Thanks, folks. And I'm sure Albert Einstein, Billy Crystal, and Kirby Puckett would say thank you too, if they read this forum. At such times, I think about a lovely essay by J. B. Priestley (who actually lived just down the road from us on the Isle of Wight). Somewhere in his 70s (or perhaps 80's; he lived a long time), he wrote about standing on a London train station and catching a fleeting glimpse of someone's wrinkled reflection in the mirror on a gum machine, and thinking, "What an enormously old fart" . . . and then, a half second later, he realized it was his own reflection. He went on to write about how young he felt inside, and how little he related to that face in the mirror.
I concur. Happy b-day Dr. Bear! I'm quiet and don't post much (lately), but I definately read. Just FYI
Belated Many Happy Returns John. My grandad was born on The Isle of Wight, I used to holiday there as a kid and later cycle around it on day trips. Would love to know how you ended up living there...
Dave C, re Isle of Wight: "Would love to know how you ended up living there..." John: We were renting a house near London at the time, and decided we wanted to stay in England for some years, and it was time to buy. It was a huge sellers market at the time, very few properties on the market large enough for our brood, and gazumping was rampant. (Gazumping: the practice in which, after a purchase contract is signed, the seller continues to search for a buyer willing to pay more . . . and on the day of closing, says, 'Well actually I have a buyer willing to pay this much more; would you care to top it?" -- and if you do, then he gazumps the other guy, but then you can be re-gazumped a month later, and so on. All perfectly legal there, then; wonder if it still is.) Anyway, after being gazumped twice, we saw an ad in the Times for a wonderful-sounding house for sale on the Isle of Wight, which said that the sellers were leaving for Tasmania in a week, so no gazumping. We rushed down there that morning, and bought it that afternoon. There were at least six other potential buyers on the ferry, but we were the only ones with our own car, so we got there first. Huge white house on a hill between Yarmouth and Freshwater, 23 rooms, for £30,000 -- because no one, including us, could afford to heat it. Ended up living, as did the sellers, in five rooms. Wonderful place. This may be it; can't be certain: http://www.isleofwighttouristguide.com/Articles/accommodationdirectory.jpg Three years later, we sold it for £30,000 and returned to California.
Feliz, feliz en tu día, amigo que Dios te bendiga, que reine la paz en tu vida ¡y que cumplas muchos más!
Happy Birthday Dr. Bear - Brits still gazump - and sometimes gazunder! Many happy returns, Dr. John! Yeah - that old guy in the mirror has startled me a few times in the past few years, usually in department stores! I feel better than I did at 30, but my driver's license says 65. And yes, forget rugby, cricket and soccer. Apparently, gazumping (and gazundering at times) remain the toughest sports in the UK. Here's a link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2002/apr/14/houseprices.uknews Johann
John, Shame you couldn't of made it into holiday accommodation and rented it out, it would be worth a few bob now I reckon! Gazumping is still very much legal in England & Wales, though almost non-existent here in Scotland where I live...it really does seem a very un-English practice...I'm sure we must be able to blame Maggie Thatcher somewhere... Peace, Dave C.
"Och, 'tis sae verra hard tae gazump in Scotland!" Hi Dave! You're absolutely right! There's some built-in protection against gazumpers in Scottish law, apparently. It's not unknown, but is far less frequent, as it's more difficult. Here's a wiki that purports to explain how it works.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazump Cheers! Johann
Johann, We actually bought a house here in Scotland a few years back...it was all sealed bids which went into the seller...highest bid got the property. There is obviously the risk of overpaying, but at least it stays ethical! All the best, Dave C. P.S. Soccer? Never heard of it. You must mean football, right?...
Being young at heart is good. I'm more immature at heart, at least that's my excuse for still watching cartoons.
