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Leisure features, autumn 2012

I'm writing two leisure-property features for Estates Gazette: one on Southampton, queen of the Solent, and the other on the West Midlands, not queen of the Solent.
Comment/contact most welcome from those with leisure connections or thoughts by 3rd October (for Southampton) and by 10th October (for West Midlands). They are published on 27th October and 3rd November, respectively. Hope that's clear...

South West Business Insider - Rural Economy - November 2012

One of our fields during haymaking - with some of our
 chickens enjoying the consequences

Agriculture is more important to the South West than perhaps any other UK region and despite the doom and gloom still pervasive in many parts of the economy, farming is booming.  We’ll take a look at the major topics surrounding the agricultural sector:

Agricultural land prices have reached astronomic proportions – what’s happening, where and for what reasons?

The dairy wars currently hitting the headlines reflect a huge issue – will this mean the final phase of restructuring the UK dairy industry?

And is agriculture one of the last parts of the UK economy favoured by banks? With lending secured against acres and acres of increasingly expensive land, commentators suggest farmers are one of the few sectors actively looking to diversify and expand their operations.  Who’s doing what and what do the specialist professional advisers think?

Comments/contacts from folk with links to the agricultural world - as intermediaries, bankers, advisors, agronomists, etc - most welcome by 2nd October 2012, please.

Retail Supplement - Estates Gazette - 3 November 2012

Yes, summer's still with us and we're planning for November already - and the deadline isn't far off, either. Two features for the EG retail supplement in November: I'd like to know more about toy and childrens' retailing, and also the big deep discount retailers (pound stores and their like). Comment/contacts by 24th September at the latest. Please note the early cut-off. To get you in the mood here's a glimpse of this year's latest depressing gender-specific stereotype-reinforcing back-in-its-box or broken-by-boxing-day toy for boys (all the girls will have pink ponies, of course) *big sigh* :

East Midlands - Estates Gazette - 13th October 2012

I'm interested in retail and residential development in the East Midlands - and obviously there's a particular emphasis on the regional capital, Nottingham - for the Estates Gazette feature published on 13th October. Comment/contact from folk with strong relevant interests most welcome by 11th September 2012, please.