Sylvester

So you are Craig. Well i've heard worse, i hear that there are such things as pylon spotters. Seriously.

better look up squiggle in the dictionary, hmm now is it the squiggle with the loop, or the squiggle with the flick? Oh sorry the latter is The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Who's Now Prince Again. (TAFKAPWNPA). I'll get mi' coat...

It does, but on occasions it can backfire, sometimes instead of stopping just over a realistic price, or going way over your bid, sometimes they just stop short of your bid, like £24.50 now that is annoying. I once saw a slightly creased William III 1701 (I think) half guinea in F, with a slight dint right near the edge, go for an amazing price, i was fighting them for it right up to £250 (which is above book price, but the book price on these things is never precise, they always sell for more, cos you don't see them anywhere, not in grades lower than EF those coins that go for thousands), after £250, and upto £300 i just kept putting bids on to make the price go up. I'm not kidding, before i clicked the button to type in the bid it was £220, after i'd submitted the bid it was already outbid and the price was now £275, i never actually made it to top bidder. There must have been at least four of us fighting over it. It went for about £375-£410 in the end which is way way over the catalogue price, i definately wouldn't have paid a penny over £250 for it (unless i'd won it by accident). Infact it was probably only worth about £110-150, but when i get going on ebay i can't sop myself, it's the thrill of the bid. No wonder i don't go on ebay anymore.

I am definately not a trainspotter (not that there's anything wrong with them) they are decent people who just have another hobby. i've met quite a few, most are a bit odd, but i'll tell you something, bus spotters scare the hell out of me.

precisely.

Yes the joy of short hand, i wouldn't have a clue. Funny that Oli i'm predominantly left handed too. I write at least 95% of things with the left hand, unfortunately it's the least legible of the two. The right hand kills after two paragraphs, which would take me at least 15 minutes to write. But it's useful for writing on blackboards, and short notes on the calendar if the t'other one is unavailable.

Oh come on it's not that bad!

stop encouraging them william. I know alot about the railways myself (obviously not about Reading), but i ain't no spotter. Anyhow i believe these days they prefer to be called Rail Enthusiasts

you is walking on ice boy...

There is always the method i used to employ on occasions, put a stupidly high bid on, you rarely get out bid... although sometimes you do! Once when i was feeling flush with cash, there was a coin worth about £15, currently going at about £8. So i sticks a bid on of £30 and strolled off (thinking they'll give up at £20), checked back later some idiot had bid £35! But hey i made them pay more so it was worth it.

Well i think that just answered your question don't you.

She won the Falklands War! Actually before Argentina invaded it they were trying to figure out a way of cutting the costs, and really weren't bothered about the island at all, (that's if the realised they still had it). But then strangely as the election was approaching, it made a good sense to Thatcher to have a war and win. War she had and win it she did, we got our island back, that most people had forgotten we'd even got in the first place. Needless to say Thatcher managed to get in a second time riding on the wave of victory, (it's probably the same thing Blair tried to do with Iraq... kinda failed for him though, infact i'm surprised Blair hasn't given the Falklands away to the highest bidder). Previous to the Falklands victory she had lost alot of her popularity and was predicted to lose the election. As former Conservative Prime Minister Harold MacMillan stated, 'Thatcher sold the family silver', that is she sold this country's industry abroad to the highest bidder, which is exactly what she did. Afterall Britain had got where it was up until that point because it had been the start of the Industrial Revolution, Britain was a strong producing economy, now it's a strong buying economy that buys things in from abraod, and shifts all the labour to China or India, where they work for peanut shells.

well i'm a one finger typinst, and i have to keep both eyes fixed on the keyboard whilst i am typing, so that i can actually see what letter i'm going for, although i do know where they are located. At least i'm not having to look around for the letters all the time. The funny bit is i can only type with one hand (and one finger), but i can write with both hands.

Firstly i think Colin's prices are a bit high. Secondly, that coin has a pedigree because it was owned by a well known collector and will thus command a premium. Thirdly as i stated earlier Spinks prices are for coins with full lustre, that 1902 you showed does not have full 100% lustre, and thus will be worth less than £125. But if you want to spend £130 on it who am i to stop you, afterall it may well go up in value anyhow, next years catalogue may say £130.

I prefer writing to typing, it takes me too long to type i'm a much faster writer. (and a much messier writer).

Coincraft's price in 2000 was £95 in UNC I dunno whether that's for lustre or not. But Coincraft tend to state the prices at the top end of the expected market. Spinks/Seaby's may well be lower, but they always give coins with full lustre in the top grades. I'd say no more than £100.

i never liked it, and i hardly did it. I much preferred Chemistry, Art or Drama.

We rarely had ICT lessons (which were called IT back then), about once a month if that. Although i did have a bit of compulsory ICT at college as part of the dreaded Key Skills, which was totally pointless. Most of us skipped that anyhow.

Oh i've just figured it out, Reading, Virgin! He's gone to photo the Voyagers, and the Pendolinos. Well there's one born every minute. (i used to help out in a model shop, and i'll tell you they don't sell all that well, the 47s sell better). Mind you so do Spitfires and Messerschmits (i never could spell that).

Reading, i wonder what's a Reading that could possibly be of interest?

As a person that as been unfortunately brought up with the railways, (my father worked for them), by best mates' uncle was a spotter, my science teacher at school was a spotter and showed us railway videos all the time (one on electric trains because he had been doing electricity), my other mate was a trainspotter, and i travel on the things every day (usually delayed). You kinda pick things up as you go along. And i'm sure that our friend Craig would disagree with you and say that not all trains look the same, and even if they do look the same they are not always the same, are they Craig? Perhaps he'd be interested in the 2004 £2 coin?

Employment in places like Barnsley and other nice areas like that in Yorkshire is quite high. It's very high in Retford and Worksop in North Nottinghamshire, that's because the industries and jobs these places thrived on, like Coal Mining in Barnsley, Steel production in Sheffield and Rotherham was destroyed by The Thatcher government. I know my father got made redundant at least three times throughout the Thatcher era, once from a Steelworks, and once from British Rail. (And once from somewhere else), all due to privatisation. But the numbers of unemployed have decreased more recently because of a labour shift, from heavy/productive industries to consumer industries, like working at Greggs, or at WHSmiths, more people have had to take jobs as sales people/shopworkers/cab drivers/civil servants etc. Which doesn't exactly help those that have spent 30 or so years down a coal mine and wouldn't know how to use a computer if it hit them on a head. Also there has been a much stronger emphasis placed on education, and thus now it isn't easy to leave school with no grades and get a job with very little problems. Pity really because not everyone is capable of going to college (or even want to), and for some jobs like working on the bins i can't really see how having an E in GCSE Science would hinder that particular job. Which leads onto another reason for a lower unemployment level, more people are being forced into going to college and University, thus lowering the numbers somewhat. Then again the government may not have represented the figures entirely accurately, are they for a particular age group? I know it's high cos i know far too many people that are on the dole and either have no intention of finding a job, or can't.

British unemployment has hit a 28-year low - 930,000 people, one of the lowest figures in Europe. And why do you think the unemployment situation is being steadly rectified? because the old witch ain't in power anymore. If she still was it definately wouldn't be getting better, i can tell you.

Exactly Geoff, although i was very young when Thatcher resigned, the legacy of her tyranny lingers still. I only have to see the level of unemployment and i know she's behind alot of it. And Blair if anything is continuing Thatcher's policies, but from a slightly different angle, he certainly didn't stop the privatisation movement did he!

i'm not disputing the fact that the US was needed I just think Churchill shouldn't have been as quick to roll over at every US command. By that i mean he commited usfinancially to the US, rather than standing equal with the US he made us in debt with them, and caused us to have to pay them alot back. Also it was the fall of Britain after WWII that gave way to the rise of the US. I think Churchill could have played it a bit more tactically.