'That' UK-US relationship..

�.just a little side note to the topic, and a quite interesting one at that�

..on this Friday, the 29th December 2006, Britain will pay the last instalment on a huge loan secured from the United States in 1945, a loan that helped fund the war effort�

..the final payment will be $83.25 million (�43 million) on a loan that totalled $4.33 billion which was made up of $3.75 billion of straight credit along with $585 million of lend-lease�.with interest added, the total bill for Britain was $7 billion�..one of the conditions of the loan was the pound should convertible into the dollar within 12 months�.

�The Times newspaper (dated Dec 27th 2006) reported that the final instalment will be made by electronic transfer on the 29th Dec, simply because it is the last working day of the year�..it was also noted that throughout the duration of the loan, no British Government has ever lobbied to have the loan reduced or cancelled, insisting that it is right to meet the commitments it made over 60 years ago�

..it is interesting to note that modern day governments and societies are still feeling the effects and consequences of World War II�.