I am puzzled.
If there was an item on the news that declared that the price of roofing tiles, bathroom suites, UPVC doors, carpets, insulation blocks, roof joists and electrical sockets were falling by 40% then we would all experience a satisfied glow.
Put all these items in a building and announce that the price of everything was falling by 40% and there is consternation.
I know that there is an explanation for this - something to do with building costs and availability of credit for the purchase of housing but it is still strange that we complain when we have to pay less for a major item.
The answer is simple. Let us, the great unwashed, stop thinking of our homes as an investment and just get on with living in them. It is the big time investors who are losing out and our money obsessed national press are expressing their sorry predicament and projecting it onto the rest of us.
If a householder borrows to buy a house they cannot afford then they are just plain stupid. I would love a Mercedes but I'm happy to make do with my Peugeot.
I rent :-) Hooray!

I have been quiet for a long time. I was being taken to court for a sum of money that I was supposed to owe. This had the effect of suppressing my desire to communicate with ANYONE and the preparation for court was filling all my little grey cells with undesired activity.
The hearing date was yesterday, 13th May. I had thoroughly prepared my case, put on my finest garments and feeling very nervous whispered my name to the court usher.
"You are not on the list," he said.
My first reaction was 'Oh you silly boy Graham, you have got the date wrong'.
Then we both inspected the summons and it was correct. You sort of don't forget dates of such significance.
The usher sent me to enquire at reception where I learned that my oppressor had withdrawn.
I won.
I would have liked to have enjoyed the fruits of my labour and won through carefully presented arguments. I wanted my day in court, even though it scared my pants off. It seems that the company retreated in the face of the evidence I had presented in advance.
So, small people, don't let the big boys bully you. I could have come to some arrangement with them and given away money I did not owe (£654), just for peace of mind.
It would have been nice of them to let me know, but we are talking about a multi-national publishing company (named after a flightless bird). Such manners went out of the window when the 'Witch of Grantham' taught us all the economics of conscience free greed.
I have my life back - for a short while. The first batch of 1000 exam scripts arrives on Friday. I will be paid handsomely for that diversion though!

Grayling