The holly leaf has a central midrib like any other leaf and eight pairs of veins branching out

The holly leaf has a central midrib, like any other leaf, and eight pairs of veins branching out from the midrib in parallel lines to the eight spines on either side of the leaf. The words are quite weird, suggesting the pagan figure of the Green Man lurking at the crib. Holly, one of this country’s rather small collection of native evergreens, carries symbolic baggage along with its berries. It stands for life in the bleak midwinter and, in country areas at least, still commands great respect.

The garage is large enough to house his gold Rolls-Royce convertible, which cost nearly twice as much. With parking spaces at such a premium it now costs the same to buy a single garage in central London as a three- bedroom semi-detached house in Barnsley.. The holly and the ivy/When they are both full grown/Of all the trees that are in the wood/ Dum de dum de dum dum dum.” You’ve probably heard the carol a dozen times already, beamed into shopping malls, programmed into end of term nativity plays. a top garage sale:Ivana Trump’s husband Riccardo Mazzucchelli paid pounds 100,000 for a garage in Shafto Mews, Knightsbridge, London, near his home in Cadogan Square. It has featured on this list three times in three years, changing hands more like a batch of shares than a home. This time the price was pounds 4.5m through Knight Frank & Rutley.And finally… It was sold last week by John D Wood for just under pounds 5m.10.

Number 3a Kensington Palace Green, Kensington, LondonThis is the penthouse flat in the Regalian block that became synonymous with the property crash. It is the kind of house more commonly found in Gloucestershire than Chelsea. It was sold in the summer by Chesterfield and Knight Frank & Rutley for around pounds 5m to an English purchaser.9. Number 10 Holland Park, LondonAnother period, double-fronted house whose symmetry was destroyed by a garage on the lower ground floor. The new owners are expected to change that arrangement while stripping out the rest of the house – currently divided into a maisonette and two large flats. It was sold for more than pounds 5m by Savills and Knight Frank & Rutley to a private buyer who is converting it into a family house.8 Osborne House, Chelsea, LondonThis was a very English sale. Osborne House is a genuine Georgian property with lovely gardens of one third of an acre, some six bedrooms and off- street parking for five cars.