Today's Smile

My wife had her credit card stolen. I've not reported it to the police - the thiefs spending less!

Peter Byers

I now feel like an old-hand at blogging. I've been doing it for three days! Let me explain how it came about. A short while ago I was looking through the Winter 2008 edition of MACLA the local news magazine. Under the Genealogy section I was both surprised and delighted to come across a letter sent in by Peter Byers. You will understand my surprise and delight when I tell you that Peter and I, having gone through Primary School together, started at Carre's Grammar School, Sleaford on the same day in 1952. We both left the Grammar School in 1957. As far as I can remember I have seen little or nothing of Peter since. Unbelievably, that's 50 years ago. I contacted him via an e-mail address he gave in his letter. I was able to provide him with some information he was looking for and as a result we have spoken by telephone three times since and already done a bit of catching up. It transpired that Peter has published an enormous amount of information on the internet via his websites, as well as writing his own blogs. His enthusiasm is infectious and inspired me to have a go at writing and publishing my own blog. That is how you came to be reading the Blankney Journal now. I thank Peter for leading me into a new and most enjoyable hobby. His sites contain many links leading from technical information to humourous stories and pretty much everything in between. Also included are video links. You can watch him and listen to him by clicking http://www.byerswritings.co.uk/ or catch up with his blogs at http://www.byersblog.co.uk/ Both are interesting sites that contain something for everyone. Peter has also produced a demonstration DVD entitled 'The Fat Man Visits' which he is hoping will be taken up by a leading TV company to be made into a series.

Credit Crunch - Consumer Revenge

There is now no doubt that the credit crunch is real or that it will get worse before it gets better. I am sure very many people will be taking a reality check on their financil situation and will be wanting to off-set the impact by tightening their belts. The earlier you start the easier it will be. Falling house values, downturn in bank lending, rising unemployment,steep rises in gas and electricity charges, the list goes on and on. But where do you start? Well, surprisingly, you are just a mouse click away from a goldmine of information that can help you survive the credit crunch and build a solid financial base for the future. I refer to a website run by financial expert Martin Lewis who, in my opinion, correctly labels his advice as 'consumer revenge'. One thing you can be sure of is that Martin's advice is totally independent. The site is free of ads and free to use. Packed with a host of money saving tips covering loans, mortgages, credit cards, balance transfers, insurance, cheap travel, in fact everything that costs you money in your daily life. Superbly constructed the site is easy to use and will provide you with the information you need to beat the system and to play the big institutions at their own game. A must for anyone feeling the pinch of the present recession. The link to follow is www.moneysavingexpert.com click now and I promise you will not regret it. As Martin says "it's about cutting bills not cutting back and being a sassy consumer. Companies try to screw us for profits MoneySaving shows you how to (legally) screw them back".

Help Charities - It's Free

Some readers may already be aware of 'The Hunger Site', others may not. This is a site on which you can help six different very good causes everyday. All you have to do is log in to the site, click on each charities respective coloured box and in return each charity will receive a donation from the site sponsors. You are allowed one click for each charity per day for all 365 days of the year and it costs you nothing. Here's how it works. Every click made displays ads from the site sponsors. 100% of the money from these advertisers goes to the charity. In addition, a portion of the cost of any merchandise bought on the sites also goes to the charity concerned. Consider these 2008 statistics for each charity concerned:



Hunger - 72 Million Cups of Food Given

Breast Cancer - 7,577 Mammograms Given

Child Health - 989,957 Children Helped

Literacy - 522,292 Books for Children

Rainforest - 14,957 Acres of Land Saved

Animal Rescue - 77.8 Million Bowls of Food Given



Just imagine if everyone who owns a computer were to get involved with the scheme what a difference it would make. Check out the website http://www.thehungersite.com/ for more information. I do hope you will become involved. Read the above statistics again - all achieved by people giving up just 1 minute a day. Please help if you can! Thank you.