Deva bargain

There was a report in The Times yesterday about a survey carried out by the Royal Bank of Scotland which has named the top 20 'bargain' addresses. I know most people read yesterday's newspaper, yesterday, but I have to read it a day late, some days, because my husband takes it to work so I don't see it until the evening, at the earliest, but yesterday I worked until 9.00 pm and didn't get home until 9.30 pm so the newspaper had to wait.

Third of the top 20 'bargain' addresses is Chester or if you prefer the Roman city of Deva. A 'bargain' address means that you can have a wealthy lifestyle on the cheap. Beverley in East Yorkshire was considered the top 'bargain' address and I have to admit that I would rather live there than in Chester, maybe because I was born and brought up in East Yorkshire and I remember admiring Beverley as an attractive market town. The criteria to be considered a 'bargain' address are posh shops and restaurants, cultural attractions, good schools, luxury car dealerships, quality hotels, sporting facilities and affordable housing. I suppose Chester has all of these. But I can honestly say that it costs us just as much to live here, just outside Chester, as it did when we lived down in Surrey, near Guildford. Chester scored highly in this survey for, amongst other things, its medieval shopping arcades which are known as The Rows. Admittedly Chester seems to be a bit of a shopping Mecca with some people but I cannot see the attraction myself. I would rather shop in Guildford any day. Shopping in The Rows is a bit like going into a rabbit warren and you need a lot of money and a lot of time. Really you need to be a bit of a diva or maybe it should be deva to appreciate these medieval shopping arcades.