November 2023

Alright people! What’s up?!

How was your Black Friday Weekend? How up to date/topical am I? Is that a rhetorical question? Yes, it is! 😜

Rhetorical questions do ring a bell with me, come to mention it, as I think I used a few of them in the follow up to Jump! Yes, the sequel to Jump! The follow up - whose hotly anticipated title we have been teasing you with months now…. Well, we finally have a title! (Sian: we do? 🤔)

(Dramatic pause……tension builds….)

(Drum roll)

So without further a do (is 'a do' one word or two?) I proudly bring to you all………….

Jump2

Was it worth the wait? (Rhetorical?) Hopefully (So not rhetorical!).

(Sian: All the market research and test group activity was worth my efforts then?! 😤)

'Jump2 :Jamie’s Journey' will be out in the first part of 2024 (Sian: when he says 'first part'......you should have it before June🤞🏻) and I hope you love it. I think Jamie is inspirational and hope you agree when you read the book. More of Jamie later……...

So anyway! Why am I so easily distracted??? Maybe ADHD, wasn’t such a big thing in the golden

afternoons of the 1970s………. I blame Grandstand. And ADHD. And the Vikings.

So Black Friday was massive right? Deals everywhere, left, right, centre and the rest…. And it’s not just Friday anymore it was the whole weekend?!And it’s all about big bargains? Right?

(Sian: just stop with the questions, it’s getting annoying now...)

So that got me thinking. What have been the best bargains or the worst bargains of all time? I guess the thing about bargains though, with every ‘winner’ there will also be a loser……

So, biggest bargain of all time:

Probably got to give this to the The Louisiana Purchase! Basically, in 1803, not all of what we

know as the United States of America, was actually owned by The United Sates of America.

Long since Britain had left its shores, a massive part of U.S.A. was owned by France. In the

deal of all deals this was shortly to change. Napoleon needed to free some cash for

warships and also was struggling to think what he could do with such a problematic massive

swathe of land, thousands of miles from France (that is a long-term issue with conquering

distant nations?!).

In retrospect, enabling President Thomas Jefferson to double the size of the USA for about 4

cents an acre might not have seen such good value! Just saying.

So, that’s the best deal of all time. But what about the worst?? Don’t want to rub salt in the

wound but here we go…….

Ronald Wayne co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976 but sold his

10% stake in the company for a mere $800.

If he held on to his 10% stake in Apple, it would have been worth around $270 billion based

on Apple’s current market cap of $2.71 trillion.!! Ouch !

To finish off. The worst. The most poorly thought out “deal” of all time. Danegeld!

So, in 991 AD, tired of the regular Viking invasions that had periodically taken place over the last 150 years, Ethelred The Unready (clue in the name) decided to take the decidedly decisive

step to just…. pay them off! 🤯

King Ethelred (Unfortunately still Unready!): "Ok guys! I don’t know about you but I am getting

a bit sick about these periodic invasions of England. This is what I’m thinking: Option 1, we

just let them crack on and we all start singing Mamma Mia! Option 2, we fight them, you

know properly with grown up swords and spears. Limbs may be lost- they are a nasty lot! Or

Option 3, we just pay them to go away! Do you know what? I just thought of this option… but

actually it sounds pretty good. I reckon!"

991 AD, a bit later on....

Viking bigwig (on the shores of Southern England): "So, you are saying if we leave now with

our scary swords and awful axes, you will pay us? Yes?"

King Ethelred (The Unready): "Yes, that’s good for us!"

Viking Bigwig: "Ok, we’ll see you in a fortnight!" 🪓

Retrospect is always easy, but maybe they should have gone for Ethelred Who Will Not Be

Messed With instead!

Anyway, how could I forget, Jamie………

(Sian: As its my job in life to sweep up after various individuals.........here is a teaser of what Gary has been alluding to. I managed to get a glimpse of Carina's sketch book whilst she went to make a cup of tea and here is a world's first exclusive peek at JAMIE!)