Sunday, November 16, 2008

Warning to SBL Visitors from the UK: your pound is weaker

In recent years, UK travellers in the US have had a good time of it. The pound has been strong, and the considerable expense of attending the SBL has been reduced by the fact that buying books and eating out have seemed relatively cheap. This time last year, the pound was at historic highs against the dollar (£1 = $2.08 at the beginning of November 2007). Now it is at a six-year low, currently $1.469. The calculations for Brits abroad will be a little different this time round -- no more simple halving of the price to get the pound equivalent. Meanwhile, for those of us now drawing a salary in dollars, trips to the UK start getting much cheaper, and this Christmas we might be able to afford a couple of extra glasses of sherry.
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3 comments:

  1. Jim16 November 2008 at 21:22

    I'm hoping the Pound is even weaker by January. 2 Pounds to the Dollar make it impossible to eat anything but a scone a day.

    And Cambridge is expensive enough as it is!

    ;-)

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  2. John Lyons17 November 2008 at 00:30

    I think we've realisd that, Mark. I am just hoping the pound will survive long enough to return me home!

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  3. Anonymous17 November 2008 at 04:39

    Tough luck Poms. Just be grateful you ain't Kiwis. Our precious dollar will only buy 56 measley American cents. Consequently I will save my precious dollar for England (where of course I get even fewer pence but there you go). If you see any small brown feathered flightless Kiwi fainting during the seminars, please feed them. They'll be hungry.

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