The personal possessions of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, untouched in his London home since his death in 1991, will soon go up for auction. The items, including the handwritten lyrics to We Are the Champions and stage costumes, the guitar on whichhe likely wrote Crazy Little Thing Called Love, a Picasso linocut, and his Tiffany & Co moustache comb — will be displayed in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong before Sotheby’s brings them to the auction block in September. From CNN: “Mercury’s famous crown — thought to be loosely modelled on the crown King Charles III will wear at his coronation on May 6 — and his accompanying cloak are expected to sell for up to £80,000 ($100,000).
A German court said yesterday that a landlord sunbathing naked in the courtyard of his building wasn’t a reason for his tenants to reduce their rental payments. The case involved a building in an upmarket residential district of Frankfurt, which included an office floor, rented by a human resources company. The company withheld rent because it objected, among other things, to the landlord’s naked sunbathing. In response, the landlord sued. The Frankfurt state court rejected the company’s reasoning, finding that “the usability of the rented property was not impaired by the plaintiff sunning himself naked in the courtyard”. It said that it couldn’t see an “inadmissible, deliberately improper effect on the property”. Judges were ruling on an appeal against a lower court decision that went in the landlord’s favour.
Good to know
A potty call goes wrong.
The problem with fruit
A reader writes: “I love nectarines and pears, but the problem with fruit is that it’s inconsistent. Some apples are delicious. Some apples taste bad. Sometimes blueberries are yum and sometimes they are disgusting. But you know what’s the same every time? Doritos.”
