If so, what can you get for your money?Though Phuket would probably be my preference, are there any other places you can recommend for buying a property to reside? I don't speak Thai, so it would need to be a tourist area, though I don't want to be stuck in a tiny apartment of the sort found on the Costa Blanca - even if it does have a sea view Something in a traditional Thai style would be lovely. I wondered if you could tell me whether the area has recovered and are there any properties available for sale. The problem The problem ALISON LEEDER OF SOUTHAMPTON WRITES: I would love to buy a beach property on coastal Thailand The problem is I have no idea if this is even possible. Many years ago I travelled through Thailand and decided it would be a lovely place to come back and settle in.

My main knowledge is of the west coast - around Phuket - though I understand that this was the area devastated by the tsunami on Boxing Day last year. "Five-bed houses can cost more than a million, and unique riverside properties sell for astronomical sums," Leigh says.What's new?Laing's Langdon Park, on the old Normansfield Hospital site along the river, is sold out, and the one remaining detached house at its Seymour Place on Glamorgan Road is on the market at £1.6m. In other parts of the borough of Richmond, many of the houses have four storeys."What are the prices like?A small one-bed flat on a side street can cost as little as £130,000, whereas a riverside one-bedder in a new block can cost more than £200,000. Average prices for two-bed flats and cottages range between £200,000 and £300,000, and three-bed family houses start from £450,000. The town has its characters, hippies and people who live on boats. People speak to you in the local pubs, which is not the case in Kingston and Teddington And we have lots of pubs for such a small area. "Hampton Wick has many good two-floor houses, mostly late Victorian and early Edwardian.

In the past, you could not drink in Kingston, so they built the pubs here."She also appreciates the blend of urban, suburban and country living that the area affords. "It is very easy to get into central London - only a half-hour by train to Waterloo. Then, another half hour and we are back in virtual countryside. By road we can quickly get out of the city altogether."The Pickles' premises is a two-bedroom cottage that was once a mole-catcher's house built on the orders of a nervous royalty. "William of Orange's horse tripped on a mole hill, and the King died from injuries he sustained from that fall," Kristenne explains.Tuppy, their Jack Russell, doesn't have to earn his keep Life is also easier for her masters, Kristenne says. "We just chuck her out into the back garden every morning."What kind of properties are available?There are some two-bedroom flats and cottages that might appeal to singles and young couples, but family houses dominate, says estate agent Robert Leigh.

We have a Jack Russell and we got fed up going down the stairs taking her out every morning."For Kristenne, large parks and the Thames compensate for a small house: "We are close to Bushy Park, Hampton Court and the river, and we like walks and outdoor activities Hampton Wick is unusual. "When we viewed our cottage for the first time, it was also the first time we had been in Hampton Wick, and we loved it," says Kristenne Pickles."My husband Steve and I had been living in a flat in Putney and wanted more space. A while back, one Mr H Plantagenet became smitten with a local pile under construction and said, "We'll take it!" And take it Henry VIII did, becoming the occupier of Hampton Court instead of Cardinal Wolsey, for whom it was being built.Kristenne and Steve Pickles were also immediately won over by their house on the edge of Bushy Park, but they paid for their des res. Across the Thames opposite Kingston in south-west London, Hampton Wick has its own train station, a healthy stretch of riverside houses, good schools, outstanding shopping, a rustic ambience and plenty of history. "We are not banning picnics," emphasised the club's chairman, Tim Phillips.

"Ticket-holders are welcome to bring refreshments as long as their bags are not too big."We work very closely with the police to plan and implement appropriate security measures, and we try to deliver these in a considerate manner."There should be no hard-sided containers coming in. That's because hard-sided containers have been used in the past to conceal things which we would not wish brought into the grounds."For security reasons, there have been no left luggage facilities inside the grounds for the past two years. Mr Gorringe, who joined the club in 1973, is the weather voice of Wimbledon, making announcements over the PA system in sombre tones: "Ladies and gentlemen, may have your attention please ...". The noisy and boisterous crowd which gathers in front of a giant television screen there to cheer on the British challenger - typically to heroic defeat - has become a favourite picnic area in recent years.But Wimbledon insists it is not being a spoilsport. The only explosions to be heard coming from picnic hampers at Wimbledon have traditionally emanated from the pop of the champagne bottles they are used to transport. In a sign that the war on terror has now spread to practically every aspect of modern British life, the up-market food carrier is to be banned amid fears that they may harbour bombs.The All England Lawn Tennis Club has announced that no hard-sided hampers, cool-boxes or briefcases would be allowed into the grounds during the championships which start in eight weeks' time.In addition to the hamper ban, visitors to SW19's festival of tennis will also be limited to one bag per person.The decision is unlikely to go down well on Henman Hill. And women earn more per minute and per game than the men."But the bottom line is you get all this information and you have to make a judgement which you believe is fair to the men and the women."Last year Federer received £602,500 for winning the men's title and Sharapova £560,500 as the women' s champion Roddick, runner-up in the men's singles, was paid £301,250 Serena Williams's runner-up prize was £280,250. This year the losing men's finalist will get £315,000 and the women's runner-up £300,000.Prize-money for the women's singles has increased overall by 5.9 per cent, and the men's has increased by 4.6 per cent.