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A very smug reply!

I am normally very very careful about 'hidden' bank charges - it was an internet transaction and I hadn't done what like that before. I said it was a relatively small amount. I thought I'd keyed in '£102' and then '£127' appeared immediately as a debit to the account.

I thought I'd made a mistake and keyed in 127 instead of 102 and patted myself on the bank for being accidentally generous; it was only two days later I saw there was an unread message on this bank's site.... I read it, and only then realised I'd keyed in what I thought I'd keyed in - still, it should have come up with an option stating there was a £25 charge before the transaction went through - and what pisses me off is that their cost was either zero or a couple of pennies!

I've paid loads of bills via this account and there is no charge - this was a transfer because I specified the BSC (bank sorting code) and a/c number it was going to............. however paying bills is no different as the funds get automatically sent to a BSC and account number anyway..........

You are quite right, always, to read the small print and conditions - but do you do so every time you make a verbal contract like ordering a cup of coffee?

I guess what annoyed me was that it, no doubt, in the terms and conditions - I knew the terms and conditions for transferring from one account to another IN ANOTHER CURRENCY - I just assumed there was no charge from one 'UK' (even though Jersey) to another UK bank account was 'free'.......... and yes - and I know the answer to that one too...

'ASSUME = making an ASS out of U and ME!


A very good time to invest.......: click here to read the entire thread »

Well, I am genuinely sorry you took it as an insult - now that you know it was not meant as an insult you can relax and enjoy yourself - ok?


where would you say is the cheapest and dearest country in the world,in which to live?: click here to read the entire thread »

It's the same old story - after lending irresponsibly in the 80's the banks said they had learnt their lesson and would never repeat the same mistakes - but there is some model that shows if a bank follows the other banks like a sheep they make more money than acting sensibly so they all piled in again even though they knew that it would (with 100% certainty) eventually cause terrible pain and hardship to many innocent people.

Bastards!




A very good time to invest.......: click here to read the entire thread »

I have to tend to agree - just sent my son a small sum of money and only days later realised the bank had charged £25 for the internet transaction - from a sterling based bank account (in Jersey) to a UK sterling based bank account...robbing bastards - hope they rot in Hell forever and ever!


A very good time to invest.......: click here to read the entire thread »

Eventually most dreams fade.... but, as yet, the memory of my father is here every day guiding me in decisions I have to make for my mother's welfare. My mother said my father would be proud of me, but then she changed her mind and said he was already proud of me before he died...that was a nice thing for me to hear!

He died less than two months ago, but in some ways it seems like a long, long time ago and in other ways it seems he never died - life just goes on, as always, with incrememtal changes we hardly seem to notice.


Do all dreams fade?: click here to read the entire thread »

It's all relative - some people have a lot going for them in their lives - and huge overheads where their earnings are eaten up by expensive lifestyles (not lavish, you understand but some lifestyles have to kinda go with the job and the location)...... I keep saying that it's a matter of choice, but many people believe they have no choice and they are swept along by the tide of life events.

The truth is that we all have choices. You yourself made a move to Austria yourself and have done 'ok' - more than 'ok' from your positive posts! Well done!¬

It's just that, at any given point in time, the choices we perceive are limited, and it doesn't make sense to throw away what little perceived security we have.

Some people are very clever and make changes over a period of time to accommodate a pre-determined change without risking all on day one of their new lives. We have one such CS member who moved gradually from one country to another over a period of a couple of years - not making the final move until he felt reasonably secure in his new environment.

I take my hat off to him - it certainly wasn't an easy thing to do, but he had the determination to make his dream come true, and it happened.


A very good time to invest.......: click here to read the entire thread »

Some people come and go and come again......... I've been banned several times myself - I don't normally leave voluntarily....I only leave kicking and screaming as 'they' drag me back into my padded cell.


Where is Lago?: click here to read the entire thread »

Have a great time!


Good morning Europe: click here to read the entire thread »

I wish I had a spare 100,000 euros or dollars or pounds to invest right now; it's an excellent time to make some money with very little risk.

Both bank shares and bank bonds have fallen sharply over the past few months - for obvious reasons that I do not need to go into.

I'd not personally invest in bank shares as I am a natural born coward and don't like investing directly on the stock market - too much like gambling in my opinion and I've always been a loser when gambling.

But bank bonds - another matter altogether!

You can buy a bank bond now for much less than its face value.

Say you have a bank bond with a 'coupon' (the 'coupon' is the interestt rate it pays to the bearer either annually or bi-annually)of 6.5% that matures in September 2012. This means you'll get paid 6.5% on the face value of the bond until you get all your money back in 2012.

If the buying price for the bond was 'at par' you'd pay $1 or £1 or Euroes 1 for every dollar or whatever of face value. If you pay less than 1.00 you buy 'below par' and if you buy at over 1.00 you buy in 'abover par. Simple, ok?

Now work it out if you can buy that bond for only 70 cents for a face value of one - you can buy $100,000 worth of bonds for only $70,000 and will make a gainh of $30,000 provided you keep the bond to maturity and the bank doesn't go bust and pays up.

Meanwhile you are getting your coupon of (in this ficticious example) of 6.5% on the full $100,000 which you only paid $70,000 for - so your real rate of return is 6,500/70,000 x 100 = 9.28571% instead of a mere 6.5%.

So, now is a good time to invest if you have some spare capital. I don't. I wish I had! You can both increase your income AND have capital growth in relative safety........... ok, this may not apply if you got greedy and decided to invest in Icelandic bonds - I was tempted to last year (but didn't have the money available then either) so I guess I was kinda lucky!

Anyway, good luck to all of you and I hope that this worldwide financial crisis hasn't affected you too negatively - and remembering that every cloud has a silver lining can help you turn what might appear to be a disaster to your advantage.

I DO, however, believe that inflation is going to go up further still - and this makes me sad because the elderly, as usual, on fixed incomes are the ones most like to suffer as a result.

Governments, with huge debts, will welcome inflation as the value of their debt will reduce magically over time as inflation erodes their mountains of debt.

Good luck!


A very good time to invest.......: click here to read the entire thread »

Can't we have a combined toga party mixed with some ladies dressed in hoola hoola skirts?

I just so want to dance up against a grass skirt once before I die!



Not a fancy dress party as such (where anything goes) but a combined vicars and tarts, toga, and hawaian party - I can think of nun better!




If you had to organise a themed party...: click here to read the entire thread »

You missed out Awesome Choice. How could you NOT choose her?

Mind you, she'd probabvly have a fit if any sand got in her gucci volleyball shoes!

You don't know Awesome Choice? Why not? She could pass for being Swedish even if her ethnicity is up to her to tell you privately! ;)


where would you say is the cheapest and dearest country in the world,in which to live?: click here to read the entire thread »

The person I most recently admire is the Mayor of New York City!

Bloomberg was interviewed in a tv programme called 'Hardtalk' recently and what he had to say was very interesting. He is a very clever man, but also a very sensible person who appears to tell the truth without denigrating other people. He's been talking to both camps (Obama and McCain) about what he believes they need to do with the economy when one of them gets into power. he is under no illusion that they'll take his advice outright but hopes whoever becomes President will take note of what he's had to say and take it into consideration when making the tough decisions all our leaders in the 'free world' have to make once they come to power.

He's made up his mind who he is going to vote for, but, as Mayor of New York, he'll have to work with whoever is going to get in so he refuses to say who he'll vote for.

He says he'll stand for a third term as mayor if the law is changed and the electorate want him - at least he has a sound track record and the finances of New York city are in good shape under his leadership.


WHICH LIVING PERSON DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?: click here to read the entire thread »

Now can we change the subject.......... which CS ladies actually play volleyball?


where would you say is the cheapest and dearest country in the world,in which to live?: click here to read the entire thread »

Lord - we could have CS ladies volleyball team!

Would they need to be tested for drugs though?

They could probably play with one hand while clutching a cocktail in the other - and I am sure, under CS volleyball rules, drinking (though a drug) will be allowed.

We men could watch them huff and puff and blow the net down, and award points for 'artistic merit' and 'looking good' - the actual score would, of course, be immaterial.

Once they have finished playing we could help them clean up in the shower - wow, phoenix could be chief volleyball team back scrubber!


No, I am NOT horny....: click here to read the entire thread »

I agree - I think miro is very pretty - and so are many gypsy girls - nothing wrong with having sultry looks, is there?


where would you say is the cheapest and dearest country in the world,in which to live?: click here to read the entire thread »

Sorry to have hurt your feelings; as I have nothing against gypsies per se. I am sure that there are very many very pretty gypsy girls you could have taken it as a compliment should you have chosen to.

I prefer dark hair to blonde hair, but stating the fact doesn't denigrate blondes - and my girlfriend has blonde hair (even if aided and abeted by her hairdresser).

In English some gypsies are called 'tinker' (a tinker is a person who mends and sells and deals in pots and pans). If you call a friend 'You little tinker!' it is not a terrible insult but funny!

In Italy the government has been guilty of terrible discrimination against gypsies; many gypsies these days wish their children to go to school and settle down and nolonger live the traditional life of their forebears. I fear that you are the person who is guilty of thinking badly of a whole group of people rather than myself. How can you feel insulted otherwise?




where would you say is the cheapest and dearest country in the world,in which to live?: click here to read the entire thread »

Yes - it was, as always, wrong of ME to reply..... but of course it was also wrong of you - you should have sent me a quiet friendly email, but you didn't!

I don't think either person you mention have had too much trouble tolerating each other - I can also appreciate his wit (most of the time) and the ladies obviously like him.

My main reason for staying here is loneliness - trapped in the villa 21 hours out of 24 means that the internet is a wonderful way of staying in contact with breathing non-paralysed human beings.

I am looking forward to my next trip away - to Germany now for just one week instead of Swansea for two weeks!


A sign of the times.....: click here to read the entire thread »

Now you are attacking me - I didn't attack him in any way, but he had to make a snide remark against me.... I mentioned 'Slim Tony's' (nothing nasty) and he came back with 'No, Thick Robert's'...... try and be fair smoky - or please say nothing instead of jumping on my back all the time. You stir things up yourself all the time by taking sides and ganging up on me.

How would you like to be called 'thick' and then 'pathetically infantile'?

Wash your mouth out with soap. Why don't YOU abide by the rules instead of making things worse?




A sign of the times.....: click here to read the entire thread »

It's still kinda nice that Switzerland isn't in the EU though (even if in the European Economic Area)..... from the outside we can feel slightly jealous of the Swiss and remind ourselves that long ago and far away in the dim and distant past other countries also had a kind of pseudo independence......... I still think the EU is a good thing overall - a real force for peace in Western Europe - and maybe it's a good thing we don't all have a common language or it would destroy the rest of individual cultures.

Mind you, I was quite taken aback yesterday by a Maltese posting in quite strong language how he thought negatively about the EU - there is no doubt in my mind that standnards have been raised in malta since membership on 1st May 2004 and that bright young Maltese can look forward to a fantastic future if they are capable of grabbing the awesome opportunities available.

For less bright people it's the same in every EU country - if you haven't got what it takes unemployment looms in your face and that brings resentment towards those better off, etc.




Good morning Europe: click here to read the entire thread »

It's been a long day - yes............ I have had 'flu for a week now and I am getting fed up - I had it almost beaten by Saturday, but I had a kinda relapse and it is still burning me up and I want to go out and enjoy the 'last of the summer wine'


What must a man do to make Smoky happy?: click here to read the entire thread »