But Japanese design has always been about being bold, too, and producing prints with hotdogs and apes on them. Anyone who knows anything about Japanese fashion has heard of Nigo and his brands A Bathing Ape and Billionaire Boys Club, who are famous thanks to their prints. Prints have always been an important part of street fashion.

There are some really useful tools on the internet today that can help you assess the likely price of your current house or a property that you are interested in. Sites such as nethouseprices.com allow you to track the houses that have sold in your street or locality. You can get information on current sales prices and also track them back for several years. This will help you follow the price trends in your area and aid you in making an informed decision as to the area you should be looking to buy in or whether now is the best time to sell your existing property.

All you need to do is enter your postcode, or the postcode of the area that you wish to live in, and you will be given pages of latest properties that have been sold, what they were sold for, details of that property and a map to pinpoint the location (useful if you are trying to determine an area in which to buy).

Of course, these sites serve as a guide only and if you are serious about buying or selling, an official evaluation is the only way to go. But as a method of monitoring the market while you make your decision, the information provided by these tools can act as a good rule of thumb. At the very least, they allow you to nose at what your neighbour’s place fetched! You will probably notice, however, that the amount of sold properties featuring in 2009 months is rather limited due to the crash with far less people buying and selling being recorded. It’s worth checking out and keeping this tool in your back pocket if you’re interested in property though.

It is reported that hedge funds managing billions have already moved to Switzerland in the past twelve months with more following suit as we speak. Guernsey and the Isle of Mann are other destinations on private equity manager’s lists of tax havens, with many lawyers now busy advising professionals from all facets of financial management on how best to leave the country. The prospect is being made even more attractive as Switzerland’s member states of Zurich and Zug are proactively targeting British business with even lower than their already-low 14% tax rate. A tasty proposition for those about to lose half of their income.

And it’s not just financial professionals who are jumping aboard the arc to set sail for financial salvation. It is reported that young Brits, either looking for their first job or those moving and improving jobs before they settle down with a family, are opting for foreign shores; Australia being the most popular destination. At the other end of the scale, the popularity of Britain’s South Coastal cities and towns, such as Brighton and Bournemouth, is declining amongst pensioners as those lucky enough to be able to afford retirement in the first place, seek a better quality of life overseas. Even British icon Michael Caine is alleged to have got in on the action, claiming he will return to America if Britain increases the tax rates any further. English speaking destinations with warmer climates such as Australia, New Zealand, the U.S and Canada (albeit less warm) were the most popular targets for relocation.

It’s now thought that more British live abroad than any other nationality, ironically at the same time that immigration has hit its highest level ever recorded. Swapsies anyone? You don’t have to be a genius to work out that this mass exodus of young people and money-making professionals (along with their money) will have a yet further negative impact on the British economy in the long run. Who knows what ‘being British’ will mean in the not-so-distant future.