For some reason we´re in Magalluf for a week. Well acually the reason is my dad´s going to be 70 on Friday and is coming here with my brother. So we´ve nipped out to surprise him.
We´ve had a couple of days of rain but ít´s bright and sunny today. Hopefully it will remain so for the duration of our stay.
What’s going on in Burma? It seems there are one or two people not happy with the way their country is being run so they have decided to protest. Unfortunately for them their military government took a dim view of this and decided to enforce extreme action.
I can’t help wondering how similar protests would be viewed should they break out here in Britain. Hypothetical, of course, as our government isn’t nearly as oppressive, is it? But I can’t help thinking that the word ‘protestor’ would be search/replaced by ‘rioter’ or perhaps even ‘terrorist’ and the tone of media reports would be more hostile than sympathetic.
But the really puzzling part for me was the way the monks were hassled. I thought that monks hidden away in monateries in places like Burma were highly skilled Kung Fu experts and would be able to make mincemeat of the military. Being faced with firearms wouldn’t faze them one bit as they’re trained to dodge bullets and despatch their foe with deadly ease. That being done they could then perform in an exhibition by punching kerbstones in half and hammer nails into wood by nutting them. Obviously I have misjudged.
It’s been two months since I last posted anything here. Just about the only news worthy of publishing is the sale of my house was completed in late July. So I’m now no longer a home owner for the forseeable future. Houses are just so damned expensive in this part of the country. Anyway, there are indications that the financial markets could go seriously tits up so perhaps it’s better I don’t have a mortgage to worry about right now.
If it does happen it might take a couple of years to restabilise. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a huge witch hunt take place in order to find someone culpable for the whole mess. I’d start looking very close to home, at those who created and maintain the money market madness in the first place. We live in a culture of greed, with an every-man-for-himself mentality and a reluctance to accept a shared responsibility when things inevitably run out of control. Instead everyone points their fingers shouting “It’s someone else’s fault!”
I’d be happier to see governments taking a more active involvement in the regulation of the money markets.
The camping trip didn’t happen. The weather was too bad. High winds and driving rain forced a rethink so we had a look around to see what we could find. Last minute jaunts abroad seemed to be almost as, if not more, expensive than booking ahead. So we took a look around UK venues and opted for 4 nights (Monday to Friday) in Camber Sands, near Rye in East Sussex. We got a bungalow/chalet for a very reasonable price.
The weather wasn’t great but it was good to get away. There were moments when the sun came out long enough to warm things up a bit. In fact, between the rainy periods it could have been quite nice if it hadn’t been for the wind.
We enjoyed it. We visited somewhere new and spent a lot of time relaxing. Personally, I don’t mind doing nothing. It’s amazing just how little time there is to squeeze absolutely nothing into. Peace and quiet, no work, just relaxation. Magic!
But it was all undone on the trip back home. Some buffoon had overturned a lorry on the M11, closing the whole motorway between Bishops Stortford and Duxford. So an alternative route was sought. The reports coming over the radio said that the A10 was very busy so I decided to carry on with the M25 to South Mimms and use the A1. Only it took us over two hours to get from Dartford to South Mimms. By this time I was becoming painfully desperate to relieve my bladder, the toilets in the services perhaps the most welcoming venue of the week! We eventually made it home four hours after setting off. It took us two and a half hours to get there on the Monday. A significant delay that had me bemoaning lorry drivers.
“Where did you get that?”
“I bought it off ebay, and what a bargain it was too.”
How many times have I heard that particular exchange? What usually follows is how much it costs in the shops or what the manufacturer’s recommended retail price (MRRP) is. What it costs from online retailers isn’t mentioned, unless it’s significantly higher. Not many people will admit to being ripped off, especially not to themselves.
I’ve been looking for a mini DV camcorder. I used to have one, a Samsung VP-D351. I saw it in a shop on special offer for £160. At the time it was the cheapest I’d seen so I snatched it up. I started to get into using it and then editing the resulting footage on my PC, using the firewire link to download the movies to file. Unfortuneately it disappeared, most likely stolen. I didn’t realise it was gone until the day before our wedding.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to find a replacement. I can pick up a brand new camcorder for around £125 + P&P, so around £135 brand new from various online retailers. But I thought I’d give ebay a try. There seem to be quite a few on there at any one time. The ‘Buy it Now’ (BIN) prices seem quite steep, considering I can pick up comparable products for less elsewhere.
For example, currently there is a Sony DCR-HC45 for sale with a BIN price of £188.99 + £9.99 postage, a total of £198.99. Empiredirect.co.uk are offering the same model for £189.99 + £4.99 (£194.98), so it’s actually cheaper overall.
Ignoring the BINs for the moment, the general auctions aren’t much better. Just last week I spotted something interesting so I decided on a maximum bid for what I’d be willing to pay for something second hand (even though it did say brand new in box it’s essentially second hand) and wasn’t that surprised to find I’d been outbid. The thing that surprised me the most, however, was the ending bid. This second hand camcorder sold for £120 + £8 P&P. A quick scour of online retailers showed this same model for sale for about £125 + £5 P&P. Brand new, from a retailer, covered by the Sale of Goods Act. Looking at the bid history it looked like a bidding war out of control. Pride or whatever had prevailed over common sense and the ‘winner’ paid, in my opinion, well over the odds for it.
Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations. I would rarely pay more than 50% of the cheapest retail price for anything on ebay. Whenever anyone tells me about what a great deal they got on ebay I feel like doing a quick price comparison with online retailers. Of course, if you pointed it out to someone they’d dismiss it with some nonesense as nobody likes to admit to being ripped off. Especially to themselves.
Meanwhile my camcorder quest continues…
Next month we’re off to Welsh Wales for a week of camping (subject to weather and/or being able to get on the campsite). It’s been a few years since I was last camping so the tent will have to be taken up the common and aired out a bit. I’ll have to check all the bits are there too. I’d rather not drive 5 or so hours only to discover half the tent’s missing or it’s been chewed to bits or something. There’s also the small matter of the stove. Apparently this has been left in the old house (the sale of which still hasn’t been completed, incidentally) so we’re either going to have to head up there before July or arrange for the friends we’re meeting at the campsite to enter the house and bring the things with them. Alternatively we could buy a whole load of new stuff.
Ah well, at least it’s something to look forward to. Subject to all the conditions being favourable of course.
“Are you settling in alright?” is a question that I’m asked. Without really thinking about it I give a standard “Yeah, not bad” reply.
But what does it mean, “settling in”? It evokes a feeling of permanance, foreverness, that I find just a little too “final”. I think many people crave this finality, they welcome the stability of it, the sureness of what tomorrow is going to be like. Sometimes I, too, would like to know what my life will be like in 5 or 10 years. 5 or 10 months even. But then where’s the fun in that? I’m happy to trade-off the chance of things getting better against the risk of things getting worse. Therefore I’m only as “settled” as I need to be, and that’s being ready to move onto the next chapter of life at very short notice.
Things change, they change often and they change rapidly. I can stay behind in relative safety or I can keep stepping into the flux and be taken away by the current to be deposited in the unknown.
Well we’re all moved in. More or less. We’ve dragged what belongings we could to the new flat. It still took me 2 weeks to getting around to setting the server up. Well first I had to clear space for the desk, then sort out the cabling, including a new network cable between cable modem and router.
About the flat: Well it’s in the middle of town about twenty paces from an off-licence and a further 10 paces to an Indian restaurant. We’re discovering the difficulties of moving from a house to a flat, particularly the space. We’re going to try to offload some of our excess belongings at a car boot sale today. If we can get there in time that is. Otherwise we’ll give away or dump them. I’m holding onto my book collection for dear life. I don’t like parting with books.
We’re experiencing a few teething problems with the flat. The curtains fell down the other evening. It seems they were held up in the middle with silicone. Whoever’s been doing the maintenance on this flat must wear chaps and six guns. Oh, and the boiler packed in yesterday but it seems to have got better so maybe it was just a stutter.
The town we’re in seems quite nice. It’s about 5 minutes to the train station from where we can reach Cambridge or London quite easily. We’ve done neither so far but we will sometime. Driving can be such a ball ache at times, especially weekends when parking space is at a premium. Plus it means I can have a couple of scoops.
I might get out one of these days and take a few photographs. There’s also some historically interesting places around here so perhaps a bit of digging will reveal some interesting stories.
Well, sort of exiled. I’m currently staying in a B&B through the week and returning home for the weekends until I can sort out somewhere to live on a more permanent basis. The new job is going quite well and I’ve managed to find a pub that offers free wireless Internet, hence me making this post. The house hunting is going about as well as the selling of the house back home though. I’ve looked at a few flats, just looking to rent for the time being, but there’s been nothing that’s jumped at me saying “take me! take me!”. I’ve arranged some viewings for next week.
As for the house sale, well plenty have looked around it but apart from one cheeky offer most seem to say it’s not the house for them. I’m a bit puzzled by that as they don’t give any other information, these comments are relayed by the estate agents. Hopefully it will be right up someone’s street. Actually, if it is up their street then they already live there so they might not be all that interested after all.
The pub I’m currently sat in dates back to the 16th century and apparently Dick Turpin stayed here once. Judging by the beer prices I think he’s still here! Joking aside though it’s quite nice with a log fire in the hearth and decent ales. Some of the locals are good chaps too. Plenty of laughs to be had anyway.
I’m definitely getting grumpier and more cynical as I age. Today I once again went off on one about the state of things.
The first rant I had today was about house prices. Perhaps I’m just bitter because the area in which I currently live is the land that time forgot in terms of house prices. A few miles down the road in the next town there’s a difference of about £60k for a similar property. The only difference is the location. When I purchased this property I don’t think there was £10k separating the prices. This town has stood relatively still whilst the rest of the country has seemed to accelerate.
Why is this a problem? Well it wouldn’t be if I intended on living here for years to come. Unfortunately employment options have become rather limited so I’m forced to seek work elsewhere. This inevitably means getting myself off the housing ladder as I won’t be able to afford to purchase in the area in which I intend to relocate. Even with the equity I still won’t be able to borrow enough to buy somewhere.
Ah, there are schemes that help people on a shared ownership basis. Unfortunately these are only open to first time buyers. I am no longer a first time buyer. I’ve previously had a mortgage so I’m apparently disqualified for such a scheme. It seems I’m being penalised for having attempted to get onto the housing ladder 10 years ago.
With social housing lists in their thousands and people waiting something like 3 years the only option for me is to blow 50% or more of my monthly income on a private tenancy. Probably in housing that at some time was social housing but under the right to buy scheme has now become someone else’s nest egg.
Maybe if I push the issue enough I can appeal to the bureaucrats who head up such schemes but I won’t hold my breath. Bureacracy in this country is tighter than the proverbial gnat’s chuff. For not the first time in my life I find myself in a square peg, round hole situation.
But why is it that a given property in one area can differ so much in value from a similar property in another? What is it about this post code snobbery? If it’s the lack of employment opportunities then perhaps the government should compensate the victims of this shortfall. After all aren’t they the ones who are supposed to ensure employment for all?
Or perhaps there should be some sort of control over house price increases. If an area is showing higher than average increases then there’s surely too much demand for housing and so more need to be built. Likewise, areas that show a lower than average growth obviously have either too much housing or people don’t want to live there. If the former then don’t approve any further planning applications. If the latter then find out why and do something about it.
Or perhaps class divides is what it’s all about. The new upper classes are those who own properties in the right areas, the working classes are those who don’t. I’ve noticed that a lot of the properties sold in this area over the past few years have subsequently been let out. With social housing being grossly oversubscribed the only option for many people is renting from the private sector which, coupled with lower wages, would prevent these people from ever getting a foot on the housing ladder and bridging the ever widening class divide.