Wonderful pictures, Thank you. I had forgotten how much I liked the look of it, especially at rest in that characteristic nose-down attitude. I recall a CCF camp at Wittering in ther late 50s, I think, and then we were allowed up nice and close! What was Cambridge in those days? Not an operational base, was it?

BB- marvellous!:D Thanks for sharing them. They are old and we’ve all heard them but I quietly chuckled my way through them because they all work so well, particularly as you know the comedians so well you can hear the joke being told as you read it.:D

Don’t worry – we are all guilty of that from time to time.:) But I am really sorry to read the rest of your post.:( Losing your job is bad enough but having to fight the bureaucracy to get what you are due is appalling. ( I smell a post from Lincoln 7 on this!;))

Not that it is any consolation and will probably not be realised in our lifetimes but I applaud Ian Duncan Smith’s attempts to bulldozer through serious welfare reform, a component of which is structural overhaul to achieve a far, far simpler system. If it ever happened it could really help people like you and the old, who struggle with the complexities of the “Brown” system.

Interflug, I have no problem in agreeing with you that bankers were a part of the problem. But do bear in mind that but for the governement of the day freeing up the regulations relating to lending that part of the problem would never have happened. And to compound that problem the governemnt of the day then went on its own spending spree, borrowing as though there was no tomorrow thus fuelling the banks’ frenzy.

At no time did central government feel the need to relook at the regulations, or to send a message to the banks that it was getting out of hand. And the other factor often omitted from the debate is the rank idiocy of the public accepting without due consideration the opportunity to borrow their way to heaven, without considering their ability to repay. The excuse that the banks were offering self-asessment on 5 times income cuts no ice. We make our decisions on what we borrow, not the banks.

Thank you, Symon, I appreciate your helpful and objective responses and your last sentence neatly summarises the situation.

Even better.

I suppose I could say, well he would say that wouldn’t he? Those either side of the divide will sling statistics and figures back and forth until the cows come home.
And what you say about the policy is correct and the Tories have never made any secret of their desire to reduce the public sector. Firstly because it is one of the ways of reducing expenditure and secondly because they believe that where applicable private operations work better than public ones. That case is arguable – just as the figures are. So where does it get us?

Ooh! What a good idea!:)