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I was an Israeli spy!

... well I wasn’t actually but some people thought I was and that was the story behind my second experience ever in prison – behind bars. (My first was in France – see the story of my train journey out of Paris in about 1969 or 1970.)   Egypt in 1971 was full of the military. Army everywhere – and maybe it still is, I really don’t know. Even coming into Cairo on the aeroplane from Beirut you could see military encampments all over the place. I suppose they were meant to be camoufl

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9- Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - The Perils of Consolidation

Many people with multiple credit debts often feel that a consolidation loan is the right solution to help them manage their payments. On paper it sounds like a great idea – one manageable monthly instalment which is often a great deal lower than all of the current payments combined. Pre-credit crunch television advertising was awash with various lenders offering these amazing solutions, some employing celebrities to endorse their various products. Many of these companies targeted home-owners cit

BankFodder

BankFodder

8-Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Non-Priority Debts - Repayment Options Two

4)    Debt Relief Order (DRO) [England & Wales] Debt Relief Orders are a very new addition, introduced in the last few years. They are designed for those with very few assets and very limited income. An application for a DRO can be made if you owe less than £15,000. If an application is granted the creditors are prevented from contacting you for a period of 12 months, during this time the interest and charges on the debts are frozen. If your circumstances haven’t improved the debts will

BankFodder

BankFodder

4 - Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - A 'Safe' Bank

The majority of debtors owe money to the people they hold a bank account with. This makes it easy for the banks to grab money from their income to off-set against the debts when things start to go wrong. One of the cornerstones of ensuring yourself a debt-free future is to move your banking arrangements to a 'safe' bank account. This will be an organisation with to whom you owe no money to. Once your income is safe guarded your creditors will not have an automatic right to your money. This puts

BankFodder

BankFodder

7 - Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Non-Priority Debts - Repayment Options One

There are many options available to you if you are struggling to meet your debt commitments. Some of these options are more serious than others. Due to the recent economic downturn many fee-charging, commercial companies have cropped up offering all sorts of solutions to assist the public with their debts. These companies are out there to make money, and although some of the solutions might be viable it is important to seek advice from a reputable organisation to ensure the solution is right for

BankFodder

BankFodder

2 - Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Priority Debts and Non-Priority Debts

Debt can take various forms, and some are more important than others. It is possible to place debts within two separate categories – priorities and non-priorities. The way that the two types can be differentiated is based on the action that can be taken for money to be recovered. With priority debts it may be possible for you to lose something tangible if you do not act quickly. As an example, some creditors could: •    Take away your home (repossession / eviction) •    Cut off your gas o

BankFodder

BankFodder

3 - Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Personal Budget Sheet

The single-most important step when dealing with debts is to ensure that you work to a realistic personal budget. This should ensure that you have enough money from your income to cover your essential outgoings such as housing costs, bills, groceries, travelling costs, clothing and health-related costs. Once you have calculated how much these outgoings amount to you can see what is left to offer your creditors. The greatest mistake that is made by individuals is that they ensure that they ensure

BankFodder

BankFodder

6 - Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Non-Priority Debts & Self-Negotiation

Non-priority debts are usually credit debts such as unsecured loans, credit cards, overdrafts and catalogues. These debts are usually the ones which are the easiest to get affordable arrangements with. The reason credit debts are known as non-priorities is due to the fact that the creditors are relatively limited in relation to the powers that they have to recover money from you. The creditors cannot remove something from you as a ploy to get their money. As an example, if you don’t pay your mor

BankFodder

BankFodder

5 - Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Priority Debts

It is possible to categorise any type of debt in to one of two types. Priority debts are the more important ones as non-payment of these could cause you to lose something. Examples of priority debts include mortgage or rent arrears, council tax arrears, utility arrears (if the arrears are with your current provider) and magistrates’ court fines. Some priority debts come with somewhat draconian enforcement possibilities, some can even lead you to prison for non-payment. You should always ensure t

BankFodder

BankFodder

10 - Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Frequently Evaluate Your Situation

Ensuring that your debts remain under control is a task which requires a pro-active approach. It is usually the case that your financial circumstances will change as time goes by. These changes will have a knock-on effect with your personal budget. To ensure that the arrangements with your creditors do not fail it is vital to ensure that you frequently revise your income and expenditure so that you can adapt. At the moment fuel costs are slowly increasing, this places additional pressure on your

BankFodder

BankFodder

1- Debt Diaries: Become Debt Free in Ten Steps - Don't Panic!

Debt can be a very taboo subject, many folks don’t like admitting that their finances are unmanageable. People can fall behind with their commitments for all sorts of reasons, the most common being loss of employment income, a relationship breakdown or illness. It is a common misconception that most debtors have simply lived way beyond their means. Although there are people out there who have borrowed more than they knew they could afford, these people are actually very few and far between. This

BankFodder

BankFodder

My life of crime

I suppose I was about five years old when I first got in trouble with the police.   I was in my first year of a primary school.   When the classroom teacher arrived to take our class, she found that the classroom was empty. Can you imagine the shock and the distress that she suffered and the fear as she went to see the headmistress and told that her entire class of 24 children was missing? They searched the school but no sign of the little boys and girls. Event

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Arras police cells

So having had all my belongings – rucksack, sleeping bag, money – everything stolen in Istanbul while on my way to Afghanistan, I decided I had no choice but to turn back to London. Arriving in Thessalonica I managed to sell half a pint of blood at the American Hospital for $5. (I fainted and had to be looked after for about three or four hours before I could get back on my feet!) You could get seven bucks at the civilian Greek hospital – but you had to know your blood group and I didn't. I

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If you exercise - then you really need a Heart Rate Monitor

If you do structured exercise - meaning regular exercise either in a Gym, or on a machine - or outside, walking, running or swimming etc as part of a programme in which you have goals to reduce weight, improve heart function etc - then quite frankly, you need a heart rate monitor and you need to understand the principles behind it, why you are using it and how to use it. I don't think that it is possible to undertake a structured exercise programme without an HRM. The best way to under

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BankFodder

Using a Heart Rate Monitor

The whole business of using a heart rate monitor is about knowing what is your maximum heart rate and then exercising in a way which gets your heart beating to a certain percentage of that maximum. Most books talk about heart rate zones This means: – zone 5 - >91% HR max zone 4 - 83% to 90% HR max zone 3 - 75% to 82% HR max zone 2 - 66% to 74% HR max zone 1 - 60% to 65% HR max   Some books talk about 6 zones - divding the >90% HRmax

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Arrested for being a hippie!

So in about 1973, after having been away from home hitchhiking for well over a year, I left Lusaka in Zambia after having spent over four weeks in hospital with hepatitis and made my way towards (then) Rhodesia. This involved hitchhiking to the Western edge of Zambia, about half a dozen steps in Angola and then into Caprivi – which I think is now known as "the Zambezi region" and then into Botswana and to the Rhodesian border. Of course Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe. By that time I then picked

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My fitness campaign V

Back to the grindstone. Francoise is French. She is a professional ballet dancer and used to dance at the Opera in Paris. Well over 50 but very very fit, very blonde with very terrific facial definition.   And very fit. Everything you would expect from a ballet dancer, I suppose - or from a female Gestapo officer. I sort of dream of her in a trench coat, peaked hat and monocle and ordering me to do strange things with my body. I wake up and it's not a dream!! - except for the uniform etc.

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My fitness campaign IV

I got there early today. I decided that I needed to get there before most of the others, stretch around a bit, limber up and generally look cool. You know what I mean. I figured that if I could get into the mindset a bit then I would be more in control, that I wouldn't be chasing it all the time and I could structure myself a bit as I went along. You can tell that I am really starting to mellow about this thing, can't you. I wouldn't be the one always out of step or starting off on the wrong foo

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My fitness campaign III

This time I went on a Friday. Someone, I can't quite remember who - but someone pretty important anyway, died on a Friday but it wasn't so bad because he was back again by Sunday. I'm not sure if I will make it back that quick. I'm really struggling to see the connection between exercise and sexual health. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4703166.stm Take me for instance. Just an ordinary bloke, wanders into a room with 20 or so women all dressed in swimsuits and tights - or something like

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My fitness campaign - II

Another week has passed. I feel as if someone has been trying to pull my joints apart on a rack so I think that it must be Monday. I'll check .... Yes it is Monday. Half the battle - maybe more than half is simply trying to follow all the movements at the same time. One half of my brain deals with my legs, the other half deals with my torso but then when I try to tell my arms what to do I almost fall over. I think that I need a RAM upgrade. What about the splits? How do they do that. C

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My fitness campaign

Well I've just come out of my second fitness session.  Bloody Hell! (Am I allowed to say that?) I was the only bloke there. All the rest were women between 40 and 60 yrs but next to them I felt like some broken down wreck. How did I let myself get this way? I'm so ashamed. The classes are called "stretching" and for an hour I reckon that you test out every joint and every ligament and to begin with it feels like low impact but after 40 minutes, the full impact starts to hit you -

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