It's great to be back on the case.

I found a load of old coppers in the gutter in a street market. I asked a fairly young copper if I should hand them in -- but he thought I was stupid.

Benjamin Franklin:
' A penny saved is a penny earnt '

Actually he was wrong -- as you have to pay 20-40% tax on your earnings, but you keep 100% of your earnt penny.

Maybe Gordon Brown would like (not) to have the following :

' A pound saved is as good as £1.66 earnt (if you pay 40% tax) '

or

' A pound saved is as good as £1.33 earnt (if you pay 20% tax) '

So when you see an old Copper, don't laugh.