The late Queen’s head gardener had lived in the property previously
The former home of the head gardener at a royal estate is being offered as a holiday let – with a stately price tag attached.
The six-bedroom Gardens House was once the residence of the head gardener on the Sandringham Estate, the Norfolk home of King Charles III.
It is being marketed as a holiday let “within the heart of Sandringham’s royal grounds”, with the cost starting from £4,110 per week.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said the let was a sign that royal estates were “actively striving to bolster their revenue streams” and the house would appeal to “well healed Brits”.
The Gardens House joins another property on the Sandringham estate, called The Folly, as holiday homes available to the general public.
Oliver’s Travels
The Edwardian property is positioned on the edge of the estate
The Sandringham Estate covers approximately 20,000 acres (8,100 hectares) with 600 acres (242 hectares) of gardens.
The estate is a popular tourist destination with both the house and garden open to the public.
Within the grounds is a working sawmill and organic farm – and a number of properties.
‘The Gardens House sleeps eight people, has three bathrooms and is dog-friendly.
The listing describes it as “once home to the Estate’s head gardener, this handsome brick residence now offers guests a rare invitation to experience the grace and quiet rhythm of life on one of Britain’s most storied country estates”.
Oliver’s Travels
The property has views over the royal estate
Mr Little said royal estates had always had commercial offers but the way they were being presented had changed.
“The way in which these properties are marketed is much more upfront these days, a consequence perhaps of the fairly recent change of ownership,” he said.
“Given the grandeur of The Folly, in particular, there is a heightened awareness that the privately owned royal estates are actively striving to bolster their revenue streams.”
Sandringham is not the first royal residence to rent out property to holidaymakers, with eight cottages and lodges available for hire at Balmoral Castle, Scotland.
It is stated on the Balmoral website that “some cottages are not available for rent for certain dates during the Royal Family’s visit”.
Opens its first flagship merchandise store in Japan this week, having launched a similar shop in May.
The big-screen success of 1990s video game speedster “Sonic the Hedgehog” has brought new fans to Japan’s Sega, which says it is poised for a comeback after two tough decades.
A model of Sega character ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ is pictured at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2022. — Reuters
This year all eyes have been on Nintendo, whose Switch 2 recently became the fastest-selling console in history.
But unlike its former arch-rival, Sega has not sold gaming hardware since its Dreamcast console was discontinued in 2001, instead focusing on making games for other platforms.
Now, as record tourism to Japan helps boost global appetite for the country’s pop culture, the company sees a chance to reinvent itself — including through nostalgic game remakes and movie adaptations like the hit “Sonic” series.
Sega opens its first flagship merchandise store in Japan on Friday, having launched a similar shop in Shanghai in May.
“Opportunities are expanding,” chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi told AFP. “We’ve been struggling… for a while, but now we are coming back.”
The company aims “to expand our business globally rather than focusing on the Japanese market”, he said.
Sega Corp’s Co-Chief Operation Officer Shuji Utsumi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2022. — Reuters/File
Sega was a top industry player in the 1980s and 1990s, its name synonymous with noisy arcades, home consoles and game franchises, such as beat-em-up “Streets of Rage” and ninja series “Shinobi.”
But it struggled to keep up with intense competition, falling on hard times financially as multiplayer online titles from US publishers, such as “World of Warcraft”, took off in the 2000s.
‘Persona’ movie?
After Sega quit the hardware business, its game offerings “got a little stale,” said David Cole of the US-based games market research firm DFC Intelligence.
But “the kids who grew up in the 1990s are now in their 30s, 40s, even older, and really like those franchises” — and are introducing them to their own children — he told AFP.
The Sonic the Hedgehog balloon floats down Central Park West during the 87th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on November 28, 2013. — Reuters
“It’s untapped value” that Sega — just like its Japanese peers including Nintendo — is trying to capitalise on through new movies, stores and theme park rides, Cole added.
Last year, the film “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” starring Jim Carrey as the villain zipped to the top of the North American box office in one of the best December openings in years.
It followed the first live-action “Sonic” movie in 2020, as Sega cashes in on a video-game movie craze that saw “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” based on the Nintendo characters, become the second-highest grossing film of 2023.
“Shinobi” is also being turned into a film, while Sega’s “Yakuza” game series has been adapted for television.
When asked if cult franchise “Persona” could be next, Sega’s Utsumi said fans should “stay tuned”.
“We are talking to a lot of interesting potential partners. So we are under some discussions, but I can’t say too much about it,” he said.
Super Game
Sega bought Finland’s Rovio, creator of “Angry Birds”, in 2023, seeking to expand into the mobile gaming market.
“Gamers’ behaviour has been changing” since Sega’s original heyday, going beyond TV-connected consoles, Utsumi said.
But Cole said that in the long run Sega should concentrate on “high-end” gaming: larger-scale, more involved titles that encourage brand loyalty.
Sega is working on what it calls a “Super Game” with big-budget international ambition and a scope that is “not only just a game — communication, social, maybe potentially AI”, Utsumi said.
“The competition in the game market is very fierce,” he cautioned.
“It’s important to really have a fan base close to us. But at the same time, when we develop a great game, it takes time.”
Sega’s parent company Sega Sammy also makes arcade and gambling machines, including those used in Japanese “pachinko” parlours, whose numbers are in decline.
Sega logos pictured at Tokyo Game Show in 2016 in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan on September 15, 2016. — Reuters
That makes Sega’s entertainment business “really the growth opportunity for the company”, Cole said.
Sega Sammy said in May its “Sonic” intellectual property “has contributed to an increase in both game and character licensing revenue.”
Young tourists in Tokyo shopping near Sega’s new store ahead of the opening seemed to confirm this.
“I’ve always liked Sega. I kind of grew up around their games,” said 19-year-old American Danny Villasenor.
“They’re pretty retro. But I think they’ve evolved with time pretty well.”
William Harrington, 24, who lives in Los Angeles, said his father “put me on to a lot of the older games back in the day”, and so to him, Sega “feels like childhood”.
Header Image: A model of Sega Sammy character ‘Aliyan’ and Sega character ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ are pictured at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2022. — Reuters
In a rare intersection of justice and public humiliation, Epic Games has furthered its enforcement battles against Fortnite cheaters by suing two for damages and compelling them to publicly confess their wrongdoing on YouTube. One was a hacker conducting DDoS attacks on streamers, and the other a cheat seller and user. Both have now been permanently banned from playing the game and warned of legal repercussions should they continue their nefarious acts.
Public Apology as Punishment
Legal action was yet another weapon in the arsenal wielded by Epic Games against cheating in Fortnite; it was revealed on X on July 14. The official statement read thus:“We took legal action against two people who cheated and broke our rules: one sold and used cheats, and the other carried out cyber attacks on content creators who were livestreaming gameplay (aka: DDoS attacks). Both have been ordered to stop these activities and are banned from playing Fortnite.”Apart from the uncommon severity of punishment, this case is peculiar because of the added requirement of public apology; the two had to upload apology videos on YouTube, admitting their guilt and acknowledging that they had caused harm to the Fortnite community.
Who Are the Offenders?
One of the banned players, Zebsi, perpetrated several DDoS attacks against some of the livestreamers. The DDoS attacks overloaded the targets’ internet bandwidth capacity, thereby preventing the live broadcast of gameplay. It was Zebsi’s disruptive acts, despite a modest number of 2,000 followers, that brought him under serious legal scrutiny. An apology video followed soon after in which Zebsi showed remorse; however, due to the very brief written apology and a seemingly indifferent tone, most viewers were left disappointed.Another banned player, Mirrored, admitted to cheating in competitive matches as well as distributing those cheats to others. With only 200 followers on his YouTube channel, Mirrored posted a typed apology, accepting his lifetime ban and warning others not to distribute cheats. “I would like to apologize to the Fortnite community. I understand the consequences of my actions and will not be involved in cheating again.”
Apology to Epic Games and the Fortnite community
Setting Precedent
This is certainly not Epic’s first strike against cheaters, but one of its most public. The company might have even settled the lawsuit that concerns tournament cheaters, and even donated money from winnings worth $20,000 to charity. By adding courtroom consequences with public apology, Epic sends a clear message: cheating isn’t just unfair, it’s unacceptable.
University of Massachusetts Boston combines optical diagnostics and photodynamic therapy.
A project group including the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has developed a new handheld intraoral device to detect and treat early stage oral cancer.
Described in Biophotonics Discovery, the device could significantly improve care and treatment regimes in low-resource settings.
“Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is exceedingly prevalent and deadly in South Asia, especially the Indian subcontinent, affecting 15 out of every 100,000 people and claiming over 70,000 lives annually,” noted the project in its paper.
“This problem is compounded by inadequate medical infrastructure for screening and cancer care, especially in rural areas. These factors point to the need for new technology that enables timely diagnosis and point-of-care treatment of oral lesions, which can be accessible to medically underserved populations worldwide.”
The team’s solution is a compact, affordable device that can both image suspicious lesions and deliver light-based therapy to treat them. It builds on the group’s previous development of oral diagnostic devices employing autofluorescence (AF), polarized white light (pWL) imaging and machine learning to screen for suspicious oral lesions.
A previous implementation of this approach used a smartphone-attached ring of violet excitation LEDs surrounding an emission filter mounted over the phone camera, a configuration recognized by the project as not the most practical form factor for use in the field.
The new breakthrough integrates those capabilities into a single handheld device with a dental camera form factor, providing photodynamic therapy light delivery and multimodal imaging for diagnostics and monitoring.
Two separate technologies combined to streamline care
In its new architecture the device holds three light sources: a blue/violet LED emitting at 405 nanometers, a white LED at 450 to 650 nanometers and a diode laser outputting 630 nanometers. The white source enables polarized white light imaging, while the blue/violet LED is used for autofluorescence imaging via fluorescence excitation.
The diode laser is present to perform image-guided photodynamic therapy via the activation of a light-sensitive compound called protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), introduced during prior drug treatment and which accumulates in the patient’s cancer cells. Therapy with PpIX has shown promise in treating early oral cancers with minimal side effects.
In initial trials using simulated 3D oral tissues embedded with cancer cells, the system successfully imaged PpIX fluorescence up to 2.5 millimeters deep and showed effective photobleaching at depths relevant to early-stage oral cancers. Subsequent testing on mice showed that tumors treated with the device shrank significantly compared to untreated controls. Histological analysis revealed tumor cell death extending up to 3.5 millimeters deep.
By measuring the decrease in PpIX fluorescence during light exposure the system provides feedback on how much therapeutic dose has been delivered, a potential route to monitoring therapy in real time and ensuring that treatment is effective, even in settings without advanced medical infrastructure.
The project also used ratiometric imaging, comparing red and green fluorescence signals to improve the accuracy of lesion detection and treatment monitoring. This helps distinguish cancerous tissue from surrounding healthy areas, even in complex tissue environments.
“The study demonstrates that a low-cost, portable device can perform both diagnosis and treatment of early oral cancer,” commented the project. “By combining imaging and therapy in a single tool, the technology could streamline care in regions where access to specialists is limited.”
Global leader in dispensing systems Aptar Beauty has channelled its industrial power, innovation capacity and design expertise into the custom development of Clarins’ Double Serum. The three-year development involved multiple manufacturing sites, many molds, custom machinery and the development of a patented system. The result is a truly unique, eco-designed packaging solution to reimagine the ninth generation of the worldwide best-selling serum.
Iconic Packaging for an Iconic Serum
Aptar Beauty combined cutting-edge engineering with a premium look-and-feel for this complex design and assembly. The new Double Serum features two power-packed hydric and lipidic serums into a double-chamber packaging for two-in-one dispensing. The inner bottle appears suspended inside the outer container, which is left clear to keep the formula visible. Progressive dosage allows made-to-measure dosing – from a small drop to a power shot – ensuring waste-free usage. The rotating actuator dispenses gradually bigger doses as it is twisted to the left. Turning to the right locks the cap-free system.
Aptar Beauty holds a patent for this innovative packaging, which covers the double distribution system enabling the 2-in-1 bottle design.
This new eco-designed packaging is made of 94%* recyclable materials and contains 24%** of recycled material, as claimed by Clarins. 85% of the total product weight is made of chemical and mechanical R-PET***, including the two bottles, top push-button actuator and funnel collar. The Custom team took up the technical challenge of achieving high-quality silk-screening and varnish on the recycled material, as well as replacing ABS with PET from key components.
A Demonstration of Custom Manufacturing Excellence
This tailor-made solution is a perfect example of Aptar Beauty’s dual sourcing capabilities for custom projects. The product development takes advantage of the synergies between its Oyonnax and Verneuil and Charleval facilities, with support from other industrial sites like Le Neubourg (France) and Chieti (Italy), for secure manufacturing, supply chain and delivery. In addition to these inter-connections, Aptar Beauty benefits from a well-established network of French subcontractors.
The Custom Beauty teams bring together the group’s know-how – on design, engineering, manufacturing technologies, decoration and logistics – to deliver unique solutions for the premium custom packaging market. For Clarins’ Double Serum, many new molds were developed and qualified on the two different sites, requiring several fully-automated machines.
Produced in 30, 50, 75 and 100ml capacities, all four sizes of the packaging were developed at the same time, grouping common sub-assemblies for greater efficiency.
“We are very proud of this latest edition of the iconic Clarins’ Double Serum, for which we worked hand in hand with Clarins, from creative concept to delivery of the finished product. This project embodies the full potential of our custom activity, technical expertise and manufacturing synergies.”
Florence Muh, Customer Support & Development Director, Aptar Beauty.
A Custom Beauty Manifesto
The Custom teams incorporate local engineering and design expert centers with a global vision, to turn ideas into reality. Aptar Beauty offers a large choice of development and decoration possibilities, while guaranteeing industrial and environmental excellence. With seven production sites in Europe and more than 70 years of expertise in luxury packaging, Aptar Beauty has mastered the art of automating custom manufacture. Through this interconnected, industrial eco-system, it produces tailored solutions for the world’s leading beauty brands.
Each Aptar manufacturing site offers custom services with a specific focus: fragrance pumps, airless dispensers, cosmetics pumps, metal parts, sticks and sampling solutions. Our flagship facility at Oyonnax is dedicated solely to custom manufacture, offering agility, flexibility and operational efficiency, with a high PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled resin) production capacity. Complete synergy between the sites ensures a robust, secure and reliable supply chain.
*Based on 50ml format
**At least 40% from mechanical recycled resin or chemical recycled resin ISCC Mass Balance
Space weather ‘reporter’ Vigil will be the world’s first space weather mission to be permanently positioned at Lagrange point 5, a unique vantage point that allows us to see solar activity days before it reaches Earth. ESA’s Vigil mission will be a dedicated operational space weather mission, sending data 24/7 from deep space.
Vigil’s tools as a space weather reporter at its unique location in deep space will drastically improve forecasting abilities. From there, Vigil can see ‘around the corner’ of the Sun and observe activity on the surface of the Sun days before it rotates into view from Earth. It can also watch the Sun-Earth line side-on, giving an earlier and clearer picture of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) heading toward Earth.
Radiation, plasma and particles flung towards Earth by the Sun can pose a very real risk to critical infrastructure our society relies on. This includes satellites for navigation, communications and banking services as well as power grids and radio communication on the ground.
A report by Lloyd’s of London estimates that a severe space weather event, caused by such an outburst of solar activity, could cost the global economy 2.4 trillion dollars over five years.
ESA’s response to this growing threat is Vigil, a cornerstone mission of the Agency’s Space Safety Programme, planned for launch in 2031. Vigil’s data will give us drastically improved early warnings and forecasts, which in turn help protect satellites, astronauts and critical infrastructure on the ground that we all depend on.
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The tension between hip-hop icons SZA and Nicki Minaj escalated this week into a full-blown social media standoff, as SZA publicly responded to what she described as deliberate shade and selective memory from Minaj.
Nicki Minaj posted a cryptic tweet Tuesday that didn’t name SZA directly but appeared to reference her, alongside a video of SZA attempting to greet Rihanna at the Met Gala. The tweet read: “lol. These be the fake girl’s girls who talk shit but will run u down for a photo…” ending with the hashtag #JusticeForDemoree.
By Wednesday night, SZA responded candidly on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “Nicki. You absolutely know my music and what I contribute cause you’ve asked for features twice to no response.” She also cited Minaj’s previous use of her lyrics in the song Feeling Myself, pointing out: “Cooking up the bass looking like a kilo? Lol ur having a moment… be blessed.”
To support her claims, SZA posted a screenshot of what appeared to be Minaj reaching out via a mutual contact to collaborate on a track. The messages were friendly and professional—casting doubt on Minaj’s implication that she doesn’t know or respect SZA’s work.
Nicki . You absolutely know my music and what I contribute cause you’ve asked for features twice to no response . In addition to rapping my lyrics on feeling myself “Cooking up the bass looking like a kilo”? Lol ur having a moment ..im not sure why but be blessed. pic.twitter.com/tSnhAkCpqx
The phrase “fake girl’s girls” struck a chord with fans, many of whom see it as part of a broader pattern of Minaj’s conflicts with female artists like Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Latto. Unlike previous feuds, SZA—known for her low-drama public persona—chose to speak up this time. Fans quickly rallied around her, praising the calm yet pointed response. With screenshot receipts and lyrical callbacks, SZA reminded everyone that even the quietest voices can clap back with impact.
Improving the currently limited prospects for offshore wind in Europe’s lower wind speed regions, such as the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, involves addressing several challenges. Chief among them are the noticeable lack of developer interest and an overall weak business case.
This report examines how lower wind speeds impact annual energy production and, in turn, worsen project economics, making these regions less attractive compared with high-wind areas. While certain technological adaptations can optimise energy capture, inherently weaker winds reduce the overall appeal for developers. This factor should be considered in any policy for offshore wind deployments in lower-wind regions.
A forward-looking strategy is needed to drive EU innovation in floating offshore wind for lower-wind regions – capitalising on a window of opportunity that remains open. While China is likely to catch up regardless, there is still a chance for Europe to carve out its own space in this emerging segment, rather than relying exclusively on Chinese technology and supply chains in the future.
For a previously published CEPS commentary that summarises many of the issues discussed in this In-Depth Analysis, please click here.
Oliver’s Travels
Oliver’s Travels
Oliver’s Travels
