dpmiller83

There is a cash point outside Sainsbury’s behind waterloo station that issues only £5 notes. It's satisfying receiving a nice wad of crisp new fivers... unfortunate then that each one will barely buy you a pint and a packet of crisps.

I was visiting the inlaws this weekend and the topic shifted to some family jewellery that has been stored in a safety deposit box for the past 10 years or so. There has been on going discussions as to what to do with it, but as with a lot of families disagreements have resulted in nothing happening whatsoever. Anyway... it was clear that the family members were clued up on the fact that gold was at a high right now relative to cash, but the general consensus was "now is the time to sell - lets cash!" I kept relatively quiet, but did suggest that maybe it is worth considering holding on to. That suggestion was quickly swept aside with very little consideration. I would say that even if there is a general awareness for the price of gold, the majority see it as a time to sell rather than a time to buy. Most people don't bother to understand why something has escalated/is escalating in price, least of all try to understand the likelyhood of this trend to continue.

Cheers for the replies. So it looks like this salary might be out. All notes about the position in school still stand. My original post was really about his comment about sneaking in a rise before te freeze. The debate of this being true in this specific case aside, will this type of meddling have any legs in other public sector departments? Surely not...? (to be honest, I'm not sure when such freezes become mandatory...)

I appreciate your comments on here. The salary is by the by, what I was really most interested in is how he described an increase in pay (in whatever form that took, pay grade jump, promotion whatever) advanced to avoid the impending belt tightning/freeze. I don't know the school management system, so interesting to get some insight into that. Also, just to make it clear, this wasn't a witch hunt on teachers, I appreciate that many work way too hard for way too little - this case was always an extreme I could never get my head around.

You might speak with confidence, but evidence would suggest that you are definately wrong there. Sounds like it's not as structured as you think. Amazing how gullible some people can be... (appologies for spelling errors)

I can't argue with your disbelief, but in all honesty I have to say it appears to be true. As fortune of the schools circumstance (teacher leaving) the journey was Head of department after 1year, leadership pay scale (correct terminology?) shortly after and an assistant head teacher title now. (maybe this promotion was brought forward?). It's an inner city Local Authority London school. I've been amazed at the progress. Maybe he is just really good...? Edit for above mistake - it's a 3 bed flat.

So... A good friend of mine in his late twenties has in the past two years been promoted up the ranks into a 'senior management role' at a London secondary school. Its clear he's done very well at climbing the ladder having only been a teacher for a little over two years he now earns £50k+. This week he tells me he has been offered his second pay rise of the year - this one brought forward so that it could be implemented before the impending pay freeze. Does this bringing forward of the rise not defeat the object...? He openly gloats "recession, what recession? I haven't seen it" and it looks like this good fortune may continue.. How common is this going to be throughout the public sector - is this a one off or will this be one of many more examples of public sector financial mismanagement to come...? To give him credit he works s a lot of hours, and I don't want to take that away from him. It just seems that the parallels to experience in my industry (consultant engineer) and much of the private sector are just staggering. I have struggled to get a pay rise in the last 2-3 years and many of my peer group at other firms have been made redundant or taken pay cuts. As a link to house prices... he did just tie himself up with £300k + mortgage on a two bed flat earlier this year...

I can’t disagree with you, but it’s still sad in that this kind of behaviour has been encouraged by the media (including the BBC) and actively encouraged by the government in ramping HPI... It’s been an interesting show actually (two hours long mind, so a dedicated listen). There is certainly a lot of anger against MP’s of all party colours. There is also a universal theme of a frustration of not telling us the truth... A comical moment... Tory candidate for the area John Walsh had a arranged a re-release of Chris Rea’s single ‘Steel River’. Asked if the steel industry could be saved under a Tory Government he could not commit, asked what we can replace the steel industry with he apparently said “we would replace steel making in the industry with a fortnights film festival on Teesside!” (can't quote me on that though! ) Bonkers.

...bleedin’ eck... 56 minutes a gentleman (who had just had a good moan about hugely excessive public sector salaries in the area and high business rates) was asked will he still be voting labour responded with something along the lines of “if I’m truly honest, with my eyes wide open and after seeing both of the debates on TV, I can honestly say the only party with any substance is... (wait for it, I was on the edge of my seat)... labour!! It even got a (small) clap!! Head, desk, banged.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s6l79#synopsis fast forward to after the news (5 mins in or so...) Not sure if anyone else heard this, but i'm currently listening to it on iplayer... It's started off as quite an interesting debate with a feisty Teesside crowd with strong passions. Quite a few references to the effects/costs of housing - particularly the guy who got laid off just days after putting all of his equity into a second home "for his pension"... You've got to ask how many more examples of this are out there - brainwashed into thinking that there is nothing safer than bricks and mortar...! Strong traditionally strong Labour seat... will be interesting to see how the failure of the goverment to support corus will effect the outcome. worth a listen so far. Last broadcast today, 10:00 on BBC Radio 5 live. SynopsisVictoria is joined by 200 5live listeners to debate the economy from the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough. They're joined by a panel of MPs, including the business minister Rosie Winterton, Conservative's Philip Hammond, who's the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liberal Democrats' Steve Webb who's their work and pensions spokesperson, and Gina Dowding from the Green Party. Mel, a youth worker in Darlington, says she's fed up of that none of the parties are telling the country exactly where they are going to make public sector cuts. Rachel's father had worked for Corus for more than 32 years and was recently made unemployed. She asks the MPs what they would do for him. Labour MP, Rosie Winterton, asks if Rachel's dad still wants to remain in work.

Citibank do a range of international currency accounts, including CAD, AUD, SEK and USD... They offer little interest but transfer between each looks like its very easy with the online banking. I currently have a USD, but might just open myself up a SEK and CAD for possible future use... I'm sure they are very similar to Barclays offerings. http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/international/summary.htm#krona I agree with the idea of diversification... seems extremely sensible to me. As for the sheeple effect, i dont exactly see the masses running to put cash in a swedish bank account. Personally, i am not in the market for buying property just yet, and am happy renting. I do however want to keep what i have stored up as a deposit as safe as i can. Pop a little gold in the mix for good measure. Many peopole i speak to seem to think all is rosy, and Mr Brown has done a pretty good job at bringing us through this mess. It's all over, silly... quick, lets go buy a house.