TIME LINE

Current squeeze on spending on DIY and tradesmen predicted to continue

Frantic price-cutting by clothing chains and DIY stores in the wake of March's cold weather has driven down high-street inflation to its lowest level for three and a half years, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Home Retail chief executive Terry Duddy has blamed last year’s spring and summer washout for annual profits more than halving at its DIY chain Homebase.

'They want adventure but they don't want the worry'

Social housing tenants will be expected to keep fit, give up smoking and actively look for work, under a controversial new scheme devised by a major housing association.

Something to Declare

The celebrity fad for inkings has taken an alarming turn: now they’re doing it themselves, says Rebecca Armstrong

The recession has made domestic gods and goddesses of us all. In the past five years television has produced Kirstie’s Homemade Home, Kirstie’s Homemade Christmas, The Great British Bake Off and now The Great British Sewing Bee, which airs tonight. 

Centuries of debate over where King Alfred the Great is buried could soon be over after archaeologists exhumed bones from an unmarked grave this morning.

Carrying out your own electrical work can be tempting. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there regarding what we’re allowed to do ourselves and what has to be left to a professional. We spoke to electrician Darren Pennington, of Pennington's Electrical, and member of RatedPeople.com to give us the reality of the situation.

Simon Usborne reports on a (possible) solution

It doesn't sound like a great idea, does it? But there's a case for relaxing knife policy on the planes, albeit a "callous and ugly one", and Slate's William Saletan has stepped up to make it.