buctootim

I dont dispute people have borrowed too much - taking capital out of their houses and splashed it on holidays, meals and cars. Even so the underlying standard of living is still much better. You'd be hard pushed to find anyone who thinks the 70s and 80s were better than this decade to be working for a living.

Its just a rant not based on anything apart from bitterness. You have not one fact to back up your assertions.

I dont just mean this year - its cumulative over the past decades. Average wages are higher real terms, more people own more cars, eat better, take more holidays to more exotic locations and have many more consumer electronics and appliances.

My view is based on independent data showing rising average and median income in the UK and increasing GDP per capita backed up by affluence indicators such as number of foreign holidays, car ownership etc. But because you personally dont have as much money now you are retired as you did when you were working you think its ********. Way to go.

Nah. The Bank of England are deliberately depressing the value of the pound by cutting interest rates to the bone and quantitative easing -printing money. That makers our exports cheaper (so we sell more), imports more expensive (so we buy less) and generates more domestic tourism. It also has the handy benefit of creating inflation - so you can erode the value of the debt built up.

Those dangerous herectics the AA. What is it with some Saints fans? Undoubtedly the vast majority of people are better off than 10, 20 or 30 years ago - yet people still want to pretend that they are being screwed and taxes are uniquely high in the UK and public services are uniquely poor. They're not. We're a middle tax country with middle ranking public services - and that wont change by very much regardless of which party gets in power.

For a smallish car cost per mile (based on 10,000pa) was 43.75p in 1998 and 47.68p in 2008. To be the same in real terms in 2008 as it was in 1998 the cost have would needed to have risen to 58.63p - ie motoring is around 20% cheaper now than 1998. http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/running_costs/archive.html http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/historic-inflation-calculator

If the govt didn't let people have free healthcare they could reduce the price per litre by up to 50p.

Butts

Why dont you take up knitting, horse riding and watching Eastenders?

Oil is ridiculously cheap - around 19p for a pint of crude. For £2.40 (2 litres) of petrol you can take 5 people to the New Forest and back. The problem isnt the price of petrol - its the fact that people have got used to travelling stupid distances every day and now think its their God given right to do it at whatever price they feel like.

Yes. Its because you are white http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6521199.ece

Que? we've got 13 points from the last 6 games and 22 points from the last 12. Neither of those is going to be nearly enough. We'd need 33 points from the last 12 IMO and that aint going to happen.

bra

ditto http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo/celeb-cotton.htm

Ah the old smoke damage only fire at commercial premises. "Damn we'll have to close our tired grotty nightclub and get it thoroughly refurbed on insurance". Anyone else remember Fridays club on London Road? They tried that trick successfully twice a few years apart - when they tried the third time insurance wouldnt pay out and they went bust.

Dunno - but these might be the answers: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Volkswagen-Repair-833/1989-Vw-golf-intermittent.htm http://www.fixya.com/cars/t3837129-2002_vw_passat_starts_fine_drives http://www.aa.co.nz/motoring/tips/ask-jack/faults/Pages/96-VW-Golf-with-intermittentent-stalling--hard-starting-.aspx

If they do make a success of this it will be the final nail in the coffin for Oceana Village. The city isnt big enough to support two similar schemes. Heres an idea for the council - why not renovate the park for a few hundred thousand and let people continue to have free access to the waterfront rather than overdeveloping and leaving white elephants in your wake.

Anyone who concentrates on winning support without having got round to the tedious business of actually tabling a bid is more than a tad suspect.

gram anna

bikes

BA staff are generally resentful of of someone else in the company doing the same job as them anyway. Long haul are on different contracts to short haul, Heathrow get paid shed loads more than Gatwick and the staff on under contract airlines flying as BA are on different terms again. A long serving cabin services director can be on £95,000 but a recent recruit on £12,000. Some of their pilots earn £200,000 pa whilst the equivalent at Delta earn £48,000. BA need to maintain a 'premium' service but ship out the excessively high earners - the market is too competitive otherwise.

no - 'wedlock' followed by 'deadlock', then 'hemlock', then 'attorney'

....

wedlock