sparks

I don't think that slapper would entice me over the border.... :Laugh:

Do you really think so? I've tried them in several locations, and have yet to hear much improvement..and they are more power hungry - so no 'green' argument there! Online is different, but then I find it annoying when listening to a station such as 5live to hear every rustle of paper, every sniff, and every tap on the keyboard!

I'll keep you posted... 'spark's daily bulb check'!... :Laugh: mind you, I've got some way to go... Link

I'm not against the energy saving ones in principle...in fact our leccy bill has gone down quite a bit since fitting them around the house. But I agree that there are certain areas which need the 'old ones' - and round here the discount stores and corner shops still stock them, as do the markets. And still 4 for a quid ! They are also on Amazon (and cheaper), so I guess internet sales are still not banned...for now Link btw, can anyone beat this. We took an outside light (which had been at parents house for 10 years) when we moved to our first place. It then followed us to our present abode. Used daily (on a 'dusk 'til dawn') and the same 100w bulb is still working. Tried working out how many hours it's clocked up, but 30 years of operation gives a figure large enough for a headache !

Nice try All1.. just for that I'll arrange transport for you myself to trafalgar square on that glorious saturday.... :Laugh:

'verbal battle'? - I thought it was an exchange of views...I posted a topic, and you replied. I happen to disagree with some of what you have said, and have merely pointed out where. Do you expect no response? If you find that a problem, then maybe forums in general aren't for you. So what posts have you had removed? If you think it unfair, then contact the boss. Virtually nothing gets removed unless it's extremely offensive, so it's worth having a word.

Unfortunately you have to 'read between the lines', and seek more information... So the 'official' figures go down, because many are unable to claim unemployment benefits - for the uninitiated, the figures are fiddled! Bingo!...in both cases, the impression is given that we are doing 'ok', when in reality we are only doing 'ok' because others are doing worse - doesn't mean we are actually in a good state, either football wise or economically! Of course you can believe what you like, but don't confuse lies for optimism, because in these cases pessimism is actually realism.... :Winky:

Link1 Link2

So why aren't ours like these... Link And what do we get.....

Some good news... Link Keep on not buying those crappy DAB radios folks...!

Never ever ever go for a renewal quote...They play on the fact that many can't be bothered to shop around. We usually pay about £180 fully comp, and every year we get a renewal for about £400...So just cancel, and go online - and we often find the one we end up with is the same company, and for the last 4 years we have paid the same premium with the AA... They're all at it, and it's a con...And that's all insurance renewals too... just had the AA membership one through...quote £141 - amount paid £72 ! Funnily enough I've just done it also with clarks shoes for the kids...."but it was £5 less last year, so I'll just go to brantanos" usually does the trick!

I've just learnt that the perfect way to stop those irritating summer bugs is to spray them with this: Apparently it slows them down into a lumbering, spluttering, useless creature that eventually hits the deck and dies Someone ought to tell Crapello that this wasn't exactly the 'magic spray' he had in mind when he used it on Rooney and the rest of the England team... :Laugh: ps: the tip about bugs is actually quite true... :Winky:

In 1990 the following happened: The Collapse of the Soviet Union Nelson Mandela was freed Windows 3.0 was released Iraq invaded Kuwait East Germany ceased to exist Thatcher was evicted All of these pale into insignificance when compared with the momentous event that occured on this day in 1990... I lost my 'freedom'...... :Laugh:

No... it's because banks are working on the idea that a lot of these notes will find their way back into savings accounts... I've got a theory that this is not the last time this will happen in the near future - simply because an awful lot of money has been taken 'out of the system' since it's not making any interest in the bank. In fact if you have a bit spare, you'd be well advised to keep a stash for the time when the cash machines suddenly close - we were within of few hours of that happening a couple of years ago, and the worst is yet to come! Of course it wouldn't be long before people realised that those pieces of paper were useless anyway, so you also have to have other 'currency' available... :Winky:

amazing how quickly the figure changes... 307

I'm certainly no tory supporter, but you have to ask yourself why your payments went up so much then, and why it's possible they'll do the same again...(and in actual fact taxes were higher during the recently departed labour lot than they were during the preceding tory era!) It's because Labour based their economy on massive borrowing and promoting growth based on an illusion. The Tories have had to pick up the pieces yet again, but usually they target the wrong people to pay for it! I'm encouraged so far by the coalition because their extreme policies have been tempered somewhat...That's why I've always favoured PR because it has this effect... However, it doesn't matter who is in power when our true debts are 'called in'...!

All1 The housing benefit idea is a bit bizarre, and IMO has been elevating property prices/rent artificially..I'm on the south coast. Not London I know, but still not in a cheap area - and yet my mortgage for a 4 bed house is not that much more than the new weekly allowance ! Something has gone badly wrong somewhere, and I would rather see help to buy rather than handing over our taxes to landlords (if you knew where some of our family's finances come from, you'd think I was the turkey voting for christmas with that statement, but I look at the bigger picture). All benefits need to be looked at, and if it is done sensibly prices will fall correspondingly. It's not for nothing that the UK is known internationally as 'Treasure Island' by global companies, and especially those supplying our public services/institutions... As for the debt problem, you're right. In effect we'll just about be able to meet the monthly credit card interest payment, but not pay off any of the outstanding balance!

Can anyone see any real 'pain' in there?... Sure, the VAT rise will cost a bit, but then shopping around more will solve that... The pay freeze takes a bit off, but when you take the tax out of a pay rise, you're not left with much extra anyway.. CGT is a bit of a problem in my case, but easily avoided... :Winky: Too little, too late I'm afraid - it won't change the fact that we are still heading for bankrupcy, since even if we 'balance the books' we still owe a couple of £trillion !

They don't have to... If our credit rating drops, the interest rate we pay to borrow sky rockets, adding to the debt (Greece is I believe at 18% atm). If we default, we can't borrow money full stop... No borrowed money means the government is unable to pay the public sector - doctors, nurses, teachers, police, army etc etc...How long do you think it will take before the whole place falls apart? (I give it about a month after default... :Winky: ) Meanwhile, in a desperate attempt to postpone the inevitable, all the UK's remaining assets will be sold off to the creditors in a 'fire sale', so no bailiffs needed...

Not sure how many of you still look in ( welcome back sharky btw ), but I've got a question... We all know (or should all do) that in the UK we are now in a very serious situation. Recently, there's been lots of talk about trying to emulate the 'canadian solution' to their debt crisis in the mid 90's. Now it's easy to google figures/stats about the amount owed/cut, but what I'd like to know is what actual affect it had on day to day life.... What happened to health care/education/employment etc in the REAL WORLD? When I visited a few years ago, on the surface it seemed that the country was doing ok...but of course I could never see what was really happening. Did the 'prosperity' come back as it was, and if it did was it built on the same dodgy ground as before? I happen to think that we have a far greater problem in the UK right now (as opposed to canada in the '90's) , with a higher deficit and much greater underlying debt. Added to that, we have no resources. Canada reduced spending by approx 20% to solve their problems, and whilst I reckon it would have to be nigh on 50% to have the same effect, I'm interested to hear any personal experiences of that period...

Check your wallet....In a little over three weeks' time, £20 notes featuring the image of Edward Elgar will cease to be legal tender.

Hi boss.. It p*ssed down here today so I'm happy - I don't have to water the allotment.... :Laugh:

Take your pick...

Yep... The daily scum filmed this, and did you hear all the other cameras going off in the background?

WTF...!