It's been a good week for ...

annoying the folk next door.

The love-thy-neighbour concept is wearing a bit thin in a quiet cobbled cul-de-sac in the upmarket London suburb of Kensington.

Owners of a multimillion-pound house painted it in red-and-white stripes after neighbours objected to plans to demolish the building and replace it with a new house.

The controversial plans were turned down by Kensington and Chelsea Council but given the go-ahead on appeal.

Neighbours have vowed to fight the plans and have launched their own appeal at the High Court.

Residents in the street, one of London's wealthiest neighbourhoods, are seeing red over the colourful redesign, although a council spokesman said the painting of a building does not require planning permission.

Saskia Moyle, 18, who lives across the road with her father, said: "I don't think it belongs here.

It's fluorescent and very garish. Without sounding very pretentious it isn't very Kensington. It's more Camden or something like that."

Asked if she liked the new design or thought the house was a tacky monstrosity, she laughed and added: "I think tacky monstrosity, we all hate it."

Another resident said she believes the paint job is a provocative gesture to rile neighbours. Most perceptive.

Revenge is even sweeter when it's candy-striped.

It's been a bad week for ... Barbie

Sales of US toymaker Mattel have dropped for a sixth consecutive quarter. Who are they blaming? Poor old Barbie.

Apparently, she's sagging. Net sales fell by 2.5% in the three months to March from a year ago, while global sales of Barbie fell 14% in the same period.

The firm's net loss also widened more than four-fold to $58.2m (£39m).

Fifty-six year old Barbie has been facing increasing competition from a range of new toys and gadgets.

However, there are perhaps other forces at work. The Pinkstinks brigade have long had it in for Barbie and her ilk.

The campaign, which "targets the products, media and marketing that prescribe heavily stereotyped and limiting roles to young girls", has been chipping away at this issue since 2008.

A statement on the Pinkstinks website states: "We believe that all children - girls and boys - are affected by the 'pinkification' of girlhood. Our aim is to challenge and reverse this growing trend."

Maybe the campaign is beginning to hit home. Every doll has its day.