Madeira Jon

[quote]although she deviates from the subject I am talking about all the time[/quote] Don't they all darling, don't they all! (GRIN)

Those leaves seem too thin for elder, and elder has very brittle wood.

From what I understand of the UK car market dealers get commission from finance companies if they sign purchasers up to a finance deal. Therefore, dealers do not want cash sales That is true but the salesmen also have monthly targets to achieve, "to shift the metal"; in order to do this in the UK they certainly knock off a discount for cash to get a sale.

I used TomTom to navigate down from Durham UK to Le Bugue; Mrs TomTom took me through Paris in the middle of a Sunday afternoon and all the way to my destination with no problems at all. However once in UK she did try to kill me by sending me down a cart track into lake Windermere! Fortunately I knew that route, refused her advice and she calmed down and gave me better instructions.

Martin, I got my OnDigital box some years ago!  While in the UK I re-scanned it last week and behold all the stations work; so far anyway!  However new digiboxes are only £20 or so.

"I HATE the UK system in regards to the buyer and seller being able to pull out after an offer has been made and accepted." I understood that this is only the situation in England as I believe that in Scotland when an offre has been accepted then it is legally binding on both parties.

I am very interested in this thread as I wish to purchase a property for my grandson; but he is currently only 15 (but ageing rapidly!) So I guess I will have to buy it myself and then transfer it to him when he is 18.

Pension Credits are only available (and means tested!) if a couple have less than £9,000 in savings, property etc etc. All bank and sacings  accounts are accessed by the Inland Revenue and available to the Pensions Agency so it is not possible to "hide" income or savings. So it is possible for a couple to have absolutely NO income of any sort but should they have savings at or above that level, then they will get no support.