Canada Bob

On and on it goes... Even the Chancellor is at it... Not to mention their wives, and the sprogs...

The only place that seems sown up is Joe finishing up in 3rd spot {if he plays it careful from now on in}. Joe seems to be a 2/7 chance, but between you and Don is a tough call, a grand won or lost between the two of you, surely the nerves are jangling by now ? Glad to see Chelsea come good in the second half yesterday, I was a bit concerned to say the least with 0-0 at ht.

The MPS's are busy little b*ggers aren't they seems as though some MP's were Landlords, and some were Tenants, but there's another level to that, that being a declaration of taxable income (over the years) from the recipients, might be a good idea if HMRC took a look at to see if any of them ever declared income from the rentals. Wouldn't it be nice to find out that none of them actually declared any rental income, mind you, if that was the case it would be "just a simple, innocent oversight, caused mainly due to the dog eating our tax returns". Add to that don't you have to get planning permission to use part of your home as a rental property ? and don't you also have to comply with the Housing Act of 2004 {safety standards for Tenants} ? Maybe folks like Jacqui Smith et-al, don't know the Law or don't feel that it applies to them ? I wonder if Sara Smithor {et-al} were in compliance with National Safety Regulations when she rented a room to her sister, or if she had planning permission to use part of her home as rental accommodation ? you'd think her sister would be well aware of the Laws of the Land and show respect towards them. Did any of these so called Landlords apply for planning permission to change the use their properties ? Here's one of the Regulations that they should have complied with... Housing Standards and Safety Regulations: There are various regulations and standards which landlords must adhere to before a property can be let. These are: * Safety Regulations * The HHSRS Safety Rating system for rental property * Building Regulations * HMOs Safety Regulations There are three specific safety regulations that apply to residential property. These are: * Gas Safety * Electrical Safety * General Product Safety HHSRS Safety Rating System Provisions in the Housing Act 2004 replace the old system of fitness standards with a new risk-assessment based system which applies to both ordinary residential dwellings and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO). The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is designed to assess different categories of hazard, and provide a rating for each hazard. The five main categories of hazard are: * Dampness (e.g. excess cold/heat) * Pollutants (e.g. asbestos) * Environmental (space, security, light, noise) * Accidents * Structural (e.g. collapse) The HHSRS is explained in greater detail in Factsheet No. 28. Building Regulations Build Regulations help to provide a safe environment for occupiers of both residential and commercial buildings. They also increasingly dictate what works and alterations a landlord can carry out on a property both prior to, and during a tenancy. There are now buildings regulations that apply to: - installation of new boilers and related plumbing works - alterations and improvements to the electrical wiring - installation of new windows and glazing Houses in Multiple Occupation Housing which is occupied by a group of individuals either living together as a group (e.g. a student house) or independently (e.g. bedsits) come under the general classification of ?House in Multiple Occupation' or ?HMO'. It has been recognised that HMOs do, in some cases, present additional safety risks to the occupants for a number of reasons: - bedsits often contain their own cooking facilities - HMOs are typically let to younger people, with higher incidents of fires starting as a result of smoking materials, candles, portable gas fires and other similar causes. - Occupants in one part of the building are often unaware and unprotected from fires in another. - HMOs are often situated in older and larger properties which historically have lower safety standards. As a result of these risks, Government have implemented a number of regulations that govern the occupation and management of HMOs. In addition, the Housing Act 2004 introduced a new definition for a ?HMO' and a national scheme for the mandatory licensing of HMOs whereby all HMO owners are required to register with their local authority. For more information on HMOs, see our Letting Factsheets Nos. 40 & 41. The Gas Safety Regulations require that landlords must ensure that all gas appliances in a rental property are serviced on an annual basis, and that a gas safety certificate is issued to the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy and annually thereafter. For more information, see Letting Factsheet No. 7.The Electrical Safety Regulations (for more information, see Letting Factsheet No. 4) require that all electrical appliances and the fixed electrical wiring in a rented property should be safe. All portable appliances and associated leads should be visually checked before each tenancy. Portable appliances should be tested periodically.

Seems to get worse by the day, no wonder the MP's & Ministers don't want us to see their expense claims... Are they ALL at it ! Of course "we've all got it wrong" or "it was a terrible mistake, I didn't know what I was doing, I never actually looked at the forms that I was signing, my dog filled them in for me, oh... yea, can I claim for the dog too" ?

It's not Hammamet, that's for sure, but depending what you want out of a holiday it can tick a few boxes for some folks. There's some really good deals on the Hotels, and if you check them out on Tripadvisor you'll find some really classy places with good food and a fair bit of entertainment. We didn't see much of the desert, but Carthage is worth a visit, the place still has the aura and a connection with all the things that went on there... The there's the Great Mosque at Kairouan, the whitewashed houses with the blue windows in Sidi Bou Said, the Souks {ancient Markets} give an insight into how life used to be and still is for many folks in Tunisia. The Souks of Tunisia I liked the little harbor in Port El Kantoui, don't know if it's changed in the last few years, the cafe's serving coffee and a selection of cakes {a legacy of at one time being a French Colony}, were great places to sit and watch the world go by. Tunisia is one of the few places that I'd go back to, I'd say it was one of the cheapest holidays that we ever had, but you'd never know how little you paid by the class of the hotels. If you do yer homework on Tripadvisor, you'll know what to expect and if it's the type of place that you're looking for. To me it's laid back, a place of historical and cultural sygnificance, one of the few Muslem countries where we've felt safe and welcome. Just one thing to be aware of, don't mention football, the blokes over there are fanatical about football, most of them being Man United fans they also listen to the BBC a lot to on SW radio, not sure why that is though...

Blantyre--geez, that's in Lanarkshire and is the little one street town from whence Jock Stein came. I lived there prior to emigrating to Canada in a nwly built Wimpey House and worked in Cambuslang , then Rutherglen. Small world aint it Rod, Blantyre is where "Welby Healthcare" make my shaving cream etc, don't know much about the town, tend to stay at Troon when we go up there, handy for Ayr races too...

What a week that was, far as I can see not one of the top 8 Napsters picked a winner !!! Are the top 3 losing their nerve ? will someone come out of the pack to get into the prize money, looks like this comp will go down to the wire...

What a result for the Bookies, the shop I was in this afternoon took over 2,000 quid, and didn't pay a single bet out !!! Notice how quiet the Bookies are about this embarassing win for them, they must have picked up Millions... I dropped 300 quid on the race, but Chelsea pulled me out of the mire today, hope you got my texts on that Clacher ?

St Johnstone v Partick to Draw @ 3.40

You could be right... Here's what Halifax has to say... Here's a cut from the Financial Times on the topic, I think their horse is the Favourite... Nationwide, which re?ported a 0.9 per cent increase in prices in March, was quick to temper hopes of a rapid recovery in prices. Knight Frank said higher numbers of sales were only being achieved in areas that had suffered the most severe slump in prices. Even then buyers were trying to negotiate substantial discounts on already lower asking prices. Most forecasts point to a further 5-10 per cent drop by the end of this year before prices start to stabilise.

Your figures on the Euro are also out. Currently - 1.101 Come on now Don, they do fluctuate by the hour, but let me tell you this, you can't get the 1.12 that I got just a few weeks ago, that ship has sailed... 4 Weeks ago - 1.084 - So price has risen 1.568% since then 3 Weeks ago - 1.113 - so price has dropped 1.078% since then Can't agree with you, here's what it was exactly 1 month ago... EUR Euro 1.1219848524 0.8912776298 Source of currency rate... Here's the chart average from x-rates.com February 1.12765 EUR (20 days average) March 1.08771 EUR (22 days average) April 1.0938 EUR (3 days average) I don't know what site you are using, or even if you are quoting counter rate above, but when I flagged the rate on XE, the rate I got was 1.12, not 1.08, and don't forget that sterling has dropped approx 15% in the last 6 months or so... Although the price is nowhere near what it was when the sterling was at it's strongest against the Euro, the current fluctuations would, IMO, appear to be within normal parameters....suggesting a steadying of the market. And if you look in more depth you can see that Sterling has increased in strength day on day for the last 10 days or so. If you look a but further into it than that, {without taking into account the Obama effect} you'll see that both ships are sinking, against the US$. Sure enough Gordon's bucket brigade do a tiny bit better than the hands placed on the Euro pump, but I'll have a side bet with you as to where sterling is headed. Obama looks like he could walk on water, but he won't raise sterling from the dead... Give it another couple of weeks and your 1.12 might not look all that hot. Give me the odds then for this two horse race, I'll have a bet on the Euro vs sterling... I think we'll have to revisit our comments, about house prices recovering, some chance, latest forecasts say another 15% down within 12 months. That sounds like a lot, but with the job situation getting bleaker I wouldn't bet against it.

Looks like the three horses I picked out a month or so ago are cantering on steadily. House continue to fall... As for sterling, that's gone down 3% in the last 3-4 weeks, glad I got out at 1.12 and jobs are still going down the drain... UK job losses... US job losses...

I've never been to Turkey, but a lot of the lads from Wigan have, they book "unnamed" Hotels so they get cheap flights and then pot luck when they get to where ever they are dropped off in Turkey. If they don't like the place they stay the first night then wander around the next day to find somewhere they like, again for next to nowt, but that's not for me, I want to know where I'm going, and what to expect. Some of them will put up with owt though, they don't care how rough it is, I remember one of them telling me that the sheets on the bed dint look all that clever {think stained}, and when he drew the sheets back he said it sounded like someone ripping velcro apart, that was enough to put me off Turkey. Been to Tunisia though about 10 years back, Port El Kantaoui, more laid back than Hammamet, some really nice hotels and the price is right, check the link below... Port El Kantaoui Haven't been back since though, so my only reservation is it's 10 years since we were there, money used to go a long way then, you could hire a taxi all day for 20 quid... Port El Kantaoui was good for the 45+ age group, but also good for couple with young kids, great beach, very clean and a safe place. If you're into Disco's and so on them Hammamet is where the 18-35 groups go. If Tunisia is the same as it was 10 years ago then it's good value for money, and guaranteed sunshine... Of the big cities I like Vegas, Rome, Quebec City and Munich the best, in that order... I use Tripadvisor a lot to check places and hotels out, and when I can't think of "where next" the link below usually helps. Tripadvisor

LOL, no answer to that is there

Most of the Hotels have deals on right now, even down to offering half price ale for pensioners, what next. Anyway, what's with everyone, I thought I few colours would have been nailed to the National mast by now, what's your call on the race Don ?

CB,I was just speaking to a mate who lives down south about an hour from Blacpool and he near wiped his car oot when i suggested we were considering Blackpool as a holiday destination,reckons it's a total dump and several other colourful descriptions unsuitable for a family website.I take your point however that parts can be good away from the chav central What do they say, "A Prophet is never believed in his own land" it's that sort of syndrome, when you live on the doorstep of some place you don't appreciate it. Having said that, most of Blackpool is a dump, but having said that in the last few years the council at least has poured money into the Prom {if you saw the amount of concrete you'd know what I mean}. Blackpool has been done up a fair bit in the last few years, there's a way to go yet, but it's getting there. The thing that gets Blackpool a bad name is when folks arrive to find bad digs, and noisy neighbourhoods, that can be a disaster, if you don't know the place then it can be russian roulette, but once you find good digs it's a totally different experience. I'd compare these apartments favourably with anywhere that we've stayed, in any country, and we've stayed in some top notch places. These apartments aren't the Bellagio {in Vegas, the best Hotel we've stayed in}, but they rival Ballys or the Paris Hotel {across the street from the Bellagio} in cleanliness, quality of fixtures and fittings etc. If you get a place where you feel comfortable with a fair degree of luxury, then that's half the battle, although it's self catering here the Bispham Kitchen {chippy} is as good as on the door step, I could eat there day after day, great choice of food, aint just fish an' chips either, and it's a smart modern place, where the service is good and friendly. With the digs sorted and the choice of cafe's and restaurants within 1/2 a mile, the view across the sea and the sands {100 yards away}, the trams trundling by, the Highlander for a drink, and if you've kids with you the Pleasure Beach a tram ride away, I can't think of anything that's missing for a family to have a good time here in Blackpool, but believe me, when we lived in Wigan I used to think the same as yer friend. It took us YEARS to find digs as good as where we are at the now, you'll no find a place like this is on the cheap trips to Turkey... I could spend months here, as I said earleir, there's so many places and so many attractions within an hours drive, or less, that no matter what turns you on you'll find it round here. Another advantage is, even from Inverness you can drive here for less than the airport tax you'd pay to go to some cheap and cheerful place in the Med. I think that with the way the ecomony is now folks will be looking closer at the UK, no airport hassles either when you stay on "home ground" but you still want value for money no matter where you go, so knowing someone who's "been there and done that" always helps. If nowt else, they speak almost the same language here, few things hiss me off more than getting those blank looks from Johnny Foreigner when they feel like b*ggering you about...

Yer right about the chavs, but the rule of thumb is, they stay in the centre of town, or down towards the south end, odd how it's always been that way since Blackpool was built, the north end was the better end the south end wasn't. The further you get on the north prom the better, but some of the hotels in the north are charging on reputation rather than reality, including the Hilton, Cliffs, Imperial et-al, stay away from Norbreck Castle, that dump was and still is "popular" even though they near got closed down by Environmental Health Dept when folks got food poisoning, I wunt leave a dog there, but many of these places look great, from the outside... Yer right about the apartments here, they are the same standard as you'd expect in North America, all recently gutted and done up to a very modern standard, and kept that way. Great location too, tram stop 20 yards away, Bispham has everything you want, including a Sainsbury's 1/4 of a mile away, lots of other shops as good as on the doorstep, the Highlander pub is one of the best in Blackpool, no chavs just middle of the road folks. Then there's the Tory club for cheap ale, lots of nice classy little cafe's just round the corner, and a bowling green for us owd chaps to spend an afternoon on. The beauty of Bispham is, you can get as much of Blackpool {or surrounding areas} as you want, but yer far enough away from it {a couple of miles to the Tower} that you don't even see the gobshytes... By the way, if any of you fancy a week or more here and you like the look of where we stay give Mick or Sheila a call, ask them for the Canada Bob rate. We've spent a good few quid staying here for a month at a time, so they give us a break on the rates, and now that I've got to know Mick {the owner} he lets me mates have the same rate, and the lads from Wigin who have taken him up on staying here are knocked out by the quality of the apartments. Other than Las Vegas {for a glitter type holiday} I'm hard pressed to think of anywhere that has the beating of here. Pauline {the wife} says I've forgotten to mention the shows in Blackpool, here's a link for them... Shows in Blackpool PS... why Dusseldorf ? Munich & Hamburg are good, but not the type of place for kiddies...

Did the Fiji thing about 8 years ago, the year the nationals were kicking off against the Indians, not that we saw much of it, but I wasn't impressed with Fiji, the name and the reputation seemed bigger than the reality, there's a lot of places that have the beating of it. Wwe flew into Fiji from Los Angeles, and then went on from Fiji to Auckland, stayed at that Heritage Hotel downtown, the one with the parrot, Hector I think his name was. Enjoyed NZ, Auckland and Southport {is it} in particular, but it's a long way to go from this part of the world... Went on from Auckland to Cairns, liked it there, Great Barrier Reef and all that, but eating "bugs" was the most memorable thing, the ones that look like little lobsters, couldn't get enough of 'em.

Never been to Dusseldorf, been to Munich, liked that, and Cologne / Rhine Valley, liked that too, specially in September for the Oktober Fest, but the Euro is a killer right now against sterling. Not sure what age yer young uns are, but I don't see Germany as a place for anyone under say 25 ? I can't think of what would entertain them ? If yer thinking of the UK with lots of entertainment then you could do worse than Blackpool, yea, I know, but if you find the right digs and you avoid coming when the rest of the world is here, you can have a good time. We are back at the place we stayed in December, best place I've ever seen in Blackpool, and in me time I've just about seen it all here. The Hiton {used to be the Stakis} is good but pricey and getting weary, food there was never any good, then there's the Euston North in Fleetwood {great fun riding the trams between Fleetwood and Blackpool} is quite classy, good food and a decent bar, but again more for the 50+ folks than the 18-35 age group. All in all for a decent family holiday in Blackpool you'd be hard pressed to beat the Burbage Lodge, the place is top notch, spotless, more than comfortable, very modern and very well appointed, check the link below, we are in apartment 6 until the end of this month... Burbage Lodge, Blackpool. The folks that own The Burbage also own this one just a few doors away, we've stayed there too, there's nowt to chose between them... Queens Mansions It's not often that you can spend a month or two in a place and still look forward to going back, but these two places do it for me, and that's not taking into account the Highlander pub a couple of doors away, or the brilliant Bispham Kitchen cafe just round the corner, where the steak puddings are as big as a babbies head... I know folks think that Blackpool is "passe" now, and it's fashion to knock it, but if you know when to come and where to stay, and where to go, you've got it made. The fact that I can nip down the road to a dozen or so football grounds, Blackpool, Preston, Bolton, Blackburn, Burnley, Bury, Man U, Man City, Wigin Athritic, even Everton or Liverpool are all within easy reach. Add to that 4 or 5 rugby grounds. Wigin, St Helens, Warrington, Salford, even Leeds or Bradford are within easy driving distances, then there's Haydock Park, Chester, Cartmel, and a drove of race courses in Yorkshire to go at. It's not all beer and skittles either, Jodrell Bank is worth a visit, so is York and Chester for the history of the places, and Manchester when the women need a bit of retail therapy... All in all there's a fair bit going for the NW, not that I could ever live here again, but for a visit even a few months here can be a lot of fun, yer never short of something to do or places to see, and there's something here for all age groups.

I might be up there next week, have to pick some of me shaving cream from Welby Healthcare in Blantyre, Ayrshire I think that is ? So if I go up there I might as well spend a couple of days on the west coast, might get up as far as Ullapool, to do a rekkie on where to spend next winter, I've seen enough of Ireland for a while now, spent 6 of the last 15 months there, so time for a change... The stretch between Ullapool {or even further north} down to maybe Oban would do for me, like everyone else at the moment Applecross springs to mind, but after Monty Hall and his dog put that on the map I hear everywhere within 20 miles is booked up, year round for the foreseeable, sigh... Might have a look at Tobermory, or anywhere with a decent beach and a decent pub, that'll do for me, some place where I can rent a cottage for 3-4 months, if I'm still around this time next year that is...

I guess that the economy will be taking its toll on where folks decide to take their holidays this year, might be a good idea to share where we've been and if it was worth going again. Have to say that although we had a good time in Ireland, touring Northern Ireland and the Republic, you can't "win" in either place. There's lots of great places in Ireland for hiking fishing or just sight seeing, but the cost of staying in the Republic beggars belief, the cheapest pint of Guinness was 3.60 Euro the highest was over 5 Euro, the same pint in the North was as low as ?1.60, average price was ?2.20. I know that there's more to a holiday than the price of ale, but it was a fair indication of what you'll pay for most everything else, a bowl of Irish Stew in Galway Bay, in a middle of the road pub was 13 Euro {think almost 13 quid} and there was nowt special about it. In the North you can get a full "Ulster Fry" on a 12" plate that almost defies anyone to finish it, for about 5 to 6 quid. Same thing renting a car, way more expensive in the south than in the north, and so on. The problem is, the craic is better in the Republic and excepting for a couple of places like Giants Causeway there's a lot more interesting /pretty places to see in the south. Bottom line is, Northern Ireland is cheaper but the Republic is a better holiday, but you'll pay for it...

I haven't had a look at the betting since we left Ireland yesterday, but it was 30's on Betfair on Sunday. Latest odds on Kilbeggan Blade Kilbeggan's Form Maybe we should put our heads together and pick a horse or two for the race ? be nice to think we were all shouting for the same horse... Here's a bit of info I just found on the web about Kilbeggan... Tom George is looking forward to running Kilbeggan Blade, winner of three of his four starts this season. ?I see that Kilbeggan Blade is now set to carry 10st 4lb and it looks like we will definitely get into the National,? said George. ?The race has been the plan since he won his second London National (at Sandown) in December. ?That was his only start over fences this term and we not only did this to protect his mark, but also because he seems to run better over fences after a spin over hurdles. ?His two victories at Sandown came on the back of hurdle appearances and he really enjoys a bit of a change. ?His run at Warwick should have put him just right for Aintree and it was a matter of getting a run into him rather than expecting him to win. ?He?s only had four starts all season and he?ll be going into the National a fresh horse which is the key to him.? The horse that stands out for me is the Tom George-trained Kilbeggan Blade, who has gone up a total of 28lb for winning his last three starts but is unexposed and there?s a good chance that the handicapper hasn?t got to grips with just yet, plus he gets in here off a nice racing weight of 10st 8lb and will have been freshened up by a two-month break. The eight-year-old has barely touched a twig in completing his hat-trick and recorded the most impressive of those victories over this very course and distance last time when dishing out a nine-length beating to Truckers Tavern in the Tim Molony Handicap Chase. In the process, Kilbeggan Blade also demonstrated his aptitude to act in the mud. Has bags of stamina and hails from a yard at the top of its form so it's not surprising that Kilbeggan Blade has been mentioned in some quarters as the 'dark' horse of the 2009 Grand National. Fits the trends of some of the recent placed horses in that he has raced over extreme distances and does not come from a high profile training yard. Has been campaigned very shrewdly in 2008/09 by Spearing and has racked up two wins in long distance novice hurdles and an excellent win over fences at Sandown. May have a preference for softish ground which could be a worry for Aintree in April but defintely a big player in the 2009 Grand National. Canada Bob.

Just a few days off the race now, and although it's not a race to be looking for a tip in... We spent a fair bit of time in County Mayo and had more than the odd pint with the connections of Kilbeggan Blade. They said the horse is a good jumper, stays for ever, has a handy weight, it's won more than it's fair share, has a good jockey and at 25/1 is a "rattling good bet". The lad telling me all this rides the horse cross country, he don't jump any fences on it, just lets the horse run as far as it wants toover the fields, he said every time he takes the horse out he gets tired before the horse does ! I'll be having a few quid on it, be hellish to have been drinking with them and to miss the thing if it wins... Canada Bob.

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter." What are you saying starchief? Do think that people in this country are too stupid to decide who should run it? The above {on both sides of the arguement} gave me food for thought, so I had a look around, and found these comments... International comparisons * Across Europe around 10% of the population falls into the low skills category; in Britain the figure is over 20%: eight million people are so poor at reading and writing that they cannot cope with the demands of modern life. # In 2003, the DfES found that 29% of adults - as many as 11 million people - could not calculate the area of a floor, in either square feet or metres. More than 10% were unable to understand the instructions on a packet of seeds. And less than a third of people managed to work out the amount of plastic covering needed to line a pond - even with a calculator, pen and paper. # Nearly four out of 10 adults in some parts of England cannot read or write properly or do simple sums according to a Basic Skills Agency's report in May 2000. This report came a year after the agency's chairman Sir Claus Moser's report, which described the serious problem of 20% of adults being "functionally illiterate". A reinterpretation of the Moser data put the national average even higher, at 24% - rising to nearly 40% in some areas. On average, 15% have low literacy, 5% have lower literacy and 4% have very low literacy. # Less than 1% of school leavers and adults can be described as illiterate. Basic literacy skills, however, may be insufficient to meet the demands of many occupations. # 12 % of young adults said they had problems with reading, writing, spelling or basic maths. Here's the source for the above comments... Kinell, how bad can it be... I wonder who this lot voted for...

Nu Labour promised to put an end to "Tory Sleaze" yet they don't want the public to know what they've up to until AFTER the next Election !!! Obviously it would bugger up their chances of being re-elected, and they want to keep their heads in the trough that you are providing for them... As far as the Home Secretary is concerned, remember her job is to establish respect for the Law etc. How can she excuse an attempt to rip the taxpayers off ? Forget the porno for a minute, isn't it "fair" that anyone who wants to watch cable TV pays for it out of their own pocket. Millions in the UK can't even get a NHS Dentist yet she feels that the taxpayers should be providing her with cable TV ! To add insult to injury how arrogant was it of her to ask the taxpayer to pay for the friggin coal she burns, at a time when millions of families aren't only feeling the pinch from the ecomony but the pinch of their fuel bills. Why do they feel that whatever they want to watch on TV is at the taxpayers expense, do you think it's right that you should foot the bill if they want to watch Chelsea or Oceans 13, or anything else, what's the odds they submit a claim for their TV license ? is there anything they don't claim for ! If the Home Secretary can't see that what she did was wrong she should be removed from her job, my bet is she knew what she was doing, but felt she was beyond reproach and above the law. As for the wages of Politicians vs the wages paid to people in the private sector, the difference is, you have to make money in the private sector before you can expect to be paid a wage. If you are incompetent in the private sector you're gone at the end of the week, if your dishonest in the private sector your gone within the hour, no excuses and no "I'll put the money back in the till, and we'll all forget about it", if anyone did that where you work you'd be gobsmacked at their nerve... I don't know what folks are earning in the UK, but here's a fact for you, less than 5% of people in the UK EVER have ?100,000 in the Bank, no matter how hard they work, no matter what their job is, no matter how long they've worked, Jaqcui Smith has claimed more than that in Expenses {tax free expenses that is} in the last 5 years or so... According to the latest figures that I'm aware of, in 2006 in the UK 1 person in 7 was living below the Poverty Line. Fair enough the country needs people like Jacqui, after all Gordon says she's doing a good job, might be a good idea to vote them all in again, I'm sure there's some who will feel that way... But in my book most MP's are doing more for themselves than they are for the country or their constituents ? They aren't Socialists nor are they Capitalists, they are Opportunists, like Fagin they'll dip into anyone's pocket...