Mabon

Over here in Wales house prices seem to be gradually deflating. I do a once every 4 months search of property in Wales. A lot of prices are going back to what they were in 2007. Everything else being relatively equal, of course. (And only anecdotal)

Here in north-west London house prices seem to be rising by the day again. Particularly the 4-5 bed edwardian style suburban houses - Close to decent schooling and transport links. I noticed recently that four flats on the road next to ours all sold (separate locales) all sold within 10 days of going on the market. Smells like bubble territory again to me - Is there any end to this (in London)? Probably not. Meanwhile in parts of Wales, Scotland and England you can get decent 3 bed houses for 40 grand or less...And decent 2 bedders for 25 and under...Ho and Hum ratingTextUndefined

Good information in that Nicole Foss chat

Lol. Well my Dad has planted all his winter roots now.Including Leeks etc. I still have some beans going strong. Even though the vines have withered and given up the ghost. Will get these in this week. And be thankful for my bean abundance. I have some American Cress and other leafs that keeps growing back in my big earthenware pot. It seems to like its position under the bay tree. And the pot keeps it warm. This weekend I'll do a bit o digging. And see what I can get planted. I'll have a rummage in my seed library aka plastic bag in shed. Could of swapped you beans for raspberries Riggerz

My beans finally came thru in early August. And have been going strong or is that string? Since. If I wasn't so grateful for the free food I'd have to say I'm all beaned out...Pah Beans Again! In fact I force them on everyone now - "Here have some beans and have some more beans". There's no room left in the freezer for all the beans... I shall plant some over-winter roots too this year.

Just goes to show if you let your garden do the work the abundance is excellent. Case in point I'm deluged with strawberries in the bottom-left corner. A year or so ago there were maybe 10 plants. Now they've taken over, probably 50 plants. Am able to have fresh bowl everyday...and to think they laughed at my plan to corner the world strawberry market!! Got some beans now too - took ages to pop. But now am shooting up them canes quickstyle. Also the big 'orga' pot that was full of salad bits - american cress etc has seeded part of my 'bed'. And I now have lots of fresh salad growing there which is great. Small-time stuff but always a lovely bonus. Also the ladybirds ate all the aphids that were sapping the life out of my beetroot 'tree' (I let it grow wild and now it's a 5 footer). Some potatoes doing their own thing too. Possibly get 30 pound of spuds for zero effort. Very little effort applied to the rest of it for quite considerable reward. Good Luck.

Good Luck Butty. And sorry to hear of your woes. I hear Ibiza is lovely this time of year and pretty much any time of year. If you want something cheaper and a tad warmer goto 'the warm coast' of Murcia, Spain. Unknown to tourists, warm all year round. My news: Hmm not a lot. Still pishing it down most days. Finally some beans have started to grow - 3 strands in the middle set (the other 2 are no show). Strawberries growing again - I do nothing to them they just sort themselves out. My courgettes in a bucket refuse to grow. I'm gonna have to rake over and deweed my bed again as nothing planted so far. This weekend though is mow, how, plant n sow. Good Luck all.

Well the constant rain is delaying my planting out of various seeds. Also it's still quite cold of a night. Frosts sometimes. Perplexing. However I'll have to plant something soon else it'll be november when I'm trying to crop. Last year's strawberries are still mostly in place. I'm wondering whether they'll bear fruit? Have cleared, raked, de-weeded and prepped my bed though. Will put some root crops in by next weekedn at the latest.

I for one - and probably a lot of other folk here - would definitely like to see your take on the housing market.

Do they want an 'affordable house' or not? If so then they either: A) go where the affordable houses are B ) work hard and smart and suss out how to earn more money. You pay a higher price for a house in the area you feel a connection to C) or carry on earning lower money and renting in the area you feel a connection with Ultimately your personal choice. So every cheap house in the UK is 'rundown' and 'in a crime infested area'? This is simply not true. Only expensive houses are in areas that are not 'crime infested'? As a buyer you have to do your due diligence yes. However just because a house is cheap doesn't mean it's in a shitheap. With bubble blowout power a lot of houses are reverting to their former prices and below. And not just because they're in rundown areas either. This to me always looks like an opportunity for a lot of people. The sooner housing costs come down in price the better it will be for the UK. Housing costs being the biggest outlay for the vast majority of people. However sometimes you've got to do the more 'practical' thing. Move somewhere cheaper. Or put up with how things are where you are. What happens if you want an expensive house in a crime-infested area? (Move to Peckham? New Cross? Thamesmead? Hackney? Walthamstow? (all in London))... And there are some nice houses and parts of those areas too. Good on him and good luck. That sort of 'self-actualisation' is a valuable skill in itself. Clearly he has chosen point B ).

Or gets waaay more entrepreneurial. Helps to redevelop rundown, and on their arse areas. And chooses to live in places in the UK where houses are really cheap (25, 20, 15k and below)... There are thousands of very cheap (and getting cheaper) houses etc in the UK. They just happen to be in places where jobs, development and entrepreneurs are in short supply. And socialism strangles everything. There are approximately 800, 000 empty properties in the UK. Most are habitable with a bit of refurbing. Not all of them are in Burnley neither...

A couple of folks who I previously worked with. And who had previously derided Gold (despite being relatively 'sophisticated' investors)...bought at around 1800 (equiv sterling sum) (sept 2011) an ounce and are now tamping! They said that I'd said to buy some Gold. My reply was 'yes I said to buy it years ago when it was 600 quid an ounce not over 1000!.' (Some People Tsk Tsk)

Apparently this'll only affect 'England'. So I'll move back to Wales then...And buy a mountain XX

True Story.

Nice. You definitely should shop that slogan around a few agencies