The Lord taketh away

It was several years ago that the Lord gaveth. We were amongst the millions who benefited from the demutualisation of the Bradford and Bingley building society. We were suddenly shareholders. In recent times with share prices plummeting I have not been worried. Our assorted shares are long term investments and I don't mind if they are worth less now providing that their value increases again some time in the future. Unfortunately the news of the nationalisation of the said building society means the shares are not so much worth less as worthless.

I can't complain. We've been receiving small dividends over the years from these shares. We didn't earn them in the first place, they were a free gift out of nowhere. And now they're gone again. That's life. The one thing I need to do to maintain my calm composure is never to calculate how much money we would have received if we had sold the shares before all these financial problems began.