Lowlander

Yes, not as simple as petrol prices, but the comparison websites do all the work. Put in your current supplier, tariff and consumption in ? or KwH. Even Which magazine have a dedicated site. Will take you less than 5 minutes.

There's a list of comparision websites and useful advice here. It's incredibly easy to compare energy suppliers. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity Put in your usage or bills and they will calculate how much you can save by switching. Good advice on switching things off, although mobile phone chargers are pennies a year.

DJKillaQueen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Here's a nice site aimed at students so they can > judge which university cities are more crime > ridden than others............. > > http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/prepar > ing-to-go/staying-safe-and-secure/how-safe-is-your > -city/ > > Liverpool has a similar level of violent crime to > Cambridge! But the important issue is that there > are 15 other UK cities that score higher for > violent crime. > > Even the ONS duplicates this data > > https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crime-i > n-england-and-wales-2010-to-2011 > > Open 'Police force area data tables - Crime in > England and Wales 2010/11 (Microsoft Excel file - > 393kb)' > > ....and you will see that Merseyside has for > 2010/11, 15,239 reported crimes of violence > against the person. Compare this to Manchester > 40,034, Lancashire 21,956, West Yorkshire 29,509, > Staffordshire 18,309, West Midlands 41,499, London > 166,596, Hampshire 32,023, Kent 20,073, Sussex > 19,608, Thames Valley 35,906, Avon and Somerset > 25,822, Devon and Cornwall 20,424, South Wales > 18,274, even Essex is higher 20,995! > > There's an awful lot of southern violent crime > there too, somewhat blowing the myth that violence > is more prevalent in the North. > > What leads to violent crime is perhaps another > debate, but I think the data above illustrates the > danger is making assunptions about areas and the > people that live in them. I think it also > illustrates how perception is often wrong in the > face of the data. I would suggest that in Liverpool there is a tendancy to under-report crime...having spent equal time there and in Cambridge, I definately saw more trouble in Liverpool. Lovely place though. And it's not just Liverpool that under-records crime. And let us not forget how brutal the Met police were back in the 1980s during the miner's strikes.

Chase Dulwit Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Who on earth spends ?80 on a couple of bottles of > wine? No wonder the member of staff was blowing > smoke in your direction, they probably despised > someone who spends more than a weeks food shopping > money on wine alone. It's disgusting the amount of > money that goes to waste when there are people on > our doorsteps who need it. Please tell me that you > regularly donate the equivalent to a worthwhile > charity. But it's ok to spend ?80 a month on tobacco?

Whitton Timber? If they don't have a close match (and with a picture rail you could get away with it), they can set up a template...will be at least ?100 though

Another link http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/jan/26/green-deal-not-great-deal You could be right Hugunot

Floorboard insulation? Do you mean suspending insulation under bare floorboards on a ground floor? Double glazing would take at least 15-25 years to pay itself back. Do you feel you need new radiators? Do they even qualify? A good article here. Probably worth getting an assessment if it's free and you can cherry pick the quick and cheap wins. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/greenproperty/9924717/Eco-living-could-you-take-out-a-Green-Deal-loan.html

The biggest problem you will have is the mad amount of information on the subject! Once you get the basics it's fairly straightforward, and a good purchasing solicitor will guide you through the rest. Have a read here for starters: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/house-buying-guide

The "grant" for first time buyers isn't enacted yet, it was in the recent Budget. If it does go through it will, in simple terms, give you a much wider range of mortgages with just a 5% deposit (very hard to get at the moment). If you do look at shared ownership, do be aware that you will probably not be allowed to rent the property out, so if you decide to move, you may have to sell it at a loss (whereas if you owned outright, you could rent it out and keep the property). This may not be a problem depending on how settled you are.

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Margaret Thatcher may be dead, BUT the damage she > did to this Country is still evident.. > > 1. She allowed people to Buy their Council > Homes. (many could only just afford to do so) > Many of these homes were in a poor state of > repair and the Councils wanted rid of them. > > 2. People then lost their jobs as many industries > were closed down (Mines, Steel) > > 3. Homes were reposesed. > > 3. Rich landlords bought these homes at > auctions. > > 4. The homes were rented out or redeveloped. > > As a result there is now little affordable Social > Housing Stock. > So now a new Tory Government has created the so > called Bedroom Tax. > And we all Know the current situation. > > More people may lose there homes. > > Foxy. Labour started it, she extended the policy. Anyway this thread is about the morals of celebrating death.

I think there are two points here. One thing to speak ill of her which I've no problem with (although personally my views are somewhere inbetween). The second thing is celebrating a death. This is 2013 not 1613. We've come along way from public hangings and putting folk in stocks. If you want that sort of behaviour go out to Saudi Arabia.

apbremer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Burglar alarms are not perfect but well worth > having and obviously a deterrent. Apart from the > obvious it warns,say, a woman and child, that > there is some scumbag who may actually be inside > rifling the house on their return. Yes...but a hefty price to pay for a miniscule risk...more chance of being killed by a meteorite. Plus your insurance will be invalidated if the alarm system is not set

The insurance premium saving is on average...?5 The cost is ?10 a month to link it to the police (the police don't respond to bell only alarms). Even then the burglars will be in and out within 60 seconds or so. Plus you need to replace components every 5 years or so. It is a deterrant, but an expensive one.

For a start 'phone them and tell them to stop charging you the equipment rental, that should have stopped years ago. You won't have to return the equipment if it's that old. Whilst you're at it ask about BT Basic which from memory is around ?8.50 a month, you're probably eligible: http://www.bt.com/includingyou/other-products-services-bt-basic.html?s_cid=con_FURL_calls_basic

I went in there the other week, the coffee was awful. Needed milk and sugar. Realised it was ?2.50 but expected something exceptional...

Having re-read this it seems your drive is fine if it's reading data discs, and the problem seems to be a software one...as Fox suggests, try uninstalling iTunes and any other CD related software you use, then reinstalling?

Just buy an external USB one for between ?10 and ?20 like this http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/products/samsung-usb-2-0-slim-external-dvd-writer-black-8F6V.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc%20product%20search&utm_content=QE00&origin=pla Why on earth would you pay (indeed can you pay) ?120?

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I dunno... I just find it a bit daft that people > want to shove wood (or smokeless fuel) into a > fireplace to keep warm. > > It's perfectly possible to get a victorian style > fire surround (reclaimed or repro) with a gas > burner in it. Seems much more practical to me. We use around ?150 worth of smokeless coal a year on a few open fires. It's nice to look at, means we don't use the central heating so much because we only really use the living room; excellent when I'm working from home as I can just heat up the study. I've worked out that we save around ?150 on gas bills because of this. Downsides: have to clear it out, go outside to fill up the coal bin, useless most evenings during the week as it takes a few hours to warm up (ditto if you go out). If I was going to live in my current place more than 5 years I would install a stove...

Location?

Taxi to East Croydon (can't be more than ?20 surely) then ?4.90 on the 05.02 FCC service arriving 05.21 ? You could also get the first 197 bus at 04.44 to East Croydon (arr. 05.20), then the 05.28 FCC service arriving 05.44

giggirl Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How can a thread go from Father Ted to Vegas? > Only on the EDF. > > Px Didn't Father Ted blow a load of money in Vegas...money that was supposed to send an orphan to Lourdes?

I have used Purple Parking at Heathrow in the past...they take vans.

Bic Basher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Lowlander Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > And if you must drive to the PO and park > outside, > > there's a post office at the top of LL by > > Sainsburys where you'll never have to queue for > > more than 5 minutes. > > Except between 1-2pm weekdays when the sub > postmistress goes on her lunch break. Is open 0900-1730 all day every day, and until 1300 on Saturdays

You need to contact a few specialist brokers to compare, you may or may not get a lower quote, but the cost should go down over a few years to something more manageable. Adrian Flux / Ember JD are good, or search here http://www.biba.org.uk/CustomerHome.aspx picking contents and then subsidence..

Ah! It's you who writes the regular spoof column in Private Eye. Keep up the good work :-)