Fake for me means not authentic. In this context it means a snobby bourgeois commenter village with little social or cultural diversity.

We did the same move three years ago. Ended up in Chewton Mendip. 1 hour on the bike into Bristol, 17 miles on the back lanes. If you are looking to move to the sticks, you need to steer clear of the Nailsea area and head further south and east, close to Wells and Priddy. Chew Valley area is not my cup of tea either as it is fake village / commuter spot. Good luck!

Isn’t the simple and cheap option just to buy a decent set of chains and pop them in the boot in case you need them?! Low cost, they last forever and they will get you safe up and down the hills even in the deepest snow we get in most of the UK. Just a thought!

I have a 110 and three children who love to ride around in it; they call it the Ninky Nonk! For bikes, you won’t be able to put an adult bike in the back without dropping at least one of the passenger seats immediately behind the driver as the space in the back is too short! There are though a couple of options which work well:

1. If it is just your bike you can drop just one of the three passenger seats and wheel the bike in without taking the front wheel off;

2. If there is more than one bike, you need to drop all three passenger seats is you want to keep the wheels on. To address this, I have a three bike tow-bar rack which allows me to put the bikes on the back easily. You can keep the rack on and still open the back door (so long as no bikes on it…). This was all a bit of a drag at first, especially given the size of the vehicle, but actually works out well. Four of us can easily get about with four bikes and loads of kit for a weeks camping no problem!

Cheers, D

Regarding payment towards the purchase price of the house, there is no statute which applies to assist you and you will need to rely upon ‘equitable’ (trust) principles. Have a look on Google for a case called Stack v Downden (in the House of Lords in around 2009) to get a sense of what this is all about. Ultimately, if you can show you paid the money and that the property was merely registered in your late partner’s name as a (simplistic, as completely ineffective…) way to try to protect the asset, the court may very well find you are the owner. As I said, the backup you need is an alternative claim under the 1975 Act on the basis you were being maintained by your girlfriend. Your child’s interest in the estate is what is likely to make this case a bit more complex than the norm. I deal with this sort of thing everyday, I am a barrister specialising in wills and trusts, and I cannot stress enough that you need a good solicitor asap. Please don’t waste your time going to a high street practice as, in my experience over the last decade, these firms do not generally have the expertise required to make a decent job of this sort of matter. You may well find that a ‘smart’ regional firm is best. I would recommend that the solicitor with conduct of your matter is a member of STEP (society for trust and estate practitioners) as this is a very good sign of quality in this area. STEP has a website and I know there is an active branch in Cardiff and also in Bristol (where I practice). I know that the fees will seem high for this, but you really do get what you pay for and not all lawyers are the same! D

Really sorry to hear your news. From the little you have said, you need to see a lawyer asap as your position may not be straight-forward. This is because you will need to consider bringing what is called a ‘constructive trust’ claim to establish your beneficial interest in the house. Often, claims are not required as the beneficiaries under the estate, i.e. those who benefit under the intestacy rules, can agree that (here) you own the house. Your problem is going to be that the persons entitled to the estate include your child so that your claim to the house is in direct conflict with your child’s interest. A court is therefore almost certainly going to be involved, I’m afraid. An alternative is a claim by you under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The deadline for such a claim is strict and it is 6 months after the grant of letters of administration are taken out. All this sounds stressful but it need not be if you have a good lawyer who deals with this all the time. Good luck mate. D

Interesting comments on this thread.
I've no direct personal involvement with anyone with dementia but I thought that this was a really thought-provoking piece of TV. Fair play to the Gerry Robinson for getting stuck into this issue and opening up the issues to a wide audience in an intelligent way. I must say that I couldn't help thinking how well-meaning some of the carers were but at the same time how they were just not up to the job of engaging in a meaningful way with the residents…

She is probably thinking about putting a restriction on the title to stop a sale. In fact, all it will do, if the Land Reg lets her put one on the title, is to ensure you can't complete a sale without her knowledge and consent. If you cannot agree to sell it, and you ought to try, and you want the property sold, you need to see a decent lawyer who can bring a claim for something called an 'order for sale' under section 14 of the trusts and land and appointment of trustees act 1996. Basically, if it is just the 2 of you, the relationship has broken down and the purpose of buying the property was for a home for the both of you as a couple, the court will order a sale. I deal with this sort of stuff when it gets to trial and all I can say is that unless you want to pay lawyers (not a bad thing!) sort it out yourselves… Good luck

I’m loving it too! I must say though that the narrator gets on my wick a fair bit, especially at the end when she trails the next show when ‘three more exceptional cooks…’. Another bit of insider knowledge: a reliable source told me that when the contestants are cooking in the studio kitchen they each have a couple of helpers but they never show them on the show… Apparently, the gifted young girl who was runner up last year leaned quite heavily on her helpers and it didn’t go down too well!

Sure. You want to ask the Land Reg for all of the underlying conveyancing docs that they have, in particular the deeds used on first registration of your registered title and any amendments thereto. You ought to do this for your property and the neighbouring ones. If the dispute concerns user of the land in dispute, you want to try to ask locally about the use of the land and to try to obtain photos etc. Cheers.

Hi Woody,

Leaving to one side the question of proportionality, i.e. is it worth the hassle!, I’d say:

1. It sounds like they induced you to contract with them on the basis of a misrepresentation as to the number of appropriate prospective purchasers on their books. If this is correct, you can claim to avoid the contract and/or to claim damages. Damages would be the fees plus other foreseeable loss. In your case, you might want to run a loss of opportunity argument, i.e. in going with them you lost out on purchasers with other agents. Always a bit speculative this one, not least as most house hunters will go to all the local agents.

2. This is a breach of your instruction to them as your agents. They will therefore have to account to you for damages caused by this. Again a bit speculative, but why not go for the profit on a sale you would otherwise have secured or the losses caused by no sale as it was marketed at too high a price.

3. If they told you there would be no fee for the boards, you can claim that this was either a misrepresentation or waiver of the terms of the contract or a ‘collateral contract’ that overrode terms of the main contract inconsistent with it.

4. As per 3.

Why not send off a letter to them about all of this. They’ll probably sue you in the county court for the unpaid fees but if it is less than £5k they are after you for can do this on the small claims so there oughtn’t to be any costs.

I’m involved (professionally) in a number of boundary disputes.
The first thing to remember is that the plan with the registered title is based upon ‘general boundaries’, i.e. it is not precise.
Second, whilst on the face of it the actual land transferred to you as part of the registered transfer should be as it appears on the title docs, including plan, this may not be the case. For example, it may be that the registered title when first drawn up contained an error which has been repeated ever since, so that the plan for your title in fact contains land that it ought never to have been included. IN these circumstances, the LR ought to provide you with an ‘indemnity’ to compensate you for your loss.
So, you will need to look a lot further than the registered title to be sure about what land is in fact within your title. I have been involved in too many cases where this has been overlooked – this costs!
There are also other issues such as squatters rights, basically possession of another’s land for 12 plus years, which may be relevant.
The best thing to do is to see a solicitor with expertise in this area. I can’t stress this enough as most general practitioners will not be much help, believe me.
Finally, avoid Court proceedings at all costs. If there is a dispute, the Land Reg can determine the definitive boundary. Court costs over a couple of feet, even inches, can be about £40,000 on each side!
Good luck