I was thinking about Quatar being the current head of the Arab states, and that it looks like they are dancing to the tune of the Americans and NATO in imposing sanctions and strife against Syria. For some reason I think Syria holding out against capitulation is so important for now. It all reminds me of history over again so I was looking up a bit about it here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tributary_state
And here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Granada
I wonder how much any country has real independence in this world? Perhaps only those who are not considered worth 'investing in', however it seems that those who can't stand up for themselves are simply 'raped' of their resources and left to die. I think there is a documentary on RT today about tribes who were simply killed off by the polution drilling for oil in their tribal lands did to the valuable natural resource of their home, and to them as a people.

It is unjust. I was reading Nahum, the prophet's oracle last night, and I do think all these threads are being woven together into a final expose of the rape and pilliage that Corporations that seem to have their roots in the 'American Dream' (which turns out to be a nightmare reality) have manipulated and destroyed so much land.

The Americans do not seem to have any sense of propriety concering their own land, poisoning their own water, and allowing noxious chemicals to escape from frackking in ouflung areas. Now they want to do the same in other countries, and for what? To destroy the whole ecosystem, and have to wait thousands of years for it to recover?

Who can stop this happening but people rising up in a flood of anger? The sort of Anger that simply stands in the way of those who would destroy. These Zombies of progress, against genuine people who know the progress they sell is causing a disaster on biblical proportions that Ninevah suffered when it was destroyed. I want to voice my own discontent of these unsustainable morally wrong earth shattering corporations. I don't want more oil spills, earthquakes and weather that is causing havoc. I don't want more melt downs and sick land.

Perhaps there are people who agree with me that we must treasure each other's way of life, and that for some the best way to preserve their identity is to be simply left alone in trobal lands without interference. The only way anyone needs 'shooting' in this world is for the sake of posterity on film, and we can get fantastic 'capture' with the standard of filming. The diversity of our planet is to be prized, not scorned and discouraged.

While people stand in the way of the diggers and despoilers, there also needs to be concerted pressure put on the giants who create these earth destroying schemes. Perhaps lobying and bombarding the offices and lobbies of these headquarters in peacful but determined sit ins. I don't know what would make them stop? Perhaps unless they realised there is more money and logevity in different policies of sustainability, and alternative energy. There is nothing wrong with genuine profit that is made from morally sound business. Or perhaps these people enjoy destroying the planet? Perhaps they have no children and want to destroy what they can't own.

It makes me feel sick to think that the world and the earth are being so badly treated by a minority, and that this has horrific consequences. Fracking is something the planet will never recover from. It reminds me of the film Avatar, when the huge tree was destroyed. The military do exactly the same thing even though there are rules of war that forbid it.

Obviously I don't trade on stock markets, so It has never interested me before watching the Kaiser Report this afternoon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_(finance)

This would be like giving a charity voucher for a cut and blow dry worth £39.50 to my local charity to auction. Someone picking it up for £5 and then coming into my salon and asking for a cash refund for the voucher at face value of £39.50.

I would rather just give the £39.50 to the charity. The idea of me giving the voucher is so that I get the opportunity to impress a potentially new client, and keep them as a regular customer. It also means that I hope my reputation as a Hairdresser goes before me, and the perceived value of the voucher is worth the £39.50 I would normally get for the service would go to the charity.

This short selling looks like it's too easy to scam, and someone sell the voucher for a bit of cash or simply give it away before it gets to the charity raffle or auction, then the 'friend' and the inside charity worker gets to split the £39.50 refund I give in good faith as the face value of the voucher.

This is why you have to put on vouchers that they are not redeemable for cash or products, and that they are specifically for the service offered. I also have to bear the cost of product as a loss to my business, so I am willing to 'give' an hour of my time and resources, but not a further cash alternative.

It was obvious to our forbears that all these sorts of 'short selling' were bad for the 'real' economy. I wonder why this is allowed to continue. Is it that it makes the banks look as though they have 'real' money?

If this concept of 'short selling' is allowed in financial institutions and banks, no wonder we are all up the creek with a Tsunami up our rear end and no high ground to find. It was banned until quite recently, It was evident that it was dangerous and made economies unstable.

Why should any of us 'slaves' go out to work, if all that is happening is our genuine efforts in small local economies are swallowed by a voracious system that sucks real money out of the local economy and replaces it with ever increasing debts. The whole system sucks.

To think that all that Tax money is just propping up this system makes me sick. It needs to be invested in education, training, building, and cleaning up the planet.

Can you believe I have been waiting for a pin number for an account in a small credit at Nat West since August the 19th. It arrived this morning, and I took all gentle precautions to reveal the number, and the last digit isn't even printed completely on the background. This means I need to order another one!

I will still have to go into the bank to draw cash and do transactions for another month. Talk about making sure savers can't spend their money. If I was putting my expenditure on a credit card, no one would have a problem, because I would have to pay card charges to use it.

I mentioned to someone the other day, that we may as well be the Israelites crossing the Red Sea with the Egyptions on our tail. I am reading a Jewish commentary on Exodus by a very accomplished young woman, and I never realised that God didn't part the waters for the people until they were in over their heads. They had to commit to going in the deep end, and the possibility of drowning, before God did the miracle.

I still think the Egyptians got a bad deal, they were a very systematised nation even then. In many ways this is a similar parallel in terms of the concepts of genuine freedoms, rather than the sense of overburdened slavery caused by political and finacial structure, underpinned by Usuary.

Perhaps we should all just have the faith that us 'slaves' will continue to use money at it's current value between us. If all Governments cancel the underlying debts of society and money owed to banks, and each other, and ease our tax burdens. this would re-float the economy organically from bottom up.

The money traded on the stock exchange is actually worthless IOU's anyway. Why don't these people start investing in real projects that have intrinsic value, so that they can see the difference their money makes to the world. With a non tradable building bond, or energy infrastructure/eco bond that actually matures, or simply pays a dividend this seems a much more stable investment.

Making lots of money at the expense of decimating industry and commerce is not a very good idea. This just means an elite few live in ridiculous luxury off a scammy loophole.

How much money does anyone need? The only people that deserve to get rich, are people who create jobs, training and infrastructure. They are rich in spirit as well as able to live 'In the Big House'. Don't forget the strains, and difficult decisions a business person makes. It is not easy. Besides, you even have to employ people to look after a big house, (or hotel) and they usually get to live in.

Allow people to live on the money they earn, have 'feel good' money, and let the economies of the world flourish again, and do good things this time. I have a feeling that if the world doesn't want to do this by choice, we are going to see more catastrophies that simply make it happen.

I think forgiving debt would be on the understanding that no more weapons, and investment be made into the business of war. And no hiding budgets. Just make it all transparent. What have we got to lose.. .. .. Everything if we dont.

I suppose I ought to put this on the gardening blog, but it's going to be another metaphor.

I described having found we had a huge catchment of nice clean water in the old farm slurry. It now has a hippo pump down it, and a watering system fitted to the home made plastic grower. So I bought a diverter which feeds two pipes. I don't know why I haven't tried this before. I think it was the deferral of dissapointment if it didn't work. Anyway this morning I decided to give it a go.

It works! However, as the feed to the plastic grower seems less resistant, to raising the water to the actual greenhouse, I am going to look for a jubilee clip to restrict the water to the plastic grower. It will be interesting to see if the pressure in the greenhouse then increases, in which case I will rig feeding bottles to each of the plants.

So I got over my confidence crisis!

It occured to me while I was trying this that it would be a good idea to do this with the money situation.

As far as I am concerned most of the plants in the plastic grower have failed to produce a desirable return, However I will let them produce what they can, and only plant what will grow successfully in there, and use it to bring on the new plants for next year as it seems like it will be ideal for this.

I will then re-plant these into the greenhouse and garden to grow on.

So in trying to explain this, I would put a 'Jubilee Clip' round the unpayable debts. Not that the money wouldn't be paid back, but put a 'restriction' on the interest now, and just pay back any outstanding capital at an agreed term appropriate for each country. Just do this worldwide!

This will serve those greedy banks right for lending money that can't be paid back! Make the banks pay for their own mis-management and not the taxpayer. Also I would outlaw independent companies who buy debts to get the interest. This is not 'good money'. Wind them down too, make them just get back the original borrowing, less the interest already paid. Then make them go out and get a proper job.

Taxpayers want their money invested in infrastructure, sound governance, and not gambled on stock markets or wasted propping up a system that doesn't work. We want proper pensions we pay in for, and not to have money buying power devalued as each year passes. We want good schools and health services.

By investing in these locally, as microcosm societies, each area almost generates it's own economy. Then trading with adjacent areas for specialisations becomes easier, and puts less traffic on the roads in huge networks of distribution.

In essence this becomes a local tax and governance issue like we have here in good old Jersey, Guernesy and the other Channel Islands. Did I ever mention we don't have party politics, each states member is elected on their own merit. If they don't do well we chuck them out next election.

We are all getting a bit fed up with states members that abstain from voting too. We want our vote used. We have to vote them in, by not voting on issues it is silencing the vote of the people. I will be checking on how many abstentions each candidate has racked up, before even considering them for my vote.

I would challenge the government to put pressure on the giant supermarket chains to franchise the supermarkets to the local communities and allow them to become co-operatives. Sourcing fresh supplies locally, and paying the local growers a decent rate. I don't care if my cucumbers are different shapes, I want them to be fresh and taste good. If I can buy one loose, and have it weighed at the till without a plastic bag even better.

This might make the old local market gardens a viable business again, creating local job markets.

Which reminds me, I might just check out the Co-Op bank and move my accounts if I like it. I know they have strict policies on what they invest in, so I might do some research.

I also think that the taxpayer might want to own public services outright by developing a bond structure that gives us control over our own investments, rather like the free school system just rolling out in the UK. Better that each area has control over what types of school and health service is appropriate for their area. Could this work in such a way as to offset medical provision and pensions.

This means if schooling in an industrial or agricultural area, the education curriculum could be geared towards the needs of local industries. Only 10% of the population is purely academic, then you get a preference split between service and technical. Why are we educating everyone with an academic priority?

We bought  an Isle of Arran whisky bond about 25 years ago, it was to set up a local still that had not operated for years. We got paid back in scotch! It was fun. We gave most of it away as presents, but kept the realy good stuff for ourselves. I assume it is still running and creates local employment. It is a special treat on, and with the Haggis neaps and tatties we love in the winter. Haggis is the dogs favorite too!

It is evident the world needs to change the way it lives. Having a low income does not mean poverty, it means you have to become more resourceful. It means locally each community needs to look after the welfare of it's own people, not expect this to be done by a big brother state machine, that costs billions to manage the structure, before the actual benefits trickle down to those who are meant to get the benefit of it.

Much of this in our island community is done with charity work, where the community itself has retired (and working) volunteers that organise assistance.

Besides the massive welfare structure is too easy to scam (on both ends). Benefit fraud, is a very insiduous crime against society, but having a welfare system is essential to a civilised way of life.

The current welfare system,  and social deliniations it has created have caused a delinquent generation of dissafected, poorly educated, vandal substrate in pockets of society. Our current welfare systems are creating the poverty trap that they were meant to avoid. 

I have a leak from my two way split watering device, which has a tray under it, I catch this water and hand water my pots. This to me represents those people in society that will always need help and supervision.

People like me that have bouts of mental 'illness', or simply can't fit into the 'norms' of a larger society, for whatever reason. We all have a duty to look after these people. Without provision for this, I don't know what would have become of me, so don't knock it. Get it right and keep working at it!

Don't let those Bankers off the hook! It is the senior policy makers that cream it off society! Pick the slugs off by hand if you have to, it's better than losing all your lettuice.

Testing;

Right, I put the Jubilee clip I had on the hose to the plastic home made greenhouse. It's too big, so I will need to get a smaller one. However it seems the two way split isn't affected by it. It did increase the pressure round this part though. I actually think the solution might be to put that clip on the greenhouse side to get more pressure, so it will backfill at a higher pressure once I rig up the self watering system. I don't want to make the pump blow up!

My intention is to put a timer on the plug, so that when I am away, I can leave this pre-set to water everything. So long as I can put a collapsable hose off the drainpipes to the water supply this ought to just be a self regulating system. I might get some moisture sensors, and rig this in too.

Very sophisticated bit of Heath Robinson DIY! So far it has cost 2 x 50m reels of hose, the pump, some connectors and the 2 way switch. I already have the 7 day timer plug. The rest has been recycled. Hours of fun! Saving me a lot of effort to carry a watering can about. All for under £100! should last a few years too.

Himself is busy cooking soup, I am not sure what sweet potato and chorizo is going to taste like, it smells OK! The autumn weather seems to be settling, so winter food production is starting. He bought some nice cherries on half price best before date yesterday that he wants to make jam with. I might go see if there are still more blackberries in the hedgerow if he is in a jam making mood. I can't get over how much I like blackberry conserve without the pips. Good old bramble jelly!

We had a gorgeous home made green thai curry last night. We make batches of the sauce and freeze it, then put different ingredients in it in season. He took a 'men only' asian cooking couse when he was recovering from heart failure, so we make all our own authentic asian dishes from the ingredients. I make the Far Eastern dishes.

There is a fantastic Chinese supermarket just outside Rennes where we go to buy our spices when we are over there. Much cheaper to bulk buy the nams, and dim sum bits and keep them in the freezer.

Just going off on a tangent rant here...
By the way, we aren't planning to sell our French house, but taxing us for having it was a bad idea. We would not be able to afford to use it, and then we wouldn't be spending money in France. I think changing that depreciated tax structure for selling the house is bad face.

Don't forget how much we are spending on the garden over there. We have to get the mowers serviced every year, the Boiler and the Chimney swept. We get our bread at the local bakery, and have a megga shop for food. We speak passable French. We invite all our friends over, and they go and spend money on days out and use restaurants. We want to re-fit the kitchen, and put in a new fosse.

We know our neighbours, especially over our dog killing their chickens! That was one up for detant. I buy my Fabrics at Mondial in Rennes. We pay the rates. We don't take anything out of the economy. We also like helping with things if we are invited, for instance unloading chickens at 4-5am to help the local chicken farmer. We also have lots of French friends who we like to entertain.

The fact that the Germans taxed their own citizens for having a house in spain made everyone sell up there. When will the politicians realise tourism is a great way of helping Spain, and that those policies are one of the reasons Spain's economy has taken a bashing... oh and Cucumbers! Did they get compensated for having to dump the cucumbers? Where did the e-coli outbreak start... let me think?

Back to that chinese supermarket outside Rennes...
We like all sorts of authentic national foods. I even make passable Sushi and Makizuchi. We both love Japanese food. We had some friends round a couple of Christmas past who lived in Japan, and I got an 8/10! I treated us to the proper plates that christmas, and a couple of bottles of sake.

I must look up how to prepare Saba, as we get a lot of Mackerel. I have 2 nice cucumbers which I am going to pickle in lengthwise strips so I can make Makizuchi with them. Not authentic but I am sure they will taste ok! I have a nice bunch of Dill for this now.

I also want to get around to making a cold smoker. I already have a hot smoker, so I might work out if I can modify this further. One of my ambitions is to try and make good bacon! I like the idea of smoked duck. I do make my own confit. Anyway, I got my Sushi book out to see what the Japanese do with the Daikon, I was wondering if I could grow it here! I have lemon mint that I use as a substitute for Shiso. Burdock root is part of the Tsukidashi which we have, and fresh peas and beans a good substitute for the Edamame. (not the same, but in the spirit of!)

I am putting a couple of books on my chrismas wish list that describe making authentic Japanese clothes and Kimonos. I wonder if I was Japanese in a past life! Not realy into the reincarnaton thing in a big way, I prefer being in the present. My Masda MX5, and Yamaha motorbike were my favorite purchases.

Mmmm.... think I feel a Japanese style meal coming on! And yes my rice does stick together pretty well and looks shiny and tastes ok! I watch Sushi Chefs like a hawk if I get the opportunity and practice at home. I even learned to sharpen my own Sushi Knives on a stone.

Not to mention the hand made Mizutani scissors I used to use Hairdressing. Sheer Genius! Perhaps this is where my love of Japanese things comes from. A lovely Japanese person made these scissors and my hand feels empty without them now.

Swapped for a medium jar of sloe and ginger jelly with the friends in Rozel. I think this haul deserves a medium Rasberry Jam as well.

During conversation our Rozel friends produced 33 fulscap pages of St Ouen Parish records for my Husband to see.

This is better than going to the Archive for our Canadian cousins. The records there would be all over the place.


Our Rozel friends have made an invitatian to the Canadians (for coffee and cake) as well as a full geneology of their ancester tomorrow. So that's good value!

We didn't realise we were related to our friends in Rozel in the 17 Century either! Result!

Mmm pickled Beetroot! I will freeze some beans. Nice sandy carrots yum.

RT News comments today....

Well RT advice is to keep money in cash at the moment. This prompts me to write a bit about the conversation we were having with our Canadian 'Cousins' yesterday.

They were explaining that there is no incentive to buy anything in cash either in America, or now in Canada. You may as well buy everything on 12 months interest free credit, rather than pay cash as a shop will not give a cash discount.

I said that is ridiculous. We wait for the sales when everything is 50% off and buy cash. Most Europeans do this who are 'old school'. Either that, or we advertise our well kept used items in the newspaper or on the local trading website and sell second hand.

If I wanted something to 'make do' while I save up enough for the thing I really want I buy something second hand and re-paint it, or tart it up a bit.

This means those on low incomes can get good stuff of high quality second hand from the ones who just get fed up with it, and I don't have to go and take out interest free loans to buy cheap stuff that wears out before we have paid for it. You can also buy in the local auction rooms when there is a house clearance or Viscount sale, (that's banckrupt stock).

The local government vans and cars get sold at auction too, so that when they need to replace tipper trucks and heavy machinery that is coming to the end of it's road miles, it's a good place to get a garden van, or bit of plant if you are a sole trader doing gardening or building work. It recoups a bit of money for the local government to put towards the new ones that we tax payers have to pay for.

Besides, on an island we don't have anywhere to dispose of old cars, and it's more expensive to take them to be scrapped. Mostly if you can strip them for parts and then scrap them, it's a better way of dealing with scrapping costs.

That's why I think it's better to make good quality household white goods, and have someone who can mend them locally, then we don't have to find somewhere to dump the stuff. Or suffer fly tipping.

Also even if I was going into a shop to buy something new I would want to know what cash discount I would get, most of us expect 10% at least.

What I pointed out was that an interest free loan would add about 20-40% to the selling price of an item through the shop, as the extra added on would be the full price the retailer would want, so no 10% discount, plus the 20-30% (minimum) interest that is built into the price of the purchase, which the leasing company still get right up front, and the item is not technically yours until it has been completely paid for.
 
They could still come and reposess it if you missed the final payment!

Our Canadian cousins said that there was never any difference offered if you were paying cash, or taking out interest free loans. The retailer would never offer a discount!

Well I wouldn't buy from someone who wouldn't offer a cash discount, what's wrong with my money then?

So if you want to save a shed load more money start buying second hand in cash, it's surprising what a subversive little 'real' economy it creates. It's tax free, because the goods and services tax has already been paid on this item, and it's fun doing the bartering.

Everyone puts what they think they can get for something at about 25% over what they will accept and takes the best offer. Just make sure the seller has paid off the interest free loan on it, because it is not their property to sell unless they can produce the finalisation document, that matches the serial number on the item.

A nice storm is very good for the economy, think of all that new equipment you have to go and buy, remember your insurance policy is replacing an item you may not have completed paying for, and you still have to continue paying your leasing company for the old stuff that got washed away.

Try settling the 'Interest free' for the money, and wait until you have got cash to buy either second hand or new.

That's if you are insured...new for old. They might just tell you your stuff is pretty much worthless and give you 10% of it's value and then you have to go buy new stuff on interest free, and you still haven't finished paying for the old stuff.

Just go down to the self service laundry until you pay off the old stuff. Then save up for new stuff and get out of this debt triangle. I would rather wash my clothes by hand than get into debt.

Besides everyone washes their clothes too much, they wear out if you wash them every time you wear them. I am happy to wash smalls by handwash cycle once a week, and as I don't go out to work any more I wear the same T shirt and jeans round the house for a few days, You want to see what my garden clothes get like before I put them in the wash.

If you manage to wash your clothes after wearing them twice, you save half your electric and your washing powder... and your clothes last twice as long!

If it's a house scruffs wash, and you don't wash them for 3 days you are saving 66% on electric and washing powder. The powder works realy well on dirty clothes... like it's meant to!

Whats the point of washing cleanish clothes that just got put in the laundry bin, because the little darlings in the house won't wear them again.

Then you have the cost of everyone in the house taking a bath or shower every day. Try working out the cost of heating bills per person per shower/bath then multiply by the people in your house.

The simplest way to cut costs is to put the plug in the shower tray or bath. Then put a line on the bath/shower tray. You get to use that much water!

So don't stand there with the shower running while you try to wash. You get wet, turn off. Lather up so you don't use as much soap, then shower the soap off. The whole idea is to get clean without it costing an arm and a leg in electric and metered water! Think of the environment.

Tish, think of the extra ironing.

Us Europeans like cash! So do the Russians by the sound of it! The reason Governments want to do away with cash is so that this bartering trade can't happen. That's not a problem though, because us lot then revert to 'swapping'.

These lovely Canadians came bearing gifts yeasterday, Home made, Cloudberry Jam in a very funky Jar. It has a handle on it. I have never seen a 'Drinking Jar' before, what a good idea. We opened it for breakfast this morning and the cloudberries started to bubble up out of the jar, so we decided it had probably got a dose of altitude sickness. The Jar is lovely, and will be a prize in our collection to keep for ourselves.

They also brought us some Cloudberry syrup. They promise us a large Maple syrup in the post... Yum, very pricy here.

We 'swapped' a small bramble jelly, medium rasberry jam, medium sloe and ginger jelly (for savory with lamb and meats, or on bread). And a litre of Sloe Gin!

We have got too much to eat, and if we drink all the sloe gin we have right now we would be drunk for ages! It goes off colour if you keep it too long.

Himself just got a phone call to say a friend has a bean monster in his garden, and do we want some beans. The friend opted for the Sloe and Ginger jelly as a swap.

New York didn't get the bashing it deserved then, that was nice of God.

There is an old schoolboy tale of how to boil a frog. If you put a frog into hot water it jumps out. If you put it into it's normal pond water, and then raise the temperature very slowly, it falls asleep in the water, and then you turn up the heat a bit more to get the water to simmer for a minute.

I don't know I have never tried either of these methods, and I don't eat frogs, they rip their legs off while they are still alive you know. It put me right off Frogs Legs when I found out.

I just like this as an analogy. I just ask myself if I am being 'boiled alive'.

People in America need to wake up a bit I think.

I was told by our new friends that the Canadians think they are becoming too Americanised. Don't let their vandal economy get anywhere near you!

If there is one solvent person in working middle income America without any loans, or debt to pay off, I would recant, but I doubt this is the case! I was watching the News, and I couldn't believe how many bags the Americans had in their shopping trolleys on the way out of the supermarket.

I wonder how much of that gets wasted and has to go into the dump. At least they get nice strong brown paper bags to put their stuff in, they are useful, we like to put our potatos in those. I wish all supermarkets would do paper bags instead of plastic ones. You can't do anything with plastic supermarket bags that you buy loose stuff in.

We were talking about using log burners with our Canadian cousins. We said we saved all our newspapers, and then made fire bricks out of them. They were intruiged.

We told them the brick maker is about £30 to buy and is very sturdy. You rip up all the newspapers in the summer, and put them in a clean dustbin full of water and let them soak for a couple of hours. Then you line the brickmaker with a sheet of newspaper and stuff the papier mache in the middle. Then you close the brickmaker and stand on it. Then you take the brick out and leave it somewhere to dry in the sun for a few days, and you keep them in the supermarket cardboard boxes until winter.

We can make about 150 bricks in a day between us (thats a couple of hours of brickmaking, and the rest of the day scamming about doing not a lot).

A brick will burn in about 1-2 hours and takes two local JEP newspapers. We have My Mother in Law, and Elderly Aunt who each buy a newspaper, and us. so thats 312 nwspapers each x 3 = 936 newspapers, divided by 2 = 468 bricks. I would say a brick in a woodburner burns for about the same time as a 30cm log at 3-4" diameter. (depending on the damper setting)

A cord of wood is 1m wide x 1 m high and 5m long so approximately 5cubic meters of wood. However as wood is round and has gaps between it in storage, I will multiply this by the calculation for a cylinder. This is actually 3.92857 so I will call it at 4 cubic meters of actual wood, as I am buying a lot of space in my cord.

A cord of wood in France has gone up to about 500 euros. so that's 125 euros for an actual cubic meter of wood.

A fire ready brick is usually .07 x .07 x .21 cubic meters = .1029 C.M
1 cubic meter = 971.42851 Bricks call it 978 bricks, (to compensate for the gaps) so my 468 bricks are worth 0.1278118 euros each.

So the value of my bricks to me is 59.8 euros.  Or a minimum of 468 woodburner/fire hours. Although we use these to augment the wood, not as a complete replacement.

And I have already read the papers!

Of couse what you do is import some kids for the day and let them do it, they love it. Provided you give them home made blackberry ice lollies, some cake, and a few sandwiches they just get on with it. Then you give them a minimum 10% bricks to go sell to their parents for pocket money!

Wait and see if they negotiate on the bricks and then explain that there is going to be a shortage of newspapers, so the value of the bricks will have to rise soon.

Then if they keep their bricks until the price goes up in wintertime, they will get more money! Nothing like teaching kids how economics work from the time they can make bricks.

That would be the little tease part to see if they can work out the next part! No I wouldn't be that mean!

 I would offer to store the bricks for them, and charge a handling fee like my bank does with my money and any shares!

I would say I need to charge you insurance on your bricks as well, just in case there's a fire and your bricks go up in smoke.

For instance it costs over 5% of the income from my bricks and mortar investment to insure the building, and thereby to insure my income from it. This is just being responsible to my tenents. I expect them to insure their contents, and want to see their policies each year. I also expect my private dwelling let to take out Landlords fixtures and fittings insurance, and this will be manditory for my next tenent as the previous tenent trashed the flat. Hence having to do all this work on it.


I would want to know if the Kids can work out if this is a good deal or not though... because I like kids who can think for themselves. I would expect some discussion and a decline in offer of making bricks for this.

However I would then make a new offer of very good quality bricks for an extra 5% of the brick trade... Provided they took the bricks with them and dried them at home!

Keeps them out of mischeif, but the child labour market is a bit thin these days, as parents give them too much pocket money and haven't a clue that they aren't doing their kids any favours or teaching them how to spot a bad deal, or work out unit cost!

Schools don't teach them how to do it... Or if brickmaking is a good way to get pocket money.