ref digger27..I was in the same boat..made redundant after 17 years with the same company...I had hoped to retire early, however after twelve months off, redocorateng , gardening,etc, etc.without being at pension age yet...was shocked at what it cost to stay alive these days, house etc..everything paid for...and still you need to find a couple of hundred quid a week to maintain some form of life. Needless to say a year later I went back to work...found a better job than my previous employment....who has since rang-up and asked if I would like to go back....Theres plenty of good jobs out there ..I found mine on the net....Hopefully, by 2008, Ramco will help me retire...permanently....I`m looking forward to it.
ps Jules..until the legislation is in place ,the `bigboys` are witholding from investment in Iraq...it could take them a year before deciding to take up options....this is a `breathing space` for the small E and P companies.....and others