Member Info for torquay

It is better than watching your money burn, but not much - the interest is taxed and then they have the gall to charge a management fee for losing you money. Why they call it financial services beats me but it does demonstrate why the EU want there own system because it may just work better.
OHSEE's contribution is to my mind quite realistic, because a united Ireland is already being worked on - the shake up that the system will receive from all the Brexit nonsense MUST result is fresh elections. They say that leopards do not change their spots but in the case of the DUP I do not see that they have any alternative although what they will do with all their noisy bands is anybody's guess.
Maybe Europe would sponsor a prize which would encourage them to take music lessons and perhaps add brass or silver instruments to their ensemble so that they could play real music for a change - my grandsons would certainly approve because they both hate the sound that they make.
Ranger's advice together with our friend in Gorey, is sound but I will not be able to help myself if it goes to three.

Good luck all.. Cold up here but at least the wind and rain has stopped - boy do we get wind here.

Excellent and thank you for your well constructed contribution - none of which I would argue with - we are indeed at a defining moment.
Out of this political crucible may yet emerge something that is sensible and capable of persuading enough of the population to support it.
The DUP are having their moment in their little hot air balloon but seem to me and from soundings, to have disappointed too many people with their blind and overbearing belligerence to continue to command the level of support that they have previously enjoyed.
Northern Ireland cannot continue forever to be a "Crown Dependency" and at some point (fast approaching) must learn to forge a more secure future for itself. There are many bright people here who are industrious and educated who should be encouraged and helped as in the republic to become more self sufficient.
New investment is coming into Northern Ireland, not as an avalanche but, I am noting with pleasure the improvements and investment that are becoming apparent in Derry - it is rising at last because there are people there who have been waiting forever for the tide to come in. The whole region will benefit and not just from tourism - all they need is an increase in the momentum that they themselves have generated, now that some of the roadblocks have been removed. They are not there yet - not all of its people have joined the programme but now that the Commissioner is at home in both jurisdictions - he may decide to send up a few Garda but not to give out tickets.
Is our little share coming out of the ground - again.

Good luck all...

The Queen may yet offer a solution as outlined in your link from The Independent - the idea of a group of like minded MP's coming together at her request and forming a coalition appeals to me and would be a smart way out of this mess.

Nobody however should underestimate the plain stupidity of the large number of turkeys who voted for Christmas.

The unease that is now becoming apparent amongst our political class is the only bit of good news today as the ground almost shakes over here with the force of the wind...

Good luck all..

You really do have to wonder if this soap opera is deliberately contrived - because anything is better than applying themselves to work in the interests of the country.
Blow me - I get my first free TV Licence and already they are talking about taking it off me in two years time - AND that will be how it starts.

Good luck all.

I'm tired of the word - Fontenoy has correctly analysed the vote but did not disclose the total score and background.
OF THOSE THAT COULD BE BOTHERED TO VOTE 51.7% voted to leave - the total vote was cast (in both directions) by less than 50% of the population which by my feeble calculus is certainly not a landslide result.
What it is - is further evidence of detachment by a population whose minds have been numbed listening to the endless fighting and half baked initiatives proposed by a cast of characters who have completely forgotten any idea that they are there "TO SERVE" their constituents.
I am tempted to wonder if all this steam and smoke, without any fire (ideas) is engaged in deliberately in order to render the electorate either furious or comatose - while they get on with accumulating the Air Miles at the tax payers expense.
The British people only have themselves to blame, when they allow their representative to flagrantly misrepresent them in this way, whilst accepting whatever kind of swill is being fed to them from the bucket of half baked ideas.
When people withhold their votes this sort of outcome is always bound to happen.
Still at least our share is still breathing. Good luck all...

Drunken ramblings indeed - I have looked back over your most recent postings AND apart from your obvious dismay I wouldn't call what you have posted rambling - unless of course you were posting on the wrong forum.
You want to hear ramblings, listen to Arleen's gang and her guest this weekend with the straw coloured hair when they hold their conference.
Talk about "up the creek without a paddle" doesn't even come close...
Is this what Whacky Backy does ??

Good luck all. We have our first visitors this weekend so this must be short - my sentiments are clear enough I hope,

Once again you stated very clearly why the purchase of this share should be accompanied by a health warning, mostly due to interference behind the scenes by politicians who often rubber stamp appointments in return for support of one form or another.
I am more and more convinced that we just cannot win when you look at the appointment of Titans - yesterdays news from Nissan being a case in point.
How many other instances have there been since Robert Maxwell showed them all how to do it - THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN HEARD ABOUT ??
We are all paying a heavy price due to the continuing fall in educational investment and attainment of good results by our unfortunate youngsters who live in the large and fractured conurbations of our modern polyglot society. No wonder so many of the European migrant guest workers are going home especially where they have children.

Rant over - good luck all.

The figure quoted was 2.50 Euro's NOT cents - I don't that our manipulators could achieve that degree of deflation.

Now the DUP that's a different story - I think they call it "Harri Carri" the spelling is vague but the result should be the same.

Good luck all...

Ouch indeed - thanks however to buying in post RI (rights issue) I am still marginally ahead with an average in old money of 17.
Good to see that the old brain is still ticking X4. Have a look on YouTube "the Late Late goes to Cork" there's a great tale about pigeons in best Cork.
They don't make em like that anymore - but the spirit of Joe Mac still lives.
Fantastic result tonight - a lot of people will have a job making it home.

Good luck all.

Naomi Long - now your talking and who knows where we will be in six months ??

country - I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the level of debate around the Brexit Question - I recommend that a programme broadcast tonight on BBC 1 be viewed on the BBC I Player. It was broadcast jointly from Dublin and Belfast with the object of injecting some clarity into the debate so as to inform the view that might be expressed in a second referendum.
In this I was very sadly disappointed - mostly by the failure to contribute on the part of a man called Jim Allister whose sole purpose seemed to throw sand into the engine. He is characterised as being a barrister - which is all very well in the court room, where usually there is only one person who is going to suffer as a consequence of gaining his acquaintance and probably does. His tactics are mostly based on bluster and noise - at no point did he contribute anything useful to the debate but he did his best to stop the other panel members from informing the debate.
I think that what this demonstrates is the total inadequacy of this little party to chart a way forward because it is far too concerned with pulling the tail of the lion FOR GAIN - completely failing to notice that the famous lion has lost most of its teeth.
It does however continue to provide a most useful distraction, taking as it does peoples attention away from the parlous state of the British economy, ten years after the crash where nobody has yet been held to account. We are now approaching the end game - where the Donkeys that lead the Lions abdicate there responsibilities and throw the whole question back on the British people and ask them to make sense of it.
What follows will be anybody guess, because I for one would not know who to vote for. Until some sanity and honesty returns to the public discourse and a fresh result is achieved based on REAL INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE the current useless loud noise will continue to be about as usefully as an Orange March in the rain.
And we're waiting for our share to lift.....
Good luck all.

need Wilbur to come back on board when Trump fires him - then we can all get off.

lifts all boats - are we sinking or just under water ??

Good luck all..

The services that you refer to - phone broadband and street lighting along with landscaping the public areas are the result of good planning combined with a will to finish the job properly.
All of which can be accomplished in the south if the people who are elected did the job that they are being very well paid for particularly the health service. The health service here does not really work that much better than over the water - I am waiting for an appointment with a consultant since I got here and not a word about it so far.The colleen has done better, she has had one consultation in Lisburn and was happy with the outcome.
What does amaze me though is the affluence here, when it is claimed that the population are suffering deprivation, when you visit Belfast with all its thriving cafes and restaurants or try and park your car anywhere you notice the shear number of cars and their good condition. Looking at the plates which reveal the age of those with UK or southern plates the cars may well be five or six years old or older but they are all good cars and that's not talking about the pubs.
A United Ireland is being discussed by those who formulate policy and the latest research concludes that it would not be as costly as many people have forecast.
The benefits that could flow from the new reality would be equally shared amongst the whole population - that there might be some reduction in the standard of living enjoyed by those in the north would not arise for everyone, since so many of them have been directly employed by the state and enjoy those lovely index linked pensions that are causing such problems for the exchequer.
That it might happen should not be discounted - IF BREXIT GOES AHEAD - but even if it doesn't, the amount of money in circulation here must reduce, because the present level of subvention is not sustainable over the longer term. The next election will bring change, which should be planned for now, because Northern Ireland's current arrangements are plainly laughable and cannot endure.
For anybody who has visited Lisburn or Ballymena and looked at the shear scale of construction and expenditure on roads must understand that like Leeds in the north of England it cannot be maintained.The people here know very well how to work the system and have done very well out of it, but as oil production in the north sea slows and England's population continues to increase the pressure on the public services will cause serious problems if taxes are not increased in order to finance them.
These pressures already very apparent in the UK, go a long way towards explaining the number of people who are buying property here whose last home was on what they call the mainland. Those pressures will not be without their effect here too "once all the cash buyers have spent their money" like the Colleen and I. Everything is lovely when the tide is in - especially when there is a full moon - but what comes in goes out like the tide too.
Good luck

Some small sense of normality restored - we have finally dropped our anchor properly and are very pleased with the house as delivered by the builders. Have cut the lawn for the first time - well knocked the long bits off the top of the turf with my new Flymo, before we start planting for the spring.
Having been offline for almost three weeks it is no surprise that our little share is not doing any more than the Stormont Assembly - nothing - and still they get paid.
The DUP are making as much hay as they can - while they can - because they cannot ALL be re-elected in the next election BUT - being here and canvassing opinion is certainly no great encouragement that wisdom will prevail in the end.The people here who think that the sun shines out of the DUP because of their public pronouncements are all of the same belief "all you have to do is bully the government and it rains money."
I just hope that it keeps fine for them as the fireworks keep exploding at this time of night when they started about 7.30. The last time that I priced the kind of fireworks that they keep firing off here they were not cheap - what the 5th will be like we can only wonder.
Phoenix Gas are investing a lot of money up here connecting the town to a new mains gas supply which is intended to run back along the coast to Kilkeel and beyond. Over the course of the winter our supply will change from the gas tanks installed on the development and run by Calor to the new mains supply.
This really is an excellent development, all the green areas are properly turfed, street lights are installed and working before the last of the fifty houses have been sold and all phone lines are laid so that when we went live today it only took the engineer a few minutes to activate our service of phone and broadband.
The house is naturally warm EPC B which responds well to daytime sunlight so if the Beast from the East shows up again this winter it won't be the nuisance that it was last year.

Good luck all and don't lose the faith....

Once I have my permanent address I must inform the bank that I would like to receive their last dividend - they sent me the forms which I hope means they are sending me more than eighteen Euro's.
With everything that has been going on I lost sight of it.

Good luck all....

I hope that this adds to our collective fund of knowledge.

It is good to know that the banks look after our money !!!!!
We are now in the final stages and moving towards completion of our new house purchase - because our bank is only present in Belfast we opted for On-Line banking. We were advised when we visited the branch previously that in order to avoid the charges levied when money is moved, we could only move up to 25K a day between accounts.
Using our brand new code generator, which replaced our old one which had stopped working, we completed two transactions and one payment - for our new kitchen - before the system reacted.
We were phoned last night and asked to disclose our sort code and account number by a young man from Europe, we did not like the sound of things so we refused to co-oporate and ended the call. When so many tales of deception and theft are reported almost daily we decided to visit the bank again today and settle matters once and for all and to head off delays.
We drove up to Belfast arriving around 1.30pm and were told that somebody would see us but there was an hours wait - would we like a coffee. In fact we were only waiting about thirty minutes before being introduced to the person who we were told would help resolve matters.
Things did not start well - we were locked out of our account and to make matters worse our earlier transfers and payment had been reversed. It took about an hour and three phone calls from the young lady to even get OUR account open - had another coffee - and then things started to happen. Our two earlier transfers were now able to be made and our payment was made again, it was then that we were told that we could transfer as much as we liked to any of our accounts without any charge being levied. This being the case we transferred the balance of our house purchase money before their system changed its mind.
To cap it all, we must now transact our business using my Colleens phone because we used it to generate a new security code - their computer only recognises her phone now.
That isn't bad enough, our service with Vodaphone ends next week, because their system does not reach our new address yet, have had a chat with SKY who promise that I would love a package with them because it includes RTE1 and RTE2. When we got home we had a message on the landline that my garden chalet is going to be late by three days - I sat down and muttered "Oyvay."

Good luck all and Amen.

Well fancy - our share has risen again - to 8% below where it was a couple of weeks ago, what a good job we are used to such irrational performance.
Talking about performance, I hope everybody caught Theresa's speech today at the conference, I have never seen a leaders speech to equal it. I am considering donating a small prize to anyone who can correctly identify the substance likely to have induced her almost euphoric state - dancing indeed.
The relief in the hall at the end of her speech was a revelation, giving me the feeling that some of the fumes must have blown over the entire party - when somebody left a door open.
This was what the Americans call "A sunny uplands speech" which she delivered confidently - considering the state of play it can only have been chemically induced - she more than a large Irish or two.

Good luck all.

Not altogether sure that I can agree with all the points made with regard to China, I have always viewed that country with a certain amount of anxiety. Totalitarian regimes should be strangled at birth, because they give other country's and their elites ideas which are of no benefit to their people and quite often pose a very serious threat to their neighbours.
Ronald Reegan sorted out the soviet union by outspending them when they engaged in an arms race which broke their economy - such as it was.
In China's case, I have long been persuaded that their new found prosperity will in the end bring about the collapse of their regime when hard times befall their economy. China is terrified of turbulence and unrest in the population, what they describe as disorder, their brutal suppression of Tibet demonstrates this quite forcibly as well as the excesses against its own population - Tianeman Square is just one example.
They have benefited greatly from the transfer of technology as well as intellectual property which they must learn to harness and manage in a changing world. It has always surprised me in the past that an American President on a visit to Ireland can tear a lump out of the American economy and create a few hundred jobs in Shannon for instance.
America's current and past substantial computer investments in Ireland say much more about the new Ireland and its educated work force which illustrates the lack of matching numbers amongst its own population and the UK due to lack of political will.
Italy has never been politically stable or free from rampant corruption in its southern provinces, then there is the mafia - maybe we should all pray for the country - we may find that we are praying to a deaf ear.

Good luck all...