thunderbird900

Boom and Bust. Well written! I could not have expressed it better.

Frugalista, thank you. I sold a 2 bedroom terraced house in May 2004 for £187,000. Saved and worked hard to increase the deposit for the new house. Taxmyrs, don't worry! The recent increase are only a blip. Hold your nerve and wait. With utility bills going through the roof and personal debt in the headlines every day, I think it is only a question of time before house prices really slump. The only reason I bought is because this property had originally been up for sale at £335,000. When I first saw it in the EA's window it was £315,000 and when I viewed it two weeks later the price had dropped to £305,000. I put in an offer of £280,000! We shook hands on £295,000. The bargains will be coming thick and fast in the very near future.

His name seems very appropriate!

Taxmyrs hold fire! I STR'd for 18 months with about the same amount, £225,000, burning a hole in my pocket. The waiting paid off. In December we bought a 5 bed detached for £295,000. With en suite, garage, cul de sac location, alarmed and fully fitted kitchen. Half an hour from London, 20 minutes to Brent Cross. Honest! Mind you, the waiting game is hard work...

Brainclamp, and your point is??? Lets all join a Union and house prices will come down. Silly me. I never thought of that one.

She was an au pair in North London. Met her through a friend and somehow we clicked. Lots of people confuse Slovakia with Slovenia and Serbia. The usual comment is "did she come her to escape the troubles over there?" When I explain, put Czech and Slovak together and what country have you got? the confusion clears. She comes from a town called Dolny Kubin, up in the High Tatras area. It's a beautiful, yet relatively undicovered part of Europe. Lovely scenery, even lovelier women! It's a short drive over the Polish border to visit Krakow, a wonderful old and interesting town. I would highly recommend visiting there while it's still cheap. Twelve pounds a night B&B, 4 course meal ten quid. Only £50 return from Luton to Bratislava on Easy Jet. Go there, you won't be disappointed.

Scooter, I'm still paying...

My wife is from Slovakia. She is GORGEOUS! I thoroughly recommend East European women, nutty as fruitcakes, materialistic, usually very pretty and great in the sack. Caveat Emptor --- LET THE BUYER BEWARE!

It's a SHED load of money!!!

Spot on Realist! The white shirts and pink ties will also go. White is not the best colour for a bloater like Gordon. No more 50 quid Matalan suits either. Also, when he attends the Mansion House, you watch him stop wearing a lounge suit (wot a rebel) and wear the formal penguin attire. Blair is, and has always been, a con man, a confidence trickster. Brown won't have to try too hard.

First we had Brown the patriot, suggesting we should all fly a Union Jack from our front garden. Now we have lovable Gordon, the soft and cuddly father. How about the BBC doing a TRUTHFUL summary of his record as Chancellor. How he sold of our gold reserves at a rock bottom price, and then bought dollars with the money at precisely the wrong time. Or how he single handedly wrecked the UK's personal and companies pension schemes with his £5 billion a year tax raid in 1997. What about the way he lies about his growth forecasts for the UK economy by simply moving the dates of the forecast. Lets go back a bit further, remember that nonsense he spouted about the girl that was rejected by Cambridge University. After it all settled down his rantings were proved to be incorrect. His ridiculous tax credits system has cost the country enormous amounts of money and has caused serious stress and debt to countless people. Personally, I think he is rubbish, A two bob deception, a liar and a fake. When is this country going to wake up?? Also, his ugly head is too big for his fat neck!

Bear Goggles, an endowment mortgage is, and always has been, an interest only mortgage. I assume what you are saying is that your friend has surrendered the endowment plan. If he is still paying into his endowment, usually a low cost plan, then he still does have a savings vehicle to pay off his mortgage.

Remember in the 80's when every High Street in land had a Ratners's (crap) jewelery store. Now go back to last year.... You could buy your drink at Unwins, your car at Rover, your furniture at Courts, your computer at Tiny, ad nauseam... Watch out for MFI this week! Plus ca change.

I know that flat screen TV is taking over from the conventional telly but are we all being taken for a ride? Everything is now High Definition ready. Well, look at your average plasma or LCD. Usually the picture quality is very poor. Colour bleed or blurred definition, it's all there to see. I have an 18 year old Sony Triniton that has a much sharper picture. Is it a case of the Emporor's clothes?

Sparkle, possibly you are being a bit too harsh. At least the programme is addressing the main problems that so many people find themselves in. That is, how did you get into this debt and more importantly, how are you going to get out. I'm sure your facts are right about the baliffs, but I think you may be missing the point. In this day and age with all the dumbed down rubbish on the telly, here is a programme that although watchable for the masses, cuts to the bone. It's all well and good giving out the advice, the main thing that needs to be addressed is the reality check. Every time the couple laughed at their spending the presenter kept a serious face and told them in no uncertain terms this ain't no laughing matter. For once, well done to the BBC.

The way I see it is like this. From the Ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians throw in all the Hindu Gods, plus the Jews, Christianity and of course we can't forget the nuttiest one out of the lot, Islam. If all of them are right, there must be a whole club of Gods sitting on a cloud up there looking down on us. Either that or mankind has wasted an incredible amount of time, energy and of course life in following all their crazy beliefs and superstitions. Personally I have never believed in any of it. It's always blokes in fancy dress and stupid hats wanting power, telling us what to do and of course their favourite, controlling women. Religion is one big con trick, always has been, always will be.

Gordon Brown is using this nonsense of Britishness as an opprtunistic way of telling the great British public, Look I care, I'm proud to be British. It's pure spin and bull. The man has ruined our economy. Remember this when he assumes the mantle of PM. Apart from that his head is too big for his neck, and his dress sense is crap. Oh yes, one last thing. If he is so patriotic why does he dilberately snub the Mansion House in their annual dinner by dressing as a tramp? Remember that raving loony professor Michael Foot, aka Labour leader at Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday wearing a donkey jacket? Plus ca change!

Triumph Thunderbird 900 yehaa

Went out for an Indian meal in Radlett, Herts on Friday evening. Empty when we went in at 6.45. Empty when we left at 8. No other diners and just one takeaway! I have been there many times before and normally it is very busy most evenings. Either this was a blip or eating in is becoming fashionable. By the way the meal and service was crap.

I still watch my 21 inch Sony Trinitron every day. Superb picture and it has never broken down. Bought it from Tempo in Finchley in January 1988! The cost... £429! Ridiculous price compared to today but still a great telly.

Gascoine-Pees anyone?

Teddyboy, reading through your post I honestly thought the whole thing had been made up by yourself. I was about to congratulate you on your wit when I realised the whole thing was not a spoof. After clicking on the link I realised no one could have just made that up. Well done for spotting it.

Blimey, compared to Margaret Becket even Anne Widdecombe looks OK!

Similar, but slightly off topic. Reminds me of the story of Joe Meek, the record producer. He produced The Tornadoes (Telstar) Heinz (Just like Eddie) and the Honeycombs (Have I the Right) from his flat in the Holloway Road. On 3rd February 1967, the eighth anniversary of Buddy Holly's death, he shot his landlady dead then killed himself. Thought I would cheer you lot up stuck in hot stuffy offices this sunny afternoon! By the way if you are driving down Holloway Road from the Archway you can see a plaque on the wall of his flat. It's on a building on the left just before the railway bridges.

When they say Bohemian what the fxxx do they mean? Pretentious claptrap nonsense for the Guardian readers. I despair