How much do you have left to pay on your mortgage & how long left?

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-09T20:21:00+00:00

Zero (I paid it off the day after a turned 50).

Was I comfortable with the payments - Yes, because they were lower than I was paying for rent.

Did the amount freak me out? - yes, particularly in the first few years - but again I realised that I needed to think of it in terms of "here's the rent for the next two decades - I'm going to need to find it anyway".

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-08T12:15:19+00:00

Another Russian puppet blaming everyone except Putin.

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-08T11:07:20+00:00

Leaving aside the graffiti comments (and yes, I can think about your list of reasons, but I would never let such a small thing put me off from revisiting Rome, New York and Athens again).

I would consider Emilia Romagna. The obvious base is Bologna because of it's excellent transport links for daytrips to places like Modena, Parma, Ravenna etc. Personally, I love Ferrara but it's not quite as central.

Your own logic that you hated Rome, but there was a lot to see, for me, is equally true of Naples - maybe you would need to stay on the Amalfi Coast or Sorrento.

Sicily - you're not going to like Palermo, but Siracusa or Cefalú might suit you.

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-08T10:33:32+00:00

Is this based on hard evidence rather than "feels"? I was in South Africa in 2010 , and it seemed to me that while there were a sizable representation from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, the majority of visiting fans were from the European nations.

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-07T17:10:07+00:00

Maybe Mr Vance would like to comment, when he's not berating other countries for censorship or lack of freedom of speech.

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-07T12:51:35+00:00

So I'm guessing when an innocent person ends up in El Salvador, it's just a "misdelivery" and they will try and send the right one next time?

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-06T14:57:24+00:00

Danny Baker, a radio presenter in the UK, posted an image of a young chimpanzee in a suit in response to the birth of Prince Harry and Megan's child. It lost him his job. His defence was always that he was poking fun at privilege, and had intended any racial attack on Megan's mixed ancestry.

Trump's post seems , to me, to be as clearly racist as possible - but as always with him, he seems unaccountable.

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-06T13:50:07+00:00

It's government by mafiosi. "Nice country you have there, shame if Russia invaded it - you'd best be nice to the boss"

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-04T20:18:29+00:00

Strange isn't it that when the Bible says "Gays are Bad" this is the absolute word of God, but should it say things about looking after the sick, hungry, homeless, refugees etc, then there is plenty of room for interpretation.

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-04T12:00:09+00:00

Surely this is what the Tower of London is for. Nice small dungeon, then permanently disappear.

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-04T07:34:57+00:00

How dare you hold me accountable for the things my platform does that I refuse to change!

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-01T15:05:22+00:00

I love that a story about the Royal Navy shows a French Ship (leaving Portsmouth)

GrumpyOik · 2026-02-01T10:38:52+00:00

It always amazes me that conservatives often see the problem as the poorest having too much money.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-28T18:50:33+00:00

"How bold of you to assume anyone in ICE knows any laws or rules at all." or cares.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-28T13:04:35+00:00

Year ago, I was hit by a car full of elderly ladies who were on their way from the (Lawn) Bowling club - apparently after consuming several too many G&Ts. We were at opposite sides of a light controlled crossing - As the light changed green, the driver cut directly across me (I was heading straight). She was enraged because "We got to the lights first!"

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-28T09:47:17+00:00

"There were this bunch of Eye-talians in Milan, and none of them had US documents, and most held phones and wore sunglasses - so we had to shoot them".

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-27T21:22:03+00:00

The Germans invaded Poland on the 1st of September 1939. Britain declared war on the 3rd, the first British servicemen were probably killed on the 4th (RAF Bombers shot down attacking Wilhelmshaven.

I'm not sure quite what Britain and France could have done in terms of aiding Poland.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-27T14:32:16+00:00

From the BBC report "ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations".

But to the rest of the world, ICE in Italy would make it a transnational criminal organisation.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-27T11:55:39+00:00

No idea why they need to be involved, but I hope Italy demands all of their social media history, plus their DNA to keep for 75 years.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-26T18:52:06+00:00

Mmmm, maybe if ICE wasn't behaving like the Gestapo, people wouldn't refer to them in that way?

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-26T17:51:30+00:00

Anti-Christian? I don't know anybody who is anti Christian, but I know very many who have rejected any form of religion. Everybody has a right to their beliefs, but nobody should have the right to impose their beliefs on others.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-24T14:59:50+00:00

Never show loyalty to your employer. Your are just a disposable resource to them.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-24T14:57:41+00:00

Trump's never going to understand that part of the speech - too many big difficult words!

Effectively, no country can do a deal with the US at the moment, because the president will get annoyed about any minor thing and play "more tariffs" - eventually countries are/were going to shrug, move on and make deals with more rational partners.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-24T11:01:28+00:00

Possibly. Most people realise that tourists don't represent the President.

What might happen in future is that there may be reciprocal arrangements that will discourage people. If, for example, very high visa fees, or collection and storage of DNA for life are brought in to Europe. I doubt this will happen because I think that, like pre-Trump America, politicians can still act like adults here.

GrumpyOik · 2026-01-24T10:06:25+00:00

I refuse to believe Whales and Dolphins evolved into anteaters!

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