Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

assuming i didn't find the tax and inheritance laws too onerous - or at least avoidable - my personal choice would be france as i have a passable knowledge of the language and they also know how to eat well ...... australia has its appeal despite the distance, though it is now 50 years since i was there

Monaco. No income tax, nice weather, great and easy to get to most of Europe.bSecond would be Cannes then the coast in Italy in the south.

The Algarve in Portugal for me - nice climate, nice people, lovely beaches, good golf courses, great fish restaurants, good wine - what's not to like !

gold & cynic

cynic , and you like cycling, but one of the drawbacks you overlooked , you might meet Fred over there, there you are having a nice cup of coffee and this little Welshman come's over and sits at your table ........................

goldie

What about the cold dark night's , and Sweden has its fair share of crime and imigration concerns., Its not cheap out there is it, house prices in the city's and food

Hay
Monaco only for the super rich

he'ld be recognisable by the red pennant flying from his caravan

french have some decent golf courses too

doodle

The Algarve in Portugal sounds nice

aldwickk, Alvor in Portugal is worth a visit. I can just taste some of that deliciously fresh fish right now and the chicken piri piri isn't bad either!

Alders, the fresh air and cool nights are fantastic in both countries as is the top totty.

dirty old bastard!
thought you were still in love with your 30 year-old bride

DD4 - not too many english + german and english tourists for you?

Dave Camoron‏@EtonOldBoys24m
Tory cuts so far, 20,000 Army, 5,000 Navy, 5,000 RAF, 60,000 NHS, 16,000 Police, 730,000 Public Sector,1,750 Shipyards, 2 Bankers #votetory

Aldgit and Alf off to Australia eh? byeeeeee -);

you wish! :-)

cynic, yes there are plenty of German and English/Scottish tourists in Portugal I agree, but life aint perfect and I try to stay well away from the yobbish tourist areas. I don't mind tourists, whatever nationality, as long as they know how to behave in a civilised manner - on and off the golf course.:-)

if you want to play golf, how about the lisbon area - eg cascais?

Stan.

No luck there.

Australia would probably reject them.

===#

DB, if you haven't already been have a look in late February March wander up central Portugal and Tomar, (bbq young goat) to Coimbra, via the various lakes, or barragems. Often the little restaurants have fresh carp cooked in butter at the small restaurants.

Return to the Algarve, via Lisbon and across to Almada (there was a ferry and a beautiful little trip) or over the steel bridge to Caparica and the hug the coast to Setubal.

Fascinating drive, easy in a car, but in a 6.5 ton. a bit more exciting.
.
Have fish in Setubal where you can pick your own and they charge by weight. If you fish you can fish the estuary.

Go to Sines (Not Much) but hug the coast, a beautiful road.

A must, is Villa Nova Milfontes further down the coast. Probably the most beautiful small town in Portugal. At least it is for me. Every time I was there I deviated there.


The caffes, cake houses and restaurants are beautiful but go the light house an bay at night and see them catching squid with lights and white flags.

Down to Omeria. Not much.

Then to Aljezur

Beautiful old type restaurant south of the bridge, market on other side.

The locals eat there.

Tuck back into the coast.

Go to Vila do Bishop, but go through it out onto the headland over looking the bay and Sagres.

The forte there is interesting.

Then tuck back into the coast all the way to Lagos.

==============

I wish you luck.

The Portuguese were very friendly and it was a very relaxed country out side the large towns.

I spent about 6 months a year there for about 4 year, one of the most enjoyable and rewarding periods of my life.

Good Luck.

'Tories must shout about gay marriage to win next election'

The Conservative Party cannot win a majority unless it “shouts from the rooftops” about liberal policies like gay marriage, a Tory minister says



By James Kirkup

4:48PM GMT 19 Nov 2013



The Conservative Party cannot win a majority unless it wins around young people by “shouting from the rooftops” about liberal policies like gay marriage, a Tory minister has said.


Nick Boles, an ally of David Cameron, said that the Conservatives will struggle to win a Commons majority because “a significant number of people will not even contemplate voting Conservative”.


Because the Conservative Party image still repels many voters, the party should consider running candidates under a new National Liberal banner, Mr Boles said.


The minister was a strong supporter of Mr Cameron’s attempts to modernise the image of the Conservative Party and reach out to new voters. His comments reflect concern among senior Tories that the modernisation project has stalled in recent years.


Speaking to the Bright Blue Tory think tank, Mr Boles said that young voters will only back the Conservatives if they highlight their socially liberal policies including allowing gay marriage.



More tripe here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/10460505/Tories-must-shout-about-gay-marriage-to-win-next-election.html

Fred, I agree with your comments and I enjoyed your guided tour of Portugal. The quaint parts of Portugal, which have not yet been spoiled by the tourist industry, are delightful.

Soaring UK personal debt wreaking havoc with mental health, report warns
Centre for Social Justice says poorer people 'bearing brunt of storm' as debt hits £1.4tn – almost as high as economic output

The Guardian, Wednesday 20 November 2013

Credit card debt has trebled to £55.6bn since 1998 while overall personal debt including mortgages has reached £1.4tn. Photograph: Alan Schein Photography
Personal debt in Britain has reached £1.4tn – almost the same amount as Britain's national economic output – according to a report that warns debt is wreaking havoc on people's mental health and wellbeing.

Poorer people are "bearing the brunt of a storm" during which average household debt has risen to £54,000 – nearly double what it was a decade ago, the report by the Centre for Social Justice thinktank warns.

The report, entitled Maxed Out, found that almost half of households in the lowest income decile spent more than a quarter of their income on debt repayments in 2011. More than 5,000 people are being made homeless every year as a result of mortgage or rent debts.

Christian Guy, director of the thinktank established in opposition by the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, said: "Problem debt can have a corrosive impact on people and families. Our report shows how it can wreak havoc on mental health, relationships and wellbeing. Across the UK people are up until the early hours worrying about their finances and bills."



The report, written by the former Labour work and pensions minister Chris Pond, found that:

• Personal debt in the UK, including mortgage lending, stands at £1.4tn – an average of £54,000 per household compared with £29,000 a decade ago.

• Consumer debt had trebled since 1993 and now stands at £158bn;

• More than 8m households have no savings, including half of low-income households;

• Outstanding debt on credit cards has almost trebled since 1998 to reach £55.6bn;

• There were 300,000 arrears on mortgage in 2012 – with 34,000 homes repossessed. This is a reduction of 30% from the peak of the recession but a 60% overall increase since 2006.

Pond said: "With falling real incomes and increasing costs of basic essentials, many – especially the most vulnerable – are sliding further into problem debt. The costs to those affected, in stress and mental disorders, relationship breakdown and hardship is immense. But so too is the cost to the nation, measured in lost employment and productivity and in an increased burden on public services."

The report found that the decision of mainstream banks to refuse credit to the less well off has led to a dramatic increase in the demand for short-term credit – from payday lenders, pawnbrokers and doorstop lenders – which is now worth £4.8bn a year. More than 1.4 million people have no access to a bank account and "are effectively excluded from the entire financial sector". This contributes to the "poverty premium", a £1,280 annual surcharge on everyday goods and services faced by low-income households.

Payday lenders have increased their business from £900m in 2008-09 to more than £2bn – accounting for around 8m loans – in 2011-12. The number of people resorting to loan sharks has increased to 310,000 people.

The report says: "For the most financially excluded, there is often no option but to turn to illegal moneylenders. It is estimated that over 310,000 people borrow money from these criminals each year. Illegal moneylenders extort money from their victims, often arbitrarily raising interest rates, demanding payments or charging penalties. Their use of violence and intimidation terrorises people and communities, enforcing a 'veil of silence' that allows them to escape detection. This is an inexcusable crime in modern Britain.

Many of the side effects of problem debt can also work to drive people further into debt, creating a vicious cycle. While it is often hard to prove causation, there is a clear relationship between the following and problem debt: unemployment, family breakdown, addiction, and poor mental health. Similarly, many of these factors are interrelated, meaning problem debt can have diverse causes, requiring multidimensional support in order to fully resolve the underlying problems."

Not sure why any "Con" Party voter/supporter would want to live anywhere else, as they keep telling us that we are on the up and those (what's laughing referred to) as sunny uplands are only just around the corner... So why are we going to lose you prey tell? -):