Things ancient and modern....

Now the Beard is among those of us who remmeber a golden age, a time of plenty, where peace, love and understanding ruled... no, sorry, actually I don't.... but the other day I had the good fortune to be in one of those few pubs which actually publicise it prices on the pumps, and was surprised by many of them... not least the IPA at a quid and a half for a pint.... but it was only then that i realised that cider had undergone a change.... now, back in the long ago, when the beard was just able to legally imbibe, cider was the chosen drink of the student, mainly due to two things... its higher than beer alcohol content, and its cheapness.... but nowadays, tying in with the reinvntion of perry as pear cider, cider itself is more expensive than beer.... just aas diesel was once quite a bit cheaper than petrol.... one day i am sure that beans will outprice caviare.... but i digress.... for once though, I have not forgotten the point that the beard wished to make, as there actually was no point, except to say that times change, things change, and one day, so will my underpants... suffice it to say, th carvery at the plue of feathers was well received by two weary travellers, and the Birmingham museum and art gallery was very welcoming.... the Matthew Boulton exhibition i found especially stimulating.... and one of the paintings in the round room, well, all i can say is that it bears further study, specially for those of us with arthurian, wagnerian, masonic, templar or grailian bents.... on top of this, the beard is extremely happy, with loneliness no longer being the default position.... and after wowing everyone with a display of dancing on sundy night, after three meat and one veg samosas, and numerous diet pepsis, the beard can only say that those who believe him to be a closet party animal are only possibly mistaken.... but yetagain i digress..... haikus are on thecards (quite literally) as is a treatise on treats, but chocolate flavour swedish glace ( a non dairy ice cream like confection) is beckoning me even at this late hour.. so off to beddy byes goes the beard... so it just remains to say, until we all realise that syllabls are worth counting, Wisebeard salutes you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Appreciation of depreciation.. or something else... who knows....

Last night the topic of conversation got round, as these things invariably (or possibly variably) do to housing.. and more specifically its purpose..... now, I starteed out foolishly mentioning Andy's proposed tent living (making the obvious pun that I hope he doesn't get yurt...) and we got onto the alleged fact that apart from the UK no one else seems to have this view of house ownership being more than about having somewhere to live.... I'm told that most people in Germany and the US rent, leading to greater mobility and flexibility... which makes sense to me.. one of the many things standing in he way of, for example Mr Trepolpen of Truro getting his dream job in Northumberland is trying to sell his house... relocation is much easier for renters.. or would be if we had a greater percentageof rented accomodation available.. of which more later.... especially in a supposedly depressed market.. now, to me, the housing market has long seemed cockeyed... why, I hear you ask? Well, I shall tell you, despite you not possibly even being here.. but thats philosophy, and beyond our scope (and indeed ken..) well, lets compare it with the rest of the markets we have.. except possibly Coalville Market, which is, to say the least, a bit shabby... but I digress.... well, if, for example, petrol was housing, we would be celebrating all the recent price rises, and demanding the companies artifcially hike prices if they got too cheap... but houses.. the exact opposite... which I find strange.. now, to thousands out there, lower house prices are a blessing.. as it means they may finally be able to get somewhere to live... and that is the crux of the matter... now, someone is going to point out that the petrol analogy is flawed, as one intends to use the petrol, not re sell it... so lets compare it with a car instead... we buy it, intending to resell it a few years later.. but everyone expects the price to go down dramatically.... and i admit that a lot of that is down to wear and tear.. but no one would expect the price to go up..... even if he car was mothballed, and never used, it would lose some value.. but houses.... apparently though, a house is an investment.. and thsi leads onto another of my favourite rants.. (and there are many of those...) a friend of mine has bought his house.. he has no intention of ever moving.. yet he worries that the prices are falling..... now if he intended to sell, I could understand.. but although he doesn't want to move, he's feeling pressured to actually sell, in case the prices fall further! This makes no sense , at least not to the beard.. he doesn't worry that the beans he bought last week are now cheaper.... if one doesn't intend selling, what matter the price of houses..... I thinka long time ago we lost sight of what bricks and mortar are about... keeping the rain off..... if we could get our minds out of the investment set, maybe the market would stabilise... and maybe if we became more like the flexible renters of Europe and the US we would have a lot less stress.... after all, you can't take it with you... and as for leaving it all to the kids.... well... by that time they should have their own millstones.... and having to work hard for stuff rather than waiting for it all to fall in your lap never hurt anyone... but then I am apparently bitter and twisted.... though cider and twisted suits the weather better..... but yet again I digress.. until we all have a roof over our heads, Wisebeard salutes you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!