V8 - Many years ago I did a proper job for a living exiting the...

V8 - Many years ago I did a proper job for a living exiting the city about 30 years ago. Certainly a very long time ago when I worked alongside a team of fund managers launching the first undervalued unit trust in the UK which hit the market literally at the exact time of the October 1987 crash - bad for many but good for us as we were only investing in companies who's net asset value was not reflected in their market caps. Ideal methodology during turbulent times with us making a fair splash in the financial press in those past dizzy days.

After I took a deep breath and escaped - since that time I've continued to invest in companies using the same philosophy when it comes to my own small investment pot.

I made a bundle on Sunshine Gas when it was bought out by Queensland Gas then again when BG Group bought out Queensland Gas. As I'm sure you/many know - some of the management of Sunshine Gas are the very same people that are involved with COI - and as I follow good management - that's how I got to hear about COI in the early days with me taking my position then and being here ever since.

I do what I can to keep my ear to the ground and speak fairly regularly with other COI private investors and occasionally communicate with Tor having met him in person when he was in London.

With regard to my current location in S.W. France - although I live for much of the time in the UK - I happen to also have property down here so I tend to split my time between both the UK and France.

Although many attribute the 1987 crash to automated selling when computers were programmed to 'sell' when the market fell beyond a certain set percentage - times were certainly different then with almost no automated trading platforms churning shares for tight margins - which is the cross that we all have to bear today when long term investors are frustrated by those making the market by the manipulation of a small amount of shares to the detriment of the majority.

S.W. France has indeed been unusually hot - we hit 45 degrees in the shade a few weeks back and it's due to get back about 40 degrees on Friday - Phew...