crazywoman. (n). Usually pronounced [woom-uhn].
The 'crazy' may be silent, but if you ever find a silent 'woman' please introduce me!
Starship Voyager dumped into skip
One Trekkie's dream of boldly going where no interior designer has gone before appears to be over – thanks to his estranged wife, who has decided his starship Voyager-themed flat isn't entirely suitable for the terrestrial housing market. Former DJ Tony Alleyne, 58, has spent 10 years and a wad of cash coverting the one-bed …
-
-
-
-
-
Wednesday 25th January 2012 16:49 GMT Graham Dawson
Mike, tealights are used in my household in the little oil burner I crafted for the wife. I've not really see the point of them anywhere else, but apparently they're quite good for keeping certain kinds of food warm.
Other than that I don't allow candles except for special occasions because they're a fire hazard in a flat with two kitties hanging about.
-
-
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 13:08 GMT Anonymous Coward
Bitch!
It's those bloody home makeover shows that say everything should be beige when you sell a house.
It's an entire waste of time as everyone decorates when they move in anyway so even if they didn't like the design the new owners could bin/sell it.
Instead the new owners have dull decoration that they feel guilty about removing as it's only just been put up.
But I guess if it isn't destroyed already the best chance of finding someone who does want it like it is is with an Register article!
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 13:50 GMT Anonymous Coward
Hah, my landlady is like this. Just got a new tenant moving into our shared house and the landlady had the room that was going spare repainted from a rather nice shade of light blue to magnolia.
All painting your house in magnolia shows is that you have no imagination or soul and that you could probably do with having a full tin of paint to the head.
-
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 15:54 GMT Anonymous Coward
@Anomalous Cowherd
If my landlady wasn't a raving mental I would agree but she insists on fully painting the rooms and common areas whenever getting a new tenant in despite the fact that they've always been kept pristine and don't need it. Light blue is a pale colour by the way and also a colour that the new tenant liked the look of so having it magnolia'd is more than slightly annoying for him because now it is depressingly bland.
And not everyone wants to cover their walls with posters.
-
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 16:03 GMT chr0m4t1c
"All painting your house in magnolia shows is that you have no imagination or soul and that you could probably do with having a full tin of paint to the head."
Unfortunately, that describes a lot of potential buyers. I've known people decide against buying a property because they didn't like the seller's sofa or the colour of the spare bedroom walls.
And when you point out to them that the sofa will leave with the seller or that they can paint the bedroom walls whatever colour they like, you always get a reply that starts "I know, but...".
-
-
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 13:14 GMT Aaron Em
Ever hear the one
about the guy who built a boat in his basement?
She's been paying the mortgage for eighteen years, which means probably she's paid by far the majority of the money that's gone into paying back that loan. Too bad for Mr. Alleyne, I suppose, but it would seem she's got a considerable right to the final say in what happens to the place -- not least because, after all, he's turned it into something which I very much doubt she finds habitable. (Hard to blame her; neither would I, and neither would you, really -- Star Trek is designed to be a TV show, not something people actually inhabit, and as you can see from pictures of the place it rather shows.)
If anything, the whole debacle should serve as a salutary lesson in the importance of ensuring one actually does own one's magnum opus.
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 13:17 GMT squilookle
Actually, I'm sure they could get more for it as it is. There is bound to be someone somewhere that would pay a fortune for it. If they restore the flat to some kind of conventional decor, then it'a just going to be a flat for sale...
The difficulty would be finding the buyer, but that is what the internet is for...
-
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 13:54 GMT Annihilator
Easy
It's presumably in her name and *not* paying the mortgage would cause the bank to repossess. Selling may not have been economically viable due to either negative equity or given the timescales involved, an endowment mortgage with a significant shortfall. He may also have been paying rent. Finally, selling a fixed asset in your name before a divorce isn't always the smartest move either as its harder to prove the money raised by the sale isn't both of theirs.
-
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 13:43 GMT mittfh
Perhaps...
...instead of skipping it, he carefully dismantles it, so allowing him to re-erect it in wherever he moves to (or, if that's not possible, sell or auction the components off - which would net him a bit of money to boot). Of course, take lots of photos of the place from all angles before dismantling so a record's left for posterity.
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 15:04 GMT Anonymous Coward
Deja Vu
This bloke is on the news every year, showing off his flat and saying it's up for sale. He appears to me to be a self publicist because it really is like Groundhog Day, seeing him pop up again in the news with the same story.
Every year another news programme (or even one that's already covered his flat in previous years) presents him as a new story - the star trek fan who's boldly decorated his flat like no one has before and is now putting his beloved masterpiece up for sale. There's the obligatory tour of the flat, ending with the reporter standing on the transmat pad thing, signing off and then fading away in the most terrible effect ITN/BBC London/Five/Sky could knock up with the equipment they have.
As for making a living creating USS Enterprise décor for other trekkies, that's never going to work for such a dead franchise. Someone should have cashed in making Tardis sheds over the last seven years, though I think interest in Dr Who is waning too, so don't go do that now if you're still reading this.
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 15:07 GMT Graham Bartlett
@AC
"his hobby is no harm to anyone else"
Except the person who actually owns the house. He's gone bankrupt and he's not paid into the mortgage for 18 years, so it's almost guaranteed that he no longer has a share in it and can only be renting it. And FWIW, he did the work *after* they'd split up.
If he really wants it, he can always get himself a mortgage and buy it himself. Sure, he'll be paying top whack for having no deposit, and he'll have to work his arse off to cover repayments. If it really mattered to him and he had a shred of maturity, he'd be doing that. But if he had a shred of maturity and not just a gross sense of entitlement, he wouldn't be here in the first place.
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 16:30 GMT Anonymous Coward
Could have seen this coming...
Yes, I'm sorry to see this going on and I can absolutely understand that this is an emotional blow for the fellow. But seriously... Its not as if he couldn't have seen this coming. I mean; you don't go bankrupt over one night.
IMO this looks like a classic example of overdoing it. You cannot cast certain responsibilities aside for the sole purpose of following your dream. That is; unless you can afford it and it seems he could not.
Still... All cynicism aside I have to wonder; there are more people in the world who love Star Trek, Surely the pair should be able to sell or rent the condo as it is now ? I bet you could get more for a "themed flat" than a regular one, especially amongst fans.
And if you managed to rent it you may even setup a steady cash flow.
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 17:04 GMT Stevie
Bah!
The lesson here is "don't turn someone else's property into a theatrical set" and nothing more, really.
It is very sad for the misguided twit who thought he had permanent squatting rights, but that's about it.
Also, it might be better to plan this sort of thing to be in a shed or garage, like model railway builders often do. You can always move the shed to a new location if it comes to it.
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 17:48 GMT JeeBee
Surely he has a claim on the flat
They were married, and the flat has been paid off mostly (if not entirely) up to this point during their marriage. It might be in her name only, but that has never meant anything when divorce is happening - especially if he was paying rent or contributing at any point.
He should just disassemble it and put it all into storage or a mate's garage. However I suspect that it's all screwed/nailed/glued together and disassembly == destruction.
-
Tuesday 24th January 2012 17:55 GMT TimeMaster T
At least he followed his dream and actually did it. How many of us have said "that would be so cool if I could do that" about our flat, yard, car or motorbike, and never did anything because we didn't have the money, our own place, just didn't want to hear the silly comments or just didn't think our dreams were important enough to actually do something about.
He did it.
First rounds on me.
This topic is closed for new posts.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
