After very little sleep last night, I lay wide-eyed in bed with a knotted stomach staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of my hairs turning grey. Getting out of bed would mean addressing the problem about which I was currently fretting; moving. Eventually, 9am arrived and so I searched for Radio 4 on my Walkman and jacked in. Even though we are in a different predicament, the piece with Susan Hicks really struck a chord. A house or flat, whether rented, owned or squatted is more than a roof; it is a home, a base, an essential prerequisite for good mental health. When the security of your home is under threat, say if your landlady decides to sell, it is more than an inconvenience, it is seriously disruptive and potentially disastrous, particularly if, like most people, you already have enough things to worry about. However, I think I have a solution that would improve the quality of life for the majority of people in Britain at least: simply start killing estate agents. Randomly and indiscriminately. Estate agents don't understand the concept of a home. To them, it's a "property" - something that produces money from nowhere. To them Landlords are wise, sensible investors and tenants are dimwitted scumbags who are a necessary inconvenience. They don't understand why anyone would object to having their *homes* subjected to a 3 monthly inspection. They don't understand why I'm not interested in hearing their opinions on whether the latest rent increase they've urged the landlord into is reasonable or not. And they really can't comprehend why we'd be concerned about getting our deposit back at the end of the tenure. I'm sick and tired of paying other peoples mortgages and financing their round-the-world trips whilst being expected to be grateful for the opportunity to do so. So, start bumping them off. See if we can turn it into a fashionable game. Don't go for just the big ones either, even the most menial rookie should be fair game. That way, anyone considering a career in Real Estate, or "cynical life ruination" as I call it, would think again. Regards, Martin Wellard P.S. no I haven't had my medication this morning.