees felled from a former royal forest - almost two years after it was destroyed in a fire. The lead-coated spire, which for more than 150 years had defined the central Paris skyline, was consumed by the blaze in April 2019, collapsing through the stone-vaulted roof to the tears and gasps of distraught onlookers. President Emmanuel Macron announced last summer the 96-metre (315ft) spire would be reconstructed as originally designed by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century, and the hunt for the 1,000 oaks required to build the spire and the frame of the cathedral's transept began. At the beginning of this year, the perfect trees were identified in Domaine de Berce, near Le Mans. They must all be chopped down before the end of March before the sap rises and the wood contains too much moisture. Aymeric Albert, the French forestry commission's commercial director, described the … [Read more...] about Notre-Dame fire: Cathedral’s spire to be rebuilt with 200-year-old oaks from royal forest

"It is a great pleasure for me to announce Samantha's coming space mission," said Josef Aschbacher, the new director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), as he opened a press conference on March 3. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is scheduled to go back to the International Space Station (ISS) for her second stay in the spring of 2022, following her two colleagues Thomas Pesquet and Matthias Maurer, who will set off for the ISS in April and October 2021 respectively. Cristoforetti herself is delighted. "Not surprisingly, it was a feeling of extreme joy and gratefulness for this opportunity. As I've mentioned before, I had the amazing opportunity the past few years to grow as an astronaut. But we have this tendency of wanting to go back to space as soon as possible," she admitted. Freshly brewed ISSpresso For Cristoforetti, it will be a return to her "home away from home," as she likes to call the ISS. The Italian astronaut has indeed already spent a remarkable … [Read more...] about ISS: Astronaut Cristoforetti readies to return ‘home’

PRESIDENT Joe Biden will give his first primetime address on Thursday. The speech will mark one year since Covid shut down much of the nation as the pandemic took a devastating foothold in America. "The president will deliver his first primetime address to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdown on Thursday," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing on Monday. "He will discuss the many sacrifices the American people have made over the last year and the grave loss communities and families across the country have suffered," she added. This will be Biden's first primetime address since he took office on January 20, 2021. More than 29.7million cases of Covid have been confirmed in the US. Over 515,000 Americans have died from the virus. The address is to come just days after the Senate passed another $1.9trillion Covid relief package – meant to ease the burden of some of the financial hardship Americans have faced … [Read more...] about Biden to give his first primetime address on Thursday – marking one year since Covid shut down much of the nation