As a proud ex-tenner-a-monther, I suggest that Bill looks at the demon.service newsgroup for a short sharp lesson on what Demon customers really think of them. Most of us ageing types are particularly grumpy because we can remember when you could call the Demon helpdesk and talk to someone who had the faintest idea how the internet works - but those days are long gone.

We stay with Demon because everyone else is worse, not because we love them. And it's likely that a C&W takeover will drag Demon down below the current tolerable level, and we'll reluctantly jump ship - but no-one loves their ISP these days, because no ISP can provide a decent level of customer service for a standard ADSL connection at a competitive price. How can they, when they're just reselling a BT product in competition with BT?

One other thing about us ageing demographic types - some of us can remember whose stupid fault it is that our internet infrastructure ended up being such a dog's breakfast in the first place. When they finally bury Mrs T, they're going to need one hell of a big dancefloor...

<ahem>

nik