I have become a loan shark. I have ventured into it for a bit of fun and to see if there is an easy way to make money. It's through a web site called Zopa. You tell them how much you want to invest and give them a target rate of return and they do the rest.
I have stipulated a maximum loan of £30 per person and Zopa put together thousands of people to meet the requirement of a borrower. This is designed to minimise your risk. So at the moment I have interest in about twenty loans and am awaiting the interest rolling . You can also look at specific requests and loan as much or as little as you want against it. Most borrowers are looking for loan consolidation, a new car or some business venture funding and interest rates they are prepared to pay range from 5 to 15%. The borrowers are graded like A levels, from A* to C, and the lower the rating the more likely there will be some bad debt associated with them.
So I am up and running and all my borrowers are in the A* bracket, it will be interesting to see how it maps out. Find out more here http://uk.zopa.com/member/witherspoons you may fancy a dabble. I notice it featured in today's Daily telegraph, and with commercial rates lower that 3% it should be of interest !
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Bob.....
Its the demolition and construction season up North. The house has had a leaky roof since we have owned it, and a series of patch ups has finally proved insufficient. So the decision was taken to do some major gully and leading work.
The roof is a mile high and surrounded by trees so it proved to be a challenge for the scaffolders. They managed to get access for the roofers, but these hardy chaps had to work in the wind and the rain for the most part.
Still it has been completed and only ran one day over schedule. That was in no small part due to them working long hours to get the job done.
Now compare that with project II, the kitchen. After several weeks of planning, the work started two weeks ago, when the old kitchen was ripped out. These lads though are from the school of short days. A 10am start and a 3pm finish has not been unusual, and they have popped off to do other snagging elsewhere on occasions.
That's all very well except that we are living out of take-away boxes, with a kettle and microwave as back-up, and yesterday SWMBO got upset over it all. not a good idea.
So, today there are workmen everywhere. The new units are almost completed, the tiler is around wanting to know which ones we want, the plumber has been and the sparks will be here tomorrow. SWMBO now revelling in her Cruella De Vil role, nobody is safe, but then we know that already!!
The roof is a mile high and surrounded by trees so it proved to be a challenge for the scaffolders. They managed to get access for the roofers, but these hardy chaps had to work in the wind and the rain for the most part.
Still it has been completed and only ran one day over schedule. That was in no small part due to them working long hours to get the job done.
Now compare that with project II, the kitchen. After several weeks of planning, the work started two weeks ago, when the old kitchen was ripped out. These lads though are from the school of short days. A 10am start and a 3pm finish has not been unusual, and they have popped off to do other snagging elsewhere on occasions.
That's all very well except that we are living out of take-away boxes, with a kettle and microwave as back-up, and yesterday SWMBO got upset over it all. not a good idea.
So, today there are workmen everywhere. The new units are almost completed, the tiler is around wanting to know which ones we want, the plumber has been and the sparks will be here tomorrow. SWMBO now revelling in her Cruella De Vil role, nobody is safe, but then we know that already!!
Monday, 9 August 2010
How!
A blast from the past landed on my desk at the weekend, an i-Spy book. It was presented free in the Daily Mail, and is sponsored by Michelin.
I grew up surrounded by i-Spy books. Each book covered a subject such as i-Spy Cars, on the Pavement, Churches, on a Train Journey, and so on. They were particularly successful in the 1950s and 1960s.
There were roughly forty small volumes that sold in hundreds of thousands. As we children spotted objects such as coal hole covers, oak trees, semaphore signals, fire engines, whelks, and so on, they were recorded in the relevant book, and gained points. Once the book was complete, it could be sent to Big Chief i-Spy for a feather and order of merit.
I can't remember sending any off myself, although I know friends did, and some had quite a collection of feathers.
The particular volume I received was 'on a car journey' and I have just missed the ideal opportunity to test drive it, so to speak. Yesterday I picked up my nephew, Matthew, from Swindon and we drove up to Scouseland. Once we had caught up on news and exhausted our other conversation he settled into his i-Pod and I listened to a bit of the cricket. It was only as we slowed down due to weight of Sunday traffic that I suggested we might play a car game, but with a lack of yellow cars and pub signs, nothing came of it.
As we approached Southport there was a queue of vintage and custom kit cars leaving the annual WoodVale car show. I notice there is and i-Spy book on vintage cars, so we might have ticked a few of those off.
The i-Spy book, I now have, however, would have been ideal for the longer journey as we could have searched out roadworks signs, police cars, flags, planes and a lot more. It seems as if they have combined many of the older categories into the one volume but is seems to work, so we might give it a go on the return journey next week.
Toot toot!
I grew up surrounded by i-Spy books. Each book covered a subject such as i-Spy Cars, on the Pavement, Churches, on a Train Journey, and so on. They were particularly successful in the 1950s and 1960s.
There were roughly forty small volumes that sold in hundreds of thousands. As we children spotted objects such as coal hole covers, oak trees, semaphore signals, fire engines, whelks, and so on, they were recorded in the relevant book, and gained points. Once the book was complete, it could be sent to Big Chief i-Spy for a feather and order of merit.
I can't remember sending any off myself, although I know friends did, and some had quite a collection of feathers.
The particular volume I received was 'on a car journey' and I have just missed the ideal opportunity to test drive it, so to speak. Yesterday I picked up my nephew, Matthew, from Swindon and we drove up to Scouseland. Once we had caught up on news and exhausted our other conversation he settled into his i-Pod and I listened to a bit of the cricket. It was only as we slowed down due to weight of Sunday traffic that I suggested we might play a car game, but with a lack of yellow cars and pub signs, nothing came of it.
As we approached Southport there was a queue of vintage and custom kit cars leaving the annual WoodVale car show. I notice there is and i-Spy book on vintage cars, so we might have ticked a few of those off.
The i-Spy book, I now have, however, would have been ideal for the longer journey as we could have searched out roadworks signs, police cars, flags, planes and a lot more. It seems as if they have combined many of the older categories into the one volume but is seems to work, so we might give it a go on the return journey next week.
Toot toot!
Thursday, 15 July 2010
A week is a long time......
There has been a lot going on.
The World Cup got the final it deserved. It was by far the least exciting I can remember, and in some of the better ones, England failed to qualify , so their early exit was not a contribution. It was just dull football. The final was awful, enough said.
The Government seem to be tackling a few aspects of society which I have written about before. The classic, though, is their plan to introduce two year degree courses. Given the first year of a degree course is usually tailored to educating the dim and dimmer in the basics they should have learnt at school, why don't they just call the two year course 'A' levels, and be done with it?
The people of Rothbury must now be mightily relieved the siege of their village has ended. The police were clearly influenced by earlier events in Cumbria and could not risk a further massacre. The subsequent photo opportunities at the death site and on-line hero worship was way over the top and correctly condemned by our Prime Minister.
He is right on track again this week with his views on health and safety, school trip restrictions and the general nanny State initiatives which have spread through society. If he can reintroduce controlled danger for the next generation of inquisitive kids, he will be doing well.
Real and present danger does, of course, still exist in Afghanistan as demonstrated almost daily. With our brother-in-law about to embark on his tour of duty at the weekend, there could be many long weeks ahead.
The World Cup got the final it deserved. It was by far the least exciting I can remember, and in some of the better ones, England failed to qualify , so their early exit was not a contribution. It was just dull football. The final was awful, enough said.
The Government seem to be tackling a few aspects of society which I have written about before. The classic, though, is their plan to introduce two year degree courses. Given the first year of a degree course is usually tailored to educating the dim and dimmer in the basics they should have learnt at school, why don't they just call the two year course 'A' levels, and be done with it?
The people of Rothbury must now be mightily relieved the siege of their village has ended. The police were clearly influenced by earlier events in Cumbria and could not risk a further massacre. The subsequent photo opportunities at the death site and on-line hero worship was way over the top and correctly condemned by our Prime Minister.
He is right on track again this week with his views on health and safety, school trip restrictions and the general nanny State initiatives which have spread through society. If he can reintroduce controlled danger for the next generation of inquisitive kids, he will be doing well.
Real and present danger does, of course, still exist in Afghanistan as demonstrated almost daily. With our brother-in-law about to embark on his tour of duty at the weekend, there could be many long weeks ahead.
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Goodluck Jonathan
I have been running or jogging the streets for years. I tried to tie it in with my rugby training and then continued the habit once my playing days were behind me.
The most common route was a road run of just over 2.5 miles from and to Gunnersbury Station via Acton Town and Chiswick Park. In days gone by I could do it in about 20 minutes although I suspect today I would struggle to do it in less than 28.
I do wonder, though, whether it was doing me more harm than good, given that recent figures indicate 18 people a year die in Chiswick as a result of air pollution. I did move to running in the gym after I had my respiratory scare some years ago, and now that I am in Scouseland, I am able to run round Birkenhead Park and Wirral Ladies golf club which are havens of fresh air, by comparison.
Sunday saw the local Race for Life take place in said Park, and the girls, Hannah, Emma and Becky were able to complete the course in under 30 mins, with SWMBO managing a creditable 32 minutes, a little quicker than last year. Given her knee is shot and she is under the knife this week it was an excellent effort.
As with last year though I had to run the route to see how I would have done, and the answer is not too well. I went round today in 37.40. that was two minutes quicker than last weeks effort round the golf course, but still someway off my target of 35mins.
So its back on the treadmill for some serious training....the 10K in September, my one concession to Chiswick air quality, is looking a distant effort at the moment as I have 75mins to beat at that one
The most common route was a road run of just over 2.5 miles from and to Gunnersbury Station via Acton Town and Chiswick Park. In days gone by I could do it in about 20 minutes although I suspect today I would struggle to do it in less than 28.
I do wonder, though, whether it was doing me more harm than good, given that recent figures indicate 18 people a year die in Chiswick as a result of air pollution. I did move to running in the gym after I had my respiratory scare some years ago, and now that I am in Scouseland, I am able to run round Birkenhead Park and Wirral Ladies golf club which are havens of fresh air, by comparison.
Sunday saw the local Race for Life take place in said Park, and the girls, Hannah, Emma and Becky were able to complete the course in under 30 mins, with SWMBO managing a creditable 32 minutes, a little quicker than last year. Given her knee is shot and she is under the knife this week it was an excellent effort.
As with last year though I had to run the route to see how I would have done, and the answer is not too well. I went round today in 37.40. that was two minutes quicker than last weeks effort round the golf course, but still someway off my target of 35mins.
So its back on the treadmill for some serious training....the 10K in September, my one concession to Chiswick air quality, is looking a distant effort at the moment as I have 75mins to beat at that one
Friday, 18 June 2010
And the Rosslyn Park forwards all whisper 'heal'
So farewell Andy Ripley
A true gentleman of the finest order
A bohemian rugby player
He mucked around in boats
Was a true Superstar
And always had a good word for everyone
I ran in the Sunday Times fun run in Hyde Park with him and
I met him on the towpath at Chiswick one day in 2006
He was always a fighter, but in a very English way
It was hard to imagine he was ill
As a World class No8
That heavenly rugby team just got stronger
A true gentleman of the finest order
A bohemian rugby player
He mucked around in boats
Was a true Superstar
And always had a good word for everyone
I ran in the Sunday Times fun run in Hyde Park with him and
I met him on the towpath at Chiswick one day in 2006
He was always a fighter, but in a very English way
It was hard to imagine he was ill
As a World class No8
That heavenly rugby team just got stronger
Monday, 7 June 2010
Going once, going twice.....
I have just had two fab days up in Scotland playing golf at Turnberry, the 2009 Open Championship course. I played the Ailsa twice, and am pleased to report that the game held up well and I was part of the winning team, and came third individually, with my second round 86 being as good as I have played for a while.
I am a bit of a golf anorak, so on my return home I was able to check my golf logbooks and identify that in 1989 when i last played the Ailsa course I went round in 98. My handicap was 19 in those days, and we had played the Arran ( now Kintyre) course in the morning. Progress is progress, however, and for that I am thankful.
In that week during 1989 we played 36 holes round Prestwick Old Links, Kilmarnock Barassie, and 18 holes round Troon and Largs. These days 18 is enough both from the stamina perspective and for the fact golf seems to take longer to play.
At Turnberry people started batting off at 06:30 and the last crew we saw on the 18th was 22:15, so they probably started about 18:30. That's twelve hours golf with average 20 people per hour paying £125 each. £30,000 per day just from the one course.
I only had one embarrassment. You know when you see somebody you think you know, either from the pub or work or somewhere else social, well that happened to me. When I confronted the innocent chap it turned out to be Philip Searle from The Antiques Road Show, and Bargain Hunt. What a pleasant chap he turned out to be, just there for the craic like the rest of us.
I am a bit of a golf anorak, so on my return home I was able to check my golf logbooks and identify that in 1989 when i last played the Ailsa course I went round in 98. My handicap was 19 in those days, and we had played the Arran ( now Kintyre) course in the morning. Progress is progress, however, and for that I am thankful.
In that week during 1989 we played 36 holes round Prestwick Old Links, Kilmarnock Barassie, and 18 holes round Troon and Largs. These days 18 is enough both from the stamina perspective and for the fact golf seems to take longer to play.
At Turnberry people started batting off at 06:30 and the last crew we saw on the 18th was 22:15, so they probably started about 18:30. That's twelve hours golf with average 20 people per hour paying £125 each. £30,000 per day just from the one course.
I only had one embarrassment. You know when you see somebody you think you know, either from the pub or work or somewhere else social, well that happened to me. When I confronted the innocent chap it turned out to be Philip Searle from The Antiques Road Show, and Bargain Hunt. What a pleasant chap he turned out to be, just there for the craic like the rest of us.
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