I have to disagree to some extent Sea-Cat, at the beginning of this thread I mentioned my local Save Coate! campaign which has been trundling for the best part of a decade with just a few dedicated people steering it (not me I hasten to add). I won't go into the background here other than to add 55,000 people signed a petition, planning permission has been refused not only by the local council but also the Secretary of State, But still the developers come back to Appeal (next one in November).

Here's the way forward though ... I wouldn't normally discuss my private business on a public forum but something happened yesterday which filled me with foreboding. I'm currently trying to sell my very modest three-bedroomed house (a Victorian terrace near the town centre). A potential buyer round yesterday - the estate agent had already told me 'he wants it cheap to multi-let'. Indeed he did, the only thing he was interested in was the size of the bedrooms and rejected it because the third bedroom was not a 'double'. Apparently 'investors' are now buying up old properties cheaply, multi-letting for the highest possible return. The ghost of Rachman returns ...

We are living in difficult times, with an autocratic, devious government ruling over us (in spite of alleged democracy)- its no wonder the majority are apathetic and afraid. Afraid of losing their jobs and even their homes.