With the future of the US Embassy’s occupation of Grosvenor Square up in the air, it seems pertinent to ask Grosvenor, the private property empire of the Duke of Westminster, whether it would be willing to sell the Yanks the building’s freehold.

Jeremy Newsum, the chief executive of Grosvenor, laughs at the suggestion. “The desire on their part to buy the freehold has always been there. We might part with the freehold if we can have the land back that was confiscated during the Revolution.” That’s the American Revolution. And, given that the “swamp-land in Maryland” he is referring to now falls within the city boundaries of Washington DC, it looks as if the Embassy will have to step up its search for a new London home.

I am glad to see that npower, the electricity and gas supplier that is owned by RWE, of Germany, is taking its green responsibilities seriously. E-mails sent out by employees of the company carry the following message: “You can reduce your heating bills by turning your heating down rather than by opening windows to reduce the room temperature.” But, as if stating the bleeding obvious was not enough, npower goes on to source this pearl of wisdom to the Carbon Trust. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Pub chief stays for a few more rounds When Tim Martin, the founder and chairman of JD Wetherspoon, relinquished his executive duties in 2004, there was speculation that it would not be long before he quit the pub group altogether and sold his shares. Given that his 22 per cent stake is worth £240 million, such a move would have a huge impact. But investors need not fear. In The Morning Advertiser, Martin reveals that, while he has no intention of outstaying his welcome, he expects to be around “for a long time — 15 to 30 years”. When he does sell, the proceeds are unlikely to go to his family. “I’ll contribute it to charities, or whatever. I won’t give it to Bill Gates — he’s got enough.”

Eli Lilly, the maker of Prozac, has launched its first prescription drug for pets. Reconcile, a beef-flavoured chewable tablet, is aimed at dogs that get upset when left alone and start to chew the furniture or bark. Not that Eli Lilly is breaking new ground; Novartis already sells a similar product, called Clomicalm. Thankfully, Tiggy, my springer spaniel, has no need for such medicaments.

A two-hectare island on the Thames, near the village of Bray, has been put up for sale with a price tag of £7.5 million. Monkey Island, which comes complete with a grade I-listed hotel with 26 rooms, has been put on the market through Knight Frank by the Al Habtoor Group, the Dubai conglomerate that has owned it since 1999. Frankly, Al Habtoor always struck me as an unlikely owner. Its other hotels are mostly opulent resorts and palaces and it recently opened Lebanon’s first theme park, Habtoorland, which it describes as “a Phoenician realm of fantasy, adventure and excitement”. Rather different.

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