Just in time for Christmas ... I feel you need to know that after paying my mortgage without let or hindrance for five and a half years I came to realise that I have effectively lost £21,000 (around US$40,000) in wasted payments. That is purely from an historical cost convention perspective of course: taking the present value of money into account and it's a lot more. How come? Well, I thought I had an endowment mortgage with an interest only element. It's true that I've got an interest only element but what I thought was an endowment policy turns out to be a very, very expensive life assurance policy. At this stage I am just too shell shocked at this to ask how I got into this situation; but in it I am! The effect of this? I have paid the interest element of the mortgage every month for the five and a half years without fail and what I owed in 2001 I still owe with no diminution whatsoever. As for the endowment element, I have paid this without fail month after month and not only will this give me absolutely no return whatsoever at any stage apart from my death or the death of that woman who is about to leave my life but also the amount it will pay out is reducing as time passes. Can't believe it can you? Me neither. It seems that when I pop my clogs and they have to pay out, they won't even pay out the full amount either in spite of the massive payments I am making. I was caught a few years ago by these people but fortunately the amount of money involved then was relatively small. This time, I have lost five years' worth of payments and you can see the impact of it. Yours in sanguinity DW

A Christmas Carol After a couple of very disappointing Carol services I decided to spread my wings and ended up in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in the High Oxford. I am very glad that I went along last Sunday to their Carol Service: in fact, the service of nine lessons and carols. I sometimes put together a response to a happy event by writing a commentary as if I were an eight year old. I have done the same again for this service and I hope whoever reads it will receive it in the spirit in which is was written. --oo0oo-- A nice carol service I went to the big church in Oxford on Sunday to sing happy birthday to Jesus. Well, we didn't sing happy birthday really but daddy said it was the same thing. There were lots of people in the church and I really liked that because the singing was louder and better. I can read now but there were some things I didn't get. They said that there would be a trollope reading us a story but I thought she looked very nice and smart. I think it wasn't kind to say that Joanna was a trollope. Mr Mountford the vicar wasn't busy either. He put on a big shiny coat and said hello to everyone but then he just sat down all night until he said goodbye to us all. Daddy said he must be a good manager to get away with that. He said to mummy something like make the money work for you. I didn't get it though. I love all of these Carols and am really happy that God was able to write them for us. The stories we heard were a bit odd weren't they because they weren't all about Jesus and the manger and the donkey. Daddy said I'll understand one day. A man called Professor told us one story and daddy said it would have been better if his name had been Stephen instead of Richard. Then he would be called S Pring. I didn't get it but daddy laughed. I liked his silver hair. It's like my grandads hair. Mrs Mountford read us the first story about Jesus and daddy said, keep it in the family Vicar. The handbells were lovely and I have asked Santa to get me a set now. Daddy said you'll be lucky. I hope so! I liked the way the boys all looked very serious when they were ringing their bells. They don't look so serious at school do they? Why did we only clap when the children did something? I wanted to clap when the choir sang but daddy said it's their job so best to keep quiet and not to make a fuss. Mummy said it's because he's from the North. I didn't get that. When we sang o come al ye faithful I did something scary. I sang o come let us adore him all three times every time. I didn't like that Herod man in the stories because he frightened me. Daddy said don't worry as it was all a long time ago and Jesus beat Herod anyway. That was the best carol service I have been to and I'm only eight. I liked the vicar's coat best and I also liked singing once in royal david's city especially when the choir sang the first part. That's why I wanted to clap. --oo0oo-- Well done everyone! Duncan Williamson