Mail on Sunday

The Stairs Were Extra Wide so a Donkey Could Take Food to a Greedy Bishop 1,000 Years Ago ; How the Former Manager of the Samling, the Star-Studded Place to Stay in the Lake District, has Just Setup His Own Stunning Boutique Guesthouse in Southern France

When Peter Lawton laid down the burden of managing The Samling on Lake Windermere once the favoured haunt of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to set up an exclusive boutique guest house, he began his search the unconventional way. He bought a Land Rover and drove from South Africa to Kenya via Mozambique in the hope of finding something spectacular tucked away in the bush. But practicality soon overcame t he spirit of romance.

The Show That Rocked the World ; Mccartney, Bono, Elton and the Floyd ... How the Biggest Names in British Rock Played to Three Billion People and Made History Yesterday in Hyde Park

AT 2pm precisely yesterday the roar of the righteous deafened London. Two hundred thousand people, with three billion more watching them around the globe, attempted on one ordinary summer Saturday in 2005 to Make Poverty History for ever.

Pounds 2m Semi Will Detach Your Cash ; Sarah Beeny's Project of the Week - with a Sought-After Address, This St John's Wood Home Just Needs a Pounds 500,000 Makeover

As presenter of Channel 4's Property Ladder, Sarah Beeny has sound advice for the fledgling property developer. Every week in Property on Sunday she spotlights the potential of places needing a revamp. If you have a couple of million pounds to spare, this house could be a wise investment. To most of us, Pounds 1.85million seems a stupendous amount, but there are a lucky few who either have an income to support this level of borrowing or just happen to have a couple of million lying around spa...

Bad Day at the Office

COMEDIAN Ricky Gervais went on stage to introduce REM but a quick gag about aid to Africa flopped. The star of The Office told the crowd they could all go home because Tony Blair and George W Bush had agreed to quadruple their aid budgets.

Stables to the Stars ; Riding School with Mews Flat Where Stars Saddle Up and Madonna's Nanny Wanted a Discount Is for Sale, with 20 Horses

Kate Moss once sneaked in between modelling shoots. Pierce Brosnan visits when he's in town. Courtney Love enjoyed it so much she tipped every member of staff and royal love rat James Hewitt was turned down for a job there.

Ban On Booze Makes for a Sober Show

IT WAS not just the politics and line-up that made yesterday's concert unusual. It was also the most sober in rock and roll history. A ban on alcohol being brought in by fans or sold on site meant the event passed very peacefully. Even cigarettes were banned from sale. But all the sobriety left some struggling to enthuse about seeing one after another of the world's best live bands.

Melinda Makes the Most of Her Assets ; Sarah Hartley's Property Gossip

Not bad for a Page Three girl from Swindon. Melinda Messenger, now transformed into the squeaky clean darling of daytime TV, has almost sold her Wiltshire home, which was on sale for Pounds 1.25million, after she paid just Pounds 750,000 for it a year ago. No sooner had the mother-of-three put the five-bedroom house on the market with Savills and said thank you to a photoshoot in a weekly magazine, than it was under offer.

Furious Call That United Bob, Blair, Brown ... And the Girl in the Cafe

IT began with a furious phone call from Bob Geldof to Tony Blair 18 months ago. 'It's happening again,' shrieked the founder of Live Aid, after he was connected to the Prime Minister's private line in Evian, France, where Blair was attending a G8 summit in January last year.

Thou Shalt Not Take Sides ; ...Or How the Bbc Issued Staff with 10 Commandments to Remain 'Impartial'

THE BBC treated Live8 like a political party conference to avoid accusations of breaching its rules on impartiality. Producers were ordered not to allow their coverage to appear to endorse the Make Poverty History campaign amid concerns that it is too political.

Geldof 'Rows' with Promoter

SIR Bob Geldof fell out with Live8 promoter Harvey Goldsmith at the 11th hour, sending the show into chaos, it was revealed last night. According to Live8 insiders, Geldof was 'fuming' after Goldsmith gave his support to a Pounds 500a-ticket all-night after show party at Elysium nightclub in London's Regent Street.

Live 8

White Heat As Madonna Plays the Prima Donna

MADONNA was so keen for everything to be all white on the night that she insisted on buying the outfits for all 29 people appearing on stage with her. She wanted her five-piece band, two backing vocalists, two dancers and 20 gospel choir singers to wear the white of Make Poverty History, but did not want them bringing their own clothes.

Live 8

A Lyrical Thought for the Day

RADIO 4 listeners flooded the BBC with calls of praise after yesterday's Thought for the Day was delivered in song lyrics to mark Live8. Sir Bob Geldof was so moved by the piece, he called the BBC for permission to display the words on TV screens at the concert.

So You Want to Live In...Canary Wharf

WHAT'S IT LIKE? Not so long ago, Canary Wharf was a ghost town of empty glass and steel offices and deserted shopping malls. Since the likes of Lehman Brothers,Morgan Stanley,Credit Suisse, Clifford Chance,HSBC and Barclays moved in, however,it's not only stuffed with office workers Monday to Friday,but it has become a desirable residential location for young professionals.

Why Life Near the Ground Is Now a Whole New Ball Game ; with No Hooligans and Plenty of Footballers' Wives, the Rush to Buy in or Around Redeveloped Stadiums Is at Fever Pitch

Soccer stands may be the stuff of romance for football fans, but for many nearby residents the reality of match days has meant seeing their neighbourhoods overrun by noisy, testosterone-fuelled crowds. Now, though, a new generation of sleek, state-of-the-art stadiums with family-friendly, year-round facilities is, it appears, lending a certain cachet to living near 'the ground'.

On Sale, Area by Area

ADAMSON RD NW3, Pounds 865,000 This high-ceilinged flat in Belsize Park has a 20ft open-plan living room,gallery study,two double bedrooms and a single,and two bathrooms.

The Best of Builders ; Design Distinction and Architectural Excellence Lauded at Our Prestige Awards

The cream of Britain's homebuilders were among the 700 people at the industry's top awards ceremony last week. They gathered at the London Hilton, Park Lane, for the presentation of The Mail On Sunday National HomeBuilder Design Awards, run in partnership with the National House-Building Council. The 15 winners received their prizes from actress-turned- property developer Fiona Fullerton, a Prophardesterty on Sunday columnist.

Aircraft Hangar Ready to Be Used As Morgue

AN AIRCRAFT hangar has been set aside to act as a morgue in case rioting flares at the G8 summit protest or the meeting of world leaders is hit by a terrorist attack. The hangar is at Strathallan Airfield, just five miles from the Gleneagles luxury hotel, which is hosting the talks.

Sold and Stuck... Two Houses in an Sw6 Development

SOLD Four-bedroom house, Hurlingham Square, London SW6. Asking price: Pounds 645,000 Fulham in West London tends to have a fairly specific clientele. 'It is very much a family-house area,' says Anne Soutry, of John D Wood.