[Paul Coleman]

Bloody hell......What are ya doing window cleaning? ? ? ? You wanna be in parliament 

I'm too honest to be a politician though.  I care too much as well.
I had to smile at the report on Gordon Brown's speech about the economy being in safe hands with him.  OK, I would rather him be at the helm than most politicians but it did smack of the "trust in me" scene from Jungle Book.   

Who's been the chancellor for the last 10 years spending the countrys' money, racking up debt with no funds in reserve? If I conducted my affairs like that I would be in a right mess now. But I am just a simple window cleaner, what do I know. Ignorance is bliss.

I don't want this to become a political debate but my comment about Brown was meant to come across as him being one of the better ones of a very bad bunch (politicians of all shades).
I HAVE actually spent with no funds in reserve.  My reserves went when I was with the wrong person for too long and when I got sick.  Been paying for it ever since.  Borrowed yet more to go into WFP.  That seems to be sorting it out gradually.

[dd]

I try not to worry overly about politicians, very little to reccomend them and they are constantly srewing up, whether it's the country's finances, education, immigration etc.... Focus on what you do, do it well and always look on the bright side of life... dedum dedum dedum dee dee dee dee.

[dai]

Some of my customers are feeling the pinch. I've lost 30 customers in the last 2 months and picked up 15. These customers I've lost weren't recent customers I've just picked up, they were long standing. Some of them are really feeling the pinch moneywise.

I put the prices up last week on some under priced jobs, four of them cancelled. The increase was the first for over two years, and I only put them up from £5.00 to £5.50.
Pesioners on fixed incomes are most certainly feeling the pinch, and like you Wayne, these customer had been with me for twelve years.
I have more work than I need, so losing underpriced customers actually increases my income, I can get round to the better paid work a bit sooner. Dai