THE STATELY HOME

The National Trust is selling a 125-year lease for the Grade II*-listed Phillips House in Wiltshire, which contains more than 38,000 sq ft of living space. Grand state rooms on the ground floor are complemented by no fewer than 11 double bedrooms and five bathrooms on the first floor, with further bedrooms and store rooms on the second floor. Outside, four and a half acres of gardens sit within 200 acres of parkland, maintained by the National Trust. Salisbury Station is a 20-minute drive, with trains to London Waterloo in an hour and a half. £2m.

Eating

The Silver Crest Donut Shop in San Francisco has an impressive claim to fame, says Chris Colin in Alta Magazine: it has been open every day, 24 hours a day, since 1970. When health officials demanded that the diner shut its doors during the pandemic, its 84-year-old owner George “just pointed at the sign” at the front of the shop: “We Never Close.” George works nights, as a bartender, cook, janitor and maintenance man; his wife Nina, whom George met in their home country of Greece, works days. On the menu, liverwurst and devilled egg sandwiches have had their prices removed because they’re no longer available – “a quiet passing”. But otherwise, as George says when you ask him how he’s doing: “Nothing change. Everything fine.”

Quirk of history

The 5th Earl of Balfour first realised the significance of the Balfour Declaration when he was a 14-year-old schoolboy at Eton, says Harry Mount in The Oldie. A copy of the statement – written 107 years ago by former prime minister Arthur Balfour, backing the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine – hung in his loo at home. But the historic document was “never discussed at home or school”. So it was a poignant moment when a Jewish London cabbie spotted his school trunk with his surname painted on it. “Is this yours, mate? Are you anything to do with the prime minister?” Yes, he said, the 1st Earl was his great-great-uncle. “I don’t believe this!” said the driver, before pulling off the road and singing Jewish songs to the teenage boy. “Wait till I get home and tell my family. What he did for us!”

THE FLAT

This two-bedroom apartment on the seventh floor of Hoxton’s Duo Tower enjoys panoramic views of the city, and is within easy walking distance of Columbia Road and Regent’s Canal. Two bright double bedrooms benefit from built-in oak wardrobes, while the minimalist kitchen and large living space are positioned to make the most of the floor-to-ceiling windows that lead out onto the wraparound balcony. The building has a 24-hour concierge and indoor bike storage. Old Street tube is a 15-minute walk. £830,000.