Modern life presents dwellers of Britain’s “stately homes” with a variety of new options for paying the bills. From garden parties to weddings and funerals (I must check out this option), clever, entrepreneurial minds willing to embrace a few strangers running around embrace new and sometimes wildly exciting guest options.

The best strategies involve tapping into the young, marcissists, art lovers and even sex addicts. Turn the stately family birthright into a lucrative porn shoot location. Just be careful that enchanted guests don’t wander down the wrong staircase.

Curious? The London Times takes us on a tour of fresh thinking about renting out the grandest of mansions.

Susan Boyle for US Harper’s Bazaar “Unsung Hero”Harper’s Bazaar photographed Susan Boyle at Cliveden this summer.

Readers daydreamed in more ways than one. If Susan Boyle can indulge in the good life at Cliveden, what not us?

I think Susan’s stay at Cliveden was on the “up and up”, being surrounded by a pack of fashionistas, stylist, celeb photographer — hardly the kind of people we expect to find at an orgy.

The only lying around Susan might have done was getting a good night’s rest and perhaps enjoying her first hot stone massage.

Now that’s living the good life.

Today’s London Times tell us to prepare for an Indian Summer, if we’re crossing the pond. A typical tourist trip to the British Museum will leave us transported to a different continent: India.

Welcome to Garden & Cosmos, the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur and India Landscape, Kew at the British Museum.

Inside the British Museum, we will find 54 of the royal paintings of Jodhpur, depicting a culture that for two centuries dominated courtly life. The huge, lavish paintings are on loan from the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, set up by Gaj Singh II, the current maharajah of Jodhpur and have never been seen in Europe.

There’s no doubt that this exhibit bears witness to the splendour of a bygone era. The collaboration with Kew Gardens is essential to recreating an Indian experience, one that will feature music, poetry and other events throughout the summer.