New Merc? I prefer my £25 prizes!

A FRIEND tells me she is about to sell a big chunk of her holding in Premium Bonds so she can buy a new set of wheels (her current jalopy has just failed its MOT).

Despite advising her not to be so extravagant (she has her eyes set on a second-hand Mercedes Benz C-Class, below, available for £24,000), she’s not for turning.

While I understand her desire to be mobile in style (she is an actress after all), NS&I Premium Bonds remain the one bright spot in my savings portfolio. Although my holding is a fraction of my friend’s – insufficient to buy a cheap second-hand Fiat Punto – I still get a buzz when an email pings in from NS&I telling me I’m a winner.

I received one a few days ago as part of the November prize draw – another £25 prize to add to the five others I have already received this year for the same amount.

That is, £150 of tax-free prizes, compared to the £100 I snaffled last year.

I will continue to a buy a few bonds every month in the hope of one day bagging a big prize. Enough maybe to buy a brand new Merc.

AT 11 o’clock today, I will be standing somewhere along the Thames Path in Walton-onThames, Surrey. Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and sweating from head to foot, I will be observing a two-minute silence to remember the service and sacrifice of all those over the years who have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life.

The half-marathon that I will be participating in is all about Remembrance Sunday. The event is built around a ‘race freeze’ at 11am when, at the sound of a horn, all runners will stop to observe a two-minute silence before resuming at the sound of three blasts of the horn.

We will remember, we will never forget. Britishlegion.org.uk.