The Furrowed Brow
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Is this pressure from the top? 'Mr Mair you must use your blog responsibly... for serious posts only' OK here goes... This country stinks... serious enough?
Where's John McEnroe? "You cannot be serious!!"
To: PM,
Consider this... a cold winter evening in an eastern European marketplace. Wrapped in shapeless clothes, blankets and headscarves against the bitter wind, women shuffle from stall to stall, inspecting the cabbages, potatoes, turnips, Kalashnikovs and cabbages on offer. It could be a scene from any of the former Communist bloc countries, but for the purposes of this posting, it's a small town in Romania. Or Bulgaria.
Their layers of clothing, their pinched faces, their runny noses, all betoken a life of grinding deprivation as they inspect the meagre goods. Most of the people here are so badly off they have no chance of affording supermarket microwaveable ready meals and are instead forced to purchase their fruit and vegetables straight from local farmers. They hand over the few coins which probably constitute their life savings and hurry away again, in all likelihood to pluck grass to supplement the thin soup they will prepare for their many offspring. No doubt exactly the same scene can be observed anywhere across this snow-swept country.
Yet one wonders how long this marketplace will look like this, now that Bulgaria and Romania are part of that conspiracy to end national self-determination known to some as the European Union. With membership comes the automatic right of all 30 million people in these poverty-stricken and corrupt countries to move to the UK and blot out our distinctive culture and way of life. They do not even need to hang on to the undercarriage of a lorry like they used to.
What should we in Britain expect? Experts paid by the Daily Mail predict a huge influx of immigrants, coming to join the criminal elements already living in this country illegally.
And this is hot on the heels of the 2 million immigrants who flocked to the UK in the wake of the last round of enlargement. Nobody can have failed to notice how the arrival of these Polish and Czechoslovenians has forced thousands, if not millions, of honest British plumbers and carpenters out of work, or at least into crippling price cuts.
The tv Office is playing down the risk, but no one these days believes anything it says. Britain is well known as the number one destination for economic migrants. Its generous unemployment benefit, luxurious council flats, clean streets, open borders, namby-pamby liberal judiciary, fine weather and cheap cider make it a magnet for economic migrants, especially those living in Eastern Europe, where the cost of living far outstrips the means of everyone except those involved in organised crime.
Unofficial figures put the average wage in Bucharest at 15p a month, while whisky in one of the city's five-star hotels was charged to a journalists expenses at a rate of ÂŁ17.62 (plus tax) a glass. Small wonder, then, that every able-bodied and literate adult under the age of 90 is already filling out UK social security application forms. The Romanian and Bulgarian governments estimate their countries' populations could shrink by 110% or more.
Yet this is only the beginning of the horror. Amongst the millions currently checking the availability of Ryanair flights from Plovdiv to Stansted are literally hundreds of thousands of burglars, pickpockets, car thieves, paedophiles, credit card fraudsters and beggars.
Criminality and corruption are part of the culture in these countries, in every profession and social class, from the lowliest shoplifter to the prime minister himself (currently under police investigation for secretly accepting undeclared loans in return for favours). It is firmly believed that approximately 96.54% of all crime committed in the UK can already be attributed to organised gangs from Eastern Europe. This number could easily double in the next year. The threat to our own home-grown crime industry can hardly be underestimated.
When asked if she was planning to go to the UK and steal, one Romanian woman just edged away, eyeing a TV reporter suspiciously and muttering in her sinister-sounding language. Such an attitude is typical. Yet our own police are powerless to do anything about it.
In the face of such an onslaught, is there any way to preserve our glorious island nation's most treasured values - decency, pragmatism, common sense, tolerance - before the invading hordes? The stark answer is no.
Jack Jackson (currently at 1); Can I ask a couple of questions?
1. Are you a friend of Melanie Phillips?
2. Are you Melanie Phillips?
3. Are you for real?!?!?
4. Can a countrys' population shrink by 110%? (Would than mean there are negative people?)
5. Are you for real ?!?!? (A repeat, I know, but worth asking a second time!)
6. Are you a member of UKIP?
7. Are you the perma-tanned Kilroy-Silk? (and if so, is it painted on or do you go to a tanning salon every day?)
FFred
Jack Jackson (1)
ROFLOL
H.
Yes, but, did anyone hear Kilroy perma-tan on the radio a few days ago talking about women being barred from a lot of mosques & how we shouldn't permit their human rights to be infringed in the name of religion? I got such a shock - I agreed with him & thought he had made a really good point! Still recovering.
Has anyone here (or anywhere at all) put forward the idea of a joint UK bid for the World Cup? This would render the England v Scotland arguments useless.
A more serious issue:
Why was the recent news story about whether social services had let down the little girl abused by her parents? As I see it, the real question should have been, Why did the parents take such actions in the first place?
Jack Jackson(3) It would seem to me that you do not even understand the meaning of ''decency, pragmatism, common sense, tolerance.'' I suggest you visit Estern Europe, where you may be taught a thing or two.
JJ, please comfirm you had tongue firmly in cheek?
It was a good try but you didn't manage to maintain the requisite tone all the way through which meant that someof our readers seem to have taken you seriously.
Dr. H: I totally agree with you, although it is also frightening to think that such things can be happening without others noticing.
Sadly, there are some very disfunctional people in our society today, and they are playing out their disfunctionality on their neighbours, their children, and anyone else who comes in their way.
While I think Mr. Cameron this morning was stating the obvious, I couldn't help agreeing with him that a great deal of society's ills rest with problems of broken homes and absent fathers. However, 'fixing' all this is far from straightforward, and I don't think that Mr. C's reliance upon tax breaks for family will go a long way towards providing a solution.
JJ (3) Ooo-er! It must be so terrifying to be you...
Speaking as a fish whose impeccable true-born-English ancestry during the past few centuries includes English (records going back to about 1340 in one parish oop north), Scots, Flemish, French, German, Polish, Belgian, Jewish, Spanish, various random Scandinavian, Norman, and almost certainly everything else in Europe given the Flemish and Belgian bits and those countries having been rape-and-pillaged over for centuries by every army that was anywhere in the area, I can't help wondering -- are you *quite sure* that none of your family came from somewhere seriously furrin, like maybe Wales? Cornwall? *Norfolk*?
I assume you aren’t for real, to be honest, and strongly suspect one of the regular froggers of being here under an alias, possibly a yashmak, and now a cloud.
Dr H (7)
To address your non-serious bit, if I may call it that. FIFA would not allow it! The finals of 2002, in Japan and South Korea, was an experiment of running the finals in two different countries. Afterwards, FIFA decided that in future thay would only consider bids from "single" countries. Although politically there exists an act of union between England and Scotland, for FIFA it would need to include a union of the football associations and I doubt that will happen in time.
H.
Annasee (6) I'm afraid my reaction to the Kilroy piece was that he had just found another tub to thump in the interests of self publicity.
Of course Muslim women should be accorded respect and equality, and many are working to gain it where they don't have it at present.
I was much more impressed by the woman who argued that change had to come from within from women like herself. It just won't work if it is imposed by others from outside without actually changing the attitudes underpinning it.
Take as a parallel the issue of women priests in the Church of England - if Kilroy had argued that this should be imposed by parliament would it have helped? When it came the change was from within the church itself.
As a child I had to wear a hat to church, a practice I suspect is no longer required (I'm no longer a church goer so can't verify directly). I recently attended an Orthodox Jewish funeral at which I was careful to cover my head and made a kippah (sp.?) for my husband to wear. I had to stand apart from the men and was told that until recently women were not allowed to attend funerals, as indeed they mostly did not in Scotland when I was a child.
Customs change over time and I would expect that many things now regarded as unchangeable by Muslims will evolve.
Admin Annie (9)
Exactly what I thought - that's why I didn't reply.
Humph (12)
I thought 2002 had proved a success, but nevertheless, an England-Wales bid could happen??
J Jackson (3)
Beggars belief!
Surely a winde-up?
Molly
Molly (16)
It doesn't work if I've to explain it.
JJ 17
Sorreeeeeeeeeeeey!
Mollyxx
Molly... :-)
Dr H (15)
It depends on how you define success. There was great rivalry between Japan and South Korea about who would host the final, what the tournament would be called on the tickets, even on the names of the tournament mascots. This was mainly a reflection of their political rivalries. There were logistical problems with playing games in two different countries and some teams thought that theirs was a bad draw for the group stages because they would be playing in less temperate conditions in Japan. On the flip side of that, some people thought that Brazil, who had played all their games in Japan, were more acclimatised to the conditions for the final itself than Germany who had played all their games until the final in South Korea.
Although an English/Welsh bid would not suffer from these problems – the final would have to be played in Cardiff as the construction of the new Wembly stadium would still not be completed, for instance – it would still represent a bid from two countries with separate FAs. Since 2004, FIFA has said that bids involving co-hosts are against its statutes. There is quite a good piece on this in Wiki (2002 FIFA World Cup hosting controversy)
H.
Anne P. (13);
Regarding the last line about "many things now regarded as unchangeable by Muslims..."
One thing in Islam which is completely inviolate and never subject to revision is the Koran/Qu'ran itself. There is an important difference between the Bible and the Koran, which is sometimes little regarded by non-Muslims.
The Bible (especially the New Testament) is a third-party version of history, written by the Apostles, St. Paul etc. As such it gives a subjective view as to the meaning of Christianity and the life of Christ. God's own position on many things is open to debate. It is open to many differing interpretations. Think of Henry VIII 's opinions on marriage and divorce when he wanted to find a convenient way to dispose of his first wife, or of the homosexuality within the Christian Church arguments. Each claims to have the Bible on it's side and can point to various selected passages to support their own partisan point of view.
The Koran, however, IS the very word of Allah himself, as revealed directly to the Prophet Mohammed in a series of dreams and written down verbatim immediately afterwards. As such it is never subject to alternative views or interpretations. It stands exactly as it has always been.
This creates the basic problem within Islam. It was written down around 1400 years ago. It takes no account of any changes in humanity since that day. Ideas which became current in the West after the end of the Dark Ages, the Enlightenment, the Reformation, universal Suffrage, sexual equality, technological changes are not in the Koran and therefore inadmissable as ideas within Islam. They cannot truly be contained within an Islamic structure.
The Koran says, for instance, in a number of places that a woman has only half the value of a man. One cannot imagine that finding favour in the West in these days of equality. And although 'People of the Book' (i.e. the Bible/Torah, Christians and Jews) are to be tolerated and treated with respect they are infidels, unbelievers who are ultimately damned to hell for their lack of belief in the one true religion.
Islam can never truly be secular, for this reason. To be a 'good' Muslim one must follow the path laid down strictly and without reservation. There is not a single degree of flexibility at all. It's all or nothing. So Islam may not have the degrees of openness and flexibilty to change that you believe it has.
Si.
While some of society’s ills may well rest with broken families, children also did not thrive in families who remained together due to social pressures, sometimes in circumstances which were highly undesirable. In contrast, families might look different now by including step children and parents, but many thrive. There is an issue with absent fathers, but they are the fathers who lose touch with their children after separation, rather than all of those fathers who are separated/divorced from the mother of the child.
The number is too high; 35% of non-residential parents (most of whom are fathers) did not maintain contact with their children following divorce, but we need to address the context. Post-divorce fathering is a considerable challenge and can be viewed as a series of events, rather than a one off, in which renegotiating parental roles and responsibilities are characterised by multiple stresses and strains, with parents oscillating between conflict and harmony, determination and indifference, against a backdrop of allegation and counter-allegation and frequent despair and frustration.
Marriage breakdown, however well managed, is almost always stressful, resulting in intense feelings of grief, rejection, anger, bitterness, hostility, and an overwhelming sense of loss for everyone involved. Contact arrangements can be made, but they are by no means static, and fathers find themselves having to renegotiate contact arrangements and to reconsider their roles as circumstances and relationships change, and as children grow older. Most fathers who do not have contact would like to change an unsatisfactory situation, but hostility or problems one ex has with the other’s partner, have caused a barrier.
If we want to give fathers more responsibility, women and mothers also have a responsibility to support men to renegotiate fatherhood, in what are often challenging circumstances.
Si (21) I think what I was getting at in relation to change was that Muslims in the UK have come from a wide variety of backgrounds both here and abroad. This means cultural and social diversity already exists. It is this diversity within the community modulated by experiences in wider British society that I would see influencing change in the longer term.
On a slightly different tack regards family breakdown. I grew up in a household where it was blatantly clear that the parents SHOULD split up; there was no love, affection or communication. It was entirely dysfunctional.
I often think when I hear people bemoan the rate of divorce/absent fathers etc how many children would be better off growing up in a loving, single parent environment than a hostile dual parent situation.
On another thread (says Fifi) The Stainless Steel Cat said:
Off-topic I'm afraid, but Ive just noticed that Celebrity Prime Minister Tony Blair has responded to the now-closed e-petition on scrapping ID cards, including this reason why ID cards are so important:
"Terrorists routinely use multiple identities - up to 50 at a time."
Well that's convinced me.
Hey, (look,) don't terrorists routinely use cars? Let's introduce surveillance of all traffic movements.
(Drat. Don't you hate it when your satire is overtaken by real life? e.g. electronic road pricing)
Still, at least he's not advocating keeping everyone's DNA in a big computer database whether or not they've committed a crime...
(Doh!)
On another thread (says Fifi) The Stainless Steel Cat said:
Off-topic I'm afraid, but Ive just noticed that Celebrity Prime Minister Tony Blair has responded to the now-closed e-petition on scrapping ID cards, including this reason why ID cards are so important:
"Terrorists routinely use multiple identities - up to 50 at a time."
Well that's convinced me.
Hey, (look,) don't terrorists routinely use cars? Let's introduce surveillance of all traffic movements.
(Drat. Don't you hate it when your satire is overtaken by real life? e.g. electronic road pricing)
Still, at least he's not advocating keeping everyone's DNA in a big computer database whether or not they've committed a crime...
(Doh!)
The Stainless Steel Cat
WW (24) exactly! I was making the same point the other day to my sister who was livid at David Cameron implying that children who do not grow up in the traditional "family" will end up as gun-toting criminals (she found herself completely involuntarily single again after 20 years of marriage when her husband traded her in for a younger model!). She has two teenage children and is doing her best by them and quite frankly can do without the additional pressure and guilt. On the other hand I have met other couples who - as you said - just should not be together (sometimes I feel like that about myself and my SO!!). Society puts incredible pressure on people to conform to certain expectations. We talked about setting up an experimental "village" or community where people who were not in conventional families, e.g. single parent families, gay couples with children, could live together in a kind of long term experiment to see if these non-conventional children grew up to be misfits or not. I suspect they would grow up happy and thriving. Its not the absence of mother/father family set ups that it is responsible for street crime - I feel its the environment they live in that breeds this type of crime.
Re: ID cards and "fishing" the database for finbgerprint (DNA?) matches.
... and once again, we hear a minister using the argument "law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear", implying, "If you're against this, you must have something to hide", completely reversing the tradition of innocent until proven guilty.
This is not a good sign.
Fiona (27) -
Great idea!! We are, after all, social animals and to be part of a tribe is a natural urge (for most); its easy to see why gangs are so popular for some young people who otherwise feel isolated or excluded.
If people volunteer to live together there is an idea of a common goal/shared ethos and surely this should be at the heart of a healthy community.
I'm sure littleys growing up in that type of environment would be exactly the type of children DC thinks that only nuclear families can produce!
SSCat (28) - what we have to fear are errors in data entry (accidental or deliberate), corruption of databases, personation (where someone registers in your identity before you do), trawling for information about us by all and sundry out of idle curiosity, the selling of information about us to commercial concerns....
I could go on....whatever safeguards are put in place they will not guarantee 100% security, and when an error does occur we will have the greatest difficulty in getting it corrected or even getting an admission that there is an error because
'...it's in the computer'.
Moreover, because 'it's in the computer' people will be less and less inclined to use common sense and judgment in dealing with issues, and more and more likely to go by the book - or in this case the script they see in front of them on the screen.
SSC/AP you are quite right and I think this is a totally sinister turn, but of course new labour are the most absolutist government I can remember us ever having - you sort of fondly think of socialists as being all for freedom and the common man and then you remember the soviet union and suddenly make a conncection. years ago three was a short story that was very prevalent about a man who was told he hadn't returned a library book and things just escalated and he ended up in prison - anyone else remember that? At the time I thought it was funny but far too far fetched; suddenly the laughter starts to ring a bit hollow.
Now I shall be very annoyed if, having typed all this up, I fail to get through.
ww (29) - do you think the beeb would be interested in commisioning a programme on this (or maybe C4 - that's the sort of thing they do so well). Bit long drawn out I know but didn't they do something a while back where they had children that they kept catching up with every 7 years (that last being with them all at 21)!
Fiona: 7Up/14Up, etc., were the programmes, commissioned originally by Granad, and it's an ongoing project. I think on ITV.
Like your idea ....
Fiona: Have found the following. tv screened the most recent one. I've seen some, but not all, of the different editions, including the last one.
Lots of emails protesting, apparently, about Inheritance Tax on You and Yours.
I have to say that it's an issue I feel very split about. On the one hand, I know that what is being taxed has already been subject to, probably, at least 2 rounds of taxation (Income Tax, plus Stamp Duty, in the case of house purchase), so that a third round of taxation - and a hefty one at that - seems somewhat unfair. Also, IHT hasn't kept abreast of changes in the economic situation brought about by the vast rise in house prices in recent years. On the other hand I recognise that, if you are lucky enough to inherit anything, it is a windfall which isn't available to all, least of all the most disadvantaged in society.
What do other froggers think?
Fiona - reckon someone should do it! Maybe one of the universities would be willing to lend an academic/anthroplogical slant to proceedings as well. In fact the gov should fund it! Enough of all the breast beating etc. If a solution is to be found then lets try a practical approach rather than all this rhetoric which seems to be grounded on negative reinforcement of certain stereotypes (did that make sense?)
Big Sis,
When my mother dies, some of her property will have had:
Income tax from the person who purchased the property;
Stamp duty at that time;
Inheritance tax when it came to her and late father;
and will be due to Inheritance tax *again* since this particular slice puts her total assets (from joint assets) above the threshold, unless the threshold is raised very substancially.
Inheritance tax is the way the treasury takes money, which it would otherwise have got from VAT etc if you had spent it while you're alive. You cannot take it with you when you die. So blow it now.
Deepthought: And the same applied to my mother-in-law's estate.
For what it's worth, I think your fundamental point is correct: or, to put it another way, if IHT was abolished, other taxes would have to rise.
Big Sis (33 & 34), thanks very much - I could only remember it vaguely so I really appreciate that. And yes Witchi I agree - am actually getting quite excited about the concept, I might try and push this along! If only I knew how! thanks for your support
Oh and Big Sis - sorry I also object to inheritance tax. Would object less perhaps if the threshold was much higher - or if it was just a nominal rate (say 5%). We are by no means rich but we do virtually own our home and it does make me really mad that I cannot give my children a little step up in life without the government taking a huge slice of what I have already paid taxes on during our lives. Poperty prices have shot up so much over the last 10 years that the thresholds are no longer realistic - e.g. stamp duty rising to 3% over ÂŁ250k - in Surrey ÂŁ250k doesn't buy a huge amount these days but it seriously affects the market for people tryng to sell something between ÂŁ250-ÂŁ300k.
Fiona,
I do agree that the threshhold needs to be much higher, say, to cover the cost of an 'average' house in the south east.
I think that, within reason, the 'family' home should be exempt from IHT, mainly because there are instances of family members living in their parents' homes who are effectively rendered homeless upon the death of the latter. The 'within reason' would cover homes above a certain value - where, for example, the IHT bill could be met but another property bought with whatever was the residue.
Let us say, for the sake of argument, homes over the value of 500K would attract IHT, but only the value over that amount to be taxed.
Big Sis (38),
While probably a Furrowed Brow topic, it's easier here as all the posters are here...
Increase in general taxation would not be much if IHT were raised substantially *now*; if wait too long, the IHT tax take would become so large as to make raising any other tax politically difficult.
But the decision has been made to make IHT a substantial tax (interesting how tax planners are reviving even faster now), by not raising the threashold, and have the majority of the SE of England liable to it in the near future.
Fiona (39),
The 1 bed flat beneath me is on the market for ÂŁ240k, and this is a main (A class) road. ÂŁ250k in Richmond proper would not even buy that.
Whoops, this is the Furrowed Brow... I thought I was on Jonnie...
Deepthought: In Sisterland this is the Furrow Brow, perhaps Deepthought lives elsewhere?
I think our posts overtook each other, so you can see that, in principle, we're on similar lines. I well know how house prices are affecting Londoners, and live in the South East, too. I think, if you look on the petition site, there is one which addresses the family home issue.
It's very strange how there is this misconception in Government that everybody who lives in the South East is affluent. I'm not, that's for sure. And my family have been hit successively over the years because our family is rooted in SE England. Moving isn't a true option for us.
Deepthought on Jonnie (42);
Jonnie! Your luck is in!
Si. :-)}
Big Sis (43),
The frog may be speedy today, but not that quick... see my earlier about recognising my own error as soon as I had posted...
I too am firmly rooted in SE England, indeed it would be very difficult for me to now move out of greater London, even if I could afford to move. Which, like you, means I'm not affluent, and certainly could not afford to buy my flat (which is about as minimal a one-bed flat as is imaginable) now were I to be trying to move to this area.
In this part of London, 500k might just cover the cost of a house in a less-attractive area, so your proposed raise in level would still hit a lot of people here, albeit a much smaller percentage of the country as a whole.
I suppose quite a lot of you heard Wor Tone on The Today Program this morning.
At least now I know how he sleeps at night; by not taking any responsibility for what he's done.
He should be made to go to every single funeral of every British soldier killed in Iraq, and afher that he should be made to live in Baghdad for a month without being surrounded by security. Then if he came back and said none of it was his fault I still wouldn't believe him but I might have a little bit of respect for him as a human being.
And why oh why oh why did JH not ask him why, if he's so keen to topple dictators, he has never done anything about Zimbabwe. We all know the naswer, but why can't someone put him on the spot and ask him.
Didn't hear all of the Today interview, though I was glad to hear that John Humphreys can sometimes refrain from hectoring (why not always?).
Just find TB in total denial about so many things, which may be essential to sleeping at night, but not reassuring in a PM. Still seemed to be hung up on the notion that his idea of 'progress and democracy' is the only legitimate one and that it is legal and legitimate to try to impose it on others. And total denial that the invasion could have made things worse rather than better (on the spurious grounds that Islamist groups existed before the invasion) - all very depressing.
Deepthought: Yep, it's the slowness of our postings appearing (at times) which causes these confusions.......
As to your point re the ÂŁ500K idea (which is only a ballpark figure), I'm quite aware that this would buy very little in London, and even where I am it wouldn't buy a great deal more. However, it's a heck of a lot more than the amount currently allowed under the current IHT rules, and anything over any figure is taxed, not the whole figure .... And I personally wouldn't want to see inequalities in wealth become even greater than they already are.
Mind you, and this brings me onto a different point - but one upon which I have very strong views - don't you think that the whole house price thing is being driven by other factors, anyway? I cite, for example, the matter of City bonuses. It is of great concern to me that there is a whole sector of our society to whom large sums of money nowadays come very easily and who are seeking ways to spend or invest that money. Property is now the investment of choice, and it is not coincidental, in my opinion, that the extraordinary rise in house prices over the past five years has occurred during a period when City bonuses, along with the number of foreign investors, have been steadily rising.
Big Sis (48),
Many of the (converted) flats in this terrace are owned by landlords and let. Most are owned by "buy-to-let" (B2L) landlords.
Frankly, I don't believe Moneybox's interviews last Sat that B2L was (a) still a good investment and (b) was not affecting the prices - at least in London. B2L was probably good value 5 years ago, when prices were perhaps 2/3 of what they are now. But the continual pushing of B2L (to the benefit principally of the banks, I'd bet new B2L landlords barely break even), plus demand of first time buyers has pushed prices to an absurd level. My flat has tripled in value in 10 years. But then so has the next type of accomodation I would aspire to move to, making it - in effect - even further out of my reach than ten years ago!
While I agree about the size of City bonuses - how can they be justified? - at whatever level they are, they cannot explain the inflation of house prices in SE England on their own, surely?
I had my annual "pension" statement come through today. The principal increased by 1% - less than inflation. No wonder people who can put money into property. (I stopped paying in years ago, realising it was throwing good money after bad).
Admin Ann (46),
Re going to funerals, I'm not sure that the bereaved relatives would want him to attend. Some other attonement, I think.
Big Sis (48),
My posting in reply to yours appears to have been moderated out of existance; while the next one appears as (49).
But general agreement, apart from "buy to let" landlords also contributing...
Attonement? - Very good, Deepthought!
well that's a good point Deepthought, maybe he should just have to be there at the graveside after the service and take whatever abuse was heaped upon him by the relatives. I just think he should be made to really face up to what he's done and having to share some space with some yong widows/grieving parents/fatherless children would be one way maybe to do it.
Admin annie (46) I agree totally with everything in your comment. Why does no-one ask Mr Blur the big questions?
On a different note, there was an item on the news last night about buying a replica gun which could be easily converted into a real weapon.
Why oh why do we legally sell any replica weapons in this country when they A) look like the real thing and B) might be convertible into a weapon? Who would want one other than for criminal activity and why should anyone have one? It's completely nuts!
Deep, Sis, et al.,
Regarding housing prices, I expect a cliff is awaiting those who buy into the bubble at its present silly level.
Regarding inheritance tax, in has cost less than ÂŁ50k including improvements, etc., and is now probably worth well over ÂŁ700k (I could get that today from a 'friend' in the village), so I'm quite possibly a millionaire, but only in cash terms if I become a homeless one. STUPID!
When we die, our kids (sorry, Appy) will potentially be faced with taxes which may well force them to sell it, which neither wants to do. When I mentioned to someone that I intend to be buried here, they responded,"But what if someone wants to buy the place, but don't want you there?"
I replied, "Then they can't have it, and that's good - wrong sort of folk!"
There was a petition on the No10 site to abolish/raise the threshold, but I think it's timed out. Perhaps a new one is in order?
Yours faithfully,
Paper Millionaire
and.......while I'm on a rant...why are people allowed to sell fancy knives? We should make all sharp implements with pink sparkly handles to reduce their street cred :-)
Exactly Deepthought (49) - the increase in property prices is fine if you are at the top of the chain or are planning to move somewhere much much cheaper (hence part of our decision to look to France), otherwise its just the gap that gets bigger. I would like to do a B2L - to supplement my meagre pension which at the moment should pay me about tuppence ha'penny a week - and with SO being self employed all his life he has nothing in place. But as you say the prices are such that we will probably struggle to break even (which is all I am aiming for - as long as costs are covered I hope to be able to hang on to it until its paid off and then enjoy the income in my latter years). But have been looking to buy in Aberdeen - thinking property was comparitively cheap there compared with SE England - wrong! So may have to resort to selling off a vital organ or two on e-bay to supplement my income :)
If there's a new wrinkle in the furrowed brow tomorrow, I wonder how many 'serious's' it will contain?