A while back we were contacted by one of those property companies that trade on the internet. There are dozens of companies of their kind, some based in Florida or the Bahamas, others defy geography and just ply their global trade in placeless anonymity over the wickedly woven web. This one had the usual range of offerings: glittering glass office premises in Dubai, a timeshare or two in Grand Canaria, the statutory Loire château and a dozen Polish castles. But it also indicated that a good range of Slovenian islands were for sale.